Sorry my ears are tuned just fine. I had NO PING with the 87 the dealer put in my car. The car is designed to back timing off when lower octane gas is put into it.

 

How do you think the computer knows to pull timing? It does not have an octane sensor. It hear pinging via the knock sensor and pulls back timing for a second or two then it puts it back in. The computer is not able to pull enough timing to not ping on 87. Even if you didn't hear it I can guarantee you it was there. These cars push the limits of 91 octane already.

 

Good, but either way I DIDN'T HEAR THE PING because the ECU pulled it back.

The ECU can and will pull enough timing. It is in the manual on emergency basis you can run 87 octane.

We have the same engine as the Honda Accord, it runs on 87.

My G35 said premium required as well, and it also pulled the timing when I put 87 in there as I had to. It lost a good amount of get up and go, but it didn't ping where I could hear it as the car pulled it. Our Murano said it can run on 87, we ran it on 87. The manual said for best performance run 91+. We tried that, and it really woke up. Cars of today can and will adjust timing correctly for the octane gas it runs. It can tell by yes the pinging.

 

+1 that was my thought process on the TL's.

i've read that tl-s usually only get somewhere around 300-315 whp fully bolted. and to me, if you're buying a TL for performance, mine as well go with the base since they have the s/c and also turbo is now being produced for it, so that extra money you might spend on getting the bigger engine and "s" badge can be used to buy a nice kit for the base that will put you beyond that bigger engine.

also, the front type-s aspec bumper looks atroscious to me LOL sorry. i think both 04-06 and 07-08 base aspec fronts looks better than the type-s. but thats just my opinion.

in the end its what you like and your overall goal for the car. good luck man.

 

The Accord runs a lower compression ratio which is why it can run on 87 all day long.

The part that you're not getting is the engine has to ping first in order for timing to be pulled. They system is reactive, not proactive.

My ears are tuned very well for pinging, I guess blowing an engine up a couple times for that reason forces you to pay close attention.

The other point, just because you can't hear it doesn't mean it's not there. The only way to verify is with a scanner. I can hear my GN right around 13 degrees of knock retard which is about the time you're popping headgaskets or worse. I can hear the TL around 10 degrees of retard which is waaaay too much for your daily driver. Even if you're not hearing it, it is doing damage rest assured.

Besides, running 87 in a car spec'd for 91 and having it pull timing kills the gas mileage. Even if you're broke, you're saving money by using 91. By pulling timing the mpg more than makes up for the price difference, you're pinging, pulling timing, and running much higher EGTs which is hard on the exhaust valves and convertors.

Rest assured, the TL cannot pull enough timing to eliminate pinging. It may pull enough that you can't hear it with your ears without the windows down but it's still there. I've done extensive testing with my car on the scanner on octanes from 91 up to 109.

The Murano is another example of a pinger even on 91. It's not bad when your foot is in the throttle but they tend to ping badly when you're barely accelerating and the torque convertor tries to lock too soon and brings rpms way down. I had major issues when trying to creep up hills with a fair amount of throttle but low rpms and that was on 91. I actually felt sorry for the thing and ended up driving in sport mode to get the rpms up a bit. It's been to the dealer twice but the "techs" were so incompetent I had to show them how to monitor knock retard.

 

Me 3 or is it 4 now? I live in Miami FL where it is very hot and humid most of the time and have not had any detonation issues.

 

Wow, 3-4 people without the pinging I guess the problem must not exist. Not all TL-Ss ping but many do. It's like me saying my leather is perfect so no one else can possibly have an issue even though I know the majority of TLs have leather issues.

 

Dude, get off your pinging kick. I do not have it, neither does our 09. Many do not. When you read a forum you will see people complain more than say they don't have a issue. The ones that are pinging obviously have issues with their cars.

I just ran half a bottle of Seafoam through my intake system, and man that made a difference on my car after 33k miles it has now. Runs snappy!

 

Your ignorance is showing it two ways.

First, at 33K miles there are not enough miles for Seafoam to do anything. There has to be a problem first and at 33K unless you're throwing a handful of dirt into the tank at every fillup the car is as good as the day you bought it. You obviously want to feel a difference so you do.

Second, you say the car did not ping on 87. That's a complete lie or you need to check you hearing. Also, it can be detonating without being able to pick up the ping with your ears.

I have had these cars on the scanner and every one of them will show some knock retard even on 91 octane.

You discredit yourself by these two comments. You need to do more research on how things work before coming in here and saying such things.

