whats the base timing supposed to be set on an lb9? it was at 8* and it was surging and the car seemed to have a miss? So i turned it down and poof it was gone and it runs good now i heard you have to have it set at 8* for smog in ca is this true?

 

I believe it should be 6* + or - 1* otherwise they can fail you.

 

hmm whats do you guys have your timing set to?

 

could it be possible to have my dampner is off or could my tdc be off?my timing is at zero and i set my iac to and now my car is sounding better and runing better then ever? its not as responsive but it runs better. and my idle is perfect now

 

sorry for hyjacking your thread, but when i flash my timing light...i cant see the groove on my dampner anywhere? tdc off? it runs but is EXTREMLY hard to tune due to me not being able to time it?

 

did you unplug the est? if not do so its a lil brown conector located on the passeger side of the engine bay

 

yah, and i still cant see the line on my balancer? i even painted the line white when i had the engine out?

 

are you on the right plug? front of engine on driver side?

 

yes, im on the #1. im following all the proper procedures.

 

anyone?

 

A TPI setup, 305 or 350, should be 6 degrees stock. You are allowed plus or minus 3 degrees. Anywhere from 3 degrees to 9 degrees is good to pass smog. 6-8 would be the best, that way you have one degree of cushion in case the tech's timing light is off. Less than six would give you less power and we dont want that.

 

I have always had this timing problem. I actually set it about three years ago at a shop while I was watching how clean it was running on their scanner. Even when I unplug the timing wire, I can't see the line on the dampner.

I was told that my dampner may have spun on itself, but this wasn't the case. I did this on my old motor, and also with the brand new dampner I installed on the new motor. I was also told it could be my computer, but I have since replaced it and still have the same problem with not being able to time it. I don't have an answer for you, just thought that I would mention I also had this problem. Hopefully someone will have an answer.

 

iv also been told that the dampner could have spun on its self? its new?

 

i thats what i heard as well thanks for your response i wonder why my car is runnning so well at 0

 

There are two different kinds of dampners. One kind has the zero mark straight up, and that's used on carb and TBI cars. The TPI kind has the zero mark at the 2 o'clock position. If you have the wrong balancer, your timing will be all messed up and your car will not run correctly.

 

Kevin, This makes more sense than anything else I have ever thought of...I have just been setting the timing to run smooth and clean while hooked up to an emissions testing machine. The dampner that was on the car when I bought it was like this, and the replacement was the same. I will have to get the right one in the future...