Timing Explained for Brushless Motor and ESC's

What is timing within a Brushless Motor?
Timing is the relationship between when the stator is energized and the position of the rotor. Firing a winding within the stator at an earlier time advances the timing. A timing is advancement is known as increasing the timing. One could view brushless motor timing as similar to the timing on spark ignition of a gasoline powered engine.
Advantages of High Motor Timing
Increased performance by increasing the total amount of RPM output. Better synchronization between ESC and Motor when operating in sensorless mode.
Advantages of Low Motor Timing
Increased amounts of low end torque. More efficient operation. Cooler running power system. Longer run times.
Fixed vs Variable (electronic) Timing
Fixed timing occurs when the brushless motor has an adjustable end bell that allows mechanical timing adjustments. Another example of fixed timing is with most sensored brushless motors. In order to override the sensors, brushless motor manufactures will place in additional options for motor timing that allow some variability.
In general sensorless motors operate in a range for timing. The ESC is able to determine the best range. When a user selects the timing option in the ESC settings, they are simply dialing in to a specific area within this range.