Valve timing "experiment"

[skewbe]

I had to do my timing belt and was intrigued by lots of posts on teamswift.net regarding advancing the cam timing (not the ignition timing).

The concept is real simple (at least on a metro), I took off the cam timing gear, made a radial line 185 degrees away from the centerline of the existing slot in the direction of rotation (just eyeballed the slot center and had a kids protractor that fit in the gear), then made a hole using my cheesey drill press. since I was WAY off on the distance from the gear center I carefully elongated the hole towards the center with a dremel and chain saw sharpening stone. This only took a few minutes and I took my time (grind a little, test fit, repeat) and had a nice snug fit when I was done.

Then I put it all back together with the cam gear on 180 degrees out from where I took it off (don't forget the new timing belt), retarded the ignition and viola, 10 degrees cam advanced.

Note, I've changed so many things in so short a time (and still havent found my timing light) that this isn't much of an experiment, but I did have my best commute yet (49.3 indicated) immediately following this mod, and I was "getting on it". It took off faster and climbed hills better, no doubt in my mind.

This is not a high speed mod, as I understand it, advancing the valve timing is supposed to allow the engine to make peak torque sooner, putting more of your around town driving closer to the engines most efficient rpm. Since I'm never on the hiway, this seems to be appropriate for my situation. Your mileage may vary

Standard disclaimers apply, this info is for entertainment purposes only. This isn't for everyone and you risk really screwing up your engine if you do something wrong.