I'll argue semantics if I please. It's nice that you have an endless sea of intrinsic knowledge. I'm not blowing up engines on purpose, there is this thing called a learning curve and anyone who just claims to know all of this without experiencing failure is an outright liar. Don't tell me how to spend money, I have that under control. Tuning around available fuel is more productive to me than wasting half a tank to get e85 (tiny Gbody tanks) and I don't have the fuel pump for it anyway. I have thought about alcohol injection and still do but it's still just a safety buffer that I could completely avoid by using a good tune.
I am not telling you how to spend your money, I am warning others how not to waste theirs.
Breaking stuff at this rate makes you a slow learner; and because you keep grenading engines you are no closer to a "good tune" than you were when you first started.
When I Procharged the LS2 in our TBSS and took it unproven (other than street testing) on Drag Week it survived because I put every possible precaution in place (mostly octane related - premium fuel mixed to E30, Torco octane booster, and propane injection). One one pass per day it went from mid-13s into the low 12s; and the following week it was in the 11s. By maintaining good fuel (constant) and steadfastly reviewing the data, and adjusting the tune it has made for a reliable combination.
When you say "14° and 14 psi" is a proven success story that is extemely ignorant, and falls in the realm of bad information. Just because "denmah" did it doesn't mean it will work the same for everyone.
Was that 14° of timing verified at the crank, or just the 14° you arbitrarily programmed into the tune? There can be a huge discrepancy in manufacturing tolerances which will influence the final figure.
Next up "boost pressure" which is just figure produced by a measured restriction. What CFM are you flowing at said "boost"? Because 14psi in Engine A is not 14psi in Engine B - you cannot accuractely claim a known quantity based solely on a restriction. Boost is useless that is unless you have a means of metering the air mass - a MAF (I mentioned this earlier) is a great tool for calculating the needs and performance of an engine. Managing cylinder pressure is of greater significance.
Now here is where you get to call bullshit, me a liar, and walk away in utter disbelief. I never once changed the head gaskets in my Turbo Buick - a car which routinely lived above "25 psi" for the 15 years I owned it; and spent the last 5 years set at "30 psi" (same tune on the street, strip, and autox course) before selling it last year. The secret? Octane and tuning - while other guys were buying silly sh*t I was buying dataloggers and tuning software, and it too had propane and alcohol injection on it. I snuck up on the power - I didn't just choose a random "AFR", timing, or boost setting because some jackass on the internet said it worked for him or her - I would have objectively reviewed their work before I formulated my own approach with a safety margin built in.
I spend more on pressure transducers, EGT probes, and widebands than most guys do on go fast parts - because you aren't going fast, or anywhere for that matter, when your engine is busted.
