That's the general starting point. Some people say that theirs works better a little bit retarded, others say the same about advanced. Now that you have a way to time your own, I'd recommend setting it at 8.5 and driving it for a while so you can get a good feeling for how it runs. If you're happy with it there, leave it. If you want to experiment a little bit, then feel free. These pumps all run slightly differently. This one may not run like your next one. It may like the timing set differently.