Have run it both ways, and it's noticebaly better on ported for my car. I'd advise anyone to try it both ways on their vehicle and just choose the one that seems to work best.
@@whiteboyfromernulfor your vacuum advance to work it has to be vacuumed open with throttle. At idol you don't have vacuum advance if you're using a ported vacuum. With a ported vacuum you get advanced timing when you give it throttle. With a manifold vacuum you have already advanced your timing all the way so when you give it throttle it's slower to get speed then if you use a ported vacuum.
As a 50 year auto tune up and diagnostic specialist I disagree with you. Manifold vaccuum at idle will cause many engines to misfire causing unburned fuel to go out the tail pipe. I have had to reroute some cars to ported because the idled so badly. What you are missing is the fact that purpose behind vaccuum advance from ported is that it is there to provide the extra advance at cruise to improve fuel economy under light loads. As loads increase and you open the throttle more the amount of advance decreases in proportion to the load to prevent detonation. If you want to see the increased emmissions from manifold advance you need to use a four gas analyser. Yes emission requirements did help to el;eiminate manifold vaccuum, but saying this is wrong is like saying the PCV system is inferior to the draft tube that used come off the intake manifold and dump all the crankcase fumes directly into the atmosphere. You might also believe that the EGR system is bad when what it does is control combustion temperatue to prevent NOX production and has zero effect on performance or mileage. I have actually seen burnt pistons and valves because some car owner stuck a ball bearing in the EGR hose and created detonation and too hot of combustion gases going out the exhaust valve. In the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s it was thought the smog was caused by hydrocarbons and some of the crazy things they did such as 18:1 AFR was actually creating more smog and it took them many years to finally realize that photo smog was caused by oxides of nitrogen. Nitrogen is normally inert and does not combine with other gases except in the enclosed combustion chamber with high heat of combustion and the even higher heat of too lean a mixture. The 14.7 to 0ne ratio we see today at idle and cruise was found to produce the lowest emmisions of HC, CO2, CO, and NOX. tipping leaner causes an increase in NOX as well as HC from misfires. Going richer causes an increase of CO and CO2, the increased CO because of insufficient oxygen to completly form CO2. Back to ported vs manifold in relation to performance, at wide open throttle the are both zero and your power comes from your mechanical advance curve and total timing, vaccuum advance is completly out of the picture. if you want to dive deeper into the history behind the emission history and reasoning, one of my favorite automotive technical authors is William H. Crouse. He wrote many text books in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s dealing with engine tuning, emissions, tune up and electrical. Much of my training on all this was thru Sun Electric and Allen Test products for whom I also did training for on diagnostics and the use oscilliscopes and gas analysers in the 1980s.
I'll see if I can find those text books! I understand that ported vacuum is the same as manifold vacuum except at idle. My argument is that you need that extra advance at idle. I'm going to do a follow up and test both ways. I'm willing to be wrong, but I'm going to put it to the test.
@@thejunkyardnecromanceryou ask about ported and manifold vacuum being the same except at idle. Thunder289 actually has a video showing this correlation. No one has yet described why! High vacuum means lower cylinder pressure slower burn. This means more ignition advance to have the main burn at the correct degrees just after TDC to get the most power. Open the throttle plates and the mixture goes rich as well as cylinder pressure goes way up. Going rich and high cylinder pressure means faster burn. Fast burn means you need later timing to keep the burn at the correct degrees just after TDC for max power. If you advance the timing at this point you risk pinging and poor performance, burn hits before TDC. Ported vacuum does exactly that, advances timing. Manifold vacuum retards timing at this point preventing pinging and deliver max power. It can take some time to get the mechanical advance in sync with vacuum advance for the most power, best fuel economy and best tune. Of course you can detune, richen up the idle, set your mechanical timing at idle for best idle and use ported vacuum.
@@roberta.6399 no. Ported vacuum and manifold vacuum are identical when you open the throttle. I have a short demonstration this, and TH289 has also demonstrated this in the past. The only difference is when the throttle is closed.
Yeah no offense but i think there is a good learning opportunity here and ill lay it on ... The lean rich thing is a fat misnomer thats been perpetuated on the internet forever, it plays in maybe 5 percent - the biggest factor is throttle position, this is why vacuum advance is dependant on engine load NOT afr. Light throttle, lower cylinder pressure, longer flame propogation time due to less dense charge (charge volume vs cylinder volume), needs more advance to fully ignite the mixture at the right time. High load is the exact opposite. Ever heard of "boost retard" where we pull timing due to cylinder psi? Same concept. Its presented as rich vs lean because thats easy to understand - turn your mix screws to 11:1 afr at idle vs 14:1, timing largely doesnt care. It plays in maybe 5 percent. Heres why ported vacuum shines (again as you show, its the same as manifold except at idle) - got a mild cam blipping the vacuum advance threshold at idle? Now you have variable timing at idle, hanging rpm, overall not good. Take an aftermarket hei - they all have 15 degrees of mechanical advance roughly, and 15 degrees of available vacuum advance. Okay, so cool we set it at 8 degrees initial. We add the 15 manifold at idle, cool we have 22-23, not bad. BUT WAIT, now we stand on the gas - our timing drops too low because we biased it low to accomodate manifold vacuum, and we now only have 22-23 degrees of total timing at high load. We just left a PHAT amount of power on the table. Better off running ported, running 15-18 degrees of mechanical advance which gives you good cruising advance and good total timing. This is but one of many examples i have as to why you shouldnt run manifold advance. Ported timing IS NOT about the vacuum advance - the advantage lies in what it allows you to do with your mechanical timing. Thunderhead289 - engineer
You are right. I described the mixture density as lean and rich when I should have used less dense and more dense. I'm going to put this all to the test in my follow up! I'd love to pick your brain on your tuning methods at some point so I don't misrepresent them in the follow up.
Well well well 😂 This sounds extremely similar to a video SOMEONE made as a response to yours dosnt it Junkyard 😏 ua-cam.com/video/wfzXmBKkxVQ/v-deo.html Me and Junkyard have been going back and forth on this topic lol, we are good buds though 😁
@thejunkyardnecromancer I'm not here to fight back and forth with like minded folks, but you can't post a video with a thumbnail of my or uncle Tony's face stating we're wrong without one of us rolling in 🙂
There are so many different engine combos that I dont think there is one answer to all. It all depends on the combo and how your distributor is curved. Cammed vs stock, heavy vs light, auto vs manual, cruise rpm and gearing. You have to optimize for any given combo and give your engine the timing it wants. One thing to keep in mind is that the vacuum advance is for fuel economy at cruise and it should be tuned for that purpose. Use an adjustable vac adv can. At a cruise, the optimal timing can be 40+ degrees btdc. Also, there is a gap between initial advance and mechanical advance and the vacuum advance fills in the gap. The initial timing and how the vacuum and mechanical advance fill in that gap will affect acceleration and response. Another note on heavy vehicles with tight torque converters is that when using manifold vac you have to run a lower initial timing to idle in gear. If you have a stock distributor with a lazy mech adv, WOT acceleration off the line might suffer due to the gap between intitial and mech adv when the vac adv drops out at wot. There can be cases made for either or. Cheers
I was gonna comment, but i saw your reply, and i cudnt agree more, it all depends on the specifix combo your workin with, my shop uses ported for most apps, but we HAVE used manifold in a few cases......all depends on combo.....nicely written comment!!!
@timothyarnott3584 Ya ported works good. Having a tunable pot is good to dial it in. Best thing is to figure out what your engine wants for timing under different operating conditions and dial it in for your specific combo 👍
Yes Good points also. Each Engine (Cam, Exhaust, carb Condition,Driving Style) Makes so Either Hose Placement has a 1-Only True Rule, Trial On error testing For Each Driver is What it takes
I ran my 318 on manifold vacuum for a while, throttle response was TERRIBLE. Switched it to ported vacuum and it’s like driving a different truck. That’s just my experience…
Your distributor probably didn't have enough mechanical advance or a lazy mechanical advance curve so the ported advance helped fill in the gap off idle til your mech adv kicked in 👍
@@MarcBchannelyeah you’re probably right. It’s an 80’s “smog” distributor…. I really should get one with a more aggressive mechanical advance but what I have is working so I haven’t spent the money yet.
Its simply a difference in how the engine tune is set up. Both can work exactly the same depending on how your initial timing is set and your advance curves.
Your almost right in the money, just one key difference though. When you hit the gas with manifold vaccum it takes timing away When you hit the gas with ported it will add timing So if you want to run 22° initial advice, with manifold when you punch it it will drop the timing down when you need it the most If you run 22° initial machanical, then when you punch it it will add timing or keep it the same at WOT so you can keep your timing giving you the grunt you need off the line 😉
@@newguysgarage6802Revving an engine in neutral isnt even remotely the same as an engine under load. An engine under load make very little vacuum and at wide open throttle there is no vacuum. Ported vacuum is nothing but manifold vacuum that is switched through the throttle blades, once you are off idle, the ported and manifold are the same. And guess what happens if you are running low initial with your vacuum advance hooked to manifold? All that timing that was pulled in at idle manifold vacuum instantly disappears. As I said, it is simply a difference in the way the engine is tuned.
@@richardbeals1403 I think you would bennefit by honing your comprehension skills. Dont just ignore the facts. Maybe watch the video again. Try to understand what he's saying.
I struggled with this unit I did a deep dive and learned how to recurve my distributor and truly understand its function. Your video lays it out and is easy to understand. Before I had always ran ported vacuum. Now its manifold, idles cleaner and lower temps on hot days
You are absolutely right. and quite easy to prove (not now). and think about why the car makers would choose a worse alternative when everything was allowed. the difference is only around idle( smal throttle opening). and when the ported vacuum is open, the difference ends. and what is the most powerful idle ignition. try increasing and decreasing the ignition at idle. so you get different idle speeds, the highest speed is the most efficient (most hp). then the expansion has taken place at the best position in relation to where the piston is located. exactly the same as when you have wot ,so it likes a certain ignition. and then the vacumcanister has no meaning because it does nothing then.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer On ported vacuum it ran a lower idle speed and you could feel it pull into the advance more, but seemed to require a little more throttle to get goin, whereas on manifold it felt more driveable using slightly less throttle for the same results. This is a bone stock 350 with 2.02/1.71 valves. It very rarely hits 200 degrees and while towing up the pass over 90 only ever hit 210 maintaining 55mph at 2800 rpm. it is easier getting over hills as well. I do need a different carb as the 600 is choking it out a bit, but otherwise drives perfectly fine. The old timer that owned it had it on manifold and he's been around the block more than I have so I trust his judgment on the matter more than what standard is
This old man has his eyes opened up to something so obvious now to me as I started wrenching in early sixties and yes we use the manifold for our vacuum advance. As time went by, I fell into the carb theory also but had troubles tuning out for max power and good throttle response. I am too crippled up to go play now on engines but I do see the argument for both sides... I see it as a idle jets problem and how much power with right or wrong jets making a ton of difference. I there for think maybe think if your not getting what you like or feel out of a engine, try the other for best running performance because of engine designs and if its fuel injected or carbureted.
I have a 327 sbc I use manifold vacuum because it idle better and starts easier when cold and better throttle response I am running 11 to 1 compression and 480 lift cam it’s a blast in my Square body
you are absolutely right. I was working on a 1972 F600 2 weeks ago. the owner had the V advance on the ported vacuum port. ( after market holley 500 2 barrel) It was not running good at all. I Moved the line to the Manifold port. verified the timing and idle. he says its never ran better.
Bought a 1979 Bronco with a 460 and a Holley 670 Truck Avenger hooked to ported vacuum. I put a Holley 750 Street HP and ran it to manifold vacuum. Night and day difference. I have tuned the timing, power valve, Jets, air bleeds, etc. Just runs way better on manifold vacuum. Runs better at idle, part throttle, cruise, wide open throttle, everywhere. Ported vacuum is for emissions period.
I agree with you 100%. I have watched those other channels and have alway disagreed with them on ported vacuum. The answer is simple under light load which is a lean condition you want more advance, how do you get that, manifold vacuum. Under heavy or more load you want less advance, how do you get that, manifold vacuum. The RPM part of the equation is taken care of by the mechanical advance and at that time if the load is enough the vacuum advance is no longer part of the equation. You are right on with your thought process. Good job.
You're right about the manifold vacuum but wrong about the solenoid throttle advance, it's used to compensate for the drag of an A/C compressor cutting in.
Your explanation you gave was thorough and well laid out. The one thing I have found is that the most consistent manifold vacuum signature is created at the base of the carb on the primary side of the carb. Your vacuum is more consistent and progressive there than if you pull it from behind the carb on ford's (typically) and in front of the carb on chevy/Mopar. Again were talking "classic " engines, not new gen's. If you were to use a digital Guage so that you could attach a data logger you would see there is less of a vacuum "lag" and it would provide a much more consistent rate of vacuum sweep at the carb base, primary side.
Best explanation Ive heard! I was on ported for years, I switched to manifold last week, and the engine (sbc350) runs alot better. I have a mild cam, and it helped with the idle speed from dropping too much when I would put in gear, also runs about 10 degrees cooler, my garage dont smell as gassy as before, and starts easier. So try both then pick, but the extra timing from manifold at idle makes sense to me.
Well I watched to see how many fallacies you had in this. ALOT. You are 180 wrong and using logic errors to explain it. First, you are confusing load with lean and rich correlation. You are ignoring cylinder pressure, and you are ignoring that there is more than one type of port vacuum, in addition to manifold vacuum. Your model of what is happening is so woefully simplistic it is invalid. Cylinder pressure has dramatically more effect on flame front then rich/lean, and one reason EGR is used because in theory it is very close to an inert gas that takes up space without affecting AFR. Tuning modern fuel injection, the major inputs into the equation is engine speed and load for spark timing. I suggest you plug in two vacuum gauges, and go for a drive to see what really is happening on those two types of vacuum signals, because no load running is nearly irrelevant in the big picture. If you are on the correct port vacuum, you will have a clearer understanding why part throttle light load generates proper timing advance for much more fuel efficiency and much less pollution.
Yup. I noticed that as well. As for idle I usually use ported. It makes a more throaty low idle without the manifold advance. And as many pointed out... as soon as you barely crack the throttle blades the ported connection has the same vacuum as manifold. The blades just block the ported connection at idle stop. Pull the hose and set your base advance... engine performance is exactly the same no matter which port you use. Only idle is altered.
@@PsalmFourteenOneno engine performance isn’t exactly the same! Most vehicles with a distributor will have a stumble and possibly be hard to start when vacuum advance is hooked to manifold vacuum! Fixed many vehicles over the years that had those issues!
Wow, you completely forget the initial timing event and how radical advancing timing with manifold vacuum and the effects on idle and detonation. In theory you get the same results with cylinder pressure on either port. Nice try young man but the ported vacuum for advance is correct on most applications in that era..
So one quick question, how should I tune up? should I time it at 30 degrees when Idle while connected to manifold vacuum while in Idle? so that when WOT it will less advance to 10?
It's going to be different for each engine, and there are different opinions on tuning method. Personally, I start by tuning my mechanical advance to what the engine likes. This requires a lot of driving and tinkering. After I have that dialed in as best I can, I move on to tuning the vacuum advance to compliment the mechanical advance curve.
So it seems that manifold vacuum is better if you have your initial timing set by physically advancing or retarding the distributor for best idle. Just don't forget to add the amount of distributor advance at idle to avoid detonation when vacuum advance reaches maximum advance. Ported vacuum seems to work best if you have the distributor properly calibrated for when manifold vacuum starts to drop. You can manually retard initial idle timing as necessary to prevent detonation. I normally connect carb to ported vacuum, accelerate the engine to 3k rpm, manually advance the distributor until engine starts to miss, and then back off 4 degrees at the distributor and lock it down. Full distributor advance is normally in by 3k rpm in production vehicles. You can also check with the vacuum gage at what rpm vacuum starts to go down and adjust the numbers accordingly. Never had any trouble with detonation or sputtering during acceleration on any of my vehicles using this method and they smoothly accelerate to full power.
Yes. That’s the mistake I keep seeing people in the comments not understand. You can’t just switch the vacuum hose from one port to the other without adjusting everything else
Manifold vacuum allows better control of advance at low rpms. When you stomp the throttle you lose vacume until rpms come up. When that happens it retards the timing until the rpms come up to prevent spark knock.
So I have a stumble at 45mph. 351w HEI dizzy Manifold vacuum connected 2bbl Holley Stock internals If I pull the vacuum advance line and plug it, It runs better? I wanted to connect it to ported vacuum but after watching this maybe my timing is off ?
@@thejunkyardnecromancer My old 327 would not even hot start with too much initial. Some guys running hot street engines need to crank em and then turn on the ignition once there rolling. Saves starters. I find advance gives you a choppier idle. I guess that a preference thing but I personally like street manors. Especially when your fairly tame sounding car pulls on the one that barely idles.
@@chevy6794 interesting. Did it have an aggressive cam? My truck and my mustang both start and idle easily in hot and cold conditions with the vacuum advance connected to manifold vacuum. Both are inline 6 engines in mostly stock configurations.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer ya. It had a bit of a cam. Nothing too crazy. Hydraulic flat tappet. High 9s maybe 10:1 compression. Camel back heads. Headers.
@@chevy6794 if your 327 was hard starting with a "small cam" the cam was too small for the static compression, aka your dynamic compression is high. not necessarily a bad thing, itll just need decent gas and less initial timing.
Simple question. Then why does MSD literally say 'the vacuum line should be routed to a ported vacuum outlet' on the very first page of instructions for their distributor?
Could be that their distributors come from the factory set up to run on ported vacuum. I feel like I saw a video from MSD that said otherwise. Let me see if I can find it. Found it! This is an official MSD video explaining how ignition timing works. When he talks about vacuum advance he says to connect it to full vacuum. He also explains on engines with blowers that you need to plug the vacuum advance into a vacuum port below the blower. Video: ua-cam.com/video/msHlcjrnjV0/v-deo.htmlsi=gxjjqikkYtVq73qx
Great info, one question do you set your timing with the vacuum advance line hooked on or with it off.? And where do you set you timing at, tdc, cause once you plug the vacuum to it it will automatically advance it do to vacuum being applied.?
I always set initial timing with the vacuum advance unplugged. For where to set initial timing, that all depends on the engine. I personally start with what the manual says and then do some driving and tweaking to find the proper advance curve for the engine. I plan on explaining this process in my follow up video. So stay tuned!
In my experience throttle response suffered on manifold,opening the throttle instantly retards the timing,not good,of course not all engines and setups are the same,getting base and WOT timing set correctly is first order,dial timing light is essential,Ive spent days super tuning
I love the swing analogy. Made me think, cause I’ve always ran ported vacuum. I’ve adjusted my centrifugal, and vacuum advance for years, trying to get the most out of my system. I’ve heard about using manifold vacuum before, but never thought much about it. I tried it once before, and it made things worse. I’m glad I saw your video, cause it’s got me thinking about it all over again.
