Paulg5678

What I think I'm going to do in this case is give the dealer one more shot at it. It IS still under waranty and so this work from a dealer will be free to me. If they still refuse to come up with a senseable solution to it, I'm going to a performance shop to see what they can do for me. Hopefully they won't take me for a ride as I am a very obvious noob to all things modding.

ski

If you've already tried different brands of 87 octane gas, than another option is to dump a can of Seafoam($7) into the tank the next time you fill it up. It's designed to get rid of any carbon that has built up inside the combustion chambers, which can cause pinging. It got rid of a pinging problem on my 05 S197 GT.

Simon1

The dealership can reflash your computer while they have it. Ask them to do this for you. If you don't want to spend the money on a CAI and tuner the next step would be to have the dealership provide you with a new tune, the Ford version. Not the best but better than nothing.

Paulg5678

Noted, I'll see if they can re-flash the stock tune on it. You have any idea how much a new Ford tune for a higher octane fuel would run?

moosestang

I don't think Ford has tunes for different octanes. They may have an updated tune since your car was made. I would just get a CAI and tuner from brenspeed.com or bamachips.com. You're talking about $500 or so and the difference is night and day for performance. It will feel like a new car.

I can't stress enough how much you guys with stock cars are missing out, it's really sad.

Paulg5678

Haha, really, ONLY $500, huh. LOL, if I had the money, i'd have pulled the trigger on an intake loooong ago. Its not a matter of not wanting too. If you feel charitable, and wish to eliminate the plague of "stock-ness" that is running rampant in this country, I will accept donations, lol.

moosestang

Well you clearly can't afford the car. You should have bought a car you can afford.

Glad i could solve your problem.

Derf00

You are getting pinging because the engine cannot retard the timing enough to keep it from pining. I get it sometimes here in AZ when it's 105-110+ in 3rd and 4th gear (auto).

If you get a CAI with a tune, you can retard the tunning further by a degree or two in the particular tune you have loaded to help avoid it happening.

Pinging can also be from bad gas. Try switching gas stations or brands or both. A higher octane is not necessarily the fix. If you go to she same station and just get a higher octane you may still get bad gas and have the same issue.

Also, check your air filter. A really dirty air filter will cause insufficient air to get into the intake and cause the engine to ping and even misfire or lug when you stomp on it.

I highly doubt there's anything wrong with the car or you would've thrown the CEL (check engine light)

Paulg5678

Well, thanks for all the advice. If some of the "home remedies" don't work, I'll probably have the car at the dealership the early part of next week, and I'll put the results back up here. Wish me luck.

Derf00

Good luck but I dont' think you'll get a satisfactory resolution from the dealership. They'll put onto an engine diagnostic and run all the tests. They will come up empty handed and tell you something you don't want to hear.

As a dealership they will not recommend retarding the tuning or using anything aftermarket.

Their advice will be:
1) Use higher octane
2) Get a full tune up which will cost you and won't guarantee a fix cos that's not the problem
3) Bring it back if the problem persists and they will have a master mechanic take it for a drive - code for, "there's nothing wrong with your car but you won't accept that so it sounds good and will get you off their back about something they cannot fix."