Howdy Y'all!
New member here. First time attempting to adjust ignition timing on this recently rebuilt 3.0 VZE.
When I got it the power was a bit low - sluggish. Did diagnostistic terminal jump of TE1-E1 to get the flashing "Check Engine Light"
Idle on dashboard tach is approx 800 rpm
Engine at operating temp
Timing showed to be set at stock setting of 10 deg BTDC. Car has a lot more life and drives like a sports car if I time it at 15 degrees BTDC - develops good power at 2500-4000 RPM. Low end is a bit lacking. I think this advanced timing may be too much.
Do not want to hurt this recent rebuild.
NOTE: I live in CO at 6000' elevation. Grew up here... most greasemonkeys I knew while growing up said that for higher elevation (thinner air) we need to advance our ignition timing 1 degree for evey 1000' above sea level. If this is true for the Toyota 3.0 VZE then I guess I've set it up right but want to be sure.

My concerns/question: When I jump the TE1 to E1 on the terminal should the idle change? It does not...
Info found online leads me to believe that if no noticeable change in idle/timing when installing/pulling the jumper wire then I may be "unable to set correct base timing" and open to needing to further troubleshoot some things like TPS.
Will running this at 15 deg BTDC hurt the engine?

 

As far as I know, the ECU should compensate for altitude.
On the 22R, there is a vacuum advance with a High Altitude Correction system, but the 22RE, and 3VZE, I am PRETTY sure use the ECU to do it. I am not sure, but the ECU adjusts the mixture, and timing, to maintain the correct mixture despite changes in altitude. Increase in altitude, mixture richens, so the ECU leans it to compensate.

As long as the base timing is correctly set at 10°, the ECU should take care of things after that. As long as the mixture is correct, IE: essentially set to what it would be at sea level, the timing will be as well. As the altitude increases, the ECU leans the mixture to compensate it to what it should be, so the timing will remain correct.

Will advancing the timing damage the engine? I can't say, but if it were me, I would leave it set to what the FSM calls for. There's a reason they wrote it as they did. Don't forget, Japan is pretty mountainous in places, so I'm sure they figured out how to correct for that.

No, just the timing should go to 10°. Basically, jumping the test connector removes the ECU from the timing system, so you can set, or verify, the base timing. When you remove it, it allows the ECU to go back to work.
Also, according to the FSM, the last step is to remove the jumper, and check the timing. It should go to 8° BTDC.

Does all this make sense??
Pat☺