If I may ask . . .
What state are you in?
Because what you’re describing is NOT standard smog inspection procedure in my state
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The test site must have changed the timing. God knows why. They shouldn’t have though. I would not go back there. Go somewhere else next time.
Wasn’t retarding the timing used by manufacturers in the ‘70s to reduce pollution? Messed up performance and mpgs, of course.
I was just reading up on early emission controls and that indeed is what they did. Seemed counterintuitive but it delayed the ignition so that there was more volume to surface area when the fuel burned.
High surface areas meant more quenching (cooling) which meant more unburned fuel
It also heated up the exhaust manifold which allowed the air pumps to further reduce emissions.