I was pushing it pretty hard while merging onto I95 and at about 6000 RPM I heard a distinct sound similar to ball bearings dropping into a can. I assume this is pinging. It’s never happened this severely before. Anybody else have this? Any suggestions?

Could it be the new ethanol gas mixture? I can’t remember what station I filled at last, but I always use premium. My G has a little over 9,000 miles and it was 83 degrees.

 

Odd... but sometimes pinging can occur with our cars if you use to low of a octane

 

does it only occur at high RPMs?

 

im sorry, but whats pinging?

 

could be clutch chatter...

 

Yeah, just as it hit 6000 RPM.

 

i wonder if theres a glitch with you fuel injector pulse width... like when you hit 6k your injectors dont spray fast enough... which will cause less fuel to enter your combustion chamber meaning a lean condition... and a lean condition could cause pinging

 

I think it's unusual for a car to ping at that high an RPM. Most tend to ping at load, like going up a hill at much lower RMPs. My Maxima pinged sometimes, right around 2k on the tach.

 

Pinging (pre-ignition) usually occurs at low rpm under heavy load. I run 94 octane chevron and have no problems what so ever. It has been my experience that different vehicles like different brans even with the same octane rating, my 2000 toyota tundra likes mohawk much better then chevron. So go figure? You might consider trying a tank of Chevron 94 and see if the problem dissappears. Keep us posted, pinging is generally not a good thing.

 

Thanks for the info. I didn’t realize that pinging generally occurs at low RPM. I’ll keep my ear tuned and my radio low.

Any thoughts on the new ethanol/gas mixture? Or am I just reaching here.

 

What mods do you have? I see MREV in your sig. Breathing mods can introduce a lean condition and result in pinging. Check your spacer for leaks.

I used to have a intake, plenum, headers, y-pipe, and exhaust and I was pinging like crazy when I dyno'd.

 

That could be what's going on. I did the MREV+ install myself and my before and after dyno results were rather disappointing. Nobody had any real suggestions as to what it could be (except Derek). FYI I have never had any engine warning lights or rough idle.

I have no idea how to check for vacuum leaks. Any suggestions?

 

This is true. Some cars just run better on a certain brands of gas. It's been my experience that the VQ runs really well on Chevron gas.

 

Yeah, sustained pinging, especially at high rpm's is really bad. In a non-computer controlled car it means piston death, but the G usually retards the timing after a second or two to stop the pinging. Are you sure its not something else?

 

Update. I realized that the “pinging" sound only happens when the car is under a lateral load. For example, changing lanes while accelerating hard.

I bet it’s clutch or exhaust chatter brought on by the increased g-force of acceleration in two planes.


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