Really good explanation from a single perspective. The REAL truth is how you run your advance is dependent on the engine build. The only answer is, give the engine what it needs. Manifold vacuum works great for stock OEM engines most times. Depends on how much advance it is set for. Too much will make it idle bad. If a “bigger than stock” cam is installed manifold vacuum will be lower and fluctuate. If running an automatic transmission dropping it into gear will drop the vacuum and back off timing which will lower the idle which will lower the vacuum more reducing idle speed more and the motor dies. Not good.
Being old school, I cut my teeth in auto wrenching by always hooking the dist to ported vac. Even my 49 Chevy's 216 & now 235 came factory connected to ported vac. But now I've seen the light, LOL.... I read where manifold vac was better and how it "supposedly" burns richer, cooler and more efficiently at idle and at cruise. So I decided to try it and yes, it does all of that to my amazement. All are noticeable improvements.... My 75 350 w/a QJet & HEI runs better now than it did set to the OEM specs with ported vac. And since I decided to go with lighter springs in the mechanical advance theres no hesitation nor bog nor stumbling nor pinging even though the static and vac advance is pretty high at idle. One thing one needs to do when going to manifold vac at idle is to also reset the max mechanical advance. Most V8's should be set to a maximum mechanical advance of 36 degrees BTDC with the advance full in (vac disconnected & plugged). All in is generally between 2500-3500 rpm. An adjustable timing light is a neccessity for this tuning. Once set reconnect to manifold vac and let the initial idle timing be whatever it is. It's amazing how well the engine responds to these settings. One thing to note is if the vac advance adds more than 10 degrees to the mechanical advance you need to adjust it down either by adjusting the vac adv module (if capable) adding a limiter (kits available) or getting an advance module that maxes out at 10 degrees. All these will really wake a stock and/or modified engine up. Carry On.
For driving experience I have in most cases, not all, had quicker throttle response with ported vacuum. I also prefer to fine tune timing with a vacuum gauge after the timing light so maybe it’s just me.
I've never tuned timing with a vacuum gauge, but I've heard similar things about the quicker throttle response from other people. I'm hoping to test this theory in my follow up.
@@Trobertsdsgmach1 this is very true! Dan and TH289 claim that running your vacuum advance off of manifold vacuum requires you to close your throttle blades so much that your transfer slots are completely closed off in order to get a proper idle speed. They claim this causes a delay in the transfer circuit of the carburetor, which will in turn cause a delay in throttle response when you stomp it. Their solution is a higher initial timing like 18-22 degrees BTDC, and ported vacuum to control the vacuum advance for part throttle driving. In theory it does make sense, but I think it might not work as well in practice. I'm testing all this right now, and I'll be uploading my findings in another video to come!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I do not have any distributors with vac advance, all billet msd with light springs and custom weights (rather then full lock out) for street use. All trucks and cars in my garage have full mechanical advance and a curve designed to make the most “power” not the best “power and mileage “. Vac advance has to many things to go wrong in my opinion
My '70 el Camino only ran correctly while on ported vacuum. 350 300hp, t350, L79 cam. If it was to the manifold, it would not idle in gear unless you had it about 1200 rpm. Unplug it and it idled great. I borrowed my friend's q-jet that had ported and it felt like a completely different engine! I modified my q-jet and it also ran great.
I agree with you on this one. Just look at the ignition map of any properly dyno tuned engine similar to your own and it will tell you how to control your advance
My grandpas old Diamond Motor dump truck 4 cylinder had a distributor spark advance on right side of steering column with a cable running to distributor.
Would the climate or where you live effect this in anyway? From doing research, I came to this same conclusion but my 1970 monte carlo runs terrible on manifold vacuum, especially at idle and when I'm on the throttle hard at low rpm. When I switch it back to ported it runs good throughout the powerband. Just needing advice
Best way I can explain it is, on manifold vacuum it runs like a 2 stroke dirt bike that is loading up when I get on the throttle at low rpm. It's got nothing then it just hits hard again. When I connect to ported that issue goes away but I'd like to figure what the issue is.
@@kurtdavis7588 have you created an advance curve for your vehicle and adjusted your distributor accordingly? Just switch the vacuum source over will probably not give you good results. Also, I know altitude definitely plays a role in all this, but I'm not sure about climate. It might very well!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I tried to adjust and set things up, but I can't confirm if I did it correctly or not. I'm still learning bro. Strangely enough, I personally believe it runs better with the vacuum disconnected completely if that gives you any idea of an issue..I live near the coast, low sea level and it's hot and humid.
@@kurtdavis7588 I'm always learning too man! That's the great thing about this stuff. You can never know everything! Sounds like you need to do some experimentation with your ignition timing and figure out what you're engine likes. I've been thinking of doing some videos on how to do this. Maybe I should definitely now!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer yeah, I definitely need as much help as possible. It's baffling how information comes off in a video or book vs real life. I'm always coming away from it thinking I got it, no problem until I start digging in and the car kicks my ass.
I like this topic. The only difference between the two methods is this: Manifold vac connection provides extra vacuum advance at idle. Ported vac connection waits until you touch the gas pedal before it adds the SAME extra vacuum advance. Performace, fuel economy and driveablitiy are identical for both methods above idle. Benifits of manifold Vac are smoother idle, cooler engine temps idling, better vac signal to carb and power brakes while at idle. This also lowers noise from the exhaust while idling. It provides faster starting. This works great on stock and modified engines. Engines with big cams need this extra timing at idle just to make them streetable. Switching methods only takes a few minutes but does require readjusting idle speed and idle mixture screws. Such a debate of something only effecting idle
@stuckinmygarage6220 Yes, brake boosters are connected to full manifold vacuum, but you are thinking about it the wrong way. When you add the extra timing at idle from vacuum advance being connected manifold vac, your engine produces noticeably more vacuum while idling. Even at the same idle speed as before. Now you have more vaccum assist to all your vacuum powered functions. My engine went from 15in vac at idle to 21in. Same idle rpm
Very well said 👏 It always amazed me how many people got their knickers in a twist for something that follows literally the exact same curve apart from idle. I've personally always ran manifold because in both my stocker and my bigger cam weekend cruiser they enjoy the ease of starting at such a nice 'starter-motor friendly' 6deg BTDC before the engine fires and manifold vac adv shoots that up to a steady ~20deg BTDC and I enjoy all the benefits of nice idle characteristics, cooler running temps and sharp throttle response.
@edwardpurks3883 Thank you, Mr. Purks, for your comment. However, I did not 'think about it the wrong way'. I agree with everything you said, except that there is no comma between "carb and power brakes". There is no 'better' vacuum for power brakes. It's constant manifold. Ported has no effect on brake boosters. [Off topic, unless talking about leaking diaphragm or something.] Again, I agree with your well written comments. Best regards
@stuckinmygarage6220 Hmm. You still don't understand how increased engine vacuum improves vaccum powered brake assist. More timing at idle doesn't just increase vacuum single to the carb, but it increases vacuum signal to the entire intake manifold. Including the line feeding the brake booster. Everything will see a higher vacuum signal with the increased timing. You can also feel increased brake booster assit just from your engine decelerating(which increases vacuum temporarily). The brake pedal goes noticeably further down if you Rev your engine, then let it decelerate. You can witness this sitting still in Park or neutral. I appreciate the comment. Running more timing at idle helps booster signal too. Especially just idling around a parking lot or driveway
Good video... you make a lot of good points. There are some holes in your research though. (BTW, I'm not just a backyard tinkerer/shadetree mechanic, I went to trade school and got a degree in automotive technology and I've been employed as a mechanic for over 20 years now, so while I might seem like a "know-it-all", I actually do know what I'm talking about and there is no condescension intended). As I'm sure you're aware, testing those two vacuum ports with no load on the engine doesn't really tell the whole story of how the vacuum changes when the vehicle is actually being driven. The only difference between ported vac and man vac... under load... is that ported vac has 0 in. at idle and man vac has full vacuum at idle. Once you crack the throttle open far enough to uncover the ported vacuum port, it follows exactly the same curve as manifold vacuum, depleting as throttle is increased. Therefore, they will perform exactly the same from off idle to WOT.... again while under a load. The only really problem then is the mixture at idle, which can be adjusted rich enough to run cool simply by adjusting the idle mixture screws, with no hot idle solenoid necessary (they actually weren't very common, only a few cars used them). Engineers also compensated for the "sudden bump in advance" when ported vac suddenly kicks in by adding a restriction orifice into the vacuum advance pots on those distributors to smooth the timing curve and avoid detonation and the potential for engine damage. So, while you're absolutely right about how every engine theoretically should run best on manifold vacuum, and you're absolutely right about man vac being used on every engine prior to the emissions era, most stock engines from the emissions era with their original factory equipment will run best on ported vacuum, which actually does provide better off idle performance than man vac. As for some anecdotal evidence... I collect late '70s Chevy trucks, I keep them very much factory stock except that I remove most of the emissions equipment from the ones that came with it and I convert them to manual chokes/manual throttles, and they all run best on ported vacuum, with the original Q-Jet carbs and HEI distributors. They don't run hot at idle, not even my air conditioned suburban with a small block 400 and a stock 195 degree t-stat at 115 F in the middle the summer, and I get 15 to 20 mpg on the highway with them... as long as I keep them under 65 mph, since they have the aerodynamics of a brick (LOL). I've never had any luck running any of them on manifold vacuum, even after attempting to tune them to work with it. I also have a '66 chevy pickup (technically 2 of them, my son has one too) with period correct parts (carb with only a manifold vacuum port and breaker point ignition) and it runs just fine on manifold vacuum, because that's how it was engineered. I've worked on many cars and trucks from the carbureted emissions era and I always run the vac advance on whichever port the books say to run them on, then I tune them to run as good as possible. Older cars that use manifold vacuum run the best when you set the base timing to where the engine has the highest manifold vacuum, and the emissions era cars run best on ported vacuum with base timing set at or a few degrees more advanced from where the book says to put it. That's been my experience anyway...
This is all very true! As for the lean/rich explanation, I should have described that as more dense vs less dense. My description as lean vs rich has caused a lot of confusion, and I've realized it was an incorrect way of describing it. I'm testing all these configurations right now for a follow up. It will be interesting to see as my 68 f250 (with an engine from 1975) definitely would fall into that "ported from the factory" group. I also plan on doing a demonstration with two vacuum gauges (one on ported, the other on manifold) while driving to show exactly what you said. They are exactly the same off idle. Do you have any suggestions of things to test or things to monitor while in testing to get the most complete answer I can? Thanks for your comment and your wisdom. PS - Those late 70s square body Chevys are great trucks!
@@thejunkyardnecromancerYeah, I can see how some people would misunderstand the whole rich/lean - dense/less dense ideas, so you're right, it might be a good idea to clarify that in the follow up video. As for actual experimentation, the only thing I can suggest is to compare the vacuum can on the distributor to a pre-emissions model, as well as the carburetor if you can find a similar one. I'm not very familiar with Fords, but I know some Chryslers from that era used an odd way of supplying vacuum to the distributor. They had an orifice built into the throttle body of the carburetor (thermoquads, perhaps others) that actually connected manifold vacuum to the ported vacuum port that fed the vac advance. I don't really know why they did that, perhaps they were trying to get the best of both worlds... but it would be very interesting to see how Ford plumbed their carburetors or if they tinkered with the vacuum pot on the dist.
Always ported on street engine, not going to make difference except with manifold vacuum idle will be higher ,and you will be idling it down closing more of your transition slots. Vacuum advance is designed when you accelerate vacuum comes on advancing timing giving more power and better fuel mileage.
First time watching your channel, your are appositely 100% correct, as someone who actually worked on cars from that time period I can tell you that manifold vacuum is the correct answer. Simple put; Manifold helps at idle and slight throttle when it starts to drop off the engine speed is picking up at the same time the mechanical advance is starting in. I worked at a speed shop and I can tell you many of hot hotrodders would bring there cars in to our place because they were unsatisfied with other performance shops. We would always set the owners straight. .......keep up the good work.....
I have worked on and owned a LOT of pre 68 vehicles and worked at a dealership and NEVER saw one vehicle from the factory using MV. I am still waiting for someone to show all the factory service manuals and vacuum diagrams that show it connected to MV. Been crickets on that for years now!
I had watched the same videos, and the recommendation to use ported vacuum had always bothered me for the reasons you talked about. Why make it complicated? Less dense mixture -> more advance. More dense mixture -> less advance. Done. Thanks for the video!
On Corvairs you must use ported as the carb was designed at idle to have the advanced OFF so you can get a stable idle with the dual carbs. Once you just crack the throttle it is virtually manifold vac,. There was no emission requirements in 60-64 when many were using ported.
Geez Louise, I thought I finally knew which one it’s supposed to be connected to but now idk again…😂 I’m about to just block the vacuum ports off and say the hell with it…😄
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I was just clowning… It makes sense what you said. I’m just a fuel injection guy so I’ve never really had to deal with that until I got that old 72 Ford Ranger… I’ll probably go with fuel injection eventually in that truck. You would think old guys that have been dealing with carburetors their whole lives would have really tried to figure that out by now…🧐 Idk, thanks for the info…
@@thejunkyardnecromancer It’s a 302 and 3 speed transmission. But they put that stupid floor shifter in it…🤦🏻 They should’ve got the good one at least. I think it’s got the Mr. Gasket brand. They don’t even make them anymore. I would’ve went with the Hurst shifter. But anyway I think I’m gonna go to pull a part and try to find an explorer engine with the GT40p heads.I might just try to find a world class T5 for now and then get a Tremec later. I was kinda thinking about building a 347 stroker and get some better heads. Maybe some performer RPM’s or the twisted wedge heads. I just got it about a month ago so I’m just tossing ideas around right now…😄 It’ll be quick when I get done with it though and still be drivable…
Perhaps you should consider that the idle speed increases with a manifold vac source is that what you have done is increase the base timing at idle which also increases idle and better coolant circulation possibly resulting in a cooler engine? I don't completly agree with the article but still maintain that the thousands of cars I have worked on in my long carear have had better drivability, fuel economy and lower emissions than any of the ones that came into the shop with the distributor connected to the manifold. How do I know this? That's because every car I tuned was done with a before and after full diagnostic on my engine analyser with infrared gas analyser. As I was taught by my mentor half a century ago : Test, Verify, Repair, Retest. Test to find the problem, do not guess. Verify you have found the problem by coming at it from a different angle. Repair the problem you have identified. Retest to make sure the problem is fixed before you give it back to the customer. This results in almost zero comebacks and the customer not paying for unneeded parts, The two reasons that the public does not trust the automotive trade. And by the way I agree with Uncle Tony on this, his reasoning is very sound.
That is a good way to go about it for sure. That's my mentality going into the testing for my follow up video. Unfortunately, I don't have access to an infrared gas analyzer or anything to test emissions. Do you have any tips or alternative methods I could use during my testing? I want to do this as objectively and as scientifically as possible. Gathering the most data as possible in the process.
You are dead on!! I'm in my 60's and have been working on cars with my family since I can remember and I was a licensed mechanic. Anyway I remember all the cars having manifold vacuum until the 70's when they went to Ported for emissions reasons as you said. One of the common problems in that era was a poor idle or stalling because the diaphram in the vacuum advance would rip so the vacuum advance did not work and also would be sucking air. It is sooo nice to see someone correctly describe the use of vacuum advance. GREAT JOB.
I don't know where you worked as a mechanic, but I NEVER saw a factory car prior to 68 that used MV. I would love to see the service manual that shows connection to MV direct to the dist.
Most cars made before the mid 60s used PORTED vacuum from the factory. You are probably talking about 60s cars. I cut my teeth mostly on 40s and 50s cars.
I've always ran mine ported .that's why the carb has to port made specifically for the card and how many cars came with dist connected to manifold ..and how many came connected to ported carb port?
Most vehicles before the 60s were connected to manifold vacuum. After the 60s most were connect to ported vacuum, or some sort of combination of the two with EGR, and different vacuum switches for different running conditions.
How about this. If you have a pre-emissions engine, (unless it’s some wild worked over dedicated hot rod) hook it up the way the engineers intended as reflected in the factory service manual, tune your idle circuit, transition circuit, and wide open throttle PROPERLY, and don’t worry about it. Some engines were one way, others were another way, it all really depends on what you have. Pour over all the original manuals that you can find. They are a wealth of information that we are quickly losing. Anyone else out there know that a lot of the early voltage regulators were adjustable? Probably not. Ford used them right up to the time that they switched to electronic ignition. Got luck finding one, and the aftermarket sure as hell don’t make ‘em. It’s really important to make sure your electrical is spot on to make sure your ignition is spot on, before you even think about timing and carburetor adjustments.
You are right! I have shop repair manuals for all my vehicles and reference them religiously. A problem does arise however when you modify something, especially removing emissions equipment like EGR, or installing better flowing intake, exhaust, and carb.
It depends on what the engine wants for idle timing and combustion stability. Sometimes the timing retard is required to raise the cylinder pressures at idle especially if the mixture is not overly diluted from overlap-induced internal EGR. Retarding the timing using ported vacuum means you need more throttle opening at idle which allows a bit more air when compared with residual gas. I’d say pick whichever the engine wants. Also one other thing, the more retarded timing will pull less a bit less oil through the valve guides at idle since the manifold vacuum will be a bit lower. For EFI engines timing at idle is often a bit retarded, but there is effectively an inverted ‘mechanical’ advance below idle speed. This will advance the timing if you lug the engine a bit without moving the throttle, the timing advances, engine torque goes up, and the engine is nice and stable while lugging. The timing retards as RPM picks up, giving a nice smooth lugging response, even without moving the throttle. Think of the mechanical timing with a ‘V’ advance curve with the tip of retard just above the desired idle speed.
Ported vacuum works, in conjuction by design, with a type of temperature device that switches from manifold to ported. Its that 3 way hose thingamajog. For easier starting and engine cooling at idle. Smoake and. Tires
You are exactly right, so many people get this wrong. The vacuum advance is there to give you more timing at idle (enabling less initial for easier starting) and while cruising (for efficiency and emissions) and then FALL OFF during full throttle (where pre-ignition, saprk-knock, detonation, whatever you want to call it, is a concern and timing must be dialed BACK from its part throttle, cruising setting.) Not the other way around..... it should not be giving you any additional timing during WOT, that is what the mechanical advance is for.
