What is the ignition timing advance angle for a car?
2 Answers
Car ignition timing advance angle varies depending on engine conditions: 1. The ignition advance angle for gasoline engines is approximately 10 degrees; 2. The ignition advance angle for diesel engines is around 15 degrees. The ignition advance angle refers to the crankshaft rotation angle from the moment the spark jumps between the spark plug electrodes until the piston reaches top dead center. The effects of excessive ignition timing advance are: 1. Combustion occurs entirely during the compression stroke, causing a sharp rise in cylinder pressure; 2. High pressure is reached before the piston reaches top dead center, creating significant resistance for the ascending piston; 3. Engine power decreases, leading to knocking.
Hey, you might be curious about how many degrees the ignition timing advance angle of a car actually is. As an experienced car enthusiast who loves tinkering with vehicles, I have to be honest—there's no fixed number because it automatically adjusts based on engine speed, load, and temperature. At idle, it's usually around 10 to 15 degrees BTDC (Before Top Dead Center). When you step on the gas to accelerate, the ECU adjusts it to advance to over 20 degrees or even 30 degrees for more efficient combustion. Why is this done? Igniting too early can cause knocking and damage the engine, while igniting too late wastes fuel, so the factory settings must be precise. To check it, just use a timing light to observe the mark on the crankshaft pulley. On older cars, you can even manually fine-tune it by about 5 degrees to optimize performance. In short, this affects both power and fuel efficiency—don’t mess with it randomly to avoid costly repairs. During regular maintenance, it’s always a good idea to have a technician take a quick look.
