Would it be safe and beneficial power wise to advance the timing 2 or 3 degrees and run 93 octane? Any computer errors possible? What are your thoughts?

 

i had pnoders that very same thing.,., i had asked my boss about the timing on my 3.1 camaro he said i would have to disconnect my comp to check it? how would i bump it up a few deg] anyway?

 

You can run more timing as far as you want as long as it doesn't ping.

On my motor I run 18* of timing and still run 87 octane, never had any issues with pinging.

To bump up the timing, just disconnect the single wire EST connector on the passenger side firewall(it sticks out of the wire loom there) and rotate the distributor until it's where you want it. tighten it down and drive it, if it pings, just back it off 2 degrees and repeat until it stops pinging.

 

i run 12 degrees normally and 15-16 on 93 octane when i go to the dragstrip, if i run much more than 12 on 87, i get a bit of spark knock, but it may be because i have a 3.4, which has higher compression than the 2.8. if you advance it w/ higher octane, you will notice a bit more power, but mileage will drop, due to running richer.

 

How does advanced timing make it run richer? Never heard of that. Usually when you advance the timing, you get better milage until the point that you ping.

 

i just found out my car has been running 22* base timing on 86 octane

but it also runs like ****, so i wouldnt reccomend it right off.

 

some one here said>>"To bump up the timing, just disconnect the single wire EST connector on the passenger side firewall"....
But what ide like to know is ,..,how do you know what degrease[*] its set at?? can my 3.1 be checked with a regular timing light. when the EST wire is disconected??

what does EST stand for anyway?
thanks for all the info folks



you guys are like my cars famley?? you know all about her [hehe]

 

on my accord I had decent results from timing change.
up to 91 octane and lot more timing. gas mileage went from 32-33 mpg avg up to 38mpg avg. well with that and synthetic in the tranny.

I set mine by ear though. on the accord from what I understand they only have one timing mark at 6* BTDC and that's it so I have no way to know what my timing was set to.
so I ended up just advancing it little by little till I heard ping. when I heard ping I backed off a little till the ping went away.

so far no problems since.

 

As for the 3.1 and checking the timing, you can use a regular timing light, as long as it has an advance feature, either digitally or by a dial on the back. If it doesn't, it's useless anywhere above about 14*.

As for the accord, depending on the year of it, you should have 2 makes on it, a white one at the factory spec and another at TDC.

 

Disconnect the wire, and you can check the timing with a regular timing light. Always check the timing on a warmed up car. Stock should be at 10*, there should be a timing mark on the harmonic balancer and a timing guage set just above it on the driver's side of the block.... by unbolting the distributor cap and twisting it, the line will move up and down on the guage. Once it is in the desired location, tighten the distributor cap and check it once more to make sure it didnt move. After timing is set, shut car off, disconnect battery to reset the computer, and your done. EST = Electronic Spark Timing

 

just to clarify...you loosen the distributor hold down clamp (bolt); not the cap. also, you don't have to disconnect the battery, it will be fine without doing that. you do have to restart the car after plugging the EST wire back in for the timing change to take effect.

 

HA! We've all given ambiguous info today. The change to the base timing happens as soon as you start messing with the distributor, but the computer will not take control of it and start advancing it to above base timing until the engine is shut off, the EST reconnected, and the engine restarted. Make sure that the Check Engine Light goes off, or you might have to turn it off and wait 30 seconds and try again.

 

thanks to every one for the advice [help] ive been saving all the info i recieve about all my questions.,in a notebook.,that way when in workin on the cari dont have to wash up to use the comp then go right back out

if i only had a garage,.i might just put a comp out there,..,but im makin do with what i got.....