Thank you for the explanation. My '68 Charger 440 RT started much quicker when I changed the vacuum advance to manifold vacuum, and this is the first time I ever had it explained why. Only took me 54 years to learn why Chrysler plumbed it wrong, it wasn't Chrysler, it was the government! The same people that mandated "safe" gas cans and propane cylinders. Now they are after my gas stove...
Weird thing is, my engine is completely opposite to what you're explaining. I used to have my advance on the manifold vacuum and i had all kinds of problems. Power would drop at full throttle and the engine would bog down, bucking at low speeds, hesitation and wantinv to stall on takeoff, erratic and almost untuneable idle. I swapped it to ported without changing anything and virtually every issue went away, better power especially T.W.O., smoother shifting and takeoff, little to no bucking or hesitation, my engine runs slightly cooler and the idle is perfect. I dont even have any emmissions bullcrap on my car.
Did you check your initial timing timing and mechanical advance? You can tune an engine to run on either ported or mailed vacuum. In my opinion, manifold vacuum has the most benefits. My plan is to test this theory in my follow up video on the topic.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer Yeah, we tried to optimize the initial timing and the mechanical the best we could to the manifold vacuum but no matter what we couldn't get it to work right, always had problems.
I tuned my engine to run on manifold vacuum because I didn't know any better. It ran awesome and used different mechanical timing springs etc and had an adjustable vacuum canister diaphragm on a ACCEL blueprint series distributor. I made sure to check total timing too. I now run off ported because I heard I've been doing it wrong the whole time. I have not tuned my engine to run off ported vacuum and I have some pretty bad dead spots and bogging at full throttle. So I believe I can tune my engine to run off ported as well.
@@junkyyarddawg Hell, try it. I'm still new to this timing stuff so i cant tell you right from wrong, only what works for me and what doesn't. I likely don't have a setup like yours and that may be why neither me nor my grandfather could tune my engine to run off manifold vacuum. We were only able to get it to run halfway decent on manifold before switching it to ported without changing anything else, it feels better than a brand new car.
@@sebkhailer7374 yeah I'm currently running off ported on my new Demon. I just haven't tuned it or changed jets etc to see what the problem is. I just used a vacuum gauge etc and adjusted the air fuel mixture. Might be it's lean or too much fuel when the secondaries open up. Not sure but I need to put in a little time to find out. I haven't checked timing either.
I have been researching this at nauseum, And please correct me if I'm wrong. But, ultimately doesn't it really depend on the application? Racing verses street drivability and Off road applications?? For example- FOR MY APPLICATION~ I have a 454 Chevy in my CJ7. My Application is only for street driving and trails. I will never be WOT in my application. (I'd be Mach Jesus and doing wheelies if I did go WOT.) When I hooked my vacuum up to ported vac I was experiencing temp increases (195 - 210 degrees and 5.5 mpg. Traded over to manifold vacuum set initial timing ( Big blocks love timing.) and have now had roughly 300 miles worth of test driving. I live in Southeast Georgia three foot from the sun. So its hot 90 plus ambient temps. With the manifold vacuum I am running at 170 degrees. And in bumper to bumper 185 degrees with the manifold vacuum. My fuel milage has increase from 5.5 mpg to 9.5 mpg!!! I'm absolutely clueless as to the HUGE change other then the manifold vacuum change. I'm learning through trial and errors, I just have to say that manifold vacuum is working and keeping my BBC nice and cool and extremally better fuel milage, thus far. Wish I understood the complete process as to why. But, lets just say I'm grateful for the wisdom of those who dare to question and go against the flow so to speak. THANK YOU for posting this. If you have time can you elaborate on the dynamics of how and why it also effects the fuel milage? I'm a complete rookie and have so many questions.
S i have one quick question about all this, and maybe its just in my head. I commented on how my engine (sbc 350 with mild cam) seems like its better on manifold vacuum. Now my questions is this, why does it seem like its not as loud as it was on ported? Since switching over to manifold it seems like its really made the sound from the exhaust a little more quiet. I dont if thats really true or just in my head, but it seemed like it was louder when on ported.
I'm with You,and for all of them in doubt,let me give You an example: Take one stroked Jeep inline 6 284 c.i. around 300-315 hp ,raise the compression to 10.6, put a rather healthy camshaft in it and park in the middle of the sunshine on a hot summerday ,ignore the fact that the car has a radiator from a 1.8 litre Volvo engine. OK how long will the engine run before it gets boiling hot, wel without any vacuum or with ported vacuum it took 5-7 minutes after reaching operation temperature before it boiled, when I connected to manifold vacuum I could leave it running for 15-20 minutes without being so hot that it boiled. To low ignition will cause any car to go to hot, with manifold vacuum it got enough ignition advance to live to tell the story...
Less advance causes more combustion in the exhaust manifold due to an incomplete burn, raising manifold temperature. Advancing timing keeps the burn in the cylinder, increasing cylinder head temp and allowing for a more efficient burn in the cylinder, creating more power (and NOx due to higher temperatures, so not because of emissions)
Would this be true for an electric distributor? Mine is attached to a computer box on fender, behind battery. 1987 Dodge D150 RWD L6 3.7L 3687cc 225ci Automatic 1BBL 2 valve OHV Holley 6145 Electronic Feedback Carb
Depends on what the computer does I guess. My 78 F250 has a ICM connected to the distributor, and this sort of thing still applies to it. If you have one of those weird electronically controlled carburetors, it might not apply.
@thejunkyardnecromancer This computer was an ignition control module with a vacuum distributor included on one side, from an 83 Dodge D150 Slant Six. The carb had a breather with a spark control computer attached as well. The carb is a 1940-45 Holley 6145 1 BBl with electronic feedback.
On older engines w/o a/c they would have those solenoids on the throttle but they were called anti Diesel solenoids. To cut the throttle back more after you turned the motor off I had one on my 69 and it was needed. I had one go bad on me and with the idle bumped up to normal w/o the solenoid it would run on all the time until i found a working one in the junkyard. The were not available new in the early 90's
Only IF the Vacuum Advance Canister used achieves full max vacuum advance at a vacuum level slightly less than the idle manifold vacuum, should it be attached to manifold vacuum. I am not saying to use manifold or ported vacuum or not. I am saying IF on manifold, it should be a can that achieves full max vac advance at a vacuum level slightly less than idle manifold vacuum. Otherwise it can or will "hunt", imho. Peace
I’m with you on this one. I’ve had many a conversation at the cruise night that started with “you got your vacuum advance hooked up wrong”. It’s been my experience that manifold vacuum is especially best with low compression engines they really like the extra timing at idle.
I don't think compression is what matters. I have high compression motors that work better with manifold vacuum advance. It might have more to do with cam timing 🤷♂️
@@KC9UDX yeah a high commission engine with a big cam probably would work well that way. An engine with 10:1 and a mild factory cam doesn’t tend to respond the same to the timing at idle. Pretty sure it’s the cylinder pressure that’s the factor.
I've always run ported vacuum to the distributor. Once the throttle blades open past the ported vacuum ports it's exactly the same as manifold vacuum. So once the engine is off idle there is no difference. The only difference between the two is the amount of idle advance. With ported vacuum idle advance will be whatever the initial advance is. With manifold vacuum it will go to a much higher advance setting - can be as high as 50 degrees.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I did all that, but until I adjusted the vacuum can, it kept pulling the idle higher and Advance even at idle. It's a roller 302 from Blueprint. Now it is idling lower, but STILL kinda of stutters/hesitates when first revved sharply from idle. It did that on ported vacuum as well though. All subsequent revs after the initial one, it doesn't hesitate/stumble. It seems to want to idle about 750-800, and after checking the advance can after doing all of this, it was giving about 34 degrees right around 3000 rpm... On ported vacuum, I could never get the 34 degrees to go above 1950-2000 rpm. I tried raising accelerator pump cam (orange) up to position one and it still stumbled. I have a larger nozzle to drop into it, but it didn't seem to help before, so I wonder if it would anything now with the cam raised and manifold vacuum?
The weird thing when revved at idle it will hesitate but not while driving. I went for a test drive yesterday and punched the gas. It downshifted and took off without hesitation. No sputtering or anything.
I feel like you have the lean/rich faster/slower thing backwards. Your engine will ping if your mixture is too lean, it pings because it burns faster than a correct richer mixture. You might be right but I dont think your theory is correct.
Hmm... I've never heard of a lean mixture causing pinging. Only ever heard of too much advance (maybe from too much initial timing or mechanical/vacuum advances tuned incorrectly), or heat soak causing pre-ignition and pinging. Time for me to do some research!!!
Great video I see both sides of the argument personally on a street performance application I usually tune with base timing and mechanical advance usually a curve kit installed and then try vac advance both ways even mess with an adjustable vac advance there’s soo many variables in carb selection weight of car camshaft choice, plenum style of manifold that all have to be considered, the correct answer IMO is test and tune for best results.
Have you done a video explaining mechanical advance? Some of the Ford distributors I have looked at have 36 degrees of advance. I limit mechanical to 15 and use 20 initial and 10-12 vacuum on SBF.
My 1967 Mustang GT, 390, had manifold vacuum, as did my 1966 289. But my 1972 Torino, a 351, had ported on the Carib. Factory. I'd have to agree with the fact they are different is because of emission controls. If it works differently for others, I would not argue, or even care.
Hi , for me manifold vacuum helped wonders because when using ported the engine ran hot and the cooling fan could not keep up plus the engine just sounded harsh . With manifold it ran way cooler and the rad fan could overcome the radiator heat and maintain temperature plus the engine ran way smoother . I understand ported is to burn later at idle and allow a flame to lick down the exhausts burning waste fuel which heat up the heads around the ports and the exhausts . All done for a fix for emissions . Try either way and see which runs best for you .
I have a 1972 Ford F100 with a 240 Inline 6. This vehicle does not like ported vacuum no matter which way I set it up with timing, fuel, etc. She just prefers manifold. This truck also does not have any emission BS on it. The best answer is to try both and see what your vehicle responds best to. Excellent video btw, regardless of what the haters say.
First of all good video, well done, as far as Dan goes he tells people about performance when meanwhile he has the slowest car on UA-cam, he doesn't have a clue in my opinion, uncle Tony same deal he talks a good game swapping pistons around to go 13s naturally aspirated, they are always giving misinformation, so thanks for your good information
Wonder why Pontiac advised you to disconnect the distributor when setting initial timing? Always had vacuum to the distributor. Makes sense to me to have extra timing at idle and cruise speeds. Don't want it under hard acceleration.
Good explanation, and absolutely correct. I heard UT say "always ported" and was scratching my head since most of his vehicles are pre emissions. So many band-aids were invented and applied during emission/carb era and most of them, while improving tailpipe emissions, were counter productive to power, drivability and engine life.
Power IS economy!! Hot rodders have been arguing this for decades. But the fact is, squeezing the most bang out of each and every droplett of fuel is what economy and power both are all about. And FINALLY, our government has seen the light in that regard. But what did we get for all of our efforts except for higher prices of everything. Bureaucratic fat-cat pocket lining programs, fills me with an urge to defecate.
Good video. If you think about engine operation from the more modern approach where the harder the engine is working the greater the load the engine is operating at, you can draw a correlation between the timing values used in electronic fuel injection engines and on engines with dual advance distributors on manifold vs ported vacuum. This is a point I’ve covered previously in my own videos, and it’s very explainable that way. Simply put, ported is wrong for most engines, it over advanced the engine and can lead to internal damage. I had a customer with a 1937 Chevy street rod running a 383 bring his car to me for a dyno tune years ago, I made significant adjustments to the carburetor and distributor including putting the car on manifold vacuum for the distributor advance. The car picked up over 50hp from the tune, ran 25-30°F cooler, and had drastically improved drivability. Before the customer drove it, he scolded me about connecting the advance to the wrong vacuum source. He wanted to change it, I insisted he drive it first. A couple miles in, happy with the improvements in power, he remained hell bent to show me the error I had made, he stops, jumps out, moves the hose and hops back in proclaiming “you’ll see!” It ran terribly, pinging away from a stop. I’m happy to join you in confirming manifold vacuum is correct side of this discussion.
Well, the way I was taught to check timing was Step #1, ‘Disconnect vacuum advance’ so that meant manifold vacuum and the fact that the weak idle mixture NEEDS more advance than the mechanical initial timing.
You're absolutely correct... watching on a scan tool how modern engines change their timing can give us a good idea how to tune older engines, and they do all run higher advance at idle, indicating that analog distributors should run on manifold vacuum... HOWEVER... you have to keep in mind that most (if not all) vehicles from the late '60s to the early '80s were DESIGNED to run on ported vacuum operated vacuum advance, so they'll run better that way if they're still in stock configuration. I have no doubt that the hot rod you mentioned ran better on man vac, but that's because you were able to tune it to run best that way. Yes, stock engines can be tuned to run better on man vac as well, but if they haven't been professionally tuned, they should be run on ported vac the way they were intended, to get the best drivability out of them.
@@livewire2759you clearly aren’t grasping that “ported” vacuum was a shitty attempt to reduce emissions and had no performance or efficiency benefits whatsoever. Just look at what the manufacturers did to neuter engines in the early 70s in the name of “clean air”, ported vacuum was a key player in that BS. It was all trial and error, because they had no way of simulating combustion and no real understanding of how to produce reasonable power and lower emissions with mechanical/analog fuel control. Take a look at a stock 1985 Mustang GT 5.0L HO 5-speed some time. The distributor was connected to a thermal vacuum switch that used ported vacuum warm and manifold vacuum cold. The problem with ported cold was the engine didn’t have enough advance for the lean mixture when there was no heat in the engine to aid fuel in becoming a vapor. As soon as the engine warmed up, the engineers killed off the vacuum advance to slow the idle speed and limit emissions. Manifold vacuum produced higher CO and HC numbers at the slower idle speeds that were not compatible with catalysts. But that it in a nutshell, ported is an emissions technology, and offers no realized performance advantages. It can and does however provide timing later than needed and can put the engine into knock if you aren’t running EGR or your carburetor is not calibrated properly. It is also not compatible with higher compression combinations using larger cams which is why so many people simply switch to a mechanical advance only system, attempting to run ported advance doesn’t work on the more aggressive combinations, however, manifold vacuum does when applied correctly and can be a huge benefit to idle stability and operating temperature.
@@TheGT350Garage "You clearly aren’t grasping that “ported” vacuum was a shitty attempt to reduce emissions..." Ok, if you want to be that way, I can be a jerk as well... You "clearly aren't grasping" why vacuum advance was invented in the first place. You clearly aren't grasping that it's not a power adder or performance device. You clearly aren't aware that it's sole intention was to RETARD timing under part throttle to heavy throttle acceleration in order to help reduce or eliminate knocking. You don't seem to understand that they retarded the base timing on those engines to make up for the advance caused by using manifold vacuum at idle. You also don't seem to be aware that the reason why they used manifold vacuum for this up through the mid '60s is simply because nobody had come up with the concept of "ported" vacuum yet... they didn't need to because manifold vacuum worked "well enough". That doesn't mean that has always been ideal. Yes, the concept of ported vacuum came from attempts to reduce emissions at idle, and it works to do exactly that... when the engine is warm. You seem to be ignoring the fact that man vac/port vac makes no difference when a carbureted engine is cold because they run on a fast idle when they're cold... that's right, while warming up the throttle is open to the ported vacuum port which, if connected, sends vacuum (the exact same amount of vacuum that a manifold port would send) to the vacuum advance, advancing the timing at "idle" during the warm up cycle. Again, if you watch data on a scan tool, you'll see that modern engines do this same basic thing... increasing idle speed and advancing timing until the engine is warm. Now, most of all, what you don't seem to be grasping, is that when car makers started using ported vacuum to run the vacuum advance, they also re-tuned and re-engineered some things. These things included using different weights and springs to tune the mechanical advance to work better with the ported vacuum advance, as well as changing the vacuum pots themselves to work better with ported vacuum. Not only did they start recommending more advance for base timing to make up for the lack of vacuum advance at idle when using ported vacuum, most manufacturers used some sort of restricting orifice in the vacuum advance system to optimise it for use with ported vacuum to eliminate the problems with suddenly going from no advance at idle to near full advance at off-idle. When they did this, they found a happy surprise that they could actually get better throttle response from closed throttle to off-idle than the old manifold vacuum operated systems did. This is why, when you just switch one of these emissions era engines from ported vacuum to manifold without making any other changes, they tend to stumble or have a "flat spot" just off idle. Yes, you can tune that out, but if those orifices are still there, you still won't get ideal performance without changing parts. This is also why those mustangs you mentioned used a system of switching between manifold vacuum and ported vacuum. Chrysler used a similar idea in their thermoquad carbs where they connected ported vacuum and manifold vacuum together inside the carburetor with a very small orifice between the two... essentially using both to operate the vacuum advance. "It is also not compatible with higher compression combinations using larger cams..." That's an interesting point. The only difference between ported vacuum and manifold vacuum is at idle where man vac will be full vacuum and ported vac will be near 0. Just off idle, the ported vacuum port is uncovered and at that point it will always be exactly the same as manifold vacuum. If you don't believe me, get two vacuum gauges, hook one to man, the other to port, with long enough hoses to be able to read them from the driver's seat, then drive the car and see what they do. Under load (which wasn't demonstrated in this video) they equalize at off-idle and drop off at the exact same rate while opening the throttle. So, considering that big cams with lots of overlap naturally run low manifold vacuum at idle, how could running manifold vacuum be any different than just running ported vacuum with the base timing increased? Sure, manifold vacuum may be the best choice in high performance applications where drivability isn't much of a concern, but for cruisers and daily drivers, you'll find that using ported vacuum with a proper corresponding tune will provide better drivability performance. In conclusion, I'm not saying that you should NEVER use manifold vacuum, and I'm not saying that you should ALWAYS use ported vacuum. I'm saying that it depends on what engine you have, what parts you have, and how you're going to be driving the car. Using blanket statements like "never" and "always" is a dead giveaway that a person probably isn't as much of an "expert" as they think they are.
Here's my $.02, take it or leave it. If your car was designed with manifold vacuum, run manifold. If the engine came with ported, run ported. There's dozens of vacuum advance canisters and they are specific for the engine and the cam and distributor. I've got one that maxed the timing at 7 in. of vacuum, another at 15 in. of vacuum. I currently run one that maxed out at 14 in. vacuum. Also I ran my car at 70 mph, in 5th gear, cruising, guess what, the ported and the manifold vacuum were the same. You stomp the pedal to the floor, and we know the vacuum is the same. There's more to it than switching the tubing between ported and manifold, it's the combo. We've all heard that before. I changed the vacuum source from ported to manifold, it ran worse, sluggish. I suspect if I had a vacuum advance designed for manifold vacuum, or changed the timing, it would have ran fine.