 

Wrong. You are showing your ignorance. 33k miles is more than enough for Seafoam to clean the system up and carbon build up and it did. I ran it on our old 01 Altima after 40k miles, and it helped that car more than any car we have put it in. I have only put 2500 miles on this car since I got it. I have no idea what kind of gas was put in it before me, but my mpg was not that great so I figured it was worth a try. And this proves you know jack. Do you think Sea-Foam us only used through the gas? I used it through my intake system.

It's my car and I was driving it and standing next to it. IT DID NOT SHOW SIGNS OF PINGING TO MY EARS. I tune cars, and tuned my 350z. I know what PING sounds like. Again, people here are saying they are HEARING the pinging, while we are NOT.

Again, if you don't like it, then stfu because you are not here. So don't call me a lier or anyone else. Now go back to your corner.

 

LOL. I feel like I'm picking on the mentally disabled.

Pinging does not have to be heard to be there. EVERY TL will ping on 87 octane period. Most will ping on 91 but not as bad. Sometimes it's hard to hear. You "tuned" a 350Z. Wow, I totally believe you now. Throwing an airfilter on a car is not "tuning" lol.

How did Seafoam "help" your TL? I'm more than aware the different ways of using Seafoam. There is not enough carbon buildup at 33,000 miles to make a difference. I've torn plenty of engines down and most are just showing signs of carbon and nowhere near enough to cause a change in performance. At 33,000 the piston tops are still visible, the valves are clean, the whole combustion chamber only has a light tint to it.

But since you're so smart, and lets assume the Seafoam through the intake made this magical difference due to carbon reduction in a 33K mile engine, explain why it runs better after the Seafoam treatment...... I'll save you the trouble. Excess carbon results in detonation or pinging.....gasp.......the exact thing you claim you don't hear. By removing the carbon you reduce or eliminate the PINGING and the car runs better. You just shot yourself in the foot. Which is it, does the car A:Not ping or B:Runs better due to the Seafoam removing carbon and eliminating the previous pinging?

 

Wow you are thick headed or just plain dumb.

Can you not read a single thing I post or are you just ignoring it and running your mouth off?

People HERE are saying they can HEAR THE PING. I and a few others are saying we DO NOT HEAR IT. Get it? If we do not hear it, doesn't mean it didn't happen before the ECU adjusted. We do not HEAR THE PING and it is not obvious where we need to worry about it period.

My 350z was a full bolt on model with 293rwhp to the wheels without any FI on a dynojet.

Wow, so you torn so many engines down, just like how your argument was on oil that people again argued with you.

Seafoam will not cause any pinging to disappear.

I am done with someone that has no clue what he is talking about.

 

 

I went from an 05 base TL to an 08 TL-S and LOVE IT! There are many major differences...past doing "Brembo brakes & Type-S tail lights" as some do.

 

EITHER BOTH OF YOU IGNORE EACH OTHER OR HAVE A CIVIL CONVERSATION.

You know who I'm referring to.

 

give it a rest, you two!

to the OP, just a small side note: i can't tell you the exact cost of certifying a pre-owned car, but for SURE, it doesn't cost $2,000. when i was hunting for a type s, the stupid dealer wouldn't budge because of this so called cpo fee; it's there, but it definitely isn't $2k, as i discovered later.

 

Here is another site you can use:

http://www2.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.c...&cat=cp&pgs=50

You can change the years/location/price and filter on type s. It searches Craigslist and eBay. I used it to find mine

 

Hmm I gotta problem.... I only have 9K on a 2008 Acura TL Type S and took it in to the dealer for a side molding on the windshield only for the mechanic to come back and say my car was excessively "pinging." He adjusted whatever he had too only to lessen the sound. He asked me what gas i was running and i said the highest you can buy. Well he told me to come back a week later...... ( he told me to drive it as much and hard as i wanted) WOW pinging again. I then asked if our cars ping..... "Yes our cars ping but not near what yours does as i will be putting in a service tag to Acura about this problem" I wont have a pissin match about this just going by a tech at Nailey Acura

 

ohh ohhh i hear BAN again!!! lmaoo

 

and your making matters any better????

 

It was to my understanding that it was normal to hear a ping VIA my mechanic, who is a very knowledgeable person. I was also told that honda's do ping, even my girlfriends IS250 pings. Inside you cannot hear it, since our cars are sound proof to an extent. Outside you can hear it. Its not bad that you did sea-foam at 33k but I was told it was really for 60k ish. Also, I did it at 50k and it really didn't make my car WHOA faster as you stated, I also changed my plugs. What IHC's means is that its not recommended how you did it but it also does not mean sea foaming is bad at 33k. Hey its not expensive so whatever.

