Older vehicles with distributor-based ignition systems need their timing checked on a regular basis, otherwise you can have a host of problems. Starting becomes difficult, idling will be rough, ...

It's all in the timing, they say. Well, other adjustments also play a big role in how your motor runs, but firing the spark plugs at the correct time certainly helps performance. Most 'wheelers simply ...

We must first understand what each of these two systems does for a car. They both serve the same purpose, which is to coordinate the movement of the crankshaft as well as the camshaft(s) so that the ...

Most any hobbyist familiar with engine tuning can relate to the usefulness of an inductive timing light. It consists of a strobe that's triggered by the electrical impulses passing through a ...

Ignition timing is an often-misunderstood concept that has a big effect on performance. An air/fuel mixture burn rate doesn't increase in direct proportion to engine rpm. Therefore, the faster the ...

On New Years Eve 2015, my family and I were driving eastbound down the Ohio turnpike in my beloved 2002 Saturn L300. Everything was fine until, just past the Route 250 exit, the IP lit up like a ...

Do you know what a timing belt or a timing chain is and what they do? Could you find them on your vehicle's engine if you had to? If you answered no, don't sweat it. Both are buried behind a lot of ...

Every engine has a means of coordinating the timing between the valve train and the rest of the engine. Some engines use a timing chain and some a timing belt. A timing belt has the relatively ...

Timing belts themselves are relatively inexpensive but can easily cause thousands of dollars of damage if they break while the engine is running. Engines come in two configurations: Interference and ...