MazdaMitch Thank you Mitch. On my 86 B2000 2.0L there is no scale for ignition timing degrees on the belt cover, it only has a pointer on it. The harmonic balancer has two marked notches on it. My Haynes manual shows an illustration of this on page 1-35. It seems that the only ignition timing settings offered for this engine are TDC, 6 degrees advanced, or anything in between. I have calculated distances on the balancer measured from the TDC notch that would give ignition advances up to 12 degrees. I checked my calculated distance for the 6 degree mark against what I measure on the balancer between the TDC mark and that 6 degree mark and they correspond. So, I could mark my dampner for these settings and set ignition timing for advance timing greater than 6 degrees. What concerns me is, why would Mazda limit the ignition timing to 6 degrees on this engine? I thought the forum might have some inight on this. The only thought I had is that it was done to accommodate the emission control system. Does the 2.0 engine use a different cam than, say the 2200 engine, would that make any difference? My plan was to set the ignition for 10-12 degrees advance. I can't think of any reason I could not run it at that advance. Any thoughts on this?
Bill
