I recently got into rc racing I have a 1/18 1RC late model looking for more speed should I advance or retard the timing? It is controlled by the esc.

If you're club racing check to see if your class allows esc timing. Some only allow mechanical motor timing to be adjusted, sometimes called blinky classes.

I'm not familiar with that RC or how it is setup, but in general more timing advance will increase the rpms and power. Be careful, it's easy to overdo and burn up a motor, and easy to hit diminishing returns before that. Check motor temps and acceleration response frequently when making changes. Try perhaps 5° at a time to start, even less as it heats up.

Also getting the gearing right is important. Try a larger pinion gear on the motor, again checking temps and acceleration response as well as top speed.

I agree, talk to the locals at your track, ask for a setup sheet and try to follow their settings to get started. No matter what, you definitely want to invest in a temp gun and use that to help you make adjustments from there:

• What gearing for upgraded electronics?

Thanks for the advice I will definitely check with my track and my timing is controlled through the esc its digital not manual it came out of box like the all do at 15° it just seems like the other cars I race against have more power on top end everyone has turned the punch up to max level it accelerates great

More timing leads to more speed but only to a point and it's somewhat inversely related to torque. If all you're doing is driving in an oval, then lots of timing advance is good, but if you've got corners and sections of braking and acceleration, you need a balance.

15d of advance is not much, but there might be some mechanical advance in the motor, so the total advance might be more than 15.