[Respite]

Hey guys.

A little background:

I currently drive a 2007 Mustang V6, which I've had since 2009. The CAI / tune in question has been on the car since 2012-2013.

Awhile back I had my car in the shop getting a fan replaced. No big deal, and I informed them that the car had a custom tune and not to touch the ECU. One of their employees apparently didn't get that memo, updated my ECU, and erased my tune. Great. I sent my tuner (SF3/X3) off, had SCT unlock it, and installed an FRPP tune to hold it over in the meantime.

I ran the FRPP tune that came with the CAI for over a year before investing in an SCT tuner, both of which worked great. No issues whatsoever. However, while waiting for my SCT to return, I started noticing some popcorn-like crackling under the hood. The crackling was constant with lower octane gas, but is still noticeably present using 91.

Fast forward to today, and neither tuner has fixed my problem. I have requested multiple sets of tunes from Bama Tuning to no avail. I have managed to minimize it by using the lowest octane tune possible, but it still pings at moderately high RPMs and under load. I've wracked my brain trying any solution I can think of, short of contacting a tune shop. I haven't yet pulled the trigger on reverting to stock, but at this point I'm willing to try it. I have contacted Bama Tuning yet again trying to work with them to sort this tuning issue out, and they've flat-out ignored me at this point.

So here I am, asking you for help.

Thanks for your time!

 

[Sean Reilly]

Have you tried to find either a VP or Sonoco (Cam 2) Race Fuel dealer in your area? ....

If you cant locate a dealer that carries one of the 2 (As here in CT. we have Both (All over the State!:smile: (As you can see in My Sig. I run VP MS-109 Octane, (Unleaded of course.) But I have also tried the Sonoco 260 GT Plus which has a MON Rating of 104 Octane.....(I like the VP MUCH more though, As neither (Or Any of the Race fuels contain that crappy Ethanol! They use MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) for Oxygenation.....And these products are now sold in nice 5 Gallon Pails.:wink:

If you cant find a Race fuel Dealer near you, go to Autozone and buy REAL Octane booster such as NOS (As a 12 oz bottle Will bring your Octane up by 3 NUMBERS! .......

Beware of those "Fake" Octane boosters that refer to bringing you Octane up by "Points" As it takes 10 Points to equal (1) Octane Number....So the NOS brand raises your Octane by 30 Points!..........
I would see if using one of these Products, (Race Fuel, Or a REAL Octane Booster.)

And if your problem continies, I would have both Knock Sensors Checked out....I would also get my AFR Checked out to see if she is running Lean ........

I take it that you are not experiencing any CEL's or Codes Via your hand-heald Tunning devices?.....Do You have the "Newer" FRPP "Pro-Cal" Tunner? Or do you have one of those 1st Generation FRPP Pro-Cal's without the Display Screens? (As the Newer Pro-Cals are Far more advanced then the 1st Gen's "Black-Box" (With just the 3 Lights that they used to have!:frown:.......

I would also have those 1st Gen O2's checked out because as you know, they just give the ECU a "Vague" Rich or Lean condition, unlike the 2011+ O2's that are full "Wideband" sensors...........I myself invested a nice BRIGHT RED aluminum OBD-2 Diagnostic Port LOCK that has in written in big bold white lettering, "Do NOT REMOVE, Flash! As Custom Tune Is Loaded!"...............
Sean.

 

[JBert]

I can't quite follow what is going on -- but it should be as simple as reinstalling the tune that you had before that was working. I don't understand why you apparently cannot do that?

Or a new tune written for your CAI should work also. Could be as simple as maybe you didn't tell Bama what intake you have?

 

[6stang02]

In my opinion, i cannot see how only a CAI is causing your "pinging". I suspect something more is happening, or you are mistaking one noise for something different. If you could perform a datalog and monitor your LTFT1 LTFT2, STFT1, STFT2, and your O2B1s1(v) O2b2s1(v) and your maf/map flow(G/s) and BARO we might be able to identify if it is is something harming the engine. If those seem okay then i could only assume that your 4.0 has moderate miles on it and the timing chains or tensioners have not been changed, that the noise could be originating from there. Also, check and make sure your harmonic balancer has not separated and that it is in fact the new design, cant remember what years had the TSB for them but i do not think that is what your noise is originating from. Good luck keep us posted.