i have a pinging in my car as well, but i think it is a heat shield on the cat, or perhaps a cat itself. My dodge pickup made the same noise and it ended up being a clogged cat. I still need to investigate it, anyone else with similiar issues?

 

I had a strange pinging problem - after I put on the K & N CAI (without tune), I notice "pinging" during the 1 - 2 shift under load.

- B