Question: I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty with 3.7, there is no "distributor", that is it has electronic distributor. Everything is "fixed" due to emissions, do we have ported or manifold ??? In the mid 1960's we all had manifold vacuum "road draft tube" and no PVC valve, in 1968 plus -+, we have ported vacuum with PVC and ERG valve, good, bad or indifferent. The fact is everything runs great with emissions safe.
At wide open throttle, your vacuum signal goes to zero or nearly zero, which in turn does not add any advance from the vacuum advance canister. This is true with ported and manifold vacuum. That is why a distributor also has mechanical advance weights that compensate for higher engine rpm.
for those that commented it's the build of the engine, it's not the build of the engine, it's the vac canister. going from port to manifold vacuum requires a different vac canister make sure your vacuum adv canister is all in at idle or your idle will be erratic since vacuum is just a touch bouncey and gets more so with performance engines. it takes some research to get the right canister that is full adv at idle and doesn't have too much advance. you will exceed what is called total advance (initial + mechanical) don't lower your initial advance and when you reconnect your canister after tuning you will need to bring the idle down (close throttle plate) which will help if you have run on or diesel when you shut off engine. also, this topic is why many hot rods overheat in traffic. BTW utg thinks manifold vac drops the timing below initial and he thinks ""why would you want to drop timing when you take off from a stop?" so he evidently sets timing with the canister connected. which defeats the purpose. but i used to think the same way.
Ported = better idle. Manifold = bad idle. Tried a thousand different ways, always the same result. You don't want the advance coming into play at idle.
The ONLY real answer is-- It depends or your particular setup. Some cars, especially hot rods with big cams want ported vacuum. Stock build classics want manifold vacuum. MOST of the time. Again... it depends on your build and your timing curve. Thank you, and Good Night!
You don’t know how the system works! Buy the book PERFORMANCE IGNITIONS written by Dr Christopher Jacobs and get up to speed! Quit spewing BS! Dr Christopher Jacobs was the premiere ignition expert and consulted to many NHRA and NASCAR teams and built his own ignition company that MSD bought out because they couldn’t compete with him. That’s after he made his fortune developing electronic devices for the medical community and making millions on his patents..... You, uncle tony and thunderhead289 don’t have his credentials....
Yes. The initial timing will be different in both configurations as well as the mechanical advance curve of the distributor. It's still important to set initial timing with the vacuum advance disconnected. I plan on explaining this in my follow up video. So stay tuned!
One very important thing I think you may consider is deceleration. Deceleration (at least in my experience with a manual transmission) is usually much richer than idle, light throttle, or wide open. I spend a lot of my time decelerating down winding roads than I ever do idling. So having super high vacuum and possibly at times fast piston speed with a rich mixture may not be ideal, but that's also under low cylinder pressure so maybe it doesn't matter. Compression ratio is a important factor. Piston speed is another. If set base timing at 14 degrees then add all of my vacuum advance is that too much timing for my piston speed? In my experience yes, so then i adjust my vacuum advance ratio down which could hurt part throttle performance. I think it's very important to try both of them out yourself and for each car.
@@thejunkyardnecromancerSir, i commend you, and offer congratulation of your mind being open. And your willingness to do your homework cannot be left out!
Sorry but that is wrong. my Nova, 327, idles just fine at 28 degrees with the manifold vacuum. Also cranks much better than when i didn't no better and was running ported.
Heard from Jeff Schlemmer at Advanced Distributors, who specializes in old British Car Distributors, that the manifold vs ported choice usually involves displacement of the engine. His advice was under ~500 Cubic inches engines typically respond better to ported, over 500 manifold. David Vizard (author of a plethora of auto tech books, more recently chevy small and big blocks, holley carbs, etc.) says manifold. Take that as you will.
Both work great when setup properly in the correct scenario. The vac advance cannister has i spring and 'x' diaphragm surface area so you are working with Vac versus spring force. If you dont have an adjustable vacuum advance diaphragm and you modifthe engine resulting in an intake vac reading that is 'just' holding the cassister at full advance at idle and then you engage the transmission and lose some vac, the idle timing drops, rpm drops, vacuum drops and around you go again, a low crappy unstable idle is the result, so you either use an adjustable vac cannister OR(or just do this anyhow) connect the vac advance to a steady ported vac source! Now you control your initial timing, then you set your mechanical curve to suit your combo and the load parameters is sees for WOT scenarios, then you set your vacuum advance rate to add timing when at light throttle cruise to aid fuel economy. If you engine runs too hot at idle due to low timing then its not a manifold V ported debate, its an initial base timing and poor overall tune debate. Many cars before the emissions era had ported vac advance. Many cars in the emissions era run a combination or ported and intake vac advance or just one of either. The fast idle solenoid on your non A/c f100 is your setting for normal(aka fast) idle speed, you set this to the operating temp idle speed you desire. The idle speed screw is your base idle, this is far lower than normal idle speed, it closes down most of and in some cases on some vehicles all of the idle and transfer fuel when ignition is turned off and assists in supressing engine run on/dieseling. A cool experiment you can do for you interest and learning is to map your intake vac setting as compared to how much advance your cannister adds. Now hook up a vac gauge to both ported and intake vac. Set up as you have now go driving and video the vac gauges, now from base timing you can map your actual timing curve(great to log throttle position if you can also), now using this(and assuming you like the way your engine runs) set up ported vacuum and now drive and using your timing map, reset everything to give you the exact same timing curve as you had. Now observe the differences!! None! We are all right if we set everything up correctly and we are all wrong if we make one change and base the results on a good setup tune versus a poor setup tune. 👍
@@thejunkyardnecromancer excellent. Please dont do the typical in this case and leave the mechanal curves and static timing the same and simply switch vacuum pickup locations. Be sure to do a complete tune swap, vac pickup, static amd mechanical curve changes. This is the only way to properly asses what works for your combo. Check you vac cannister to see if its adjusable, even many factory ones are. Lastly, here's the pinch. Factory vac cannisters that were designed specifically for either simgle use ported OR intake vac usually had a different ammount of advance they can add and had different spring rates in the diaphragm. Just this fact makes this comparison more of a difficulty to do properly. Many factory vac cannisters also had different ammounts of additional advance and different spring rates dependent on vehicle use/expected loading, compression ratio/options, transmission type etc. So the same engine can have many variables and you will get differing skewed results if you dont have the correct component match. Also on another point, remember the factory has so many parameters to allow for, they need to make something reliable that operates within a multitude of driving scenarios and often fuel qualities that are totally out of their control and in most cases have an emissions target aswell. Tuning for your specific application is not what any factory was trying to do. Will your tune do everything the factory setup can do across every scenario? If tuned for best output simply no. Please also show everyone an emissions report simply for interest sake with each tune setup. And remember, at the end of the day you are still not winning a right/wrong battle here. All you will achieve is showing people that 'with this particular combination or parts and driving scenarios' which setup you were able to get working to the point you liked best. Unless you are going to do a "factory type and budget R&D program" on this topic you, or any of us are not proving anything at all. Yet the basic info will hopefully be handy to someone at sometime. 👍
@@thejunkyardnecromancer re the emissions report yes if you dont have the facility nearby it will be difficult, at the minimum do a good 1000miles with each setup perfected for your scenario and keep a fuel economy record. Of course this does not show true 'emissions as per a specific standard' but is a good measure of efficiency V your vehicle usage. 👍
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I figured you didn't have the experience in this area. learnings and experience are 2 different things. Good luck in your testing, you goona notice a big difference between the setups.
Yes and no. When I was saying lean/rich, what I really meant was more dense vs less dense charge in the combustion chamber. Your lean/rich afr can be tuned in the carb with the idle mixture screws and jetting.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer thanks for explaining that man I’m by no means an expert on this and wasn’t questioning you , I more so just missed a step in the explanation. Thank you brother
Running manifold vacuum myself and it being perfect for my setup, I can totally see in certain situations that ported vacuum would be better. So it's definitely horses for courses in my opinion. The one thing I personally aim for is the leanest possible idle at factory spec rpm. Lean doesn't concern me at idle as the engine isn't under load. So in this way my fuel economy improves. Manifold vacuum allows me to lean out my idle and set factory initial timing (while not connected to vacuum advance). At first, it is a roughish idle and sits around 700 / 750 rpm. Then once I reconnect my advance canister to manifold vacuum, the rpm picks up to the factory 800, ads advance timing and smooths out the idle. If I had set ported it in this scenario, the only way I could get a smooth idle, would be to mechanically advance my initial timing, and this then puts my engine at risk when RPM increases and total timing kicks in. Let's say someone is aiming for a 14.7:1 AFR at idle, and has a certain jet size. Any advance at idle may not allow them to get a factory idle rpm, it may run it too high. So it's not the case that one is better, rather different use case scenarios.
You are correct, ported vacuum advance was designed to meet emissions requirements, and vacuum advance addresses the fact that the lower the cylinder pressure is, the earlier you tend to want to ignite that spark plug UTG and Thunderhead 289 are also (almost) correct - the carbs will often work better with ported vacuum IN A VERY MILD ENGINE Here's the rub: where is the idle transfer slot below your Venturi? Where does your idle circuit roll off (affected by the position of the transfer slot, how open the throttle blades are at cruise), and where does the primary booster start getting enough signal to start drawing fuel (affected by the design of the booster itself, the air bleed, and the emulsion tube)? Some carburetors can tend to have a little lean spot in the transition between part throttle cruise (where the engine is running off that transfer slot) and when the main circuit actuates A vacuum advance pulling off of direct manifold vacuum is beginning to lose a little bit of advance here, but this is the point where ported spark advance will still be coming on strong Masking the feeling of that slight lean area The real fix, as I see it, is to do something about that lean spot Not crutch it with ported spark advance
They were also an anti-diesel solenoid on a quadra jet they use those to set the idle speed so when you shut the vehicle off it would close the throttle blades all the way and wouldn't diesel or run on I have one on my truck I use the set the fast idle speed for when I have the AC on
Early emission systems ran both the EGR and vacuum advance off of ported vacuum after warm up. To marginally compensate for the reduced output of these low compression emission choked engines they could run slightly more initial advance and have more aggressive centrifugal advance since the EGR cooled the charge and reduced detonation. I believe ported vacuum was used to coordinate the application of EGR and vacuum advance to mask drivability issues at light throttle and reduce detonation at throttle tip in. Of course once engines of this vintage started wearing (30k miles or so) the EGR could be disconnected, the advance moved to manifold vacuum to significantly improve drivability for the next 30k miles until the carb started malfunctioning, the air pump seized or oil became part of the combustion mixture...
@@michaelgreer8659 there are some advance canisters that retreats timing. Ford used them for awhile. They had two vacuum nipples. But most normal vacuum canisters advance timing BTDC under a load.
Not agreeing or disagreeing , but the egr open at idle kills the engine , and runs poorly . I can see the argument for the distributor, but not the egr.
? Ported EGR goes through a Thermo-Valve. Manifold for Distributor Advance. I don't think he's referring to Multiple Port Vacuum Advance Distributors/Systems. Look at the Timing Curve Specs. Base Timing, Timing at Idle. Then Timing at Designated Position for the RPM. Ported will have no advance at idle. Not a Good Thing. Thermo-Valve for the EGR. EGR applied when Cold will stall the Engine. Ported to EGR. EGR applied at Idle will stall the Engine.
E.G.R. valves have always been electric over vacuum controlled. coolant temperature controlled "ported" vaccum was for the pre-heat tube to air cleaner basket, to prevent venturi icing, but that was early on. Anytime you open the EGR valve to an engine running at any RPM, it makes it shake like a dog shittin' a peach seed, if it don't kill it. Which is why exhaust gas recirculation is controlled with a pulse width modulated solenoid. All EGR is anyway is a fancy way of saying internal vacuum leak!
I'm new to all of this and am now...thoroughly confused. I absolutely enjoyed this and other videos. I also very much enjoyed the good natured bantering in the comments. What a fun way to spend a Friday evening!
The problem with hooking to manifold is on downhill runs when the throttle is closed. The advance can be so far advanced that the engine misses going downhill.
I will think about it and see if I can come up with something. In my mind I'm seeing two vac gauges, a valve to switch between sources, a tachometer, a timing light with advance dial, a temp gauge, an infrared thermomter to read exhaust manifold temp and a throttle adjusting tool. I will try and work out base line parameters and the varibles that would give you a way of determining changes.
@@thejunkyardnecromancerafr gauge? Or tailpipe five gas analyzer from the emissions testing center. My 1985 Mustang GT used both Manifold and ported vacuum to the distributor By using a thermal vacuum switch it used manifold vacuum at cold start. According to the Factory Ford manuals, This helped facilitate a complete burn with the choke plates closed (richer) and caused a natural higher idle with less throttle blade angle after the carb came off of the fast idle step of the choke until fully warm. Once the engine warmed up the thermal switch changed over to ported vacuum Like mentioned by an earlier commenter, it is a complete tuning theory as the EGR was also on the ported thermal switch and didn’t come on line until the engine reached full operating temperature because EGR actually cools combustion. So the idea is fast temperature rise to operating temperature then control combustion temperatures to reduce NOX. This was a 9.2:1 engine with a relatively small cam Now my 11.5:1 347 motor with 248/256 duration cam likes 18* initial for start up and loves 25* 30* manifold vacuum. We all watch the same channels and to some degree (they) are quoting facts David Vizard has a video on Manifold vs Ported that also has a lot of theory in it. He fell on the side of Manifold vacuum Again it changed at the same time engines changed. 1960-1970 good compression, good octane, no EGR, no converters Manifold vac 1975-1985 low compression, changing fuels, EGR, converters Ported Vacuum
Niether way is strictly right or wrong. It depends on what is best for the application. I'm glad that carburetor manufacturers include both sources. My experience is that a manual transmission equipped vehicle often prefers manifold vacuum but I usually prefer ported vacuum for automatic transmissions. When putting an automatic in gear the drag of the torque converter reduces the manifold vacuum and retards the timing usually deteriorating idle quality on a modified engine. If you modify the mechanical advance curve to provide the additional initial timing that that using the manifold vacuum source does then your timing will not retard when dropped into gear AND most engines will respond best with a generous amount of low engine speed timing that will drop out when the throttle is opened in a manifold vacuum sourced example. With a manual transmission equipped vehicle a manifold vacuum source for the vacuum advance can make accelerating from a stop much smoother. The mechanical advance initial timing setting that worked well with the automatic trans will idle great but when engaging the clutch to accelerate may gas ping. These are only two examples. In the end it depends on the characteristics of the engine and vehicle and the parts being used such as the actual vacuum can itself. Either way can be used satisfactorily but I'm mostly concerned with getting the mechanical advance how I want it and then enhancing it with a bit of vacuum advance, so I am usually biased towards the ported vacuum source.
Have run it both ways, and it's noticebaly better on ported for my car. I'd advise anyone to try it both ways on their vehicle and just choose the one that seems to work best.
Yep!
Agreed,mine runs like a dog on manifold and awesome on ported
@@whiteboyfromernulfor your vacuum advance to work it has to be vacuumed open with throttle. At idol you don't have vacuum advance if you're using a ported vacuum. With a ported vacuum you get advanced timing when you give it throttle. With a manifold vacuum you have already advanced your timing all the way so when you give it throttle it's slower to get speed then if you use a ported vacuum.
Probably have a stock engine. Or already enough initial
more than likely you are tuned rich at idle/part which would explain why it does.
As a 50 year auto tune up and diagnostic specialist I disagree with you. Manifold vaccuum at idle will cause many engines to misfire causing unburned fuel to go out the tail pipe. I have had to reroute some cars to ported because the idled so badly. What you are missing is the fact that purpose behind vaccuum advance from ported is that it is there to provide the extra advance at cruise to improve fuel economy under light loads. As loads increase and you open the throttle more the amount of advance decreases in proportion to the load to prevent detonation. If you want to see the increased emmissions from manifold advance you need to use a four gas analyser. Yes emission requirements did help to el;eiminate manifold vaccuum, but saying this is wrong is like saying the PCV system is inferior to the draft tube that used come off the intake manifold and dump all the crankcase fumes directly into the atmosphere. You might also believe that the EGR system is bad when what it does is control combustion temperatue to prevent NOX production and has zero effect on performance or mileage. I have actually seen burnt pistons and valves because some car owner stuck a ball bearing in the EGR hose and created detonation and too hot of combustion gases going out the exhaust valve. In the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s it was thought the smog was caused by hydrocarbons and some of the crazy things they did such as 18:1 AFR was actually creating more smog and it took them many years to finally realize that photo smog was caused by oxides of nitrogen. Nitrogen is normally inert and does not combine with other gases except in the enclosed combustion chamber with high heat of combustion and the even higher heat of too lean a mixture. The 14.7 to 0ne ratio we see today at idle and cruise was found to produce the lowest emmisions of HC, CO2, CO, and NOX. tipping leaner causes an increase in NOX as well as HC from misfires. Going richer causes an increase of CO and CO2, the increased CO because of insufficient oxygen to completly form CO2. Back to ported vs manifold in relation to performance, at wide open throttle the are both zero and your power comes from your mechanical advance curve and total timing, vaccuum advance is completly out of the picture. if you want to dive deeper into the history behind the emission history and reasoning, one of my favorite automotive technical authors is William H. Crouse. He wrote many text books in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s dealing with engine tuning, emissions, tune up and electrical. Much of my training on all this was thru Sun Electric and Allen Test products for whom I also did training for on diagnostics and the use oscilliscopes and gas analysers in the 1980s.
I'll see if I can find those text books! I understand that ported vacuum is the same as manifold vacuum except at idle. My argument is that you need that extra advance at idle. I'm going to do a follow up and test both ways. I'm willing to be wrong, but I'm going to put it to the test.
Is for trying to educate theese youngsters. He just doesn't understand the original design.
@@thejunkyardnecromanceryou ask about ported and manifold vacuum being the same except at idle. Thunder289 actually has a video showing this correlation. No one has yet described why! High vacuum means lower cylinder pressure slower burn. This means more ignition advance to have the main burn at the correct degrees just after TDC to get the most power. Open the throttle plates and the mixture goes rich as well as cylinder pressure goes way up. Going rich and high cylinder pressure means faster burn. Fast burn means you need later timing to keep the burn at the correct degrees just after TDC for max power. If you advance the timing at this point you risk pinging and poor performance, burn hits before TDC. Ported vacuum does exactly that, advances timing. Manifold vacuum retards timing at this point preventing pinging and deliver max power. It can take some time to get the mechanical advance in sync with vacuum advance for the most power, best fuel economy and best tune. Of course you can detune, richen up the idle, set your mechanical timing at idle for best idle and use ported vacuum.
@@thejunkyardnecromancerported vacuum goes up as throttle opens, manifold vacuum goes down as throttle opens.
