I want to retard my timing just a notch but not while the engine is running. Anyone know which direction to turn the distributor to retard the timing. Clockwise or counter?
Rick

 

Counter clockwise.


Ron C. Terry




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'82 Trans Am
'81 Camaro Z-28
'94 Vette LT1 Coupe

 

Clockwise to retard, my man... When looking down at cap.

 

Hey guys which is it?

 

I am 2000 percent sure it is clockwise to retard... I will stake my reputation on it. Call a mechanic if you don't believe me. Not sure why that other guy said conterclockwise... Either inexperienced or read your question wrong.

You can do it with the engine running but wear a glove. Also, I recommend checking your timing FIRST with a timing light and then after you retard it to see how far you went. Don't go too far.

Why are you retarding, anyway???

[This message has been edited by FastBroker (edited September 18, 2000).]

 

On hard acceleration I'm getting a lot of detonation. I have a hypertech chip and it gets a lot of advance. I run Sunoco 94 but it still pings.

 

What is your base timing, now???

 

You can do it with the engine running but wear a glove.

i never wear gloves :\
am i gonna get shocked one of these days?

 

You may, you may not... I haven't gotten shocked in several years but it aint cool... Most of the time I don't use the glove anyways, just makes sense to use one.

 

it's CLOCKwise... think of it this way... counterclockwise moves the #1 wire closer to the rotor which advances... clockwise moves it away == retard... if you want to retard it "a notch or two" loosen the distributor and move it no more than 1/8" of an inch...

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'86 IROC-Z 305/auto with no cat, performance chip, shift kit, and 4.11s
'87 IROC-Z factory loaded with every option, 84,000 miles

Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

Yeah don't move it much. What I did was take a small screwdriver, hold it against something fixed in the engine bay (I used the coil) and use the tip of it to put a small scratch on the outside of the cap. Then turn the cap a little, and make a new mark, then test drive it. That way you have a reference for where it was at various points. That also came in handy when I wanted to approximately set the timing after removing/reinstalling the distributor.

For example, if your new mark is 1/4 inch from your old, that's like 6 or 7 degrees you've moved your timing. So move it in really small increments!

[This message has been edited by Eggplant Jeff (edited September 18, 2000).]

 

Whatever happened to the good ol' timing light?

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

hey Vader, i use an inductive light.. then again, i do the job right not half assed

 

Hey guys thanks for the info. I moved the distributor about 1/8" clockwise using reference points incribed on the housing. Lo and behold no detonation. The reason for not using a timing light - I don't have one. Plan to borrow one from work this weekend but wanted to run my car today without detonation.
Rick

 

hey Rick, your best bet to fine tune your timing is to use an Inductive light.. they are less susceptible to cross-firing and are also really bright, i think they run about 800-125$ for a good one..