The car in question is a 1985 380SE. Since it recommends 87 and I use
93 octane, my race car building friend tells me if I should be able to advance the timing 2 or 3 degrees without pinging, and if I do so I will get a better hole shot and sacrifice nothing at the top end. He says if I retard the timing I'll get better top end but I'll lose in the bottom end.My mechanic says the only way to get more power is to retard the timing, and that on the 380 it wouldn't do anything since the computer is handling it.
Who's right? Would I benefit (I'm looking to pick up a few tenths in the 1/4) from advancing my timing? Thanks, Richard