I just had a tune done and everything is great until I put the throttle to the floor in sixth gear. At the tune, about 4 degrees of timing was taken OUT. Yet, during acceleration, in 6th gear from, say, 70mph, there is pinging from the time I floor it until I let off the throttle.
Could this be a knock sensor issue? Could I have an engine that has more compression than its couterparts?
The beast is an '05 MCS JCW with a few mods. Any suggestions?

 

you said the timing was 4degrees off? why?, also are you running colder plugs with the new tune? and are you running 91 octain gas or higher.
the mods should not be an issue if they were on with no problem before the tune.

 

1) The 4 degrees of timing was taken out due to pinging issued on the dyno. We thought we had it eliminated.
2) The plugs are the NGK replacement plugs for JCW equipped cars.
3) I am running Chevron 91 octane...the highest I can find on the Central Coast of California.

 

hows the engine temp? also what kind of oil do you use? more friction = more heat, then pinging.

 

What was the outside temp? (I am from Paso Robles so I now that its possible for you guys in Santa Maria to get hot every once in a while). Maybe you got a hold of some bad gas. I was having a bad pinging problem with temps here in Arizona in the 113+ range with the A/C on. I changed to one step colder ngk iridiums with a .045 gap and it still was pinging...I reduced the gap to .035 and yesterday at 110 degree with A/C on there was no pinging.

 

Engine temp is within the normal range for as long as I have owned the car.

I use Royal Purple 5W-30 oil.

The outside temp during my 'trial runs' was under 80 degrees F.

Is anyone running a cooler plug than the already cooler plug being run in the JCW cars?

The car ran worse when I was running Shell gas. I am now running Chevron.

 

Somewhere on here during my search for spark plug answers I found someone using the 2 step colder ngk iridium gapped at .028 per RMW (Jan) and was working good???

 

It goes without saying that you need to get this solved before the really hot weather hits. I would get a reading on those plugs to see if you are running to lean. Other than the tune were there any other changes? If not then there is your answer. I would see about having your guy re tune the car or worst case have Mini re flash to stock. The odds of a sensor going bad the same day you get a tune are slim. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

X2, the problem started after the tune, so i would go back and start there.

 

I will be seeing Jan of RMW soon and ask about a 2-step colder plug. The only other mod at the time of the tune was an RMW camshaft.

I am sure Jan can wave his magic wand over the engine and make it work the way it should. I'll let you all know what the 'fix' was.

 

Well there ya go!
you didn't tell us you popped in a new cam. You just said the timing was retarded 4 degrees and had a tune up.
last i checked a tune up didn't consist of a new cam.
I think we all now know the problem, have everything adjusted properly and it will run fine.

 

It would be a good idea to measure your A/F readings both with a stock airbox and with whatever CAI that you are using (if you have one).

A MAF requires laminar air flow to work properly... not vornadoes.

 

Last Friday, I stopped by MiniCorsa in Van Nuys and had an RMW cam installed. I then drove to Church Automotive to have Jan TUNE my car on the dyno....not do a tune up. I talked to Jan today and he was not sure why I was pinging either. That is why I posted this thread to see if anyone may have had a similar experience and maybe offer a solution.
I did not think the cam install would be a factor as I had the tune done afterwards.

 

I wouldnt totally dismiss it. The car was under a lot more rpm for a longer duration while on the dyno then when you drove it im sure. so I would still look into the install. im sure your aware how sensitive tollerances are. one bit off here and or there,
Better safe then sorry. Plus youll want to double check the cam to make sure they degreed it properly.
better safe then sorry

when you do get it all worked out, please post the power gains youv received from the cam install.
its one of the few bolt on mods left on my list

 

Cam degreeing. Now there is a term I have not seen yet with all these cam being sold.


A .028 plug gap seems really small considering that there is not enough blower windage and cylinder pressure to effect runiing a high gap?

I do not think that water and oil temperature are what to look for here, more the EGT and the combustion tempertures. I might consider that there may be a little carbon build up and now with all the new stuff the engine may be on the lean mean side which would augment the effect of detonation?


I wonder with the Federal ruling for Gasoline holding tanks in services station in the U.S. how it is posible these days to really get bad gas? Just a thought. I have seen this claim around a few times ?

 

if jan tuned it then why not contact jan ? seems the first thing i'd do . he can probably help ... from what i've learned of him i can guess he won't bite

 

Try downshifting to 3rd or 4th gear and then making your WOT pass..... Does it ping in every gear accelerating up from 2800-3000rpm? Good luck with resolving your detonation issues!

Jeremy

 

any update on this?

 

the car is NOT running lean
the car has 4 degrees less timing than stock after the tune
the cat was bad and replaced
the car was misfiring before the tune
the car has a cam now with the stock JCW pulley
the car had multiple problems that are being worked out 1 at a time
Doug is coming down later to get the last part wrung out
it wasn't even running right when it came in

if some of you actually dyno'd cars instead of bench raced you would see that crap gas exists all over the place

 

Jan pretty much summed it up. Just let me add that I replaced the Nology Hot Wires with the stock wires and eliminated the misfiring. I cleaned the MAFS. I ran a little over 1/2 tank of gas with Sea Foam. I then filled up with 76 gas and a bottle of Lucas octane boost. The pinging was minimized by this last treatment but is still there.
I will see Jan Wednesday for the final adjustments. I'll keep you posted.

 

You can also try to "de-carbonize" your car. I do not know the exact term but at my Honda dealer, they run your car with additives flowing directly in the fuel line and creates thick smoke out of your exhaust. They claim that it should clean carbon deposits in the combustion chamber, injectors, and your cat.

 

Yep, Sea Foam: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=74535

 

What constitutes really hott weather? 116 not hott enough?
My car was doing this too but it was a tank of bad gas... U sure its a pinging noise and not your SC tensioner rattling? If your in 6th at a low rpm range and gunning it, that could be your issue.... My 2 cents... From experience

 

I had Jan tune my car as well and put alot of time into it. At the end I still thought it had some pinging at WOT and had Jan work with the ecu a bit more. It turned out that this pinging, ticking, and knocking sound was coming from my front driver side axel. Are you sure the pinging sound you are hearing is from the upper middle dash or somewhere around the lower driver or passenger area ?

 

I have owned a lot of cars in my time and I think I have a pretty good idea what that ticking sound is. However, I do have an open mind and this is the first supercharged car I have owned. Therefore, I guess anything is possible. I will see Jan tomorrow, let him drive the car, and see what his impressions are.
When or if I/we get this figured out, I will let you [all] know.
Also, I am going to send some Seafoam through the exit side of the intercooler today. There is a port I can access in the M7 DFIC just prior to the horn. This way, I will have done everything I know of to eliminate the usual suspects.