how to adjust m42 timing?

[nickmp0wer]

I have the valve cover off and its easy to see how to do it, any anyone clarify which way is advance and which way is retard? It seems like turings the cam the same way the engine rotates would advance it but im not even sure which way it goes. Clockwise i think but i wanna make sure

[nickmp0wer]

i moved the cam counter clockwise as i was told to do by kenyon

[bmwman91]

Turning it CCW is retarding the timing, and should give the upper band a slight boost. I am going to either turn mine back to stock or maybe retard 3.5deg. The 5deg advance sure gives a nice boost between 3500 & 4800RPM, but the top end is not very peppy. The M42 definitely is not intended to be driven on midrange power, though coming out of corners at autoX it would be nice to have that midrange power.

For those that have retarded the timing, how badly did the idle/low-mid range power suffer?

[nickmp0wer]

it seems that everyone that has attempted to advance their timing has seen gains up top. Are u sure ur not the one that has it backwards?

and how did you get your valve cover painted like that? did u paint yellow then mask it off or did u just use a sponge to wipe the black off?

[nickmp0wer]

I drove with the timing which i think is advanced but i hadnt driven the car in a few days. It seems like there are some gains up top but the motor is dead at the lower rpms in higher gears. i might try retarding it next week when i paint the cover

[kowalski]

thats cause if you change it you loose torque and gain hp if you retard you gain torque and loose a little hp. i would personaly opt for more torque seeing as these things have next to none.