I was wanting to advance my ignition timing, to see how much power i can squeeze out of my engine. But I'm not really sure by how much. 1 degree at a time maybe? what does everyone recommend?

 

buy an Rtek 2.1 and you can properly adjust timing and fuel according to airflow and rpm

 

If it is an NA, you can get away with a few degrees advance on the base timing, but as arghx said, the correct and proper way to advance timing is with a standalone. Changing base timing has an effect at all speeds and all variables, which is less than desireable.

On the flip side, like I said, it can take a few degrees advance on the base timing. You'll have to readjust your idle as it will raise the idle some. Be careful.

 

Yeah I've adjusted the timing on my friends dsm, i know a lot about rotarys, but i assume its no different on a piston engine than a rotary

 

except that rotaries are more susceptible to damage with knock..

 

Yeah, when i said a couple of degrees, i mean exactly that. It isn't really worth it if you ask me. 2-3 degrees of base timing advance won't do much, so I wouldn't personally fool with it. Going farther than that is risky business. It only takes a single detonation event or two to shatter an apex seal.

Verdict, don't do it. If you do, you won't see much improvement at all. Use your best judgement based on the information provided.