B20VtecVillain

Ok so this may seem dumb for someone who has been working on these cars as long as I am but I have never been in this EXACT situation. I recently did some maintenance on a B18C JDM SI-R engine and went to set the timing, noticed it was WAY off, a good 1/3" advanced from the 3 marks on timing cover. Dizzy bolts were about in the middle. So I start the car, let it run for about 20 minutes to get up to temp, shut it down, jump the service connector, restart and hook up the timing light. When adjusting the dizzy all the way forward, I still cannot get it in spec. The car runs pretty good, WOT power seems all there for what it is, but low end/mid range seems lacking a bit and I cannot even get it to the first mark out of the 3 on the timing cover. I go on to pull the upper timing cover and valve cover, check the cam gears and crank and they are lined up perfectly. Timing belt tension seems good with minimal deflection and the dizzy itself is only 14 months old and is OEM Honda. Any input on what this could be? The owner of the car runs only 93 octane gasoline so I don't think there are any risk of detonation issues due to timing but I feel I could get a bit more drivability and low end out of it with proper timing set around 16* where its supposed to be. For reference the engine is an OBD1 JDM B18C/P72, is running Civic Type R cams on intake and exhaust, AEM TruTime cam gears, and basic bolt ons. (Short ram, Skunk2 manifold, Narrow rep header, 2.25' exhaust) Car is running on a stock OBD1 P72 ecu, no codes are stored at this time. Any/all help is appreciated.

B20VtecVillain

Also I want to add that in low-mid throttle and RPM acceleration under load this engine sounds like no B18 I have ever heard before. I would equate the engine note to that of a Subaru EJ, with that boxer type of burble only less pronounced in this case. Once in VTEC the engine sounds like a typically B series. There is definitely something going on with timing here......

DumpdEJ6

Stock crank pulley? I'm not an expert, but for instance if he had a B20 or a B16 crank pulley on there, are the timing marks in the exact same places? Could just be a wild goose chase but that's about all I can think of after reading your post. Everything else seems good.

B20VtecVillain

Still working this guys car periodically. He has been driving it every day but is only getting 18-19mpg and has no low/mid range power. Plus the car still sounds like a Subaru at mid throttle, so timing is definitely off. At this point I suggested a new timing belt in case current one is stretched some (even tho it's less than a year old and looks fine) and to reset/degree his cams and gears. Either that, or I said maybe first try just adjusting the cam gears a few degrees to see if you can get the timing back on spec. The head has not been milled, crank pulley is OEM. (Small chip of metal missing from the lip of pulley but doesn't seem to effect balance) car has Type R cams and AEM truTime gears. Weird thing is he swears it hasn't always ran like this and he didn't touch anything to cause the issue, it just "happened".
Tomorrow we are likely going to try adjusting the cam gears and seeing if we can get timing in spec that way. Since the engine does stay running, starts, isles and drives good I don't think the timing could be off by a huge amount so a few degrees should take care of it. Hopefully!