well i made an appointment with the dealer to get the timing advanced. just wanted to know if anyone else here had it done. did you like it? did you notice a little more "kick" in butt dyno?
the service guy said that CA smog law allows up to a 3 degree timing advance. i believe i read somewhere in the stickies that our ECU only allows increments in 2 degrees at a time though.
leeme hear you guy's thoughts.

 

ECU lets you advance it up to 17 degrees BTDC.

I did it but it only gives a minor performance increase.

 

You will have to run premium only fuel.

 

slightly better gas mileage

 

ecu default is 15° and i think you can adjust it anywhere from 13° to 17° BTDC

There is a dyno sheet of the gains i think it was like 3-4 hp I didnt feel too much but i think my butt dyno is broken

I had mine done by friend at a local nissan dealer he also printed out all my specs from the consult II to confirm the timing advance

Talk to them before they do it and make sure they arent going to charge you more than a half hour of labor which should be about $40

 

let me know how it goes. I need to get to the dealership for a few things(its over an hour away) so I want to get everything done at one time

 

You can go to the dealership for a performance mod? Wow. And do they just charge you for labor, or is there some sort of "timing advance fee"?

 

i don't think the delaer considers a timing advance a "performance mod" (even though it is); but they just charge 1/2 hour labor for a 5 min process.

 

if you're cool with anyone that works at a dealership, they can hook you up for some cash.. some friends of mine have gotten this done for less than 30 bucks

i have 2 questions though, is it safe to run 91 oct or should it be 93?

and would it be bad to get your timing advanced AND relocate the knock sensor??

 

to the 1st question yes it's safe. i think Aaron92se was running 21 BTDC degrees at one point on his old VE motor.

to the 2nd question, i know alot of VE owners tend to relocate the knock sensor without any problems. im assuming the same goes for the VQ.

 

The Nissan FSM for the maxima considers 15-20* in spec. If you use 91 and you get some knock it may retard the timing back to stock or even as low as 13

 

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!! A stealership that does not want to TAKE money from the customer. I went to the stealership and inquired about getting the timing advanced and told them i would pay.....they did not know what I was talking about at first...and when I explained...they said that they are not sure if the mechanics KNOW how to do it and they didn't want them to mess around with the timing on the car....are you kidding me!

 

WTF!!!!!

they don't know what a timing advance is????

i guess it's a good thing they don't. i would'nt trust to leave my car there for a repair if my mechanic doesnt know what a timing advance is. i would begin to wonder what else he doesn't know. so i guess its a good thing they don't know what you're talking about.

 

noob behind the service counter

 

I did have a SEL come on and it was due to "dirty air" or "cam lift...." near the MAF or something. I forgot what the "exact words" were on the print out at autozone. This was probably 4 months after advancing the timing to 17*. The code was more or less related to the bump in timing. So I just had it reset it. I always run 93 and according to the specs 17* was the most one should bump with a stock 5.5

I've noticed a jump at throttle and a nice TQ pull more now. Nothing MAJOR. My mpg has gone down slightly. I drive it somewhat harder though, at points. Still try to work on the MPG though. Otherwise its worth the $20 you flip the tech with the OBDII.

Make sure he resets your ECU first, my timing was at 14* and stock is 15*. He had to reset the factory setting to 15* and then go 2 up from there. After, have him unplug and plug back in the OBDII and make sure it reads 17*.

 

I'd went to my local dealership to have it done several weeks ago. I didn't go to the service desk...no way! Instead, I found a guy in the service department, ended up being the shop foreman (FTW!) and he did it for free! I asked him like 4 times if he wanted $10-$20....He completely shot me down. He said timing can be advanced 5 degrees, I'm assuming he meant "within" 5 degrees (13-17). He also said if I needed anything else to come see him.

No idle change, no noticeable change in mpg. I'd say no significant change in feel/power. Perhaps placebo....car always runs better on 92+ ocatane.

