93BlackNotch

Yea, they only have a few minor differences... Intake manifold and a few other small things, but for the most part, other then the body style, they are the same car...

dtuna42

Is octane the same? Yes, and No. "Octane" is a number given to the gas' ability to resist burning. In the combustion chamber, there's already a lot of heat built up before the spark, and the added pressure (compression cycle) of the piston forcing the gas & air into a very small space creates even more heat. Sometimes this causes the gas to "pre-ignite", aka knocking & pinging. So the higher the octane rating, the harder it is to ignite the fuel. So 87 is 87 and 91 is 91, no matter where you go. However, there are other variables that can make one gas work better for you than another gas. These include, but are definately not limited to, different detergents that different companies use, water and/or dirt in the tank and/or lines, condition of the truck that transported it, condensation that could form at any part of the refining, transportation of, and/or storage of the gas. So the answer to that question is, in my opinion, if you find a gas station that sells fuel that you feel your car runs well with, stick to it. I've personally always had pretty good luck with Sunoco and Amoco (now BP).

As for timing: What you're adjusting when you advance the timing is just when the spark plug is going to fire. We refer to the piston being all the up at the end of it's compression cycle as top Dead Center, or TDC. When you talk about advancing the timing under the hood (and I'm not getting into programmers or chips because they're WAY more in depth), we say how many degrees before top dead center, for example, somebody recommended 16 degrees advancement, so what they're saying is that they had the best luck with they're engine on their fuel with the spark going off at 16 degrees before TDC. The problem you can encounter with advancing the timing too far is that the fuel will want to start to burn under pressure and high temperatures, sometimes before the spark plug fires, and too early. If the explosion is happening errantly too far before the piston reaches TDC, you have two forces fighting each other. The crank is rotating the piston towards TDC, but the early explosions (aka "knocking and pinging" or "pre-ignition", or "detonation") are trying to force the piston back down. this can result in lots of bad stuff, such as holes in the pistons, bent connecting rods, burnt intake and/or exhaust valves, etc. but if you get the timing just right, you will get every available lb-ft of torque and every available HP out of you engine. That's why I recommend advancing timing until you hear pinging and then backing off one degree at a time until it goes away. you'll safely get the most power available from the motor this way.

That's my attempt at a short explanation that should get the new-to-racing guys up to speed. It's obviously not a complete explanation, so if you need more just ask and I'm sure somebody will step up with more. I hope this helped.

Dave