Daytona Sensors idle stabilization ?
 

Does anyone have any hands on advice for using the idle stabilization feature ? Prior to looking into the specifics of its operation I assumed it could continuously vary timing as needed, but I now see you have to input a specific advance value which is what it will apply at a certain rpm. Is there rough correlation between degrees of advance and rpm or is it just trial and error unique to every engine? Just looking for a baseline starting point and what to expect or look for when making adjustments to the timing settings in the software. Also, as far as overall adjustment technique I guess the procedure would be to get the idle mixture on the money while in neutral and then instead of enriching the mixture to keep it idleing in gear you would use just the Daytona box to maintain idle. NA, 4500 application. Thanks for the help.

It's fairly straight forward, if you have a big cam na you may want to choose more degrees advance. On a 496 mark 4 with way too much cam initial was set at 14 degrees allowing up to another 14 degrees of advance for idle stabilization. Choose target rpm and I would suggest using the start retard function as well. With a little trial and error you will get it dialed in pretty quick. Its amazing what those boxes can do! Keep in mind that the application I just mentioned was a bad combo and those engines have much less cam in them now. Just proves what the daytona will let you get away with.

I am not an expert on it, but it does work well. The change in timing happens so fast that it is in fact variable timing. I would go ahead and set it at 20deg. On mine, I have the baseline timing set at 16 deg and the idle stabilization set to add up to 20 deg timing.

Ok, the wording of the replys sort of indicates it will add as much as 20° if it is set at 20 (for example) constantly varying it below 20° as necessary which would be good. The instructions from Daytona don't provide much detail, I was worried if I had it set for 20° it would add all 20° at once as soon as rpm dropped below a certain point.

I just finished setting one up on my boat. You set the trigger timing value and create either a 2D or 3D timing table. I'm not running boost so I have a 2D timing table. I set the locked distributor to 36 degrees with all box functions off, then created a curve that started at 24 degrees at idle and ramped to 34 degrees at 3000rpm. This allows 12 degrees for idle control. If you lower the initial timing you will get more idle control timing advance. You can't exceed the the trigger timing set point. You can set a requested minimum rpm that it will try and maintain using the full 12 degrees. This is an on/off function, when you look at the data log the timing control is either full on or full off. The effect is less than I anticipated although better than without it. I still have a lot of tuning to do, but in neutral I run 900rpm and in gear 700rpm, with a set point of 850. I also use the timing retard on a 12VDC input. That allows me to run marina gas when I run out of 93 octane with the flip of a switch.

I`m not sure what you`re asking but stabilization is pretty simple. You set the rpm at which you want to add timing so the engine doesn't die.
I set mine at 750rpm to kick in and add 18*

I guess I was just curious as to whether it adds the timing incrementally as needed up to the max you have entered or if it adds the entire value at once when it hits the low rpm setting. Also was looking for a good starting point, just max it out or add 5° at a time and check results? Just trying to get a head start on some of the variables and issues I might encounter before its tied to the dock and I'm messing with it.

^ as with most things ...it depends on what your combo wants

I do not have a daytona box...but I do have a timing box that allows me to use a 3D spark map.

I got the engines warm, tied it to a dock, and put it in gear...then adjusted timing until it maintained my target RPM in gear with the most vacuum (mine ended up around 35*) while adjusting idle mixture/idle speed screw to compensate.

My target RPM in gear is 800....in the 800 RPM column I have 15*......I then put a column in at 780 RPM with 35*.

Now I have a warm neutral idle speed of about 900 RPM (still 15*...my "centrifugal" advance starts about 1100 RPM) and it drops to about 800 RPM when in gear. The idle mixture is set on the lean side of dwell in gear for all the no wake zones i have.

The only time I have issues with the engines wanting to stall is the first about 30 seconds of run time for the day. These are solid roller 598's with dominators....somewhat mild (depending on your reference) cams, ~260* @ 0.050" on a 112* LSA.


My goal was the leanest idle mixture without stalling while going into gear. I got it.....the change in RPM is hardly perceivable however, the change in tone while going into gear is drastic. It idles "smoother" in gear then out due to the bump in timing under load.

If you were to look at the data logs you`d see it it goes back and forth from your base timing to the max.. very quickly.


It adds all the timing all at once and then back down again.
I had 15* and then had it advance to 35* if I recall right .

Unless you have a really mild cam, you are not going to notice 5*. I'm kicking in 12 and I barely notice that. I would lock out the mechanical advance and use the digital so they don't fight each other. I haven't figured out how to increase the number of rpm set points so I can play with idle timing more accurately. If anyone has that figured out I would appreciate it.

Thanks for the info everyone. Ill be trying it out this weekend if the weather is decent.

If youre worried about hurting the engine, dont. The extra timing at idle wont hurt anything.

The idea is to keep base timing low , say around 16-18*,in nuetral, no load on engine. Then as its put into gear , the additional timing kicks in below whatever rpm you set it to, say 650rpm. I would add 20* worth of addtl timing for stabilization. The box doesnt add 5,10,15, 18, if you have it set for 20*. It simply adds 20, removes 20, adds 20, removes 20. It happens quickly, and you wont notice it on your tachs or your butt.

Last I heard, Bob Madera was the marine tech hotline for daytona sensors..Not even joking. Maybe he could be of help

Thanks. I'm not really stuck with a problem so I don't want to take up anyone's time with a phone call. I was just looking for general info on using the feature, how it worked and maybe get some tips on setting it up which I seem to have gotten. My concern was that if I gave it more than it needed the rpm would hunt up and down as it kicked in and out but that doesnt seem to be an issue from what everyone has said. Still haven't tried it yet, maybe I'll get around to it this weekend. It's actually idling good at the expense of being a bit too rich, so I figured I'd try letting the box do its thing and see how it compares.

I hope you have better luck than me. I think my CD-1 is bad, I'm getting pops and backfires when it's in idles control. As soon as I get above that range it smooths right out. My old MSD 6M with timing fixed at 34* ran better.

You checked it with a timing light to make sure the timing is where its programmed to be right? What does the datalog show ?

Checked and double checked the timing. You can see the timing bounce from 24* to 36* at idle speeds below my 800rpm requested value. I haven't had a chance to download the latest datalog yet. I have looked at previous logs and everything looks fine. The popping and bacfires are something new that started today. I programmed a new download that basically locks the timing at 34* and will try that without idle control.

Have you checked the rotor phasing? As well as double checked the polarity of the pickup leads and coil leads?

Yes and yes, I even replaced the pickup. It runs great for the first couple minutes and then it starts missing and gets worse with time. I could barely get back to the harbor. Fortunately I didn't sell my old MSD set up and I connectorized everything so the most difficult thing is running the power wires and re-tyrapping everything. Hot swap ignitions. I do have to reset the timing as the Daytona was set for a 36* trigger with timing locked at 34*. I'll call Daytona tomorrow.