Ok, I have become the owner of an older Sears timing light, and it has a knob on the back. This is a step above what I have used before, but I do not have what I used before to figure out how to use it. Do I leave the adjustment knot at 0, or set it to the timing that I wish to achieve? I know that adjusting it makes the timing notch move, but I am not sure where I want the mark to show when it is set at any one point. Help?
you can set the knob at the desired timing setting and get the marks to line up to tdc or set the knob to 0 and get the marks to line up to the desired setting. your call.
I've kind of been wondering the same thing. So, if I want 11 degrees, I set the light to 11, and line up the marks for TDC? Makes sense.
unevolved wrote: I've kind of been wondering the same thing. So, if I want 11 degrees, I set the light to 11, and line up the marks for TDC? Makes sense.
yup
unevolved wrote: I've kind of been wondering the same thing. So, if I want 11 degrees, I set the light to 11, and line up the marks for TDC? Makes sense.
Exactly, I probably have the same light as you. I always double check, by setting the light back to zero, but it has never been off!
Thanks. That makes sense, I have to guess that some vehicles only have a mark showing TDC. When I first used it, I didn't pay atention to where the dial was, and my timing mark was lit up WAY off. Then I noticed that the dial was set to something like 35. Oops.
Yeah, some have only the TDC mark, usually the ones that claim there is no adjustment.
When I set timing, I set it to "0" on the light and time it, drive around for a while and then set it by ear, then I check it with the light to see where I ended up. Never harmed an engine this way, but I err on the side of caution. Never more than a degree or two advance at a time.
Be careful when you time the Miata. Some timing lights will show double the timing on a Miata. When I set my '90 to 18 degrees BTDC it would show 36. I don't completely understand why, but it made a huge difference. I bought a '92 that had been set to the stock 11, and it had no power. Turned out it was actually set at about 5.
so when setting the advance past what the book calls for , how much "extra" advance should cause a change to the next heat range colder plug...?
running ~ a total of 16° advance (10°) is stock setting.... is 93 octane enough or should there be a plug change and/or high test..?
I've been running 16 on 89 no problems and now that the weather has cooled off the low grade stuff is working fine. Only time I ever heard a ping was 100 temperature outside a/c on full blast and a third gear pull from just above 1000rpm's. I backed the timing off just a bit so I didn't have to use 93 octane after that.
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