Hondata

93 civic ex with built d16 engine, stock timing gear and no major material decked from the head or block. when timing the car i can only achieve 9degrees with the distributor fully advanced. i've set low vtec map to 16 at all points, uploaded map, jumped out CEL at the blue two connector next to ecu, verified timing belt was not off, verified timing was steady when car is revved up, but 9degrees is all she's got.

anyone with similar issue with SOHC?

What cam does it have?

Either a cam issue, or a distributor issue.. To eliminate the possibility of it being an ecu issue, swap in a stock ecu and check timing..