Couldn't find anything in the 'search' Could you guys hook me up with a link? Thanx

 

Hmmm . . . True. That's what I am waiting on.

 

Dunno folks, my axle is "clicking" during initial movement, but it is definitely not the same as the pinging. The dealer said the clicking was due to something being loose with the axle splines, and they tightened them. I found a TSB on this for 03 & 04 coupes by searching for wheel clicks on this forum. It didn't fix the problem (clicking came back), and I don't think its the pinging I am hearing. The pinging noise is definitely acting like it is being moderated by the knock sensor. I just don't believe it should ping at all(unless I got lousy gas, of course).

 

That's what I'm talk'n about............two distinctly different sounds. Hard to confuse them, but I'm always will'n ta listen.

 

When I had my FX45 I took the car to infiniti for the problem. I had them start up another 45 and it turned out the fuel dampener was bad. Remedied the problem

 

Sounds like another thing to mention when I take it in, but what is a fuel dampener?

 

It ensures consistent fuel flow to the injectors. It also muffles the sound of the injectors which sounds like a valve ticking and gets louder as you slowly rev the rpms ( cant hear it while driving , only when stopped ). I had mine replaced and the noise got 75% quieter

 

In the manual it states that some pinging is normal under load at low RPM, which is lame, but its in there. I have found that some of those mostly BS fuel system cleaners or octane boosters tend to prevent most of the pinging, even at low RPM in a higher than normal gear. Or you can just shift a little later.

 

My 04 5at pings quite a bit when idle, but I can't hear any at driving speed.

 

Guys before we determine that this is a mechanical issue lets consider the gas. This guy is in Atlanta, which I believe is under the federal clean air act regulations (total BS) which mandate blended fuels. These blended fuels are notorious for causing knock and ping problems year around. The FCAA requires cities that do not meet federal clean air standards to have summer and winter blend fuels that supposedly decrease emissions. If you live in an area that only offers premium in 91 octane, you are using blended fuels.

Real world example:

I lived in the Phoenix area which is under FCAA regulation and the gas was an 91 octane oxygenated blend that would in every car I owned cause pinging even in the winter. I have moved to the Tampa area (thank God) which is not required to have blended fuels so we get 93 octane unblended fuel. Guess what... no more ping... even in the summer. The difference is so great in the quality of these fuels that occasionally i have had to use 89 octane gas in Tampa in the summer and nether of my G35's pinged at all. In Phoenix running anything less than premium was unthinkable.

 

I have an '04 6MT, and I do not have the pinging problem at all.

I hit redline every day, but generally drive easy and "short shift" regularly. When cruising, I keep the RPMs at 1500 minimum. It doesn't "lug" at that RPM, unless you try to get into it, and even then there's no pinging on mine, just a deep sort of lugging "rumble" sound under throttle (the resonance of the drivetrain and exhaust combined), which clears up and goes away entirely above 2,000 RPMs. I do get the gear rattle on occasion - but that's what it is, and it's no concern.

I can go smash the Loud Pedal and go WOT instantly at 2,000 RPMS or above, and there's no pinging or lugging noticeable at all, just a slow, steady pull through the RPM band. Now maybe all of the above is different in the "Rev Up" motor of '05 and beyond (in fact, I'd expect it to be, with less torque available down low and a different & higher RPM and HP/Torque band overall).

I use a high quality fuel injector/fuel system cleaner every 4th tank of so, or if I'm taking a continuous long drive over 200 miles or so on a high speed freeway run. It's my understanding that BMW has established the highest standards in the industry for fuel injector cleaners "approved" by them, and to the best of my knowledge, Redline Oil Complete Fuel System cleaner is the only one (besides BMW's own product) that has so far met or surpassed their stringent standards, so that's what I use, and have used in all my cars for years. I know that driving a stick economically results in carbon buildup in the valve and piston crown areas, and this needs to be cleaned regularly to maintain the compression and correct combustion within the cylinder, so keeping the carbon buildup down is imperative for normal, good performance.

I've had good success with Chevron's "Clean Up" product too, but believe the rest of the products out there are just too weak to really do a noticeable "cleanup" of the fuel system (including the rest of Chevron's products, etc.). They probably don't let things get any worse, but don't seem to make much difference, either. The best way is to have a dealer or authorized shop hook their machinery up to the fuel rail and inject their powerful chemical fuel injector cleaning solution into the system for a complete cleaning of the system. The injectors are the most critical part of the system, and even a very slight clogging will have drastic results in overall performance, starting with low end pinging and "lugging" and then high end sputtering and missing.

Just my $0.02, for comparison.

 

OK, I have no doubt that Atlanta is under a federal clean air mandate as it can get very smogy here in the summer. But I have only found 93 octane here, and not 91. If its blended or oxygenated, would it be labeled? I am not seeing any labels as such. Also, the pinging is not audible with the windows up, and the first time I drove with the windows down, the car had about 3K on it, with no pinging (around April of this year).

 

I found this in the manual. As I recall, it pretty accurately described when my car pings. It said some light pinging was normal, and that this was best for extracting maximum performance from the fuel. It seems as though Nissan turns up the timing to get maximum performance, then lets the knock sensor keep the ping in check. Not sure I agree with this method as it allows some ping, but....

 

OK, I am another 05 6MT sedan owner who hears the same lower RPM pinging, mostly off idle and between 1/2 shifts. Run premium fuel, multiple gas stations, etc. I also had some of the other 05 drivetrain noises resolved, but not the pinging. My car is stock at 11K miles, and the pinging existed early on thru today. I put in a K&N filter, but the pinging is identical.

Though it would certainly be harder to hear at higher RPM, it appears, and this is just my speculation, that the pinging is quickly caught by the ECU and resolved (through a timing retard?) as it doesn't continue under load. In fact, loading the car with people and stuff doesn't seem to make matters worse, it's still the same lower RPM pinging.

Despite what the manual says, we all know that pinging is NEVER a good thing.

Has anyone figured out the root cause? It's pretty lame to accept "light pinging" as normal.

And BTW, I also had a 2003 6MT without any pinging problem.

I lease and certainly wouldn't BUY a car that pings, but still enough of us have heard it that we can't all be crazy.

 

Go to your infiniti dealer and inquire about new axle nuts and why you'd need them. Apparently, where the axle nuts go, they add some grease to quite this "pinging noise" and they can't reuse the old axle nuts because they are one time use onlly. They are on national back order so it might take a while to get them.