Distributor Curves

[PeteD]

Does anyone know the actual advance curves of the 009 and the 050 distributors? (The 205's are well documented in the Pelican tech article on timing).

I have heard that the 050 is a smoother and hotter distributor for carbs than the 009, but have no real data to substantiate this.

I imagine that the cam probably matters even more than the distributor. Any comments?

[Joe Bob]

I went to the Rennlist archive and reprinted an excellent response from Dave Darling....why re-invent the wheel?




The difference is that the 050 was designed for a car motor, and the
009 was designed for a motor that is used to run an electrical generator (or
other stationary gizmo) at a constant RPM.
People want the 009s because everyone wants to sell them 009s--they
are dirt cheap! (Ask John L what the wholesale price is on them sometime...)
The 009 is also very common, mostly because people have pushed and pushed and
pushed them onto people. The 050 can be (I hear) tougher to get parts for.
Your car should have the stock 2.0 distributor, if it has the stock
FI on it. The 009 and 050 will NOT work, since they don't have the FI trigger
points that the stock dizzy has.
If your car has carbs, then you have more choices. The stock dizzy
still should work pretty well. The 009 only has ~12 degrees of centrifugal
advance available, so it will not work as well. (The stock one has ~22 deg.)
The stock 1.8 dizzy has ~30 degrees, and might be the best choice. I have
not heard figures for the 050, but it is supposed to be more than the 009 and
less than the 1.8 dizzy.
You *can* get any distributor re-curved. All it takes is money and a
shop with the appropriate "distributor machine" and parts (weights, springs,
etc.). If you do that to the 009, AND the other mechanical bits (driveshaft
bushings, the case, etc.) are in good shape, it would I think be just fine.
Don't know how much that would cost, though, and the 050 or 1.8 version might
be a less expensive alternative...

If you like, we can back this up one more step and talk just about
spark advance, and how and why centrifugal advance and vaccuum advance (and
retard) work.

--DD

[PeteD]

Well, I'm starting to think that the thing to try is an old 1.8 distributor. I gave mine away for FREE many years ago. Anyone have one they want to send me for this experiment???

[Dan Koch]

Can anybody tell me why I can never find the 050 Dizzy in any of my catalogs? They all only seem to offer the 009. Also is there a surefire way to identify what distributor that my car has in it? I have 2.0 with duel Dell 40s that the previous owner had so kindly swapped for the stock fuel injection. Thanks Alot where ever you are! Just think of all those FI systems just sitting there in the dump.

[Joe Bob]

First off, most aftermarket VW places can get them...Pelican should have them and they are advertised in Panorama Magazine, the PCA propaganda rag...

As to the dizzy you got...take a mirror and read the part # on the side, the last three numbers are the ones you need to worry about. BTW, if it has a can on the side the size of a Duncan YO-YO, it is NOT a 050 or a 009, it is a vacuum advance model...

Good Luck.

[This message has been edited by mikez (edited 11-28-1999).]

[PeteD]

Mike, I have heard that there are some 050
distributors with vacuum advance "yo-yo's". But you are right, 050 and 009's are supposed to be just centrifigal advance.

[Joe Bob]

Any 050 or 009 that has a vacuum advance, have been modified (God knows why). These will not work with an FI as they do not have trigger points...

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Specifically, they won't work with the D-jet FI. The L-jet FI uses the ignition points as the trigger for the injectors, so it will work with any conventional distributor.

If the PO put the stock 2.0-type FI back on the 2.0, then you have a distributor that is at least close to appropriate. (Could be a Type III one, but I'd guess that is unlikely.)

--DD

[Dan Koch]

Thank you for your help Mikez. Looks like I have an 050 in there!