 

I agree with you. The problem is no car should ping. You can get away with slight pinging but it's still hard on pistons, rings, rod bearings, etc. Today they push the tune so close to the edge to get every hp and mpg out of the car that the result is a slight pinging. The mechanics are taught that a little is ok but if you plan on keeping the car for the long haul it's a good idea to figure out a way to eliminate it.

What the "other" guy fails to understand is that detonation does not have to be heard to be there. If you put the car on a scanner, it will show up long before you can hear it with your ears. By the time you can hear it, it's fairly severe. I've been in the car with people who were oblivious to the constant pinging meanwhile I was feeling sorry for the engine.

 

Well, I am not going to argue. I will go by my friends shop and have him hook up his scanner to my car if I can maybe on Wednesday if he is working late to see if my car shows any PINGING. I will report back then. And let's just say before I did SeaFoam, my car had trouble even breaking rubber by getting on it. Now, I could be in 2nd gear, it downshifts to first and I just spin like mad and hit 2nd, it breaks the tires loose again for a second. The car has never done that since I got it. So yes, the Seafoam obviously made some difference.

 

Again..... Being civil.....For Seafoam to improve performance there has to be a problem in the first place. Would you Seafoam a brand new car? It's no different at 33,000 miles. There is not enough buildup in the combustion chambers or the fuel system for it to make a bit of difference. Your testimony is proof that advertising works.

Sorry about the 293hp, I would have been happy to help you figure what was wrong with it. If you have any issues with the TL, feel free to ask for help.

 

If you honestly put the car on a scanner and monitor it for knock retard and it shows none I will offer you an apology. But I think you will be surprised.

 

Well, this was only the 2nd time I have used SeaFoam, and when I used it on the TL it smoked very bad, the whole garage, front yard was like a smoke storm for 5 minutes. I am not sure if that is a way to tell how bad it was or not, but it was more than I expected as our Altima didn't do hardly any even though it helped that car. The thing is, the car hasn't had any issues and I never expected the car to wake up that much. I was doing it mostly for gas mileage as I was only getting 17 mpg mixed (mostly city) and staying below 3k rpms. But when I saw how the car just acted like a completely different car, I can't say it didn't help!

 

its mostly accurate but im confused as to how the audio system in an 08 is better than an 07. also the electrical system? well i dunno if they improved that from 07 to 08

 

hm..IHC, can you please clear your message box so I can send message

 

to the op, either car is a win-

all this talk about "pinging" has increased my interest in a "slight" noise, knock I seldom here from the engine. I have never owned anything larger than a 2.2L accord, so I just imagined it was normal for the 3.5, or....it "was just the sound it made".

Do you guys even suggest I take it in to the dealership, it sounds like nothing can be done?

 

Done.


If you want to determine if it's pining aka detonation, a quick way is to throw some 100 or 109 unleaded fuel in there. If it goes away it's real pinging. If it stays the same, it's some other mechanical noise and probably normal.

I have a huge problem with the way manufacturers dismiss pinging as normal. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things and normal pinging is wrong. The occasional ping under heavy throttle in hotter than normal conditions is ok.

 

LOL I did not want to interrupt the discussion about "pinging" because it turned out to be an interesting point of conversation / argument.

Anyway, just wanted to say I finally got my TYPE S (2007 Carbon Bronze Pearl) with 35k miles. It drives great (even my wife and kids love it to the point where now she wants to drive it regularly and I drive the SUV instead ) - can't blame her as the Type S has the looks and feel of a great car.

Thanks for the advices everyone. I will post pics as soon as I give her a bath and shine

 

i wanted that same color but with black interior and 6spd and couldnt find one. I could find the black interior auto or Taupe 6spd

 

Congrats man! Enjoy

 

I think all the 07-08 Type S colors that I've seen look really great (were there only 4?). I could have gotten a NBP but it sold fast, the KBP and WDP that I liked were a bit out of my price range. I could've bought any color and still be happy.

I can tell you from this experience the good (used) ones sell fast.

 

Thanks.

 

I forgot to mention the ASM color...did not consider this only because I already own 2 silver cars.

 

Congrats! I'm sure you're going to love the car. Make sure to give us an update with how much you like it after some seat time.

I really don't want to take this off topic again so this will be the last time. I don't think I made it clear that my car is a base and it has the pinging problem. I've been referring to pinging in general, not just the TL-S. There's another thread where I've detailed the issues I've had.

 

+1.

 

BTW, congrats, OP!

 

Thanks.