What is timing advancing? When do you hear the pinging noise, if you have the timing set wrong?

 

Timing advance is moving the timing mark farther away from Top Dead Center (TDC). If I get a bad tank of gas, mine will ping at about 2300 in top gear.
1977 F-100
300 I-6 / C-4 (soon to be AOD)
Offy intake w/Edelbrock 500CFM
Hooker Ceramic coated headers w/duals
MSD6
Whiter whites/Brighter brights

 

The timing of an engine fires the spark plug at a certain time in relation to the position of a piston within a cylinder. The spark plug fires at time before the piston reachs Top Dead Center of its cylinder. Depending on the engine, timing can be set at 10 degrees Before Top Dead Center(BTDC), 24 degrees BTDC, or 15 degrees BTDC. Basically the spark plug will fire 10 degrees(in terms of camshaft rotation) before the piston stops and then starts its descent down the cyliner (power stroke). As the engine accelerates the timing is "Advanced" to make sure the fuel air mixture is ignited and the faster an engine revs the sooner the spark plug needs to fire, hence the reason why engines have vacuum advance or electronic advance. Setting the base timing on an engine can give an increase in power.



1994 Ford F150
300-6
Highly Modified and more to come!