Adjusting the ignition timing...., WTF? I turned the distributor all the way and its still only 5degrees Options

[king_wsk]

Today me and my friend (who drives a 92 celica GT) went to advance our timing to try and squeeze a few extra hp out of them. His timing was at 12 degrees (cause he already tried to advance it by just moving it without a timing gun) so we moved it to 14 degree with no problem. The stock setting is 10 degrees and with 91 octane fuel, 14 runs well with no pinging.

Now when we went to first check my timing.... I found it was at 0 degrees!!!!! I didn't believe it at first so I tried turning the distributor back down to -5 degrees and then advanced it as far as it would go... only 5 degrees!!!! My car only has 89 octane in it and after advancing it a bit, the engine seemed to run quieter and smoother. I did notice that more torque at 4300rpm (which usually comes at 4700rpm).

How do you get the timing to at least 10 degrees? I've heard that you can remove the distributor and then install it at an angle and then turn it to the mounting position, that should change the range of adjustment from -5 to 5 degrees, to 5 degrees to 15 degrees.

Any one ever seen this before?

Also.... What kind of gas milage do you guys see? I'm currently running at about 19mpg street and 22 highway..... i think thats kind of low.....Maybe because I'm running at 0 degree.... 10 degrees retarted!

This post has been edited by king_wsk: Jan 9, 2007 - 1:55 AM

[king_wsk]

First, I'd like to thank you guys for your input. After fulling removing the distributor and reattaching it, I was able to get the timing to the full 15 degrees. I've found that this runs fine with 91 octane. I found the best way to test it is to get going about 10 mph and then pop it in 5th and floor it... totally stressing the engine. If you hear any chattering, then you've advanced it too much or need higher octane. I haven't even burned a full tank yet, but from what I can see so far, I'm about 3-4mpg more plus I notice some seroius low end torque improvements. I was indeed running retarted at 0 degrees.

Thanks again everyone!

[Rayme]

First, I'd like to thank you guys for your input. After fulling removing the distributor and reattaching it, I was able to get the timing to the full 15 degrees. I've found that this runs fine with 91 octane. I found the best way to test it is to get going about 10 mph and then pop it in 5th and floor it... totally stressing the engine. If you hear any chattering, then you've advanced it too much or need higher octane. I haven't even burned a full tank yet, but from what I can see so far, I'm about 3-4mpg more plus I notice some seroius low end torque improvements. I was indeed running retarted at 0 degrees.

Thanks again everyone!

I'm going to make your statement more valid, by saying I did the same with my 90 GT-S celica. I advanded the timing to 14 and still only used 87 octane, I did over 50 000 KM like that so I can say it seems a pretty safe mod to do.

The extra power from the engine is signification in the lower end of the rpm band, I don’t know if I lost or gained anything in the upper end but its been said it usually is a gain everywhere. The gas mileage should improve too, as you’re gaining more power without using more fuel (in theory...)!

I still have to do it on my 6th gen though...

This post has been edited by Rayme: Jan 12, 2007 - 12:54 PM