Advance Timing Question

This is maybe a dumb question, but I need to get it right.

When you say "less advance degrees" you mean less degrees Before Top Dead Center (closer to 0 degrees) or do you mean more degrees Before Top Dead Center (further from 0 degrees)? I am sorry if I make any mistake when asking. I am not a 100% perfect at english. I am from Peru.

Hi there,

When we say less advance, we mean the timing is more retarded which usually means closer to TDC (zero degrees).

That explanation is valid in most cases however there are a few times where the timing may already be at or after TDC. In this case less advance means moving further away from TDC to a more retarded ignition timing.

The way I remember it is "retarded" means "late", ie the crankshaft has had time to rotate further.

"Advanced" sounds ambiguous to me since it could mean "it's ahead in time" (happens earlier, which is correct) but also "when the crankshaft has advanced further in its rotation", which is the opposite. Retarded doesn't have that ambiguity to my ear... ;-)

Actually that explanation from lutorm is quite good - Retarded means the spark occurred later.