Timing Angle For Modified Rb26

[swith]

Hi, can some of you experts please help figure this problem out for me.

I recently bought a timing light from eBay (the type that have clamp for pickup and bettery leads for power) and measured the timing on my RB26 motor (motor seem to have some mods like longer crank & possibly larger pistons, not 100% sure). To my surprise the timing was 35-40 degrees BTDC at around 950rpm idle.

I know the manual says it should be 20 degrees.

My engine runs smooth & have reasonable power, so I'm a bit puzzled as to why my engine seems normal when timing is way off!

Could it be my timing gun is inaccurate, or could it be my timing is in fact way off but the engine can still run smooth that far off?

I tried flipping the clamp on the pickup loop provided at back of engine but cannot see any significant difference to the number I get.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[White GTS-T]

To ensure you don't get any interference with the timing signal pick up, you need to fit an ignition lead between the coilpack and the spark plug on cylinder number one, and use that as your signal reference.

[swith]

Great, thanks for the tip, will try that.

So is it common for the factory provided loop to pickup interference?

[Ben C34]

Yep