2001 Cobra Engine Ping

[Frank]

Hi,
First Post here.
I have a Yellow 2001 Cobra Coupe. I've had it one Month and have 2100 miles on it. I love the car and haven't had any mechanical problems with it so far. I have been getting use to the power since my 97 altima had less than half the HP. I've driven it pretty tame until the last few days and now I hear the engine ping.

I have been using 91 octane fuel from different stations like texaco, costco and chevron and is what the manual says is sufficient but when I rev it to around 4000 in 2nd , 3rd , or 4th with a load on it like going uphill I get a fairly loud pinging noise sometimes from the engine until I get off of it.

I just put in some 104 octane boost in the tank and haven't really run the tank down yet to see the results.

Anyone else have this problem? I'm going to ask the dealer about it in a couple days to see what they think.

Thanks,

Frank

 

[REDLYNE]

I have haeard abotu some 01 detonation problems...but nothing specific abotu pinging. I would stick with 93 octane and throw in some octane booster every once in a while.

Also, how mnay miles on the car? Have you changed the oil yet?

 

[REDLYNE]

Here's something you may want to check out:

http://www.blueovalnews.com/ubb/ubbhtml/Forum2/HTML/000144.html

Hope it helps.

 

[Frank]

Thanks Redlyne. I haven't changed the oil in my Cobra yet and it has 2100 miles on it. I am going to get it changed on Thursday and talk to the dealership about the detonation problem.

It looks like there are a lot of 01 Cobra's pinging out there. I hope that they (SVT) find a fix. I don't like hassling with dealerships.

 

[Frank]

Well today I went to the dealer and had the oil changed. I told them about the pinging. They said the PCM is set from the factory for no specific fuel type. They said they set it to 91 octane fuel. I asked them what that would do and they said it should help with the timing adjustment or something. I don't think they really know what it will do. I got on it hard leaving the dealer and still heard the ping. I am almost halfway done with the tank with 104 plus octane boost. I bet when I fill up with 91 octane again it's still going to ping like a mother#$%$. Well I'm taking it to the DYNO saturday to see if what they did messed with the engine output.

- Frank
2001 Yellow Cobra Coupe

 

[2001LaserRed]

I have not had my first oil change yet, and have had my 01 Cobra out in some pretty hot and humid weather. Haven't heard any pinging at all. I'm running standard pump 93 octane with no boost. Maybe you guys have poor quality fuel? Tried switching to a different brand?

 

[Ram Rod]

Now being a newby I dont have much experience with my car, but when you refer to the pinging is it when your actually driving it or when your parked and the car is off? I have noticed a pinging sound every 45 sec or so after my car is turned off after driving it around. Maybe this is normal, I dont know let me know.

Laterz

 

[52merc]

The noise you hear after you shut your engine off is most likely the exhaust system cooling down. I've read where several other 01's that ping don't respond to octane booster like 104+. No problem with my car pinging. Sorry to hear that you're having this problem.

 

[Ram Rod]

Im not having this problem, <Knock On Wood> just wondering what the ping noise was after I shut the car off. Thanks for the info though.


Laterz

 

[sssSnake 01]

Originally posted by 2K1_SVT
Now being a newby I dont have much experience with my car, but when you refer to the pinging is it when your actually driving it or when your parked and the car is off? I have noticed a pinging sound every 45 sec or so after my car is turned off after driving it around. Maybe this is normal, I dont know let me know.

Laterz

The pinging everyone is referring to is called detonation and happens only while the engine is running.

What you are experiencing after you turn off your engine is the exhaust system cooling off and actually contracting. When metal is heated it expands and when cooled it contracts. the varrying thickness of your exhaust pipe causes it to cool at different rates and make a "tink" type of noise. This is normal and is not cause for concern.

 

[Snake Eyez]

Check out this link for more information: http://www.svtoa.com/forum/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP358761416&id=1187

From what I understand, It's a pretty common problem this year, that SVT is currently trying to get data on.

 

[Ram Rod]

Thanks for all the great info.

 

[quick01snake]

i haven't had any problem with pinging, but then again, i can't get 91 octane around here. i have to use 93 octane. maybe that's why i haven't noticed anything.

 

[sssSnake 01]

Best bet...buy good gas as high an octane as you can find at the pump.

Stay away from bargain gas. You get what you pay for in most cases.

Higher Octane is okay...lower is the problem.

Fuel is less volatile not more.

 

[quick01snake]

that's why i won't go to the convenient store type gas stations, i only go to Chevron or Shell(best places around here, and had a bad experience with BP gas).

 

[Snake Eyez]

I'm not sure if this would help any of the pingers out there or not, but if it does, it's a relatively cheap fix. Look into this stuff: http://www.amsoil.com/products/api.html I don't know if it will help or not, but for 7 bucks, what the hell, it would be worth it to me. 1 bottle will treat something like 160 gallons, after the first use. You can check this page http://intershop.amsoil.com/cgi-bin/Amsoil.storefront/3bd98ab6069c9852271bd1f0e3f0074a/Catalog/1115 for all the Amsoil fuel additives and performance improvers. Good luck.