earlier on today i made a bigger oppening on the cowling at the carb so i could see into the carb better for setting the engine, but now when the plane is sitting at idle the plane vibrates like crazy, more than it has before. could this be beacuse there is less of a restriction of airflow to the engine thus causing it to run lean. if so would i need to reset the needles?

Pete

Could it be that the cowl was tight around the area you cut out? If so, you freed it up to vibrate now. Can you see the head of the engine clearly at idle, or is it bblluurryy......

One thing is sure, you won't reduce vibration levels with a needle valve setting. You might change the engine RPMS, which might change the aparent or actual vibration of the engine, but that's it. But as you change throttle settings, the vibration will change anyway.

Just to be on the safe side, make sure the bolts holding the engine to the mount and the bolts holding the mount to the firewall are all tight...I've discovered it's kind of embarrassing to have your engine develop 45 degrees of downthrust!

You could try balancing the prop....

suggestions noted and will try them tomorrow. dont want to be waking the neighbours at this time

I would go with balancing the prop as well.