Timing tape U20

[tangoterje]

Trying out printable timing tape from www.blocklayer.com/timing-tape

tape.jpg

[tangoterje]

The colours can be inverted, but my printer sucks, it tells me it’s out of cyan. And then magenta. Got lots of black though, but it doesn’t seem to care.

[JT68]

Come on you guys, don't fool around with stick-on band-aids... buy a quality digital timing light. I have an INNOVA 5568, an excellent product; literally use it every day>

[tangoterje]

I like fooling around.

[JT68]

ok, but it's really a silly idea compared to just buying a good light.

How many hours you will you play with that, trying to cook up a 1/2decent solution?

Tape is only going to stick well to a perfectly clean balancer, so you are going to remove it from the car to glue it on? Hours of work. Ultimately it will get grimy and come off anyway-probably the next time you need it. And forget about precision.....

In the old days, the pro method was to precisely add additional notches to the balancer, but these days, that is a waste of time too.

The digital dial-back feature on a modern light makes all of the above "extremely silly" in the words of Monty Python.

All you do it hook up the light!

Besides, having a digital tachometer on the timing light display screen is worth the cost right there. No guessing-you can check the timing precisely at any rpm.

(We don't sell timing lights, just helping you guys out)

[tangoterje]

Look, with all due respect Jim, you´re assuming a couple things that simply aren´t true.

1) I do have a great dial-back timing light (it´s spelled Innova btw), and I know how to use it
2) My perfectly clean unused balancer is out the car, it´s on my lap, as the picture shows. Printing it out in inverse colours on a plastic type tape, I´m pretty sure I´ll find a way to make it stick. Besides, the 5 notches are already there, so it´s easy to see if it gets out of alignment.

One thing the Innova dial-back light can´t do is to accurately verify an installed camshaft while engine is in the car. That´s easy with a timing tape (in place of a degree wheel) and a dial indicator. I use an ATI balancer on my Z, which is fully degreed, it makes varying the camshift timing a breeze (not that I´m very good at it).

You´re right that it takes time though, I´ve spent hours on it already, haha. Ideally I´d want to add notches around it, but it´s still easier to read with the timing tape.

If building and tuning engines is something that makes you lie in bed late at night with your iphone falling into your face, I´d say making the effort to have a degreed balancer is totally worth it.

[JT68]

I's sorry, my apologies, but there were no significant inaccuracies or assumptions:

This post was about ignition timing from the beginning. (the photo posted shows the MSD printouts for 0-60 degreesBTDC which would be almost useless for cam work) There is no reason to dork around with tape for that. The Innova light is perfect for that and lets you correctly set both initial and final timing. Done.

The tape idea is even sillier for degreeing a camshaft. A complete waste of time. (Sorry about that).

If you are going to do that even 1/2 way correctly, you MUST have a large diameter degree wheel which is accurately (1degree) dialed in to actual crank/piston position with a dial indicator. Otherwise, you will easily have several degrees of absolute error. There is no point- just set it up with the Nissan marks and you will be just as close.

On a 5” radius crank pulley, ESPECIALLY with taped on marks, you can easily be several degrees out. That doesn’t cut it for degreeing the cam. Even if you have it perfectly set at zero (which would still require setting it up on a engine with a dial indicator), chances are it is likely off by 1,2,3 degrees at +/ 110, 250, 330 degrees where the valve events for the various cylinders happen. You need accurate 1 or 2 degree resolution for all 360 degrees. You are just kidding yourself playing with tape.

Again:

1. buy a good digital timing light, and don’t waste your time with tape.

2. If you’re going to dial in a camshaft, you need a large degree wheel and a dial indicator, and you need to really understand the significance of valve events versus crankshaft and piston position. Otherwise your efforts will be several crankshaft degrees or otherwise in error and simply a waste of time and effort. If must attempt to do this in the car, start at the factory timing settings and use empirical methods to make adjustments (dyno etc.)
3. Sorry, applying a piece of tape to the "approximate position", with "approximately calibrated" timing marks on a 5"pulley is just a waste of time and bandwidth.

Anyone who has correctly dialed in a cam using a dial indicator and a 12inch wheel will tell you how easy it is to be off by one degree. Really, don't waste your time with this tape silliness, especially not for dialing in a camshaft "in the car", it just isn't nearly accurate enough to be of any real use.

Apologies if I shattered anyone's dreams, just trying to be helpful; but there are no shortcuts to properly dialing in a cam.

[Solex68]

Trying out printable timing tape from www.blocklayer.com/timing-tapetape.jpg

It looks great tangoterje !
I made one back in the day following this thread and it did fall off years later but admittedly I should have spent more time on the installation, and I did not have my pully off the car.
I loved it. It looks better than a bare pully and it comes in handy when you aren't setting the timing but just need a good quick check assessment, also way easier to read when using any timing light.
Go forth and take a photo once it is installed in the car. I did make a backup of the tape when I made my original. You'll inspire me to put it on property this time

[Bwk2000]

Can’t comment on the effectiveness, but if applied right, damn it looks cool!

9B2D4937-B193-4D63-ACE5-F632874E006A.jpeg

[tangoterje]

Speaking of ATI dampers, are there other examples than the Engineered Performance build a while ago? Haven’t seen any bolt on options yet.

[Bwk2000]

Speaking of ATI dampers, are there other examples than the Engineered Performance build a while ago? Haven’t seen any bolt on options yet.

I haven’t personally come across anything else. Maybe someone here more connected to the racing scene might have a line on other options available.