School me on timing.

[handloader90]

Again, thanks to everyone for your input and help!

 

[handloader90]

Thanks for giving me an answer for the hooking vac advance up to a "T" fitting with my brake booster question.

 

[handloader90]

Got another question for you guys. I want my base timing to be 10*, correct?

When my timing light is offset for 10* for base timing and I shine it on the balancer will the line on the balance be at 10* ATDC?

When I get into mechanical and I offset the light to say 34*, where will the line on the balancer line up to in conjunction to the timing tab? I'm assuming it won't even be on the tab but somewhere, maybe an inch or so below it? Just asking because I don't have timing tape on the balancer.

When I get to the vac advance part and the vac advance is all hooked back up what number will I be looking for on the screen? It is to my understanding that the vac advance will bump the reading up... is this only at higher RPM's? Around what RPM will the vac advance kick in and affect the numbers on the timing light?

 

[dremu]

Got another question for you guys. I want my base timing to be 10*, correct?

When my timing light is offset for 10* for base timing and I shine it on the balancer will the line on the balance be at 10* ATDC?

When I get into mechanical and I offset the light to say 34*, where will the line on the balancer line up to in conjunction to the timing tab? I'm assuming it won't even be on the tab but somewhere, maybe an inch or so below it? Just asking because I don't have timing tape on the balancer.

You keep overthinking this. When you use the adjustable light, look for the line AT ZERO on the balancer and read the offset on the light.

Said another way, the timing is the sum of the light reading and that on the balancer, so if your light was set to 10* and you read 10 BTDC on the tab, that would actually be 20* total.

(Similarly, though I don't think most tabs go that far, if you did read 10 ATDC on the tab, adding that to the 10* on the light makes zero total, which I imagine would make your engine unhappy )

When I get to the vac advance part and the vac advance is all hooked back up what number will I be looking for on the screen? It is to my understanding that the vac advance will bump the reading up... is this only at higher RPM's? Around what RPM will the vac advance kick in and affect the numbers on the timing light?

One more time: The number on the light won't change unless you change it. You change it at any given speed to make the strip line up at zero on the tab.

This will make far more sense once you have the truck in front of you and practice.

-- A

 

[blazer74]

The purpose of a dial back timing light is so you can read timing at higher rpm using the zero mark.

With a straight timing light you need a timing tape on the balancer to read the timing as it advances because it moves around the balancer.

The dial back keeps it on the zero mark by dialing in the timing you want.

 

[handloader90]

Ok. I agree, I'm gonna have to get a hands on for everything to make sense.

 

[ryoken]

The purpose of a dial back timing light is so you can read timing at higher rpm using the zero mark.

With a straight timing light you need a timing tape on the balancer to read the timing as it advances because it moves around the balancer.

The dial back keeps it on the zero mark by dialing in the timing you want.

what he said...

 

[paratrooper307]

Something that has always helped me for initial timing was to use a timing tape, I find them much easier to read than using a dial-back light and the marker. Just personal preference, however, and they usually come off after a bit anyway.

You'll find that engines vary, so you'll play around a little with the timing and get what works for you. Crane sells a kit with replacement springs to adjust the advance curve and a limiter for vacuum advance. Don't worry about these until you get comfortable dialing in your base and total timing. They can be nice when fine-tuning your setup.