Honda Car Forum

how do i advance the timing on a honda civic,i know it has to do with the distributor?

you loosen the distributor hold down screw (below the cap) and turn slightly while engine is running.If you ignore me and do it while the car is off, remember which way the distributor cap is pointed.

i would advise bringing it to a shop to do it unless youre very knowledgeable on the subject. Timing is not the easiest thing to work with. depending on the year of the car, its either done through the distributer, or by the CPU.

I belive you loosen the distributor and turn it clockwise,but don"t forget to mark a white line on it"s original location mark spot on distibutor and engine at your original sterting point.

All of these people are right. Mark the base of the distributor to show original location . Remember a distributor turns at 1/2 crank rotation so any movement is amplified. For example to advance timing five degrees only requires 2 1/2 degrees of distributor rotation ( about 1/16th inch at base). Advance is achieved by rotating the distributor into the oncoming rotor. Know which way your distributor turns.