Engine load

I understand that things are just generally accepted and sometimes life would be easier if we didnt ask the why but I have an issue with this so ergo my next question............

I am having a hard time understanding engine load as it has been referenced to my distributor schooling. Below are posts that touch on/reference this.......................

Quote: In a truck I'm not sure that a fast advance curve is ideal. If it is worked hard a fast curve is a recipe for detonation w/o backing off the initial to less than ideal. Given that the application is a bit different than a street car I think that if you want to optimize the advance curve that it will take some experimentation.

Also: If it truly is a truck,in my opinion,there is no need for a quick advance.
Leave the quicker advance for the lightweight cars.

The tuned dist. is the part that will take some iteration. Since it is a truck that presumably will be used as a truck the usual spring kit(s) may not be the best plan. Their advance curve could easily be too aggressive for the application. I'm reminded of Smokey Yunick's words of wisdom about ignition timing "two degrees too little doesn't matter, two degrees too much is a disaster."

What you WANT: Lots of initial advance, but not enough to cause low throttle ping (spark knock) or "kick" on starting,

i would be willing to bet even your truck is going to want 12-16* initial timing......................End Quote:

Also ( and tied to my initial question Im sure ) I am having a hard time understanding what the problem is with having too fast of an initial advance.......I understand the total timing thing now to see why we needed the long slot governors....( to make up for an initial lack of base timing due to pollution standards that had to be met ) But why ( as long as we do not exceed the total time ) would having too much initial timing be an issue.

Is it because initially the engine is not given enough of a chance to draw in enough air/fuel within the cylinder and so with too quick of an advance we would be igniting an un-balanced/inadequate mixture?

Engine load has me stumped, when I stomp on the fuel pedal it takes more power to move a heavier object ( like my truck ) from a standstill position than it would take to move a lighter vehicle, I get this but how does an engine sense this load ?

I understand how an engine adjust for this load = Timing, but air is drawn in, fuel is drawn with it, there is spark, poof power is made.

If the engine runs best when it is advanced enough to fire the compressed charge at a certain # of degrees BTDC than why is it a problem if that advance come in too quickly?

I am doing on-line search to better understand engine load. Not alot out there that dosent get too technical.

I hope some of this makes sense to some people so that they can help me make sense of this.