 

yeah...I explained to him that I only use 93 octane gasoline and that the timing set from the factory is conservative to say the least (to allow for using regular i guess) and that I am not getting the full potential of using the 93 with the timing at 15*....furthermore I told him that I should be even getting better gas mileage with the advance to 17*(granted I don't get use to the extra torque and grow a heavier foot...LOL)....he was just not getting it i guess.....and then he says that he doesn't want the techs messing around with the timing on the cars....at which point I told him that it is very simple with the CONSULT II....and I would supply the printout directions....still to no avail....I don't get it....any suggestions guys...I really want to get this done seeing how so many of you are realizing benefits from it.....I don't know.....

 

Don't talk to the service desk....find a tech and just ask if they would take a quick look with their data scanner. I actually walked into their shop from the outside, not inside or through the service desk office.

OR the route I took (but in the end didn't need to, the guy was really willing to do the timing) say "hey, had a quick question. Had a code, took to AdvanceZone (whichever) and they said it was code 455 (circulation valve), they erased it....but could you take a look and see if it's still there, I think I need to replace my gas cap or the canister valve. By the way, while you're in there how difficult would it be to bump my timing? Hey, would spotting you $10 do it?"

He may say yes, he may say $20, like in my case....he may say he'll just do it.

You may have to play the little code game because some dealerships are really tough on how the techs spend their time and some have policies that if they do this kind of stuff without charge, they can be written up or even fired! So, if you at least give the guy an out of checking out a code, then it gives the tech a legitimate reason for doing something for which he hasn't billed for.

 

I just talked to a friend about this. He works at a nissan dealership and has his own personal consult II and just got the new one also (consult III??) with the laptop. Anyway I asked him to advance the timing for me by 2 degrees and he told me he could do it but when I shut off the car, the ECU will reset the timing back to stock. Not that he is refusing but he said it does not make sense to do it. Dont know whats up with that????

 

Hmm... getting my timing advanced is harder than I thought. I went to my local dealership, and I'm cool with one of the sales reps there. I asked him about getting my timing advanced, and he was like "WTH? I don't know what that is. Ask a tech." So he escorted me to the back of the dealership where some techs were on their nicotine break. I asked one of them if they could advance my timing. He said "hold on for a second." I guess he went to talk to his supervisor or something. He came back and said "no, we don't do that here." Then I heard him talking to one of his buddies saying "timing advance? Why the hell would you do that???" Then he called me back over and said "why would you want to do that anyway?". I said "my timing's a little retarded".
That completes my narrative.
So, is there anywhere else I can get my timing advanced? Or can it only be done at a dealership?

 

I was at my dealership ordering a few parts and they told me that tey had no issues doing the advance. Most of the guys that work there have modded nissans. So when my pasrts come in I am going to see if I can get it done cheap

 

i think he was just pulling your leg; last time i checked NO ECU , regardless if its a Nissan, Infiniti, Chevy, etc, reverts back to stock without imput from an external computer/scanner/diagnostic tool etc.
and i can tell you that my car still pulls like it did the moment i left the dealer.

 

Ive heard that same exact BS at infiniti of Memphis.Havent tried any nissan dealerships though.I may have to drive like 230 miles to Nashville to get mine done.

 

I know...doesn't that suck a$$....I am in the same boat as you are....I want to get it done as well but all I'm getting is some BS from the stealership....

 

Wonderful, isn't it? No 2 dealerships are alike. All the parts people and techs should be on the same page.

I went to mine last week to price a few things, ended up ordering the intake manifold gasket to do my spark plugs on my 3.5, and then I asked him about foglights. He asked me if I was referring to the light that was on the side (I specified years 02/03) and continued to show me a picture of an "03" which was clearly a 6th gen.

He looked at me like I was a know it all douche because I told him that was not an 03 maxima, but an 04+.

Pisses me off. Sit behind the parts counter at a dealer? Please know something. Anything.