Let us all have a talk about compression, and timing. How much is too much, how to deal with it. And how to achieve the max amount of advance you can while not pinging. Enter the subject. My Datsun Spirit STR2.8 liter engine. L28 N42 Engine Block, N42 Cylinder Head base 87mm (bore) x 79mm (stroke) = 2817.8cc Combustion Chamber Volume: appx 43.5cc Piston above deck: appx 0.25~0.30mm Compression ratio: 10.5 : 1 Camshaft: STR274F Duration 274 Max Valve lift: 12.00~12.19mm Lobe: IN: 106, EX: 110, Lobe Center: 108 I have driven this engine hard for 2000 miles or so since it was installed. It has run beautifully. During 1000 mile rally the car ran without a hitch, but I purposely dialed back my timing to take into account for iffy gas as small mom and pop gas stations I may encounter. After the rally I crept back up to 34 deg BTDC at 2800 rpm and drove her. At low RPM in 3rd and 4th when the engine is under heavy load I noticed copious amounts of pinging. I run 93 octane only locally. Long story short, I cannot run 34 deg of max advance without dropping a bottle of good quality octane boost in my car. With the mileage I drive, that means about 5 bottles a year. Correct timing is so important to getting the max HP out of your engine. Every degree of timing can yield substantial HP changes. So what is the max timing a street engine can run. Naturally I have cast my stone. And I find with my particular set up, 34 degrees is about all I can run with 93 octane and a bottle of NOS octane booster (don’t laugh, it was ranked 3rd best out of the top 10 in an independent study, plus I like the blue bottle) Can the veterans of the Z world chime in on this. What steps can you do after the engine is built to help avoid pinging. I have not tried some BP7ES plugs which are colder ( I have them in my garage though) . I currently run a 190 deg thermostat. Would a 160 help? I love how my car runs and the extra 65 dollars a year in octane boost really does not bug me that much considering how well the car responds to it, but for others building an engine, what should be the max limit on93 octane gas. I would have to say 10.5 is too much. Granted the camshaft over lap and lift all have an effect on this. But lets get a good conversation going.