what exactly is the benefit of doing this? any drawbacks?

Well it will help your performance and gas mileage slightly if you modded your car.
Theres ignition timing and there cam timing.

On average people advance their ignition timing a little. I think mine is at 17 degrees.

Cam timing is a different story. When you upgrad your headers and exhaust you want to get the most out of those mods. So a set of adjustable cam gears and tuning is a must. usually the exhaust cam is advanced and the intake cam retard. Since every car is different theres no sure setting. So to do it correctly you have to go to a dyno.


[Modified by Fooser, 8:40 PM 5/14/2002]

18 degrees is typical for advanced timing...however i beleive you get worse gas mileage with it, not better. be sure not to go over, and be sure to use 92-93 octane (if youre in ohio, haha socal!)

ok, now i understand the cam timing but what does advancing the ignition timing do? any power or does it just run better at higher rpms?

Advancing the timing will give you a little bit more low-end torque.

ok thanks. how exactly do i go about advancing the timing? my friend has a timing gun so do any of you guys know where i can find directions for doing this? you can't beat a free mod huh??!!

Yea it gives you more mid rane grunt,I tried 19btdc and switched it back to 17btdc.17 feels good nice mid range power,I estimate 1 to 3 whp from it.Very easy you need a timing gun,loosin the distrib and move it back slightly then check the timing with the gun,and don't forget to put the ecu jumper in under the dash while doing it.

Here are two diagrams from the Helms manual which show how to adjust the timing.

Here's a dumb question... How do you see the little marks on the crank pulley? I can only see them when the thing is not moving. When it's going at 750rpm, I can't see them whiz by at all.

I got annoyed with trying to see them, so I marked the stock distributor location and advanced it a little. I thought I moved it just a little bit, but I must have gone too far because the car felt slower afterwards. I moved it back to stock and it got it's pep back.

What is this? I've never heard of doing this.

Yeah, I dont understand how to see those marks and what the point of the light is. Call me stupid.

Allright, here's the deal. Lets say that those marks on your crank puley come around everytime the crank makes a full revolution. Let's also say that this occurs just as the #1 cylinder fires. And for convenience sake, lets also say that the light pulls a lead off the #1 plug wire and flashes the light just as those marks go around creating a strobe effect that allows you to see the marks clear as day. If you don't put the jumper (paperclip or small wire) in the ecu then you can get inaccurate readings because the ecu adjust timing for load on the engine. Hope this helps.

The mark is supposed to pass the arrow just as the #1 spark plug fires. The timing light illuminates when it detects that the spark plug is firing. So, the timing light should flash at the instant that the mark on the pulley passes the arrow on the timing belt cover. That's the easy part... I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to see those marks when the engine's running. I can't see them when that pulley is spinning, let alone tell the difference between the 14, 16, and 18 marks. They are small and close together.

Like I said before, since it only flashes when that mark comes around (and the mark is reflective) you can see it very well. Are you doing this with super bright light around? Try it in the dark and see if that doesn't solve the problem. I can't think of any way that the mark won't be coming around when the 1st cyl fires.

It was hard for me to see the mark when I did it the first time. If you point the gun at an angle towards the TDC mark on the plastic cover. then looking right at the pulley you will be able to see the marks as the gun flashes. Its kind of like adjusting your eyes at night but eventually you will see it. It really sucks tho when your fans turn on and your trying to see that mark then bammm all that hot air right in your face.

Takes practice but you will be able to do it fairly simple. If you cant see it even after trying a few times then just get like a whiteout pen and color the marks so you can see them better.


[Modified by Fooser, 4:19 PM 5/15/2002]

Or for 35 dollars a shop can advance your timing.
I did that before to get my timing to Zero before
I dropped the car off and two hors and 35 plus tax later
igniton was fixed.
Thats the easy way.

hey bring your car to my house I will do your ignition timing for $10

Where do you live?

California, Citrus Heights

But seriously ignition timing is one of the easiest things you can do. When you get into cam timing then you should pay someone to adjust those cause you need a dyno.
basically if you can do a valve adjustment you can definetly do timing cause its alot easier.
pick up a timing gun.
1. warm up car until fans turn on.
2. jump your service connector on the glove box
3. hook timing gun to battery and spark plug wire 1
4. aim the gun at the pulley
5. as the gun flashes you will see the timing marks. white, red, white very close to the mark on the timing belt cover (e.g. timing mark.)
6. lossen your distributor and move it until your red mark is on the TDC mark of the cover.

Timing Done. If you have a few mods on your car its pretty safe to advance it to like 17 or 18 degrees. Just dont go too far or you will have detination.



[Modified by Fooser, 8:05 PM 5/16/2002]