What do you guys think are pros and cons of advancing timing as compared to retarding it? I know my engine starts easier when I have the timing set to the recommended 28 degress. I've retarded it somewhat too and it ran ok,but its hard to start. I'm kinda afraid to advance it because I dont want any pre-detentation or anything,yet its hard to start if I retard it. I just started testing this new homelite 54cc. I'm also thinking if I advance it too much it will have a very rough idle,thus having a tendency to virbrate the motor from the mounts(I already have one gash in my knee from that). I also know that you tend to get more rpms and power from advancing the timing,but in my case I'm gonna have more then enough power,so I'd rather have a smoother running engine that also starts easy....so maybe I'd be better retarding it??? I'm still in the early process of testing,so I havent played around too much on this 54cc engine,but its quite a monster and I hate messing with it too much for safety reasons,and I plan on getting my 22cc stihl running in the next couple days and really putting it through some testing.

Lets hear some of your timing knowlegde,advice,and imput.....or even questions.