Ok, so ive heard alot of people saying that they have adjusted their timing and got better top end power, and just better response all together. I am not sure how to do this, do you just adjust the distributor, and if so, how far, and anything else i might need to know.
thanks

 

You need a timing light. Buy one with a dial in the back. They're must more versatile for doing other things.

Disconnect the coil wire from the distributor.

Once you find the timing mark on the balancer, crawl under the car and have a buddy tap the starter to rotate the engine until you see a groove on the balancer that's about 1/8"-3/16" deep. Use white paint or a white crayon to fill in the groove so it's easy to see.

Hook the coil wire back to the distributor, and unhook the ESC connector. It's located near the blower motor on the passenger side firewall. It'll be the brown wire sticking out of a black wire loom. Just seperate the connector and leave it sit.

Attach the red connector to the positive ("+" or red) terminal on the battery, and the black connector to the negative ("-" or black) on the battery.

Hook up the timing light using the inductive pickup to the #1 sparkplug wire. It's the one that's on the driver's side of the engine, closest to the radiator.

Loosen the distributor hold down bolt just enough that it takes a little effort to be able to rotate the distributor either clockwise or counter clockwise.

Start the engine and aim the timing gun straight down between the water pump and the engine block. The timing tab is mounted to the timing chain cover, right behind the water pump. Look for the groove in the balancer.

A stock LO3 should be set at 0* BTDC. The groove should be lined up to the first "V" on the timing tab (the one closest to the driver's side). If not, rotate the distributor one way or the other until it is. At this point ignore the other "V' grooves.

Turn the engine off and tighten the dist. hold down bolt. Start the car and check the timing again to be sure the dist. didn't move while you were tightening the hold-down bolt. If so, correct it.

Once you're done, turn off the car and hook the ESC wire back together. Take it for a drive and see it that feels better.

When using a timing gun with a dial, only use the first “V” groove on the timing tab. If the timing mark on the balancer doesn’t line up with the “V” groove on the timing tab, rotate the dial on the back of the gun until it does. Whatever number the dial is pointing to is where the advance is set BTDC.

Most people start with the timing advanced 4*, however, 6* seems to be the most common allowed. But don't assume that will work for yours. Every engine is different.