How to advance timing

[xschop]

not retarded

only interested in advancing for better fuel economy....a hotter sparking coil is key

[AustinPhoenix]

Yeah I know...

Leo,

You are absolutely right with all that you said. Slower burning fuels (ie. gasoline) should not be run in an engine that has the timing set closer to TDC.

I still need to retard the timing for my mod...

[TADracer]

Well, timing is just that...timing.

Making any move in leaps and bounds can cause plenty of unwanted effects. The fuel charge you give your motor will burn at a consistant rate no matter what RPM the motor is turning. The trick is to light off the fuel charge at just the right time for optimum combustion to occur just after the piston has passed TDC, to take advantage of the expanding gasses. So lighting the fuel has to be done before the piston reaches TDC. That is why the timing is generally advanced as the RPM rises because the time inteval is shortened. Advancing too much will cause a knock that can be damaging and will also give a noticable rise in engine temp because the fuel/air mix is in the chamber longer. If you retard too much then your engine temp will probably be lower but you must be sure that the fuel charge has enough time to totally burn before the valve overlap event occurs. Its like the old saying, sometimes less is more.

On a stock motor I see no reason to advance the spark very much if at all. If you have mods that let more fuel AND air mixture in or if you are changing cam timing or upping compression ratio then perhaps a change in the TIMING CURVE (not just the initial timing) will be warranted.

But like I wrote in my post up above, if you are really trying to dial in your timing for the optimal setting you really need to do it with a degree wheel because the stock timing wheel is too small and not accurate enough. If you loosen the bolt you can probably rotate it back and forth 4 or 5 degrees.

[morticiaann]

How to advance timing

*I had a Volkswagen with an electronic ignition and the shop said there is nothing to it. The Boss [at On N Off Road Haus; 165 W 2100 S; Salt Lake City, UT 84115; Phone: (801) 486-3817] said he had been fixing those for years and there is never any problem. Advance it until the engine starts and then adjust it until it sounds good.
*I was fixing my xs and the Postman stopped and said, "that's a nice bike - have you heard about all of the power they get out of those by advancing the ignition?" I didn't think much of it but I got to thinking the parts were all harmless so I advanced it. Yesterday, I looked at the plugs and they were nice and brown. I would say judge by the color of the plugs if you have advanced too far. Remember too much advance means excessive heat and related engine damage.