Hey guys, I was thinking about timing again today in an effort to get my car running smoother.. ever since emissions elim back in April, the car hesitates a bit at lower rpm.



Anyway, how many of you have done this trick to find TDC since the marks may not actually be TDC? What were your results with timing adjust afterward? Check this link: TDC



I was wondering about TDC because every time I dropped in my CAS with everything lined up properly, the teeth would always move a bit and I could never quite get the two teeth in the CAS lined up with the pickup coils.



Also, I hear a lot of talk about zero'd timing. Is this just for tuning purposes with standalones? Shouldn't our leading timing be 5 degrees ATDC?

 

its ok if the cas moves a tad when you put it in, thats why they give you an adjustment.



i'm not sure about finding tdc without taking the motor apart.



you have to zero timing with an aftermarket ecu because it doesnt know where tdc is, you have to tell it where tdc is and how many trigger events it sees etc. the stock ecu assumes it knows where tdc is, it runs like you have the cas in right.



mike

 

i have been playing with with the computer for several years and i found out that the computer is smarter than you cuz i seen that u put

it somewhere but she is gonna trick you and put where it goes or where she want it!!

 

what?

 

Ok, well I'm sure my timing is fine then.. keep avoiding the obvious which is causing some hesitation at lower rpm (just enough to bother me).. vacuum leaks. I should reseal my intake manifolds. I only used the Mazda gaskets and no RTV. I used RTV with the gaskets on everything else (parts that see oil or coolant).

 

it could be grounds, and the positives too. if you havent you might want to tighten the connexions in the fuse box.



oh and 02 sensor?



mike

 

if the hesitation occurs during the transition on/off throttle right at the threshold of idle it's probably TPS out of adjustment... my car would always get out of adjustment, it would work fine for a night after adjusting then slowly make it's way out, it was like the bushings were worn or there was slop somewhere else making it misbehave. Yet another reason to go with an aftermarket ems.

 

Hmmm.. well the hesitation is at wide open throttle at rpm below 4500 like a slight stumbling?. I just adjusted TPS with the 2 LED method so I believe timing and TPS are fine. Plugs and O2 sensor are fine too. Other symptom is it doesn't want to stay idling sometimes until warm without my foot on the gas for a bit.. six ports also wired OPEN right now. Car is running slightly rich at WOT according to the a/f guage which has to be somewhat accurate? One thing I haven't done is fuel filter.. I was neglecting it since I only put 5k on the car in the past 2 years. I'll do that this weekend.



How would vacuum leaks make it run other than rough idle which it doesn't have? Maybe I'm looking too far into this.

 

vacuum leaks show up first in starting and idleing problems, at wot the tps is maxxed out too. i wonder if its just confused about the 6ports being open? my gsl-se seems really rich down low with the ports open, it bascially doesnt get going until 4500



mike

 

Ok, well thats exactly what mine does.. I bet its those damn six ports. I need to fab something or put the air pump back in which I really don't want to do.