Bad Timing
Hi Honda Tuning, I have a quick question. I'm having trouble timing my H23A. It's been fully rebuilt from the ground up and I'm having extreme trouble timing it properly. I tried doing it by the Chilton's repair manual and it's not working properly. If my head was machined or worked on, do I need to advance my timing or retard it? The head is ported and polished and the block has high-compression pistons. I also still have the stock cam gears. I may invest in Skunk2 cam gears. Thanks for all your help. I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys!!Toun
None of the things you've mentioned affect timing, but since you mentioned porting and polishing the head, we're going to assume it was milled too. A milled head, or a significantly decked block, or a thicker or thinner head gasket will all affect both camshaft timing and ignition timing. Timing is a direct relation of the distance between the camshafts and the crankshaft, so anytime you bring them closer together or farther apart, timing gets disrupted. When you move them closer together, like when milling the head, this retards camshaft timing. You'll need those Skunk2 adjustable cam gears before you can do anything. Put them on and degree your camshafts so that you can find out where exactly "zero" is. Re-mark your cam gears accordingly. When you're done, and your cam gears are set where you want them, set your ignition timing accordingly.
4x4 Fantasies
Hi, I've got a '98 Civic DX with the manual transmission. It's turbocharged, but I've got too many mods to list. I've also had a bunch of Civics in the past but I think I'm going to keep this one. I'm trying to stiffen up my suspension without lowering it. What're your ideas on this? I prefer the stock ride height; it makes me look innocent.
I'm sure you have good intentions, but you've pretty much got to lower that thing. Stiffer spring rates aren't the only advantage to lowering your car, a lower chassis also improves aerodynamics and lowers the car's center of gravity, which means handling will be improved. You don't even need to set it in the weeds either. Both Eibach and Neuspeed offer springs with conservative drops and there are several companies with fully adjustable coilover setups that'll let you lower your Civic anywhere from dumped to practically stock; check out Eibach or Skunk2 if you're interested in that. Keep in mind that if you swap in shorter and stiffer springs, you'll also need shocks that'll be able to keep up.
Another Awd Wet DreamI recently heard that there is an AWD TSX. Where could I find one of these transmissions? Are the gears similar to the K20's six-speed?Austin Morris, whereabouts unkown