@@roberta.6399 no. Ported vacuum and manifold vacuum are identical when you open the throttle. I have a short demonstration this, and TH289 has also demonstrated this in the past. The only difference is when the throttle is closed.
Yeah no offense but i think there is a good learning opportunity here and ill lay it on ...
The lean rich thing is a fat misnomer thats been perpetuated on the internet forever, it plays in maybe 5 percent - the biggest factor is throttle position, this is why vacuum advance is dependant on engine load NOT afr.
Light throttle, lower cylinder pressure, longer flame propogation time due to less dense charge (charge volume vs cylinder volume), needs more advance to fully ignite the mixture at the right time. High load is the exact opposite.
Ever heard of "boost retard" where we pull timing due to cylinder psi? Same concept.
Its presented as rich vs lean because thats easy to understand - turn your mix screws to 11:1 afr at idle vs 14:1, timing largely doesnt care. It plays in maybe 5 percent.
Heres why ported vacuum shines (again as you show, its the same as manifold except at idle) - got a mild cam blipping the vacuum advance threshold at idle? Now you have variable timing at idle, hanging rpm, overall not good.
Take an aftermarket hei - they all have 15 degrees of mechanical advance roughly, and 15 degrees of available vacuum advance.
Okay, so cool we set it at 8 degrees initial. We add the 15 manifold at idle, cool we have 22-23, not bad.
BUT WAIT, now we stand on the gas - our timing drops too low because we biased it low to accomodate manifold vacuum, and we now only have 22-23 degrees of total timing at high load. We just left a PHAT amount of power on the table.
Better off running ported, running 15-18 degrees of mechanical advance which gives you good cruising advance and good total timing.
This is but one of many examples i have as to why you shouldnt run manifold advance.
Ported timing IS NOT about the vacuum advance - the advantage lies in what it allows you to do with your mechanical timing.
Thunderhead289 - engineer
this ends the entire discussion. but its a great clickbait video
You are right. I described the mixture density as lean and rich when I should have used less dense and more dense. I'm going to put this all to the test in my follow up! I'd love to pick your brain on your tuning methods at some point so I don't misrepresent them in the follow up.
Well well well 😂
This sounds extremely similar to a video SOMEONE made as a response to yours dosnt it Junkyard 😏
ua-cam.com/video/wfzXmBKkxVQ/v-deo.html
Me and Junkyard have been going back and forth on this topic lol, we are good buds though 😁
@@newguysgarage6802 I'll prove you wrong! Although, I will be the bigger man and admit if I prove myself wrong. XD
@thejunkyardnecromancer I'm not here to fight back and forth with like minded folks, but you can't post a video with a thumbnail of my or uncle Tony's face stating we're wrong without one of us rolling in 🙂
There are so many different engine combos that I dont think there is one answer to all. It all depends on the combo and how your distributor is curved. Cammed vs stock, heavy vs light, auto vs manual, cruise rpm and gearing. You have to optimize for any given combo and give your engine the timing it wants. One thing to keep in mind is that the vacuum advance is for fuel economy at cruise and it should be tuned for that purpose. Use an adjustable vac adv can. At a cruise, the optimal timing can be 40+ degrees btdc. Also, there is a gap between initial advance and mechanical advance and the vacuum advance fills in the gap. The initial timing and how the vacuum and mechanical advance fill in that gap will affect acceleration and response. Another note on heavy vehicles with tight torque converters is that when using manifold vac you have to run a lower initial timing to idle in gear. If you have a stock distributor with a lazy mech adv, WOT acceleration off the line might suffer due to the gap between intitial and mech adv when the vac adv drops out at wot. There can be cases made for either or. Cheers
I was gonna comment, but i saw your reply, and i cudnt agree more, it all depends on the specifix combo your workin with, my shop uses ported for most apps, but we HAVE used manifold in a few cases......all depends on combo.....nicely written comment!!!
@timothyarnott3584 Ya ported works good. Having a tunable pot is good to dial it in. Best thing is to figure out what your engine wants for timing under different operating conditions and dial it in for your specific combo 👍
Yes Good points also. Each Engine (Cam, Exhaust, carb Condition,Driving Style) Makes so Either Hose Placement has a 1-Only True Rule, Trial On error testing For Each Driver is What it takes
I ran my 318 on manifold vacuum for a while, throttle response was TERRIBLE. Switched it to ported vacuum and it’s like driving a different truck. That’s just my experience…
Very interesting
Your distributor probably didn't have enough mechanical advance or a lazy mechanical advance curve so the ported advance helped fill in the gap off idle til your mech adv kicked in 👍
@@MarcBchannelyeah you’re probably right. It’s an 80’s “smog” distributor…. I really should get one with a more aggressive mechanical advance but what I have is working so I haven’t spent the money yet.
Yeah I had the same issue you did. Same engine even! I hooked the vacuum to the carb, and it was mint!
Same here. 73 318. Vacuum advance connected to manifold vacuum and it ran terrible. This may work for some vehicles but not mine.
It really depends on how your distributors engineered
Its simply a difference in how the engine tune is set up. Both can work exactly the same depending on how your initial timing is set and your advance curves.
You can definitely time your engine to run on either one, but I would argue manifold vacuum is the better option.
Your almost right in the money, just one key difference though.
When you hit the gas with manifold vaccum it takes timing away
When you hit the gas with ported it will add timing
So if you want to run 22° initial advice, with manifold when you punch it it will drop the timing down when you need it the most
If you run 22° initial machanical, then when you punch it it will add timing or keep it the same at WOT so you can keep your timing giving you the grunt you need off the line 😉
@@newguysgarage6802 I explained that exact thing in the video. When you punch it, you actually don't need as much timing as you think!
@@newguysgarage6802Revving an engine in neutral isnt even remotely the same as an engine under load. An engine under load make very little vacuum and at wide open throttle there is no vacuum. Ported vacuum is nothing but manifold vacuum that is switched through the throttle blades, once you are off idle, the ported and manifold are the same. And guess what happens if you are running low initial with your vacuum advance hooked to manifold? All that timing that was pulled in at idle manifold vacuum instantly disappears. As I said, it is simply a difference in the way the engine is tuned.
@@richardbeals1403 I think you would bennefit by honing your comprehension skills.
Dont just ignore the facts. Maybe watch the video again. Try to understand what he's saying.
I struggled with this unit I did a deep dive and learned how to recurve my distributor and truly understand its function. Your video lays it out and is easy to understand. Before I had always ran ported vacuum. Now its manifold, idles cleaner and lower temps on hot days
You are absolutely right. and quite easy to prove (not now). and think about why the car makers would choose a worse alternative when everything was allowed. the difference is only around idle( smal throttle opening). and when the ported vacuum is open, the difference ends. and what is the most powerful idle ignition. try increasing and decreasing the ignition at idle. so you get different idle speeds, the highest speed is the most efficient (most hp). then the expansion has taken place at the best position in relation to where the piston is located. exactly the same as when you have wot ,so it likes a certain ignition. and then the vacumcanister has no meaning because it does nothing then.
I experimented with both on my truck being a non emissions motor from the factory and found my truck seemed happier with manifold
Since you experimented with both, what was your experience with each as far as throttle response and driveability?
@@thejunkyardnecromancer On ported vacuum it ran a lower idle speed and you could feel it pull into the advance more, but seemed to require a little more throttle to get goin, whereas on manifold it felt more driveable using slightly less throttle for the same results. This is a bone stock 350 with 2.02/1.71 valves. It very rarely hits 200 degrees and while towing up the pass over 90 only ever hit 210 maintaining 55mph at 2800 rpm. it is easier getting over hills as well. I do need a different carb as the 600 is choking it out a bit, but otherwise drives perfectly fine. The old timer that owned it had it on manifold and he's been around the block more than I have so I trust his judgment on the matter more than what standard is
This old man has his eyes opened up to something so obvious now to me as I started wrenching in early sixties and yes we use the manifold for our vacuum advance. As time went by, I fell into the carb theory also but had troubles tuning out for max power and good throttle response. I am too crippled up to go play now on engines but I do see the argument for both sides... I see it as a idle jets problem and how much power with right or wrong jets making a ton of difference. I there for think maybe think if your not getting what you like or feel out of a engine, try the other for best running performance because of engine designs and if its fuel injected or carbureted.
Definitely! I think hotroding and building old vehicles requires some experimentation to find the right combo for you!
I have a 327 sbc I use manifold vacuum because it idle better and starts easier when cold and better throttle response I am running 11 to 1 compression and 480 lift cam it’s a blast in my Square body
You got it spot on son.. best economy at part throttle cruising
. Thumbs up.. listen to David Vizard and Andy Wood on this subject.. Heads Up!
you are absolutely right. I was working on a 1972 F600 2 weeks ago. the owner had the V advance on the ported vacuum port. ( after market holley 500 2 barrel) It was not running good at all. I Moved the line to the Manifold port. verified the timing and idle. he says its never ran better.
Bought a 1979 Bronco with a 460 and a Holley 670 Truck Avenger hooked to ported vacuum. I put a Holley 750 Street HP and ran it to manifold vacuum. Night and day difference.
I have tuned the timing, power valve, Jets, air bleeds, etc. Just runs way better on manifold vacuum. Runs better at idle, part throttle, cruise, wide open throttle, everywhere.
Ported vacuum is for emissions period.
I agree with you 100%. I have watched those other channels and have alway disagreed with them on ported vacuum. The answer is simple under light load which is a lean condition you want more advance, how do you get that, manifold vacuum. Under heavy or more load you want less advance, how do you get that, manifold vacuum. The RPM part of the equation is taken care of by the mechanical advance and at that time if the load is enough the vacuum advance is no longer part of the equation. You are right on with your thought process. Good job.
Exactly! Thanks!
You're right about the manifold vacuum but wrong about the solenoid throttle advance, it's used to compensate for the drag of an A/C compressor cutting in.
On some engine it was to prevent "run on" when the ignition was turned off.
Your explanation you gave was thorough and well laid out. The one thing I have found is that the most consistent manifold vacuum signature is created at the base of the carb on the primary side of the carb. Your vacuum is more consistent and progressive there than if you pull it from behind the carb on ford's (typically) and in front of the carb on chevy/Mopar. Again were talking "classic " engines, not new gen's. If you were to use a digital Guage so that you could attach a data logger you would see there is less of a vacuum "lag" and it would provide a much more consistent rate of vacuum sweep at the carb base, primary side.
That is very interesting. It would be an interesting experiment to track the signal from the two different sides to see the difference.
Thunderhead289 agrees with you. His Carb Cheater (Very Cool) instructions recommend similar idea.
Best explanation Ive heard! I was on ported for years, I switched to manifold last week, and the engine (sbc350) runs alot better. I have a mild cam, and it helped with the idle speed from dropping too much when I would put in gear, also runs about 10 degrees cooler, my garage dont smell as gassy as before, and starts easier. So try both then pick, but the extra timing from manifold at idle makes sense to me.
Well I watched to see how many fallacies you had in this. ALOT. You are 180 wrong and using logic errors to explain it. First, you are confusing load with lean and rich correlation. You are ignoring cylinder pressure, and you are ignoring that there is more than one type of port vacuum, in addition to manifold vacuum. Your model of what is happening is so woefully simplistic it is invalid. Cylinder pressure has dramatically more effect on flame front then rich/lean, and one reason EGR is used because in theory it is very close to an inert gas that takes up space without affecting AFR. Tuning modern fuel injection, the major inputs into the equation is engine speed and load for spark timing. I suggest you plug in two vacuum gauges, and go for a drive to see what really is happening on those two types of vacuum signals, because no load running is nearly irrelevant in the big picture. If you are on the correct port vacuum, you will have a clearer understanding why part throttle light load generates proper timing advance for much more fuel efficiency and much less pollution.
Yup. I noticed that as well.
As for idle I usually use ported.
It makes a more throaty low idle without the manifold advance.
And as many pointed out... as soon as you barely crack the throttle blades the ported connection has the same vacuum as manifold.
The blades just block the ported connection at idle stop.
Pull the hose and set your base advance... engine performance is exactly the same no matter which port you use.
Only idle is altered.
@@PsalmFourteenOneno engine performance isn’t exactly the same! Most vehicles with a distributor will have a stumble and possibly be hard to start when vacuum advance is hooked to manifold vacuum! Fixed many vehicles over the years that had those issues!
Thank you , you saved me quite a bit of typing
Yes sir, efficiency goes hand in hand with pollution.
Wow, you completely forget the initial timing event and how radical advancing timing with manifold vacuum and the effects on idle and detonation.
In theory you get the same results with cylinder pressure on either port. Nice try young man but the ported vacuum for advance is correct on most applications in that era..
So one quick question, how should I tune up? should I time it at 30 degrees when Idle while connected to manifold vacuum while in Idle? so that when WOT it will less advance to 10?
It's going to be different for each engine, and there are different opinions on tuning method. Personally, I start by tuning my mechanical advance to what the engine likes. This requires a lot of driving and tinkering. After I have that dialed in as best I can, I move on to tuning the vacuum advance to compliment the mechanical advance curve.
So it seems that manifold vacuum is better if you have your initial timing set by physically advancing or retarding the distributor for best idle. Just don't forget to add the amount of distributor advance at idle to avoid detonation when vacuum advance reaches maximum advance. Ported vacuum seems to work best if you have the distributor properly calibrated for when manifold vacuum starts to drop. You can manually retard initial idle timing as necessary to prevent detonation.
I normally connect carb to ported vacuum, accelerate the engine to 3k rpm, manually advance the distributor until engine starts to miss, and then back off 4 degrees at the distributor and lock it down. Full distributor advance is normally in by 3k rpm in production vehicles. You can also check with the vacuum gage at what rpm vacuum starts to go down and adjust the numbers accordingly. Never had any trouble with detonation or sputtering during acceleration on any of my vehicles using this method and they smoothly accelerate to full power.
What about your initial timing? If it's manifold vacuum vs ported wouldn't you have to re adjust the initial timing if you switch from one to other?
Not only your initial advance, but your mechanical advance curve as well.
Yes. That’s the mistake I keep seeing people in the comments not understand. You can’t just switch the vacuum hose from one port to the other without adjusting everything else
Manifold vacuum allows better control of advance at low rpms.
When you stomp the throttle you lose vacume until rpms come up.
When that happens it retards the timing until the rpms come up to prevent spark knock.
Absolutely perfect explanation!! Subscribed!!
...and for that reason alone your engine can have a stumble that connecting to ported vacuum will fix.
So I have a stumble at 45mph.
351w
HEI dizzy
Manifold vacuum connected
2bbl Holley
Stock internals
If I pull the vacuum advance line and plug it,
It runs better?
I wanted to connect it to ported vacuum but after watching this maybe my timing is off ?
How does vacuum retard timing? don't it pull to advance but does not push to retard? hmmmmmm Glad I got mechanical advance MSD dizzy. lol
Wouldn’t you want less advance at idle for smoothness and better starts?
Not in my experience, but I plan to put this to the test in my follow up video!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer My old 327 would not even hot start with too much initial. Some guys running hot street engines need to crank em and then turn on the ignition once there rolling. Saves starters. I find advance gives you a choppier idle. I guess that a preference thing but I personally like street manors. Especially when your fairly tame sounding car pulls on the one that barely idles.
@@chevy6794 interesting. Did it have an aggressive cam? My truck and my mustang both start and idle easily in hot and cold conditions with the vacuum advance connected to manifold vacuum. Both are inline 6 engines in mostly stock configurations.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer ya. It had a bit of a cam. Nothing too crazy. Hydraulic flat tappet. High 9s maybe 10:1 compression. Camel back heads. Headers.
@@chevy6794 if your 327 was hard starting with a "small cam" the cam was too small for the static compression, aka your dynamic compression is high. not necessarily a bad thing, itll just need decent gas and less initial timing.
Simple question. Then why does MSD literally say 'the vacuum line should be routed to a ported vacuum outlet' on the very first page of instructions for their distributor?
Could be that their distributors come from the factory set up to run on ported vacuum. I feel like I saw a video from MSD that said otherwise. Let me see if I can find it.
Found it! This is an official MSD video explaining how ignition timing works. When he talks about vacuum advance he says to connect it to full vacuum. He also explains on engines with blowers that you need to plug the vacuum advance into a vacuum port below the blower.
Video: ua-cam.com/video/msHlcjrnjV0/v-deo.htmlsi=gxjjqikkYtVq73qx
Because that is correct for most engines. For pre-smog engines, the factory usually had it right.
Great info, one question do you set your timing with the vacuum advance line hooked on or with it off.? And where do you set you timing at, tdc, cause once you plug the vacuum to it it will automatically advance it do to vacuum being applied.?
I always set initial timing with the vacuum advance unplugged. For where to set initial timing, that all depends on the engine. I personally start with what the manual says and then do some driving and tweaking to find the proper advance curve for the engine. I plan on explaining this process in my follow up video. So stay tuned!
In my experience throttle response suffered on manifold,opening the throttle instantly retards the timing,not good,of course not all engines and setups are the same,getting base and WOT timing set correctly is first order,dial timing light is essential,Ive spent days super tuning
That's what some other people have said too. I'm going to test both configurations in my follow up video.
I love the swing analogy. Made me think, cause I’ve always ran ported vacuum. I’ve adjusted my centrifugal, and vacuum advance for years, trying to get the most out of my system. I’ve heard about using manifold vacuum before, but never thought much about it. I tried it once before, and it made things worse. I’m glad I saw your video, cause it’s got me thinking about it all over again.
@@stevenbongiorno9277 glad I could get the wheels turning! If you experiment with it again, let me know what you find.
Really good explanation from a single perspective. The REAL truth is how you run your advance is dependent on the engine build. The only answer is, give the engine what it needs.
Manifold vacuum works great for stock OEM engines most times. Depends on how much advance it is set for. Too much will make it idle bad. If a “bigger than stock” cam is installed manifold vacuum will be lower and fluctuate. If running an automatic transmission dropping it into gear will drop the vacuum and back off timing which will lower the idle which will lower the vacuum more reducing idle speed more and the motor dies. Not good.
Being old school, I cut my teeth in auto wrenching by always hooking the dist to ported vac. Even my 49 Chevy's 216 & now 235 came factory connected to ported vac.
But now I've seen the light, LOL....
I read where manifold vac was better and how it "supposedly" burns richer, cooler and more efficiently at idle and at cruise. So I decided to try it and yes, it does all of that to my amazement. All are noticeable improvements....
My 75 350 w/a QJet & HEI runs better now than it did set to the OEM specs with ported vac. And since I decided to go with lighter springs in the mechanical advance theres no hesitation nor bog nor stumbling nor pinging even though the static and vac advance is pretty high at idle.
