Originally Posted by
PTP Racing
Tuning an engine is about its performance not its temp. The temp is a good way to gauge where you are with your tune but you cannot set an engine purely by the temp because of the example above. I do the majority of my tuning by sound. An engine running well sounds good and when its out of tune it will sound bad and the sounds different lean or rich. What your looking for is an engine that sounds good and still blows smoke. For me the smoke gets hard to see going around the track but I can always hear it.
+1. This is the way to do it.
The ironic thing is that you can tell when the engine is too hot. When my engines are pinging AND there is still smoke, I know it is around 270-280 - too hot.
I think temperature is just another way to confirm where you want your engine to be. It is a function of being "in tune". An engine that is clearing out through the power band, has good bottom end snap, and maintains a nice smoke trail is likely in the manufacturer's "temp band" too.