If ya got vacuum advance remove the hose from the distributor pot and plug it,get an adjustable knob type timing lite,have someone sit in the car and watch the tach, lets say ya want 35 degrees total as an example, set the light at 35 and give the car some rpm until the balancer mark stops moving, I like fully advanced in a race only car around idle or by 1200 rpm,on a street racer say 2000 rpm, with the engine fully advanced set the timing to 35 degrees,now do it again, note the rpm that it takes until the engines fully advanced, what you want is the engine fully advanced by 1200 rpm to 35 degrees,thats total advance and it also tells you your advance curve. This will give ya a lot more spark advance and the engine will respond. If ya run an msd dist and you arent advancing fully at 1200 rpm change the springs and or the button. This is generally speaking, works for me....