One thing one needs to do when going to manifold vac at idle is to also reset the max mechanical advance. Most V8's should be set to a maximum mechanical advance of 36 degrees BTDC with the advance full in (vac disconnected & plugged). All in is generally between 2500-3500 rpm. An adjustable timing light is a neccessity for this tuning. Once set reconnect to manifold vac and let the initial idle timing be whatever it is. It's amazing how well the engine responds to these settings. One thing to note is if the vac advance adds more than 10 degrees to the mechanical advance you need to adjust it down either by adjusting the vac adv module (if capable) adding a limiter (kits available) or getting an advance module that maxes out at 10 degrees. All these will really wake a stock and/or modified engine up.
Carry On.
For driving experience I have in most cases, not all, had quicker throttle response with ported vacuum. I also prefer to fine tune timing with a vacuum gauge after the timing light so maybe it’s just me.
I've never tuned timing with a vacuum gauge, but I've heard similar things about the quicker throttle response from other people. I'm hoping to test this theory in my follow up.
Quicker than what? Theres more to it than switching the rubber hose… carb adjustment, timing adjustment.
@@Trobertsdsgmach1 this is very true! Dan and TH289 claim that running your vacuum advance off of manifold vacuum requires you to close your throttle blades so much that your transfer slots are completely closed off in order to get a proper idle speed. They claim this causes a delay in the transfer circuit of the carburetor, which will in turn cause a delay in throttle response when you stomp it. Their solution is a higher initial timing like 18-22 degrees BTDC, and ported vacuum to control the vacuum advance for part throttle driving. In theory it does make sense, but I think it might not work as well in practice. I'm testing all this right now, and I'll be uploading my findings in another video to come!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I do not have any distributors with vac advance, all billet msd with light springs and custom weights (rather then full lock out) for street use. All trucks and cars in my garage have full mechanical advance and a curve designed to make the most “power” not the best “power and mileage “. Vac advance has to many things to go wrong in my opinion
Also i do not tune the idle speed with the curb idle screw or any else, advancing and regarding the idle timing is the only way to adjust idle.
"Carburetor" the never ending saga
My '70 el Camino only ran correctly while on ported vacuum. 350 300hp, t350, L79 cam. If it was to the manifold, it would not idle in gear unless you had it about 1200 rpm. Unplug it and it idled great. I borrowed my friend's q-jet that had ported and it felt like a completely different engine! I modified my q-jet and it also ran great.
I agree with you on this one. Just look at the ignition map of any properly dyno tuned engine similar to your own and it will tell you how to control your advance
and which map is that on a stock 65 mustang?
My grandpas old Diamond Motor dump truck 4 cylinder had a distributor spark advance on right side of steering column with a cable running to distributor.
That sounds like a cool old truck! Must have been from the 20s or 30s to have a manual spark advance like that!
Would the climate or where you live effect this in anyway? From doing research, I came to this same conclusion but my 1970 monte carlo runs terrible on manifold vacuum, especially at idle and when I'm on the throttle hard at low rpm. When I switch it back to ported it runs good throughout the powerband. Just needing advice
Best way I can explain it is, on manifold vacuum it runs like a 2 stroke dirt bike that is loading up when I get on the throttle at low rpm. It's got nothing then it just hits hard again. When I connect to ported that issue goes away but I'd like to figure what the issue is.
@@kurtdavis7588 have you created an advance curve for your vehicle and adjusted your distributor accordingly? Just switch the vacuum source over will probably not give you good results. Also, I know altitude definitely plays a role in all this, but I'm not sure about climate. It might very well!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I tried to adjust and set things up, but I can't confirm if I did it correctly or not. I'm still learning bro. Strangely enough, I personally believe it runs better with the vacuum disconnected completely if that gives you any idea of an issue..I live near the coast, low sea level and it's hot and humid.
@@kurtdavis7588 I'm always learning too man! That's the great thing about this stuff. You can never know everything!
Sounds like you need to do some experimentation with your ignition timing and figure out what you're engine likes. I've been thinking of doing some videos on how to do this. Maybe I should definitely now!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer yeah, I definitely need as much help as possible. It's baffling how information comes off in a video or book vs real life. I'm always coming away from it thinking I got it, no problem until I start digging in and the car kicks my ass.
I like this topic. The only difference between the two methods is this: Manifold vac connection provides extra vacuum advance at idle. Ported vac connection waits until you touch the gas pedal before it adds the SAME extra vacuum advance. Performace, fuel economy and driveablitiy are identical for both methods above idle. Benifits of manifold Vac are smoother idle, cooler engine temps idling, better vac signal to carb and power brakes while at idle. This also lowers noise from the exhaust while idling. It provides faster starting. This works great on stock and modified engines. Engines with big cams need this extra timing at idle just to make them streetable. Switching methods only takes a few minutes but does require readjusting idle speed and idle mixture screws. Such a debate of something only effecting idle
I think I agree, except regarding power brakes. Boosters are connected to base, after Venturi. There is always vacuum present.
@stuckinmygarage6220 Yes, brake boosters are connected to full manifold vacuum, but you are thinking about it the wrong way. When you add the extra timing at idle from vacuum advance being connected manifold vac, your engine produces noticeably more vacuum while idling. Even at the same idle speed as before. Now you have more vaccum assist to all your vacuum powered functions. My engine went from 15in vac at idle to 21in. Same idle rpm
Very well said 👏 It always amazed me how many people got their knickers in a twist for something that follows literally the exact same curve apart from idle.
I've personally always ran manifold because in both my stocker and my bigger cam weekend cruiser they enjoy the ease of starting at such a nice 'starter-motor friendly' 6deg BTDC before the engine fires and manifold vac adv shoots that up to a steady ~20deg BTDC and I enjoy all the benefits of nice idle characteristics, cooler running temps and sharp throttle response.
@edwardpurks3883 Thank you, Mr. Purks, for your comment. However, I did not 'think about it the wrong way'. I agree with everything you said, except that there is no comma between "carb and power brakes".
There is no 'better' vacuum for power brakes. It's constant manifold. Ported has no effect on brake boosters. [Off topic, unless talking about leaking diaphragm or something.]
Again, I agree with your well written comments.
Best regards
@stuckinmygarage6220 Hmm. You still don't understand how increased engine vacuum improves vaccum powered brake assist. More timing at idle doesn't just increase vacuum single to the carb, but it increases vacuum signal to the entire intake manifold. Including the line feeding the brake booster. Everything will see a higher vacuum signal with the increased timing. You can also feel increased brake booster assit just from your engine decelerating(which increases vacuum temporarily). The brake pedal goes noticeably further down if you Rev your engine, then let it decelerate. You can witness this sitting still in Park or neutral. I appreciate the comment. Running more timing at idle helps booster signal too. Especially just idling around a parking lot or driveway
Base timing at idle will end up in the same place either way, so the question is what do you want it to do when you hit the throttle and vacuum drops?
Good video... you make a lot of good points. There are some holes in your research though. (BTW, I'm not just a backyard tinkerer/shadetree mechanic, I went to trade school and got a degree in automotive technology and I've been employed as a mechanic for over 20 years now, so while I might seem like a "know-it-all", I actually do know what I'm talking about and there is no condescension intended). As I'm sure you're aware, testing those two vacuum ports with no load on the engine doesn't really tell the whole story of how the vacuum changes when the vehicle is actually being driven. The only difference between ported vac and man vac... under load... is that ported vac has 0 in. at idle and man vac has full vacuum at idle. Once you crack the throttle open far enough to uncover the ported vacuum port, it follows exactly the same curve as manifold vacuum, depleting as throttle is increased. Therefore, they will perform exactly the same from off idle to WOT.... again while under a load. The only really problem then is the mixture at idle, which can be adjusted rich enough to run cool simply by adjusting the idle mixture screws, with no hot idle solenoid necessary (they actually weren't very common, only a few cars used them). Engineers also compensated for the "sudden bump in advance" when ported vac suddenly kicks in by adding a restriction orifice into the vacuum advance pots on those distributors to smooth the timing curve and avoid detonation and the potential for engine damage.
So, while you're absolutely right about how every engine theoretically should run best on manifold vacuum, and you're absolutely right about man vac being used on every engine prior to the emissions era, most stock engines from the emissions era with their original factory equipment will run best on ported vacuum, which actually does provide better off idle performance than man vac.
As for some anecdotal evidence... I collect late '70s Chevy trucks, I keep them very much factory stock except that I remove most of the emissions equipment from the ones that came with it and I convert them to manual chokes/manual throttles, and they all run best on ported vacuum, with the original Q-Jet carbs and HEI distributors. They don't run hot at idle, not even my air conditioned suburban with a small block 400 and a stock 195 degree t-stat at 115 F in the middle the summer, and I get 15 to 20 mpg on the highway with them... as long as I keep them under 65 mph, since they have the aerodynamics of a brick (LOL). I've never had any luck running any of them on manifold vacuum, even after attempting to tune them to work with it. I also have a '66 chevy pickup (technically 2 of them, my son has one too) with period correct parts (carb with only a manifold vacuum port and breaker point ignition) and it runs just fine on manifold vacuum, because that's how it was engineered. I've worked on many cars and trucks from the carbureted emissions era and I always run the vac advance on whichever port the books say to run them on, then I tune them to run as good as possible. Older cars that use manifold vacuum run the best when you set the base timing to where the engine has the highest manifold vacuum, and the emissions era cars run best on ported vacuum with base timing set at or a few degrees more advanced from where the book says to put it. That's been my experience anyway...
This is all very true! As for the lean/rich explanation, I should have described that as more dense vs less dense. My description as lean vs rich has caused a lot of confusion, and I've realized it was an incorrect way of describing it. I'm testing all these configurations right now for a follow up. It will be interesting to see as my 68 f250 (with an engine from 1975) definitely would fall into that "ported from the factory" group. I also plan on doing a demonstration with two vacuum gauges (one on ported, the other on manifold) while driving to show exactly what you said. They are exactly the same off idle. Do you have any suggestions of things to test or things to monitor while in testing to get the most complete answer I can? Thanks for your comment and your wisdom.
PS - Those late 70s square body Chevys are great trucks!
@@thejunkyardnecromancerYeah, I can see how some people would misunderstand the whole rich/lean - dense/less dense ideas, so you're right, it might be a good idea to clarify that in the follow up video. As for actual experimentation, the only thing I can suggest is to compare the vacuum can on the distributor to a pre-emissions model, as well as the carburetor if you can find a similar one. I'm not very familiar with Fords, but I know some Chryslers from that era used an odd way of supplying vacuum to the distributor. They had an orifice built into the throttle body of the carburetor (thermoquads, perhaps others) that actually connected manifold vacuum to the ported vacuum port that fed the vac advance. I don't really know why they did that, perhaps they were trying to get the best of both worlds... but it would be very interesting to see how Ford plumbed their carburetors or if they tinkered with the vacuum pot on the dist.
Always ported on street engine, not going to make difference except with manifold vacuum idle will be higher ,and you will be idling it down closing more of your transition slots. Vacuum advance is designed when you accelerate vacuum comes on advancing timing giving more power and better fuel mileage.
Vacuum advance is for part throttle situations only.
First time watching your channel, your are appositely 100% correct, as someone who actually worked on cars from that time period I can tell you that manifold vacuum is the correct answer.
Simple put; Manifold helps at idle and slight throttle when it starts to drop off the engine speed is picking up at the same time the mechanical advance is starting in. I worked at a speed shop and I can tell you many of hot hotrodders would bring there cars in to our place because they were unsatisfied with other performance shops. We would always set the owners straight. .......keep up the good work.....
Thanks!
I have worked on and owned a LOT of pre 68 vehicles and worked at a dealership and NEVER saw one vehicle from the factory using MV. I am still waiting for someone to show all the factory service manuals and vacuum diagrams that show it connected to MV. Been crickets on that for years now!
I had watched the same videos, and the recommendation to use ported vacuum had always bothered me for the reasons you talked about. Why make it complicated? Less dense mixture -> more advance. More dense mixture -> less advance. Done. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!
This was a lot of fun,brother. Great information, and I loved the poke the bear.
Haha. Thanks man!
On Corvairs you must use ported as the carb was designed at idle to have the advanced OFF so you can get a stable idle with the dual carbs. Once you just crack the throttle it is virtually manifold vac,. There was no emission requirements in 60-64 when many were using ported.
Geez Louise, I thought I finally knew which one it’s supposed to be connected to but now idk again…😂 I’m about to just block the vacuum ports off and say the hell with it…😄
Do some testing! Run both and find out for yourself which is best! Could be fun haha.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I was just clowning… It makes sense what you said. I’m just a fuel injection guy so I’ve never really had to deal with that until I got that old 72 Ford Ranger… I’ll probably go with fuel injection eventually in that truck. You would think old guys that have been dealing with carburetors their whole lives would have really tried to figure that out by now…🧐 Idk, thanks for the info…
@@jimmywilson1388 fuel injection is definitely better. What engine is in your truck?
@@thejunkyardnecromancer It’s a 302 and 3 speed transmission. But they put that stupid floor shifter in it…🤦🏻 They should’ve got the good one at least. I think it’s got the Mr. Gasket brand. They don’t even make them anymore. I would’ve went with the Hurst shifter. But anyway I think I’m gonna go to pull a part and try to find an explorer engine with the GT40p heads.I might just try to find a world class T5 for now and then get a Tremec later. I was kinda thinking about building a 347 stroker and get some better heads. Maybe some performer RPM’s or the twisted wedge heads. I just got it about a month ago so I’m just tossing ideas around right now…😄 It’ll be quick when I get done with it though and still be drivable…
@@jimmywilson1388 that sounds like a sweet project!
Perhaps you should consider that the idle speed increases with a manifold vac source is that what you have done is increase the base timing at idle which also increases idle and better coolant circulation possibly resulting in a cooler engine? I don't completly agree with the article but still maintain that the thousands of cars I have worked on in my long carear have had better drivability, fuel economy and lower emissions than any of the ones that came into the shop with the distributor connected to the manifold. How do I know this? That's because every car I tuned was done with a before and after full diagnostic on my engine analyser with infrared gas analyser. As I was taught by my mentor half a century ago : Test, Verify, Repair, Retest. Test to find the problem, do not guess. Verify you have found the problem by coming at it from a different angle. Repair the problem you have identified. Retest to make sure the problem is fixed before you give it back to the customer. This results in almost zero comebacks and the customer not paying for unneeded parts, The two reasons that the public does not trust the automotive trade. And by the way I agree with Uncle Tony on this, his reasoning is very sound.
That is a good way to go about it for sure. That's my mentality going into the testing for my follow up video. Unfortunately, I don't have access to an infrared gas analyzer or anything to test emissions. Do you have any tips or alternative methods I could use during my testing? I want to do this as objectively and as scientifically as possible. Gathering the most data as possible in the process.
You are dead on!! I'm in my 60's and have been working on cars with my family since I can remember and I was a licensed mechanic. Anyway I remember all the cars having manifold vacuum until the 70's when they went to Ported for emissions reasons as you said. One of the common problems in that era was a poor idle or stalling because the diaphram in the vacuum advance would rip so the vacuum advance did not work and also would be sucking air. It is sooo nice to see someone correctly describe the use of vacuum advance. GREAT JOB.
Thanks!
I don't know where you worked as a mechanic, but I NEVER saw a factory car prior to 68 that used MV. I would love to see the service manual that shows connection to MV direct to the dist.
Most cars made before the mid 60s used PORTED vacuum from the factory. You are probably talking about 60s cars. I cut my teeth mostly on 40s and 50s cars.
I've always ran mine ported .that's why the carb has to port made specifically for the card and how many cars came with dist connected to manifold ..and how many came connected to ported carb port?
Most vehicles before the 60s were connected to manifold vacuum. After the 60s most were connect to ported vacuum, or some sort of combination of the two with EGR, and different vacuum switches for different running conditions.
How about this. If you have a pre-emissions engine, (unless it’s some wild worked over dedicated hot rod) hook it up the way the engineers intended as reflected in the factory service manual, tune your idle circuit, transition circuit, and wide open throttle PROPERLY, and don’t worry about it. Some engines were one way, others were another way, it all really depends on what you have. Pour over all the original manuals that you can find. They are a wealth of information that we are quickly losing. Anyone else out there know that a lot of the early voltage regulators were adjustable? Probably not. Ford used them right up to the time that they switched to electronic ignition. Got luck finding one, and the aftermarket sure as hell don’t make ‘em. It’s really important to make sure your electrical is spot on to make sure your ignition is spot on, before you even think about timing and carburetor adjustments.
You are right! I have shop repair manuals for all my vehicles and reference them religiously. A problem does arise however when you modify something, especially removing emissions equipment like EGR, or installing better flowing intake, exhaust, and carb.
It depends on what the engine wants for idle timing and combustion stability. Sometimes the timing retard is required to raise the cylinder pressures at idle especially if the mixture is not overly diluted from overlap-induced internal EGR. Retarding the timing using ported vacuum means you need more throttle opening at idle which allows a bit more air when compared with residual gas. I’d say pick whichever the engine wants. Also one other thing, the more retarded timing will pull less a bit less oil through the valve guides at idle since the manifold vacuum will be a bit lower.
For EFI engines timing at idle is often a bit retarded, but there is effectively an inverted ‘mechanical’ advance below idle speed. This will advance the timing if you lug the engine a bit without moving the throttle, the timing advances, engine torque goes up, and the engine is nice and stable while lugging. The timing retards as RPM picks up, giving a nice smooth lugging response, even without moving the throttle. Think of the mechanical timing with a ‘V’ advance curve with the tip of retard just above the desired idle speed.
Not when the engineers were concerned about emissions and you’re concerned about power and efficiency.
I am still able to get a stock style regulator for my 54 New Yorker.
Ported vacuum works, in conjuction by design, with a type of temperature device that switches from manifold to ported. Its that 3 way hose thingamajog. For easier starting and engine cooling at idle. Smoake and. Tires
You are exactly right, so many people get this wrong. The vacuum advance is there to give you more timing at idle (enabling less initial for easier starting) and while cruising (for efficiency and emissions) and then FALL OFF during full throttle (where pre-ignition, saprk-knock, detonation, whatever you want to call it, is a concern and timing must be dialed BACK from its part throttle, cruising setting.) Not the other way around..... it should not be giving you any additional timing during WOT, that is what the mechanical advance is for.
Exactly!
Thank you for the explanation. My '68 Charger 440 RT started much quicker when I changed the vacuum advance to manifold vacuum, and this is the first time I ever had it explained why. Only took me 54 years to learn why Chrysler plumbed it wrong, it wasn't Chrysler, it was the government! The same people that mandated "safe" gas cans and propane cylinders. Now they are after my gas stove...
Exactly!
