timing question

[Barry Donovan]

I am in strange setting on my little ea82 subaru project.

the carb engine does 7 degrees timing by the book..and I am retarded about 5.

how is it being normal at 2 degrees or less?


for reference I am using stoich gauge to tune...it will blow its cookies otherwise.

is timing into a 1 degree possible?

accel 300+
iridium plugs
compression sounds like a beehive. Rallyish but with draft of old (high vacuum). You can giggle at my own observation, but a brm v16 comes to mind. Maybe its the multi spark from the accel.



just curious...am I errored, or what does this timing tell about the engine?

[MR P-BODY]

That might be initial timing but I'm sure you also have advance timing...
7* is low for most engines but if thats what the book says then fine...
then rev it up while watching the timing and see what it goes up to..
not to pop your bubble BUT the timing should be set before you start
tuning on the carb

[silver_bullet]

usually i would tend to aggree... get her to run, adjust initial timing without vacuum advance, then, bring in the vacuum advance after locking in the idle, thn start tweaking the carb... once that far, cut the vacuum again and check the initial timing again. then once all is said and done, fine tune the idle speed and mixture. afterwarming it up completely, do a driveability test with a wideband O2 sensor...repeat several times and have fun...

[Barry Donovan]

usually i would tend to aggree... get her to run, adjust initial timing without vacuum advance, then, bring in the vacuum advance after locking in the idle, thn start tweaking the carb... once that far, cut the vacuum again and check the initial timing again. then once all is said and done, fine tune the idle speed and mixture. afterwarming it up completely, do a driveability test with a wideband O2 sensor...repeat several times and have fun...

I am hoping to get it back to 5 degrees or so with the little hat on top of carb.

another oddity is dual timing belts, so disty driven belt may be a trick in the cold.
funny engine.

the afr gauge is a great gadget for this one...the engine veers off the book numbers for years at a time.

[silver_bullet]

Wow... is there any preheater(stove) in the manifold??
I hope that you are liking this, otherwise it seems like quite a pennance...

[Barry Donovan]

Wow... is there any preheater(stove) in the manifold??
I hope that you are liking this, otherwise it seems like quite a pennance...

yes big heat...subaru versio, it is actually clever.
it should be all set, a yearly routine now conquered with a gauge.

this time last year was when I knew the old engine was not going to make it...then blew it in april/may.

this year I know the problem, already making up for it.

ignore timing numbers and vacuum readings..
AFR is the tell all.

[silver_bullet]

well, hang in there... looks like good progress....

[MR P-BODY]

ignore timing numbers and vacuum readings..
AFR is the tell all.

You can make the AFR right with any timing BUT its not right...
you will be short on timing... set the timing FIRST then play with
the AFR

[Barry Donovan]

You can make the AFR right with any timing BUT its not right...
you will be short on timing... set the timing FIRST then play with
the AFR

thats what makes this strange.
It must be the double timing belt, averaging out on a 7 degree engine..its bound to happen.

I get it at factory first, bang on the carb..and then know something is just not right eventually.

16th year for me and an ea82. I needed a fast gauge the whole time. the only success story was an injected one that rode an o2..like I am now, but now I am manually setting things for an antique status. Not a common build, but under control. Bigger than the others to get right, even wrong..it is always bigger than the others.
Worth the oddity.

the digital gauge has only been available for about 3 years. this stroke is so short, the analog ones did not help much..the delay on 2.65 inch stroke is silly. I never got one for that reason. I actually went towards formula 1 for advice once, it is that bizarre.

digital to the rescue.