Okay I just got back from MaddMatt's house. He was nice enough ,thanks Matt, to help me set my timing. (I don't have the gun yet myself) Anyway I have something that still puzzles me.

If I just hook up the gun and point it at my crank pulley will it not show me what my timing is set to? I know I could not change it but would it not show me what its set to? Or do I have to follow the procedure to even see what she is set at?

I had thought that you could just get the gun connect it and shoot it to see what its set to. But it seems like that was wrong because when we did that it showed 25 degrees advanced. Now I always run super but I NEVER hear any knock. Can someone please expalin to me whats up with this?

She is set at a confirmed 17 degrees now, but boy what a b*tch it was getting her into timing mode.

Any insight would be most appreciated.

i thought that doing the whole timing mode routine was just to make adjustments. i wouldn't think you would need to do it just to check the timing setting. but when 98sr20de got his timing checked while @ the dyno runs, the tech did the whole routine. perhaps it is required to get an accurate reading.

That's the whole reason timing mode exists - to have the car run at exactly the base timing so you can set it. With it NOT in timing mode, the timing moves ALL over the place. If you drive around with something like a consult or some kind of datalogger, you will see your ignition timing go ALL over the place. 17 degrees is your BASE timing. The 25 degrees you see out of timing mode at idle is the ECU doing it's best to conserve gas and stuff at that particular throttle position and RPM. If you are cruising at a constant speed you will see the timing just way up. Hit the gas and watch it go down.

Originally posted by Stiletto
i thought that doing the whole timing mode routine was just to make adjustments. i wouldn't think you would need to do it just to check the timing setting. but when 98sr20de got his timing checked while @ the dyno runs, the tech did the whole routine. perhaps it is required to get an accurate reading.

Actually, this is backwards. You can easily change your timing w/o going through the procedure. Buuutttt...... w/o going through the procedure, you will never know where it's set. So, you could set it, but you wouldn't know where you are setting it. Likewise, if you are just wanting to check it, you must go through the procedure.

Ben has it exactly right.

Thank you Ben for explaning that to me. That makes sense now. Ahh the bulb glows brighter. ;)

Ok that makes sense now. We *thought* we had it in timing mode the first time, but it wasn't. It was reading ~25 degrees (no I'm not kidding). When we adjusted the distributor, we could adjust the timing, but it would go back by itself to 25 degrees.

When we finally got it in timing mode, the base timing was set correctly to 17 degrees.

how exactly do you get into the mode to set timing? i was told all you had to do was pull off the TPS plug and rev it over 3000 RPM 3 times... is there more to it? after doing so, the timing was not moving around... but I guess i dont know for sure that i was in timing mode.??? im new to the SE-Rs...

-charles

Originally posted by phunk
how exactly do you get into the mode to set timing? i was told all you had to do was pull off the TPS plug and rev it over 3000 RPM 3 times... is there more to it? after doing so, the timing was not moving around... but I guess i dont know for sure that i was in timing mode.??? im new to the SE-Rs...

-charles

First make sure your car is up to operating temps. Give it a few good revs to make sure your 02 sensor is good and hot. Allow your car to idle. Disconnect your tps and rev it over 3000k three times but do it quicky. Meaning as soon as it drops below 3000k punch it again. I was waiting after each rev'ing for it to drop back to idle. That is why I had trouble getting her into timing mode. When I got her into it finally, my idle dropped. Then loosen your two bolts on your dist. and turn to advance or retard. (I forget now which way was which) This is just a real basic overview of the procedure. Go to www.se-r.net and do a search under timing. You will find a good set of instructions. (though it does not tell you to rev it quickly, keep that in mind and you'll save a headache) Good luck and welcome to our world.