Weird thing is, my engine is completely opposite to what you're explaining. I used to have my advance on the manifold vacuum and i had all kinds of problems. Power would drop at full throttle and the engine would bog down, bucking at low speeds, hesitation and wantinv to stall on takeoff, erratic and almost untuneable idle. I swapped it to ported without changing anything and virtually every issue went away, better power especially T.W.O., smoother shifting and takeoff, little to no bucking or hesitation, my engine runs slightly cooler and the idle is perfect. I dont even have any emmissions bullcrap on my car.
Did you check your initial timing timing and mechanical advance? You can tune an engine to run on either ported or mailed vacuum. In my opinion, manifold vacuum has the most benefits.
My plan is to test this theory in my follow up video on the topic.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer Yeah, we tried to optimize the initial timing and the mechanical the best we could to the manifold vacuum but no matter what we couldn't get it to work right, always had problems.
I tuned my engine to run on manifold vacuum because I didn't know any better. It ran awesome and used different mechanical timing springs etc and had an adjustable vacuum canister diaphragm on a ACCEL blueprint series distributor. I made sure to check total timing too. I now run off ported because I heard I've been doing it wrong the whole time. I have not tuned my engine to run off ported vacuum and I have some pretty bad dead spots and bogging at full throttle. So I believe I can tune my engine to run off ported as well.
@@junkyyarddawg Hell, try it. I'm still new to this timing stuff so i cant tell you right from wrong, only what works for me and what doesn't. I likely don't have a setup like yours and that may be why neither me nor my grandfather could tune my engine to run off manifold vacuum. We were only able to get it to run halfway decent on manifold before switching it to ported without changing anything else, it feels better than a brand new car.
@@sebkhailer7374 yeah I'm currently running off ported on my new Demon. I just haven't tuned it or changed jets etc to see what the problem is. I just used a vacuum gauge etc and adjusted the air fuel mixture. Might be it's lean or too much fuel when the secondaries open up. Not sure but I need to put in a little time to find out. I haven't checked timing either.
I have been researching this at nauseum, And please correct me if I'm wrong. But, ultimately doesn't it really depend on the application? Racing verses street drivability and Off road applications?? For example- FOR MY APPLICATION~ I have a 454 Chevy in my CJ7. My Application is only for street driving and trails. I will never be WOT in my application. (I'd be Mach Jesus and doing wheelies if I did go WOT.) When I hooked my vacuum up to ported vac I was experiencing temp increases (195 - 210 degrees and 5.5 mpg. Traded over to manifold vacuum set initial timing ( Big blocks love timing.) and have now had roughly 300 miles worth of test driving. I live in Southeast Georgia three foot from the sun. So its hot 90 plus ambient temps. With the manifold vacuum I am running at 170 degrees. And in bumper to bumper 185 degrees with the manifold vacuum. My fuel milage has increase from 5.5 mpg to 9.5 mpg!!! I'm absolutely clueless as to the HUGE change other then the manifold vacuum change. I'm learning through trial and errors, I just have to say that manifold vacuum is working and keeping my BBC nice and cool and extremally better fuel milage, thus far. Wish I understood the complete process as to why. But, lets just say I'm grateful for the wisdom of those who dare to question and go against the flow so to speak. THANK YOU for posting this. If you have time can you elaborate on the dynamics of how and why it also effects the fuel milage? I'm a complete rookie and have so many questions.
Indeed! I'm good to make an in depth follow up video on this topic. Also, your CJ sounds epic!!!
Who tunes a hot rod according to a Chilton's manual? Always used manifold vacuum on a recurved distributor.
This is the way!
S i have one quick question about all this, and maybe its just in my head. I commented on how my engine (sbc 350 with mild cam) seems like its better on manifold vacuum. Now my questions is this, why does it seem like its not as loud as it was on ported? Since switching over to manifold it seems like its really made the sound from the exhaust a little more quiet. I dont if thats really true or just in my head, but it seemed like it was louder when on ported.
Hmmm.... I don't think that's possible. It shouldn't have any effect on exhaust loudness.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer hmm maybe its just in head then lol
higher initial timing makes exhaust quieter i believe. also smooths out cam lope.
I'm with You,and for all of them in doubt,let me give You an example: Take one stroked Jeep inline 6 284 c.i. around 300-315 hp ,raise the compression to 10.6, put a rather healthy camshaft in it and park in the middle of the sunshine on a hot summerday ,ignore the fact that the car has a radiator from a 1.8 litre Volvo engine. OK how long will the engine run before it gets boiling hot, wel without any vacuum or with ported vacuum it took 5-7 minutes after reaching operation temperature before it boiled, when I connected to manifold vacuum I could leave it running for 15-20 minutes without being so hot that it boiled. To low ignition will cause any car to go to hot, with manifold vacuum it got enough ignition advance to live to tell the story...
Less advance causes more combustion in the exhaust manifold due to an incomplete burn, raising manifold temperature. Advancing timing keeps the burn in the cylinder, increasing cylinder head temp and allowing for a more efficient burn in the cylinder, creating more power (and NOx due to higher temperatures, so not because of emissions)
Would this be true for an electric distributor? Mine is attached to a computer box on fender, behind battery.
1987 Dodge D150 RWD
L6 3.7L 3687cc 225ci Automatic
1BBL 2 valve OHV
Holley 6145 Electronic Feedback Carb
Depends on what the computer does I guess. My 78 F250 has a ICM connected to the distributor, and this sort of thing still applies to it. If you have one of those weird electronically controlled carburetors, it might not apply.
@thejunkyardnecromancer This computer was an ignition control module with a vacuum distributor included on one side, from an 83 Dodge D150 Slant Six.
The carb had a breather with a spark control computer attached as well. The carb is a 1940-45 Holley 6145 1 BBl with electronic feedback.
On older engines w/o a/c they would have those solenoids on the throttle but they were called anti Diesel solenoids. To cut the throttle back more after you turned the motor off I had one on my 69 and it was needed. I had one go bad on me and with the idle bumped up to normal w/o the solenoid it would run on all the time until i found a working one in the junkyard. The were not available new in the early 90's
Only IF the Vacuum Advance Canister used achieves full max vacuum advance at a vacuum level slightly less than the idle manifold vacuum, should it be attached to manifold vacuum. I am not saying to use manifold or ported vacuum or not. I am saying IF on manifold, it should be a can that achieves full max vac advance at a vacuum level slightly less than idle manifold vacuum. Otherwise it can or will "hunt", imho. Peace
I’m with you on this one. I’ve had many a conversation at the cruise night that started with “you got your vacuum advance hooked up wrong”. It’s been my experience that manifold vacuum is especially best with low compression engines they really like the extra timing at idle.
Definitely!
I don't think compression is what matters. I have high compression motors that work better with manifold vacuum advance. It might have more to do with cam timing 🤷♂️
@@KC9UDX yeah a high commission engine with a big cam probably would work well that way. An engine with 10:1 and a mild factory cam doesn’t tend to respond the same to the timing at idle. Pretty sure it’s the cylinder pressure that’s the factor.
Yup! Or if you have a lumpy cam. More timing=happy idle👍
@@MarcBchannel Until you drop your automatic trans in gear and lose that manifold vacuum.
I've always run ported vacuum to the distributor. Once the throttle blades open past the ported vacuum ports it's exactly the same as manifold vacuum. So once the engine is off idle there is no difference. The only difference between the two is the amount of idle advance. With ported vacuum idle advance will be whatever the initial advance is. With manifold vacuum it will go to a much higher advance setting - can be as high as 50 degrees.
@@RevSearch exactly
Ive found out it all depends on your engine ,try both see what works best
Indeed! Every engine is a little different.
When I hook my distributor up to manifold vacuum, the idle jumps by about 200 rpm, how do you compensate and get the idle to a normal speed??
You will need to adjust your base ignition timing, idle fuel mixture, and idle screw on your carburator.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I did all that, but until I adjusted the vacuum can, it kept pulling the idle higher and Advance even at idle. It's a roller 302 from Blueprint. Now it is idling lower, but STILL kinda of stutters/hesitates when first revved sharply from idle. It did that on ported vacuum as well though. All subsequent revs after the initial one, it doesn't hesitate/stumble. It seems to want to idle about 750-800, and after checking the advance can after doing all of this, it was giving about 34 degrees right around 3000 rpm... On ported vacuum, I could never get the 34 degrees to go above 1950-2000 rpm. I tried raising accelerator pump cam (orange) up to position one and it still stumbled. I have a larger nozzle to drop into it, but it didn't seem to help before, so I wonder if it would anything now with the cam raised and manifold vacuum?
@@Bikedueder maybe!
The weird thing when revved at idle it will hesitate but not while driving. I went for a test drive yesterday and punched the gas. It downshifted and took off without hesitation. No sputtering or anything.
@@miguellott9038 very interesting. I wonder why it does that.
I feel like you have the lean/rich faster/slower thing backwards. Your engine will ping if your mixture is too lean, it pings because it burns faster than a correct richer mixture. You might be right but I dont think your theory is correct.
Hmm... I've never heard of a lean mixture causing pinging. Only ever heard of too much advance (maybe from too much initial timing or mechanical/vacuum advances tuned incorrectly), or heat soak causing pre-ignition and pinging. Time for me to do some research!!!
Great video I see both sides of the argument personally on a street performance application I usually tune with base timing and mechanical advance usually a curve kit installed and then try vac advance both ways even mess with an adjustable vac advance there’s soo many variables in carb selection weight of car camshaft choice, plenum style of manifold that all have to be considered, the correct answer IMO is test and tune for best results.
Even if it's wrong! 🤣😂 Nice explanation. Looking forward to learning more about vacuums on engines in the future.
Thanks for watching!
Have you done a video explaining mechanical advance? Some of the Ford distributors I have looked at have 36 degrees of advance. I limit mechanical to 15 and use 20 initial and 10-12 vacuum on SBF.
I have not, but it will be part of my follow up in working on where I test all of this to get to the bottom of everything!
PORTED= HOT ASS TEMPERATURE IDLING
MANIFOLD = COOLER TEMPERATURE IDLING
THE END!!!!!!
My 1967 Mustang GT, 390, had manifold vacuum, as did my 1966 289.
But my 1972 Torino, a 351, had ported on the Carib.
Factory.
I'd have to agree with the fact they are different is because of emission controls.
If it works differently for others, I would not argue, or even care.
Hi , for me manifold vacuum helped wonders because when using ported the engine ran hot and the cooling fan could not keep up plus the engine just sounded harsh .
With manifold it ran way cooler and the rad fan could overcome the radiator heat and maintain temperature plus the engine ran way smoother .
I understand ported is to burn later at idle and allow a flame to lick down the exhausts burning waste fuel which heat up the heads around the ports and the exhausts . All done for a fix for emissions . Try either way and see which runs best for you .
I've done both. Usually ported
I have a 1972 Ford F100 with a 240 Inline 6. This vehicle does not like ported vacuum no matter which way I set it up with timing, fuel, etc. She just prefers manifold. This truck also does not have any emission BS on it. The best answer is to try both and see what your vehicle responds best to. Excellent video btw, regardless of what the haters say.
Thank you! Also, sounds like a cool truck!
First of all good video, well done, as far as Dan goes he tells people about performance when meanwhile he has the slowest car on UA-cam, he doesn't have a clue in my opinion, uncle Tony same deal he talks a good game swapping pistons around to go 13s naturally aspirated, they are always giving misinformation, so thanks for your good information
Thanks! However, both Dan and Tony do know a lot, and do give good advice quite often! They just happen to be wrong about this one thing.
Wonder why Pontiac advised you to disconnect the distributor when setting initial timing? Always had vacuum to the distributor. Makes sense to me to have extra timing at idle and cruise speeds. Don't want it under hard acceleration.
Good explanation, and absolutely correct. I heard UT say "always ported" and was scratching my head since most of his vehicles are pre emissions. So many band-aids were invented and applied during emission/carb era and most of them, while improving tailpipe emissions, were counter productive to power, drivability and engine life.
Thanks!
Power IS economy!! Hot rodders have been arguing this for decades. But the fact is, squeezing the most bang out of each and every droplett of fuel is what economy and power both are all about. And FINALLY, our government has seen the light in that regard. But what did we get for all of our efforts except for higher prices of everything. Bureaucratic fat-cat pocket lining programs, fills me with an urge to defecate.
@@petesmith5092 you are right! Power is economy!!! That should be put on a shirt!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer you are welcome to use that. Just cut me in for 5%....🤣🍺🍺
who says they are wrong? what does the manual for the specific year model of car that is the subject of the service work say?
Lol 😂
You literally made a Canadian version of Dan! 🤣
#manifoldvacuum!
The MN accent and Canadian accent are similar kinda haha. #manifoldvacuum!
I also detected a little Slymo slipping in there😀
I always struggled with getting the best timing for my motors. Until buying a car with locked out timing. Runs great! Kindasold on locked out now.
It's all good except for at the pump😁 I bet it takes off good and punchy off the line with all that timing👍
@@MarcBchannel Runs like a champ. 8 mpg cruising highway. Much worse city driving.
🤣 Nice👍
How many starters have gone through in the last eight months?
@@mickangio16 It's had the same one for 5 years. But in all fairness summers are short where I live.
Good video. If you think about engine operation from the more modern approach where the harder the engine is working the greater the load the engine is operating at, you can draw a correlation between the timing values used in electronic fuel injection engines and on engines with dual advance distributors on manifold vs ported vacuum. This is a point I’ve covered previously in my own videos, and it’s very explainable that way. Simply put, ported is wrong for most engines, it over advanced the engine and can lead to internal damage. I had a customer with a 1937 Chevy street rod running a 383 bring his car to me for a dyno tune years ago, I made significant adjustments to the carburetor and distributor including putting the car on manifold vacuum for the distributor advance. The car picked up over 50hp from the tune, ran 25-30°F cooler, and had drastically improved drivability. Before the customer drove it, he scolded me about connecting the advance to the wrong vacuum source. He wanted to change it, I insisted he drive it first. A couple miles in, happy with the improvements in power, he remained hell bent to show me the error I had made, he stops, jumps out, moves the hose and hops back in proclaiming “you’ll see!” It ran terribly, pinging away from a stop. I’m happy to join you in confirming manifold vacuum is correct side of this discussion.
Thanks! And excellent story!
Well, the way I was taught to check timing was Step #1, ‘Disconnect vacuum advance’ so that meant manifold vacuum and the fact that the weak idle mixture NEEDS more advance than the mechanical initial timing.
You're absolutely correct... watching on a scan tool how modern engines change their timing can give us a good idea how to tune older engines, and they do all run higher advance at idle, indicating that analog distributors should run on manifold vacuum... HOWEVER... you have to keep in mind that most (if not all) vehicles from the late '60s to the early '80s were DESIGNED to run on ported vacuum operated vacuum advance, so they'll run better that way if they're still in stock configuration. I have no doubt that the hot rod you mentioned ran better on man vac, but that's because you were able to tune it to run best that way. Yes, stock engines can be tuned to run better on man vac as well, but if they haven't been professionally tuned, they should be run on ported vac the way they were intended, to get the best drivability out of them.
@@livewire2759you clearly aren’t grasping that “ported” vacuum was a shitty attempt to reduce emissions and had no performance or efficiency benefits whatsoever. Just look at what the manufacturers did to neuter engines in the early 70s in the name of “clean air”, ported vacuum was a key player in that BS. It was all trial and error, because they had no way of simulating combustion and no real understanding of how to produce reasonable power and lower emissions with mechanical/analog fuel control.
Take a look at a stock 1985 Mustang GT 5.0L HO 5-speed some time. The distributor was connected to a thermal vacuum switch that used ported vacuum warm and manifold vacuum cold. The problem with ported cold was the engine didn’t have enough advance for the lean mixture when there was no heat in the engine to aid fuel in becoming a vapor. As soon as the engine warmed up, the engineers killed off the vacuum advance to slow the idle speed and limit emissions. Manifold vacuum produced higher CO and HC numbers at the slower idle speeds that were not compatible with catalysts. But that it in a nutshell, ported is an emissions technology, and offers no realized performance advantages. It can and does however provide timing later than needed and can put the engine into knock if you aren’t running EGR or your carburetor is not calibrated properly. It is also not compatible with higher compression combinations using larger cams which is why so many people simply switch to a mechanical advance only system, attempting to run ported advance doesn’t work on the more aggressive combinations, however, manifold vacuum does when applied correctly and can be a huge benefit to idle stability and operating temperature.
@@TheGT350Garage "You clearly aren’t grasping that “ported” vacuum was a shitty attempt to reduce emissions..."
Ok, if you want to be that way, I can be a jerk as well...
You "clearly aren't grasping" why vacuum advance was invented in the first place. You clearly aren't grasping that it's not a power adder or performance device. You clearly aren't aware that it's sole intention was to RETARD timing under part throttle to heavy throttle acceleration in order to help reduce or eliminate knocking. You don't seem to understand that they retarded the base timing on those engines to make up for the advance caused by using manifold vacuum at idle. You also don't seem to be aware that the reason why they used manifold vacuum for this up through the mid '60s is simply because nobody had come up with the concept of "ported" vacuum yet... they didn't need to because manifold vacuum worked "well enough". That doesn't mean that has always been ideal.
Yes, the concept of ported vacuum came from attempts to reduce emissions at idle, and it works to do exactly that... when the engine is warm. You seem to be ignoring the fact that man vac/port vac makes no difference when a carbureted engine is cold because they run on a fast idle when they're cold... that's right, while warming up the throttle is open to the ported vacuum port which, if connected, sends vacuum (the exact same amount of vacuum that a manifold port would send) to the vacuum advance, advancing the timing at "idle" during the warm up cycle. Again, if you watch data on a scan tool, you'll see that modern engines do this same basic thing... increasing idle speed and advancing timing until the engine is warm.
Now, most of all, what you don't seem to be grasping, is that when car makers started using ported vacuum to run the vacuum advance, they also re-tuned and re-engineered some things. These things included using different weights and springs to tune the mechanical advance to work better with the ported vacuum advance, as well as changing the vacuum pots themselves to work better with ported vacuum. Not only did they start recommending more advance for base timing to make up for the lack of vacuum advance at idle when using ported vacuum, most manufacturers used some sort of restricting orifice in the vacuum advance system to optimise it for use with ported vacuum to eliminate the problems with suddenly going from no advance at idle to near full advance at off-idle. When they did this, they found a happy surprise that they could actually get better throttle response from closed throttle to off-idle than the old manifold vacuum operated systems did. This is why, when you just switch one of these emissions era engines from ported vacuum to manifold without making any other changes, they tend to stumble or have a "flat spot" just off idle. Yes, you can tune that out, but if those orifices are still there, you still won't get ideal performance without changing parts. This is also why those mustangs you mentioned used a system of switching between manifold vacuum and ported vacuum. Chrysler used a similar idea in their thermoquad carbs where they connected ported vacuum and manifold vacuum together inside the carburetor with a very small orifice between the two... essentially using both to operate the vacuum advance.
