Boost and Turbo Timing

Boost and turbo timing are electronic timing advance an ESC adds by software, on top of the motor's mechanical timing. Boost comes in progressively; turbo dumps in extra at full throttle. Blinky classes ban both.

Also called:

ESC timing, dynamic timing, software timing, boost, turbo

In practice

The sources don’t even agree on what boost is. Hobbywing’s XR8 Plus G2S manual makes boost throttle-driven: 0–48 degrees, “effective within the whole throttle range,” with the ESC adjusting timing “dynamically as per the throttle amount.” So Dialed’s tuning guide describes boost as an RPM ramp instead — “below the start RPM, boost is zero” — climbing between programmed start and end RPM points. Turbo is the one both agree on: full throttle only. Hobbywing adds a Turbo Delay from INSTANT to 1.0s and increase and decrease rates in degrees per 0.1 second. Copying a number off another brand’s setup sheet is guessing. And none of it touches the endbell — mechanical timing is a physical rotation, boost and turbo are software.

Why it matters

Boost and turbo are free power in a modified class and an instant fail at tech in a blinky class, so knowing which class you're in matters more than the setting itself.

Go deeper

Read the full post:

RC Motor Timing and LiPo Care: Where the Speed Actually Comes From

Sources

XERUN XR8 Plus G2S User Manual — Hobbywing (PDF) — 0–48 degree boost and turbo ranges, boost as throttle-amount driven, turbo initiating at full throttle, Turbo Delay from INSTANT to 1.0s, and increase/decrease rates in degrees per 0.1 second
RC Brushless Motor Tuning Guide — So Dialed — boost described as a programmable RPM ramp with start and end points, turbo as full-throttle advance with a delay and slew rate, and the split between mechanical and ESC timing
ROAR Rule Book (PDF) — §1.13.1 bans “Variable or Dynamic ESC Timing to Motor” in a blinky class; the rulebook sets no boost or turbo parameters for classes that allow them