> From: -RyAn- <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: Temp. fix for adjusting timing?
> 
> I'm not exactly sure why Ben's "average" 13 degrees is
> better than my "probably" 12 degrees LOL, but I tried
> to adjust the timing myself anyway(without the tool).

when you set the ignition timing , you'll find that its never in the
same exact place all the time.  it hunts around a few degrees, kinda
like the hunting of the DPR current.  its not too much though, which is
why you usually just say "i have my timing set at X degrees".  

the "probably" from your mechanic leads me to believe that he didnt take
the three minutes to hook up the timing light to your car, and he is
just making a wild guess.  thats how its different.  since you moved it,
you'll never know where it was really set, so you'll never know if the
mechanic was just jerking you around, so you'll never know if he is a
guy you want to stay away from your car.  if you found the timing was
set at 20 degrees or something ridiculous like that, what would that say
about the mechanic?  

its much more than just semantics.  

> I turned my distributer counter-clockwise (thankyou
> On another note, what exactly is the difference
> between the distributer timing and cam timing or any
> other kind?  I've heard many terms before and I'm
> wondering whether they're different or not?

ignition timing refers to when the spark fires with respect to the
pistons in the cylinders.  12 degrees BTDC will fire the spark when the
piston is 12 degrees from the top of the cylinder  (measured by the
location of the piston's rod on the crankshaft).  when youre wide open
at high revs, your ignition timing is well over 30 degrees BTDC.  

cam timing is the offset between the cam lobes and pistons.  cam
profile/design is a complicated thing, but in a nutshell, when the car
gets designed, the cams and pistons have a particular orientation with
respect to each other, to provide whatever power the car is supposed to
have.  when you change the cam timing, you rotate the cams forward or
backward a few degrees with respect to the pistons to adjust where you
want the power.  

ben
two cams, twelve valves
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