2001 GT 5 speed pinging under hard throttle

11SecondT-Bird · 07-02-2002

Has anyone else had problems with pinging on regular unleaded with the 4.6? I had a 97 GT 5 speed that pinged fairly badly unless I used the higher (93) octane. When I put a chip and bigger throttle body on it, with the high octane, it quit. Now I have a 2001 GT 5 speed that will still tend to knock under hard throttle even with the 93 octane. Since there is no way to time these engines, I was wondering if this is a problem common to the 4.6. They advertise these cars as being able to use regular unleaded, 87 octane, but me thinks this ain't all together true. Any thoughts?

Vortex · 07-02-2002

With a chip they recommend higher fuel octane.. Did the 01 detonation just start? it could be the warmer weather...do you have any mods done on that one yet?

11SecondT-Bird · 07-03-2002

As a matter of fact it did just start detonating as the weather got hotter. I noticed it this weekend on a road trip with the a/c running. As far as mods, the only thing I've done to this one is the flowmasters and the K&N Filter. My wife drives it to work everyday (50 miles round trip in heavy traffic) so I haven't really tweaked on it like I did the '97. I was reading an article in the latest 5.0 Mustang & Super Ford magazine about a shaker hood that is available but the look on her face when I mentioned cutting a hole in the hood disuaded me from pursuijng it further. Do you think that the warmer temperatures can account for the pinging? Since you're a wrench, would you recommend running higher octane during the summer months, which in Texas runs from about late February till about late October.

GTRaptor · 07-03-2002

Quote:

Originally posted by 11SecondT-Bird
As far as mods, the only thing I've done to this one is the flowmasters and the K&N Filter.

Is it a REPLACEMENT K&N on the stock airbox?

or is it a conical exposed to the engine heat?

Vortex · 07-03-2002

you could either try a cold air induction to decrease air going in, you could try Redline Water wetter in the coolant to cool the engine.. or if its extremely drastic, try a heat range colder on the spark plugs.

11SecondT-Bird · 07-04-2002

It's just a K&N Replacement filter with the stock air box. Changing the heat range on the plugs sounds like a viable option. I appreciate the concern and help with this, it's just kind of aggrevating to put up with. Is there another thermostat out there that might help? I also have a 2001 Dakota R/T with a 180 degree thermostat and the K&N FIPK cold air induction. I put an MSD 6-AL box on it and have never noticed any detonation under any circumstances. Lots of differences in two engines but I would gladly try a cold air system like that on the Mustang. Couldn't be any more difficult to install on the Ford than the Dodge. The cruise control had to be reclocated on the pick-up.

dmark101 · 07-13-2002

hmm.

these are all good alternatives, but the best solution would be for ford to engineer the vehicle to the currently available grades of gasoline. IIRC, the manual states 92 or higher octane. i cannot get 92 octane ANYWHERE in the state of CA. when i took a trip to OK in the cobra, i was able to get 93/94 in a couple of places and it helped the car tremendously.

my only alternative is to either drop a heat range, which i won't do until i add a supercharger, or use a fuel additive. lately, i've been using one of the NOS products, and it works wonderfully. i haven't had any pinging at all.

i added a K&N drop-in and that didn't increase or decrease my pinging. all it did was help the car get a little bit more air than it previously did.