95_Civic_4dr

Alright I know I know OEM wants it to be 16 degrees before top dead center but I'm also using my first adjustable timing light. Now am I supposed to set the timing light to 16 degrees then try to match it up to the notch on the crank or do I keep the timing light at 0 degrees and match it up that way?

Also I'm not using an actual dyno yet, so for now we're kind of just going off feel. I'm also using an adjustable cam gear and camshaft. I just want some clarification on this, but if I retard the cam gear that also retards the spark occurance right?

Right now my mechanical timing is all lined up perfectly but I have to retard the distributor all the way for some reason to get the spark at 16 degrees btdc, timing light is set at 0. Which is why I ask if the timing light is supposed to be set at 16 or 0. I had the distributor set in the middle with the stock cam but this aftermarket requires a fully retarded distributor, so I wonder if it came with some pre-advancement.