timing does?

[qboronyrican]

this may be somewhere but i cant seem to find it.....what does the timing do to the engine and how can having it to high hurt the engine??? whats a good range of + timing???

[gregrob]

this may be somewhere but i cant seem to find it.....what does the timing do to the engine and how can having it to high hurt the engine??? whats a good range of + timing???

 

 

Advancing the timing makes the combustion event start sooner. The spark plug will actually start to ignite the AF mixture before the piston is at top dead center, this helps time the whole thing just right so it makes the most power.

 

The downside to it is if you have too much timing, meaning that the plug sparks too early, the AF mixture can be pre-ignited and detonation will occur. This is when the piston is still coming up, and the exploding AF mixture is trying to force it back down.You will hear the motor "pinging" or knocking if this happens and it can burn a hole in a piston.

 

Higher octane gas helps prevent this from happening because it burns slower, but is no substitue for "too much" timing. You have to find what your setup likes because it depends on a lot of factors. Compression, Elevation, Efficiency of the engine (filters, pipes, port work, how much air gets in and out of the engine basically), the octane of fuel you run, etc, etc, etc.

Edited February 13, 2008 by gregrob