I'm sure this question has been asked 100 times but how does timing work? Does it make the motor faster?

Good article for you: http://www.rccaraction.com/blog/2014...-motor-timing/

So based off that article I may benefit from increasing timing because my t4.2 is pretty light and my track does have some long straights?

Assuming you are running 17.5 (In OffRoad mod, you rarely, if ever, increase motor timing) then hypothetically, yes, but it's something you have to experiment with firsthand. Also, if/when you do, judge your success off your total laptime not just - "Wow, I'm faster on the straight" - I've seen so many people make themselves noncompetitive in a 17.5 class by taking a motor out of the package, cranking the endbell all the way up and winding up with a car totally bogged down in the infield part of the track. It's then always amusing to try to explain to someone who has the fastest car in the building for the last ten feet of straightaway why they're 1.1 a lap off the actual fast guy in the class.

Great post. This part made me chuckle