idk.... how much was the timing light?

 

X/T Performance. as i said i have it off and im getting MUCH better gas mileage. i have a slight ping in my engine, so im gonna have my mechanic align my valves. see if that helps any.

 

I got the advanced one from Sears because it will measure several other things that I thought would be useful (I have several newer vehicles in the family, not just distributors) so the light was a little more expensive. $69.99.

You can get basic timing lights for as cheap as $25, of course I've seen some for well over $100 as well. The basic Craftsman timing light was $39.99.

 

We shall see.

I did manage to get my engine(3VZE)to do some very faint pinging climbing a hill yesterday. I had the timing set at 22* with reg. gas(87oct.), so I backed it off just a hair to about 21*. Not even sure if it was anything I should be worried about, but I just didn't like hearing it after so long without it. Ah well, it shouldn't be doin' it no more.

Keep ya posted.

 

I just turned up my timing to 17* and WOW! I have gotten far far better mileage, about 3-5mpg! Also there is a little extra power, but it's still a truck to me. I have had a very slight pinging on uphills and hard pulls, but nothing i feel concerned about.

 

How do you guys know you're that far advanced since the little tab doesn't go that far?

 

Gross estimation.

I'm working with an ancient timing light. The thing is barely bright enough for me to see the mark on the crankshaft pulley.

So...,I wasn't totally convinced I was hearing "pinging" so I wanted to be sure. I just drove my truck about 50 miles with the timing set at, again gross est. here, 25* BTDC. Still no pinging, and again a little more low end torque, but not any big mpg gain from 22* BTDC though, right around 20-22 mpg still.

I think I'm there. Good God, what an IMPROVEMENT it has made!!! Any more advanced and the idle get's real choppy, I ain't gonna be pushing it any further for now anyways. Never has the idle been ANY smoother than it is now though, so there it's stayin'. I've had to turn the idle down two or three full turns during this whole process. I was starting to wonder if I could get it to idle down far enough if I kept advancing the timing farther. That seems to have plateaud, the idle doesn't climb with further advance now, just get's choppy like it's "missing" on a cylinder.

One thing worthy of mentioning too, my engine is running a touch warmer. The temp gauge needle is riding a degree or two higher towards the middle of the operating range than it did. Still plenty of room to grow there, only at the 1/3 mark or so.

 

http://buy1.snapon.com/products/diag...e_mt2661ap.asp

one of these.

it does all kinds of cool things. i've used one often, it works great.

 

This thread is great. Lots of useful information. But to those of us who are retarded when it comes to timing (pun intended), what, if any, drawbacks can come from advanced timing? There's that saying about whatever advantages you get from modifying have disadvantages in other places and I was just wondering if this was an exception.

 

I have a light similar to that - so you just dial advance into the light, then add it to the marks?

 

Advancing the timing can lead to knock or pinging, which is not good for the motor, go to far and your engine wont run right as the piston will have to force it's way of TDC.

 

I bit the bullet and went to autozone and bought thier cheap timing light ($40.00). I was running at around 11* - 12* BTDC. Which is an estimate seeing as it is not a digital one. So I moved it to 15* BTDC. Nice power gains. Time will tell on MPG. I used to drive an '89 Jeep XJ auto tranny and a 4.0 bored .30 over. It had a 4" suspension lift and ran 31x10.5's. I'd say it pulls about the same now. Of course the revs are higher. I'm pleased with the difference it made and everything seems to be running better than before. I love this thread. What is the purpose of jumping the TE1 and E1 terminals??

 

It ensures you are at base timing.

 

Read this, ladies and gentlemen....good article. Pay attention to how exhaust mod's relate to timing.

http://www.ecutek.com/tuning/ignition/

 

Oh, btw....naadomail..

What tc means is when you jump the two terminals, you've disable the ECU's ability to advance the timing temporarily. Normally, the ECU is in control of the ignition timing...advancing it according to driving conditions. But, when setting the "base" timing, you must be able to do so without the ECU trying to control it. Base timing is where the engine will initially fire at relative to spark and fuel injection at idle. Then, the ECU will advance it according to fuel demand or higher RPM's....if that makes any sense. I think there's a little more to it than that, though.

EDIT: here's a site that explains it better than I can.
http://floridafieros.org/osg/timing.html

 

Thanks, perfectly explained.

 

Hmm...after a little finer analysis of the situation I've honed my initial estimation of 25* BTDC to probably more like 21* BTDC. So my earlier est. of 22* BTDC would be somewhat lower too, maybe 18* BTDC.

Whatever it is now, I still seem to be liking it...

Cool.

That explains a few things. For one I have a nearly open exhaust, so that's helping.

 

When I had my 5.0 Mustangs a common mod was to advance the timing from 10 to 14. Most guys pinged easily with any more timing but it was worth a good 10 HP at least. Now I'm sure there is some advance that we can play with but 22 BTDC? If those timing settings were that good then the factory would have speced that a long time ago. I suspect that plug wear and damage to the plugs will be a factor if you go too far. Keep in mind that I have advanced my timing to 12 BTDC and have been running it that way for 2 years. I am considering 14 or 15 BTDC but anymore and it could be risky. My 2 cents.

 

Hadn't thought about the plugs too much. Could get "cooler" ones maybe.

I should check mine and see if they still look alright, thanks for reminding me...

Several guys on here have been running at 17* BTDC, with lot's of mods it seems like. I'm a "risk taker" though, don't mind pushin' limits much....

 

Yes indeed, keep an eye on the plugs. The knock sensor could be supressing any knock enough that you wouldn't notice... might be mistaken as normal engine noise.