Advance Timing. PLEASE EXPLAIN

[powerman_5000]

Can someone explain to me what adavance timing is and what are the benefits.

[codyhoover]

whem you advance the timing it causes the ignition system to fire the plugs sooner when the piston is on its way up in the compression stroke. advancing an n/a engine can cause minor power drop at low rpms but will increase the high end power. at high rpms the plug fires before the piston reaches the top in order to ensure most of the gas burns while the piston is high in the cylinder and not wasted once compression drops. in high boost turbo setups, due to the higher effective cylinder pressure, the ignition curve must be retarded to prevent preignition(gas burning befor the piston reaches the top).<P>now for the bad news. the mx-3's timing is controlled by the crank angle sensor. so unlike most cars, where you can adjust the timing by turning the ditributer, you have to physically remove the crank angle sensor, turn it a few degrees and put it back on. not an easy task. you can turn the distributor all the way either direction and nothing will happen.<P>not the greatest explaination i'm sure but hope it helps.<P> -cody

[boostedmx]

turning the distributor sets the base timing in the mx3. it does effect the ignition timing. to get an accurate reading u will have to use a timing light. crank angle sensors sense where the crank is at. its a signal sent to the computer for reference purposes. there are a bunch of reference signals used by the computer to determine if timing needs to be advanced or retarded. but the base timing will always remain the same- and is adjustable.