"It is also not compatible with higher compression combinations using larger cams..."
That's an interesting point. The only difference between ported vacuum and manifold vacuum is at idle where man vac will be full vacuum and ported vac will be near 0. Just off idle, the ported vacuum port is uncovered and at that point it will always be exactly the same as manifold vacuum. If you don't believe me, get two vacuum gauges, hook one to man, the other to port, with long enough hoses to be able to read them from the driver's seat, then drive the car and see what they do. Under load (which wasn't demonstrated in this video) they equalize at off-idle and drop off at the exact same rate while opening the throttle. So, considering that big cams with lots of overlap naturally run low manifold vacuum at idle, how could running manifold vacuum be any different than just running ported vacuum with the base timing increased?
Sure, manifold vacuum may be the best choice in high performance applications where drivability isn't much of a concern, but for cruisers and daily drivers, you'll find that using ported vacuum with a proper corresponding tune will provide better drivability performance.
In conclusion, I'm not saying that you should NEVER use manifold vacuum, and I'm not saying that you should ALWAYS use ported vacuum. I'm saying that it depends on what engine you have, what parts you have, and how you're going to be driving the car. Using blanket statements like "never" and "always" is a dead giveaway that a person probably isn't as much of an "expert" as they think they are.
Here's my $.02, take it or leave it. If your car was designed with manifold vacuum, run manifold. If the engine came with ported, run ported. There's dozens of vacuum advance canisters and they are specific for the engine and the cam and distributor. I've got one that maxed the timing at 7 in. of vacuum, another at 15 in. of vacuum. I currently run one that maxed out at 14 in. vacuum. Also I ran my car at 70 mph, in 5th gear, cruising, guess what, the ported and the manifold vacuum were the same. You stomp the pedal to the floor, and we know the vacuum is the same. There's more to it than switching the tubing between ported and manifold, it's the combo. We've all heard that before. I changed the vacuum source from ported to manifold, it ran worse, sluggish. I suspect if I had a vacuum advance designed for manifold vacuum, or changed the timing, it would have ran fine.
You are absolutely correct as far as pre-smog engines are concerned.
Question: I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty with 3.7, there is no "distributor", that is it has electronic distributor. Everything is "fixed" due to emissions, do we have ported or manifold ??? In the mid 1960's we all had manifold vacuum "road draft tube" and no PVC valve, in 1968 plus -+, we have ported vacuum with PVC and ERG valve, good, bad or indifferent. The fact is everything runs great with emissions safe.
Your Jeep has computer controlled ignition timing which solved all the problems I discussed.
I’m a manifold vacuum guy. The ported guys almost got me but David Vizard is a manifold guy too. He knows.
I ran ported once man car overheated smelled nasty exhaust was leaking ... Manifold the way to go cars runs better does not smell runs cool
I’m new at this, so the vacuum advance helps at idle and helps at cruising, will it not help then when trying to accelerate quickly?
At wide open throttle, your vacuum signal goes to zero or nearly zero, which in turn does not add any advance from the vacuum advance canister. This is true with ported and manifold vacuum. That is why a distributor also has mechanical advance weights that compensate for higher engine rpm.
for those that commented it's the build of the engine, it's not the build of the engine, it's the vac canister. going from port to manifold vacuum requires a different vac canister make sure your vacuum adv canister is all in at idle or your idle will be erratic since vacuum is just a touch bouncey and gets more so with performance engines. it takes some research to get the right canister that is full adv at idle and doesn't have too much advance. you will exceed what is called total advance (initial + mechanical) don't lower your initial advance and when you reconnect your canister after tuning you will need to bring the idle down (close throttle plate) which will help if you have run on or diesel when you shut off engine. also, this topic is why many hot rods overheat in traffic. BTW utg thinks manifold vac drops the timing below initial and he thinks ""why would you want to drop timing when you take off from a stop?" so he evidently sets timing with the canister connected. which defeats the purpose. but i used to think the same way.
Well said good sir.
Ported = better idle. Manifold = bad idle. Tried a thousand different ways, always the same result. You don't want the advance coming into play at idle.
The ONLY real answer is-- It depends or your particular setup. Some cars, especially hot rods with big cams want ported vacuum. Stock build classics want manifold vacuum. MOST of the time. Again... it depends on your build and your timing curve. Thank you, and Good Night!
You don’t know how the system works! Buy the book PERFORMANCE IGNITIONS written by Dr Christopher Jacobs and get up to speed! Quit spewing BS! Dr Christopher Jacobs was the premiere ignition expert and consulted to many NHRA and NASCAR teams and built his own ignition company that MSD bought out because they couldn’t compete with him. That’s after he made his fortune developing electronic devices for the medical community and making millions on his patents..... You, uncle tony and thunderhead289 don’t have his credentials....
You'll have initial timing set differently. Set timing with vacuum disconnected, would you set timing with manifold vacuum?
Yes. The initial timing will be different in both configurations as well as the mechanical advance curve of the distributor. It's still important to set initial timing with the vacuum advance disconnected.
I plan on explaining this in my follow up video. So stay tuned!
One very important thing I think you may consider is deceleration. Deceleration (at least in my experience with a manual transmission) is usually much richer than idle, light throttle, or wide open. I spend a lot of my time decelerating down winding roads than I ever do idling. So having super high vacuum and possibly at times fast piston speed with a rich mixture may not be ideal, but that's also under low cylinder pressure so maybe it doesn't matter. Compression ratio is a important factor. Piston speed is another. If set base timing at 14 degrees then add all of my vacuum advance is that too much timing for my piston speed? In my experience yes, so then i adjust my vacuum advance ratio down which could hurt part throttle performance. I think it's very important to try both of them out yourself and for each car.
This is something I didn't consider. I'm going to have to research this.
@@thejunkyardnecromancerSir, i commend you, and offer congratulation of your mind being open. And your willingness to do your homework cannot be left out!
Sorry but that is wrong. my Nova, 327, idles just fine at 28 degrees with the manifold vacuum. Also cranks much better than when i didn't no better and was running ported.
@@reevesautomotivefarm9614 so you have vacuum when your cranking
Heard from Jeff Schlemmer at Advanced Distributors, who specializes in old British Car Distributors, that the manifold vs ported choice usually involves displacement of the engine.
His advice was under ~500 Cubic inches engines typically respond better to ported, over 500 manifold.
David Vizard (author of a plethora of auto tech books, more recently chevy small and big blocks, holley carbs, etc.) says manifold.
Take that as you will.
Interesting. Never have heard the displacement thing. Thanks for commenting!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer
No prob!
Both work great when setup properly in the correct scenario.
The vac advance cannister has i spring and 'x' diaphragm surface area so you are working with Vac versus spring force. If you dont have an adjustable vacuum advance diaphragm and you modifthe engine resulting in an intake vac reading that is 'just' holding the cassister at full advance at idle and then you engage the transmission and lose some vac, the idle timing drops, rpm drops, vacuum drops and around you go again, a low crappy unstable idle is the result, so you either use an adjustable vac cannister OR(or just do this anyhow) connect the vac advance to a steady ported vac source! Now you control your initial timing, then you set your mechanical curve to suit your combo and the load parameters is sees for WOT scenarios, then you set your vacuum advance rate to add timing when at light throttle cruise to aid fuel economy.
If you engine runs too hot at idle due to low timing then its not a manifold V ported debate, its an initial base timing and poor overall tune debate.
Many cars before the emissions era had ported vac advance.
Many cars in the emissions era run a combination or ported and intake vac advance or just one of either.
The fast idle solenoid on your non A/c f100 is your setting for normal(aka fast) idle speed, you set this to the operating temp idle speed you desire. The idle speed screw is your base idle, this is far lower than normal idle speed, it closes down most of and in some cases on some vehicles all of the idle and transfer fuel when ignition is turned off and assists in supressing engine run on/dieseling.
A cool experiment you can do for you interest and learning is to map your intake vac setting as compared to how much advance your cannister adds. Now hook up a vac gauge to both ported and intake vac. Set up as you have now go driving and video the vac gauges, now from base timing you can map your actual timing curve(great to log throttle position if you can also), now using this(and assuming you like the way your engine runs) set up ported vacuum and now drive and using your timing map, reset everything to give you the exact same timing curve as you had. Now observe the differences!! None! We are all right if we set everything up correctly and we are all wrong if we make one change and base the results on a good setup tune versus a poor setup tune. 👍
I'm planning on doing a follow up video where I tune my truck to both to see which gives the best overall performance. Thanks for watching!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer excellent. Please dont do the typical in this case and leave the mechanal curves and static timing the same and simply switch vacuum pickup locations. Be sure to do a complete tune swap, vac pickup, static amd mechanical curve changes. This is the only way to properly asses what works for your combo.
Check you vac cannister to see if its adjusable, even many factory ones are.
Lastly, here's the pinch. Factory vac cannisters that were designed specifically for either simgle use ported OR intake vac usually had a different ammount of advance they can add and had different spring rates in the diaphragm. Just this fact makes this comparison more of a difficulty to do properly.
Many factory vac cannisters also had different ammounts of additional advance and different spring rates dependent on vehicle use/expected loading, compression ratio/options, transmission type etc. So the same engine can have many variables and you will get differing skewed results if you dont have the correct component match.
Also on another point, remember the factory has so many parameters to allow for, they need to make something reliable that operates within a multitude of driving scenarios and often fuel qualities that are totally out of their control and in most cases have an emissions target aswell. Tuning for your specific application is not what any factory was trying to do.
Will your tune do everything the factory setup can do across every scenario? If tuned for best output simply no.
Please also show everyone an emissions report simply for interest sake with each tune setup.
And remember, at the end of the day you are still not winning a right/wrong battle here. All you will achieve is showing people that 'with this particular combination or parts and driving scenarios' which setup you were able to get working to the point you liked best. Unless you are going to do a "factory type and budget R&D program" on this topic you, or any of us are not proving anything at all. Yet the basic info will hopefully be handy to someone at sometime. 👍
@@craig8187 That's the plan! However, it might be hard to get an emissions report around where I live. But I'll look into it.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer re the emissions report yes if you dont have the facility nearby it will be difficult, at the minimum do a good 1000miles with each setup perfected for your scenario and keep a fuel economy record. Of course this does not show true 'emissions as per a specific standard' but is a good measure of efficiency V your vehicle usage. 👍
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I figured you didn't have the experience in this area. learnings and experience are 2 different things. Good luck in your testing, you goona notice a big difference between the setups.
Wouldnt your lean or rich condition just be set by the tuning on the carb for idle? Isnt that exactly what the idle mixture screws are for?
Yes and no. When I was saying lean/rich, what I really meant was more dense vs less dense charge in the combustion chamber. Your lean/rich afr can be tuned in the carb with the idle mixture screws and jetting.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer thanks for explaining that man I’m by no means an expert on this and wasn’t questioning you , I more so just missed a step in the explanation. Thank you brother
@@Tyscrat no problem! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Running manifold vacuum myself and it being perfect for my setup, I can totally see in certain situations that ported vacuum would be better. So it's definitely horses for courses in my opinion. The one thing I personally aim for is the leanest possible idle at factory spec rpm. Lean doesn't concern me at idle as the engine isn't under load. So in this way my fuel economy improves. Manifold vacuum allows me to lean out my idle and set factory initial timing (while not connected to vacuum advance). At first, it is a roughish idle and sits around 700 / 750 rpm. Then once I reconnect my advance canister to manifold vacuum, the rpm picks up to the factory 800, ads advance timing and smooths out the idle.
If I had set ported it in this scenario, the only way I could get a smooth idle, would be to mechanically advance my initial timing, and this then puts my engine at risk when RPM increases and total timing kicks in.
Let's say someone is aiming for a 14.7:1 AFR at idle, and has a certain jet size. Any advance at idle may not allow them to get a factory idle rpm, it may run it too high. So it's not the case that one is better, rather different use case scenarios.
That is a very good point. A lot of other people are saying it depends on your setup as well. Thank you for sharing your experience.
You are correct, ported vacuum advance was designed to meet emissions requirements, and vacuum advance addresses the fact that the lower the cylinder pressure is, the earlier you tend to want to ignite that spark plug
UTG and Thunderhead 289 are also (almost) correct - the carbs will often work better with ported vacuum IN A VERY MILD ENGINE
Here's the rub: where is the idle transfer slot below your Venturi? Where does your idle circuit roll off (affected by the position of the transfer slot, how open the throttle blades are at cruise), and where does the primary booster start getting enough signal to start drawing fuel (affected by the design of the booster itself, the air bleed, and the emulsion tube)?
Some carburetors can tend to have a little lean spot in the transition between part throttle cruise (where the engine is running off that transfer slot) and when the main circuit actuates
A vacuum advance pulling off of direct manifold vacuum is beginning to lose a little bit of advance here, but this is the point where ported spark advance will still be coming on strong
Masking the feeling of that slight lean area
The real fix, as I see it, is to do something about that lean spot
Not crutch it with ported spark advance
Thought the fast idle selonoid was for AC when it pulls the engine down?
It's possible that was another use for them, but they were also used to cool down your engine. My 78 f250 had one and it didn't come with AC.
They were also an anti-diesel solenoid on a quadra jet they use those to set the idle speed so when you shut the vehicle off it would close the throttle blades all the way and wouldn't diesel or run on I have one on my truck I use the set the fast idle speed for when I have the AC on
Early emission systems ran both the EGR and vacuum advance off of ported vacuum after warm up. To marginally compensate for the reduced output of these low compression emission choked engines they could run slightly more initial advance and have more aggressive centrifugal advance since the EGR cooled the charge and reduced detonation. I believe ported vacuum was used to coordinate the application of EGR and vacuum advance to mask drivability issues at light throttle and reduce detonation at throttle tip in. Of course once engines of this vintage started wearing (30k miles or so) the EGR could be disconnected, the advance moved to manifold vacuum to significantly improve drivability for the next 30k miles until the carb started malfunctioning, the air pump seized or oil became part of the combustion mixture...
Yes! Exactly! Haha
@@michaelgreer8659 there are some advance canisters that retreats timing. Ford used them for awhile. They had two vacuum nipples. But most normal vacuum canisters advance timing BTDC under a load.
Not agreeing or disagreeing , but the egr open at idle kills the engine , and runs poorly . I can see the argument for the distributor, but not the egr.
? Ported EGR goes through a Thermo-Valve. Manifold for Distributor Advance. I don't think he's referring to Multiple Port Vacuum Advance Distributors/Systems. Look at the Timing Curve Specs. Base Timing, Timing at Idle. Then Timing at Designated Position for the RPM. Ported will have no advance at idle. Not a Good Thing. Thermo-Valve for the EGR. EGR applied when Cold will stall the Engine. Ported to EGR. EGR applied at Idle will stall the Engine.
E.G.R. valves have always been electric over vacuum controlled. coolant temperature controlled "ported" vaccum was for the pre-heat tube to air cleaner basket, to prevent venturi icing, but that was early on. Anytime you open the EGR valve to an engine running at any RPM, it makes it shake like a dog shittin' a peach seed, if it don't kill it. Which is why exhaust gas recirculation is controlled with a pulse width modulated solenoid. All EGR is anyway is a fancy way of saying internal vacuum leak!
I'm new to all of this and am now...thoroughly confused. I absolutely enjoyed this and other videos. I also very much enjoyed the good natured bantering in the comments. What a fun way to spend a Friday evening!
Thanks for watching and interacting! Glad you are enjoying it!
The problem with hooking to manifold is on downhill runs when the throttle is closed. The advance can be so far advanced that the engine misses going downhill.
I'll take note of this and add it to things in testing for my follow up! Thanks!
How can the engine miss on closed throttle? There’s no load on the engine. Lean popping is not missing. Being lean on overrun is beneficial.
I will think about it and see if I can come up with something. In my mind I'm seeing two vac gauges, a valve to switch between sources, a tachometer, a timing light with advance dial, a temp gauge, an infrared thermomter to read exhaust manifold temp and a throttle adjusting tool. I will try and work out base line parameters and the varibles that would give you a way of determining changes.
Oh yes. I have all those and plan on testing all that, but do you have any ideas on how to test for emissions out the exhaust?
@@thejunkyardnecromancerafr gauge? Or tailpipe five gas analyzer from the emissions testing center.
My 1985 Mustang GT used both Manifold and ported vacuum to the distributor
By using a thermal vacuum switch it used manifold vacuum at cold start. According to the Factory Ford manuals, This helped facilitate a complete burn with the choke plates closed (richer) and caused a natural higher idle with less throttle blade angle after the carb came off of the fast idle step of the choke until fully warm.
Once the engine warmed up the thermal switch changed over to ported vacuum
Like mentioned by an earlier commenter, it is a complete tuning theory as the EGR was also on the ported thermal switch and didn’t come on line until the engine reached full operating temperature because EGR actually cools combustion.
So the idea is fast temperature rise to operating temperature then control combustion temperatures to reduce NOX. This was a 9.2:1 engine with a relatively small cam
Now my 11.5:1 347 motor with 248/256 duration cam likes 18* initial for start up and loves 25* 30* manifold vacuum.
We all watch the same channels and to some degree (they) are quoting facts
David Vizard has a video on Manifold vs Ported that also has a lot of theory in it. He fell on the side of Manifold vacuum
Again it changed at the same time engines changed.
1960-1970 good compression, good octane, no EGR, no converters Manifold vac
1975-1985 low compression, changing fuels, EGR, converters Ported Vacuum
Niether way is strictly right or wrong. It depends on what is best for the application. I'm glad that carburetor manufacturers include both sources. My experience is that a manual transmission equipped vehicle often prefers manifold vacuum but I usually prefer ported vacuum for automatic transmissions. When putting an automatic in gear the drag of the torque converter reduces the manifold vacuum and retards the timing usually deteriorating idle quality on a modified engine. If you modify the mechanical advance curve to provide the additional initial timing that that using the manifold vacuum source does then your timing will not retard when dropped into gear AND most engines will respond best with a generous amount of low engine speed timing that will drop out when the throttle is opened in a manifold vacuum sourced example. With a manual transmission equipped vehicle a manifold vacuum source for the vacuum advance can make accelerating from a stop much smoother. The mechanical advance initial timing setting that worked well with the automatic trans will idle great but when engaging the clutch to accelerate may gas ping. These are only two examples. In the end it depends on the characteristics of the engine and vehicle and the parts being used such as the actual vacuum can itself. Either way can be used satisfactorily but I'm mostly concerned with getting the mechanical advance how I want it and then enhancing it with a bit of vacuum advance, so I am usually biased towards the ported vacuum source.
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