I have posted before about my LT1 383 that I built when I had the ability to buy race fuel locally and no longer can. It really has too much compression now for optimum performance on available premium fuel. I have spent a lot of time trying to optimize the timing at this octane level, but I am still down a bunch of HP vs running it on race fuel. One thing I have not tried yet is lowering the operating temp of the engine. It runs around 200 degrees with the factory thermostat, it seems to have plenty of cooling capacity so I think if I put a 180 thermostat in it the normal operating temp would drop down into that range. So my question is, If I lower the operating temp of the motor 20 degrees, is it going to let me get away with more ignition timing before I experience detonation? I can find plenty to read about how timing affects engine temperature, but I have not been able to find anything about how engine temperature affects the timing detonation threshold.
Thanks,
Roy