Quote:
Originally Posted by old_tv_nut
The regular vacuum advance was not precise enough to produce the right setting under all conditions. Plus, spark was deliberately retarded from optimum performance on the early pollution-conscious cars. And with no feedback, the result would deteriorate between tune-ups.
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How was that primitive Lean Burn setup any more precise? It didn't monitor any other engine parameters like temperature, exhaust gasses, air flow, or anything else. I'm pretty sure it literally just monitored the vacuum from the same carb port that would have went to the distributor, and nothing else. The Lean Burn "computer" even had a diaphragm that looked very similar to what is mounted on a regular vacuum advance distributor. At least that's how my '83 was.
On paper it might have looked better, but nearly all people that replace it with late '70s electronic (no points) vacuum advance distributors report better performance and usually economy too.