LCGB Forums

Hi,

I am a bit confused about ignition timing on Lambretta engines. With a 4 stroke engines the timing advances with speed but it seems from reading the forums the timing decreases with speed. Why is this? Does the timing retard from 19 degrees at idle as speed rises or does it tetard from some larger idling angle?

Cheers!

if you've got a std ignition set up it stays constant

If the timing components are in perfect condition and absolutely standard then the firing point should remain reasonably constant at its preset point. You might see it wobble by about 1 degree on a strobe when revved.
Our little old Lambrettas start better and perform better with the ignition timing set as per Innocenti.
However and a big however, they won't last long nowadays with 50+ years of tuning, fettling and fitting non standard parts BUT one of the biggest problems can be attributed to the fuel we can now buy which has far less pure petrol content and can lead to overheating and pre ignition and certain failure at the top end.
Many enthusiasts advocate setting the ignition anything up to 8 degrees retarded from the factory setting but this is far from ideal and as such a compromise can be achieved by fitting an aftermarket ignition retarder so that the engine starts better and runs better at low speed but retards to a safer firing point at higher revs.

A far cry from a machine designed to get us to work and back and do the shopping.

Ok - looks like the situation with 2 strokes is a lot more complex than with 4 strokes! Do the available ignition retarders use the same pick up on the stator as ordinary CDI units or is a special stator assembly required?

Cheers

I personally use an Agusto 6000. You can get a 7000 and an 8000. The 6000 denotes rpm and the point of maximum retard. This works for ME and has done so for about 9000 miles. My firing point is 21.5 BTDC at 1500 rpm; 17 at 4000; 15 @ 6000 and at 8000 it is about 14 - 14.5.
These units are retro fit and interrupt the feed to the CDI but you can't just plug it in and go. You need to make sure TDC point is accurate because you are going to advance ignition to a potentially harmful firing point. Must be set up with a strobe. For me I am normally cruising at 5500 so I am happy that my timing at this point is approx 16 degrees BTDC.

This as I said works for ME, and I have an engine that is fuelled correctly and runs fast and sweet.
No 2 engines are the same and you could invest in a programmable advance/retard unit and fine tune to your requirements.

This all seems a bit odd to me! None of these retard units take account of engine load i.e. inlet manifold pressure. Is that right?

Two strokes are different to four strokes in their requirement for ignition timing.

Both 2T & 4T need to fire before the piston reaches TDC.

However, whereas the 4T needs further advance as the revs rise, the 2T needs less advance, in fact should be retarded automatically, in an ideal World.

This will only occur only with the addition of a module to the standardish electronic ignition or by using a specific electronic ignition with the advance/retard built in.

Many years ago, the likes of Motoplat discovered that a very rapid advance, then gradual retard was the better set-up for two strokes & if that principle has been bettered, I am unaware.

The reason that the ignition can, & should, be retarded is that as the volume & speed of input charge increase into the engine, the stratified fuel charge changes. Instead of large molecules of fuel comprising the ‘mist’ there will be many smaller molecules of fuel in the ‘mist’

This means that those molecules will have a much greater surface area & consequently burn better & quicker.

That is the reason for the preference in automatically retarding of a two stroke ignition.

This all seems a bit odd to me! None of these retard units take account of engine load i.e. inlet manifold pressure. Is that right?

I think concerns of that nature to be restricted to forced induction.

Although it is possible to supercharge a two stroke engine (Ships diesel two stroke engines are supercharged & consequently are (or were!) the most efficient commercially available engine) there are very few manufacturers do so, although Lambretta did with their 200 kph 125 cc World Record breaker.

Two strokes always were black magic!

what engine setup have you got? if it's more or less standard the just stick with standard ignition and don't worry about advance and retard units

I have a GT186 with 25mm Dellorto and a clubman exhaust.

Both my GT186 and GT200 are on SIL electronic ignition with timing set to 17 degrees fixed....a few thousand miles under the belt and no issues

Does using 98 octane petrol help?

Increasing the octane level will certainly assist in preventing detonation though while most of the premium types may contain less or no ethanol they also include other additives such as detergents etc.

But NOT the Tesco High Octane because it is reported to have far too many other additives.

I always use high octane, BP and Shell usually but also Sainsburys at times

I know personally through experience that a good electronic ignition optimised through its advance/retard works very well & increases the flexibility of the engine with no detriment.

However, my advice to anybody would be to consider that option if buying an electronic ignition for the first time or replacing a failed system.

A well set-up ignition is not just for ‘tuned’ engines. They lessen the compromise we must otherwise take with our shopping machines in this current age.

Just for balance, though, the other thing I will reiterate to any readers is that the quickest Lambretta on the track is fielded by the Saxelbys & amazingly has fixed Motoplat ignition. They also removed the anti-dive @ the last Cadwell……