Dr.S4

It SEEMS like the "pinging" is gone with my X-chip. actually, i'm beginning to think the sound may be something else. i tryed a few different roads today and i drove next to walls, under overpasses, and next to bushes and i realized that sometimes the sound it quickly heard only when i shift from 1st to 2nd, right when i hit the gas. and, i tryed to listen to it more carefully, and to be more descriptive of the sound it kind of sounds like a very short crackle or rattle...not exactly like a "cling."

i've never heard an engine ping from detonation, so i'm not 100% sure that it isn't it. i may stop by a local turbo shop and have them listen.

BTW, for some reason it feels like this chip doesn't have as much low-end torque as the previous version GIAC. it seems to REALLY pull at 3000 rpm's...the previous version pulled at 2200-ish rpm's if my mind gathers corectly. (but the chip's been out of the car for about 1 1/2 months.) anyone else notice this?? or is that the way the X-chip should be?

OR maybe the power increase is so much up top that anything before 3000 rpm feels weak, even though it may be the SAME as the old version ??

ANy ideas?

TIA

S4iscool

my X pulls hard from 2k to around 6.5 area.

EdP

Before I had the stage 3 on the 1.8, I had the stage 1. At certain times (usually only when it was HOT out, or the engine was run hard), when I did a high load, low rpm shift into 2nd, I'd hear it. sometimes VERY quiet, exactly like yours, sometimes the cliche marbles rattling in a can. IT is usually brief, and when you hear it get OFF THE GAS. You can hole your piston.

You need to check. If you are getting pinging you can barely hear, then it IS happening. Swithc gas, get a higher octane, but don't run it in conditions you know will cause it to happen. This is where vag-com REALlY shines. I truly think no enthusiast that plays with chips should be without it. Datalog the knock sensor, and see what its doing. If you see a LOT of retardation, especially at it's limits, then you may well be getting massive pinging, and sometimes you cannot hear it.

Now this is NOT necessarily b/c of the chip in any way. intake temps are at times the cause - is the ic blocked? Bad gas (low octane)is another. Do NOT trust the pump. There is an ongoing scam where the stations fill the higher octane tanks with lower grade, and sell it at the hi grade cost. Go to a completely different station. EGT's that are high can be at the heart of it as well. A restrictive exhaust, clogged cat, an o2 sensor going bad. If it's pinging, the fuel may be leaning out, because a boost guage was tapped into the FPR line, and is leaking.

There are a multitude of things that can be causing it. Start with the easiest to change, one at a time, and narrow down the field of culprits.

PhoenixGTS

like. Diesels ping all the time. That is how they run. Listening to them is a good way to train yourself as to what detonation sounds like.

Dr.S4

wow. thanks for the reply there =)!

i guess it IS pinging. just like you said: marble rattling around in a can.

i really can't think of what it is. i filled her up with 93 octane last night. the cats are new b/c the mechanic changed them at my last turbo change (don't know whay.) the weather is somewhat cool...around 65 F.

this situation sucks!
i may just switch back to the old chip to be safe.
actually, this car is driving me nuts! i don't know if anyone hear remembers my long post about lemon-lawing my car in FL. there have been way to many problems in the past few months. and i'm trying to keep this baby until 100 K miles. just to get an aftermarket warranty, it will cost close to $3000 just to cover my *** in case the turbos/tranny go bad again.

i don't know! someone, please give me some advice here. i'm hurtin!

if i do decide to get rid of her through the lemon law, i'd probably take the money i get back after the loan and buy some used car. i'll have about $13,000. the car is dragging my wife and i down due to the monthly payments, and i'm still a student. she's always upset about the new problems with the car, and all of the money needed to keep it going.
what are y'all's opinions about a good used sports car for around that price?....
i'm thinking:

convert. 300ZX
C4 corvette
non-turbo supra
old 944 porsche
others????

Saloooon

E30 M3

EdP

wtf is that stuff about replacing the cats? Thats real odd. If you are toasting turbos, then you may have some restriction in the exhauist manifold that's REALLY driving up the egt's and roasting them. maybe excessive casting slag. if thats the case, pinging is just another symptom of the larger problem that's causing you so much headache with the turbos in the first place. I do not know how many you have gone thru, but it sounds like more than one set.

Personally, I'd lemon the car if you have a sure fire way to do it. The next thing would be if you go thru YET ANOTHER SET of turbos, they NEED to take a hard look at other components. By then though you have met most lemon law criteria with three blown turbos....

But before that, try another gas station and retest. Look at the IC/front bumper area. any blockage to the ic can cause intake temps to rise, and that exacerbates pinging. you may even have a partially clogged ic, especially if you had a blown turbo. Oil could have plugged that all up.

EdP

he said reliable.

Dr.S4

my turbos have been replaced three times. all for the same thing: the passenger side turbo whines like a police siren when cold from about 2500 rpms to 3500 rpms. i know MANY people have the same issue. each time i got the car back, and then broke it in some (500 miles or so), and then put it the chip....the whine showed up! so, it appears once the car has increased load. it's doing now, ever since last night. i think it's one of those quirky things i'd have to live with. there are supposedly many people with many miles with that particular whine and everything's fine. i'm thinking something else may be going on that just can't be figured out and/or fixed.

the oil lines have been replaced, all hoses were checked, and random parts the mechanic thought could cause it were also replaced. that's why i think the cats were changed.

anyways, if the situatiojn stays the same, i need to think about either getting the old program back or lemoning it out. i know i'd win, esp. since this whine is back. funny thing is the whine hardly bothers me now that i'm almosr sure it can't be a turbo PROBLEM, per se.

BTW, you were kidding about the altima, right?

Dr.S4

that's right, i think i should exclude the C4 corvette