shinerttu

::::Originally Posted in 4.6L Technical Forum but not receiving any attention::::

Hey guys, I received my Bama tuner today and unfortunately I am having an issue. I raced home from work in order to make it home before my leasing office closed, anxious to get my baby tuned. Packaging was perfect and tuning my car was easy peasy.

I have been driving for a few weeks using 93 octane gas, usually filling up at the Shell by my house. I did use HEB gas (a grocery chain in Texas) a week ago, but have since filled up with Shell 93 octane gas (yesterday)

Unfortunately it's been raining all day which made for a cautious test drive, as I wasn't really able to punch it. Again, I haven't been able to punch it but I did notice immediately an aggressive throttle response which felt great!

I was able to "slowly" get to redline in 1st and 2nd gear (3rd gear the velocity is too high for wet roads at redline) 1st gear felt fine as I fought for traction, but here is the problem...In 2nd gear at like 4.5-5k rpm I would get what I guess is knocking? (The sound it would make is like a soft almost rattle noise. Kinda like the sound of some gravel hitting the front of your car.) Is this knocking???? I'm kinda freaking out...

So it consistently makes that rattling/tapping/knocking sound whatever you want to call it, in the 2nd gear at those rpms. Soooo I pull over, and assuming it is somehow my gas, I load up 91 octane performance tune. Same thing happens, although I feel like it "knocks" fewer times. I'm done for the night as the roads are less than ideal and will be calling American Muscle tomorrow. I do have some immediate questions

1) Is my description the knocking sound from premature combustion ie "knocking" (I guess I have never heard it before)

2) Do you lose throttle response from race tune to performance tune? I would specifically like someone from AM/Bama to explain what each tune is "ideal" for. I remember seeing a post where someone was saying the street tune is better down low and the race tune is better up high. I would like to know the difference between my tunes (89,91,93)

3) in the 19 questions you guys ask, you ask about CAI. I am ordering mine next week, but answered no CAI in the mean time. In my shipping box, they had the paper I filled out and for intake it says "Cold Air Intake" Is this a mistake or is the what they call the OEM intake?

4) Help! what do I do :/ nervous I hurt my baby

Explosive

Sounds like you may be describing detonation. I would repoad the factory tune and test drive it. And call bama tomorrow. They were always helpful,when i called, back when i ran their tunes. Id avoid wide open pulls

AMWill

Hey shinerttu,

I wanted to post my response from the other thread here too. In case there's anyone reading along. Hope you don't mind!

shinerttu,

It sounds like there's a few adjustments that can be made to your current tunes. It's most likely not bad gas (unless it's terrible gas), since you tried uploading the 91 tune as well.

Don't worry! We'll definitely get you taken care of. Could you PM me your First/Last name and shipping address? I want to get this over to the Bama Team, so they can take a look at your tunes and have your contact information.

To answer your question about the different tunes-

Street tune- this tune has lots of low end power and has economy in mind. If you Mustang has catalytic converters still, you should run this tune to pass emissions.

Performance tune- The performance tune has stronger mid-range to high end power. It has less throttle response than the street tune, but really bites up top. You can also pass emissions with this tune and receive the best fuel economy, similar to the Street tune.

Race tune- The Race tune is our all out power tune. It strictly has power in mind and high throttle response. You won't pass emissions with this tune, as the rear O2 sensors are turned off, nor is it the best for fuel economy. However, you there is no harm in running this tune all the time. Tons of our customer's do so because they prefer the behavior of the beast!

Lastly, yes the tune sheet will say "cold air intake" if you select the stock intake within the Bama info form. Once you acquire an aftermarket CAI, the name of the CAI will be listed in the tune form.

Hope this helps clear up some of your questions! Let me know if you have others. Also, I hope to hear from you via PM with your information to provide the Bama Team!

Shane

shinerttu

So Dan at Bama requested I data log as I am still having issues even after installing my FRRP CAI. I cant get the PID's to load. I have tried several times. Also, which firmware/software am I supposed to update. The SCTFlash.com has a "Ford SF3 tuner" and a "Ford X3" Tuner.... I have the SF3 X3 so does that matter which firmware I install? I used the X3 link to update my tuner. anyways here is all I get, everytime....

Derf00

If it sounds like a rock in a tin can or gravel hitting the underside of the car, that's pinging. If you have pinging and based on the rest of your description above, I'm gonna go with the timing being too far advanced.

More often than not, Pinging is caused from bad gas (like really bad gas as Shane said), heat, and too far advanced timing or a combination of two or more of the three above.

The problem with data logs is like reading a specification book. On paper all may look fine, but in practice (real world), it can still have issues.

I know that AM will fix the problem for you but my money is on timing.

Knocking is different and will sound like a heavy knock on a wood plank.

AMWill

I believe you need to use the Ford SF3 tuner firmware, but the X3 may work too. An SF3 is the same as an X3, but they can hold more 10 tunes instead of 3. So when choosing between the two, you should go with the SF3.

I'm not sure why the PID's won't load though. I'm sure this is something Don from Bama has seen plenty of times. If you don't have his info, send me a PM. I'll get you his contact again!

Shane