keman

25k miles on the clock, love the car, and you guys would love some of the mods I've done if I got off my *** and took pictures of how to do it all.

Pinging on 91 octane cali-**** gas. roughly sea-level altitude, 75 degrees F outside, 5% uphill grade, shift to 2nd or 3rd at 2000-3500 rpm, dip into the throttle nice and deep... clack-clack-clackity-clack clack... clack... clack...

Those are my freaking ring lands!

Fillup with another brand of 91: same results, same hill. I drive this route every day home so I get one new try each and every day.

There's a sound barrier on my left so I can hear it reeeeal well with the windows down and consistently.

I do have a new VAG cable and can look up the knock sensors next if there's any doubt of my knock-detectors located port and starboard of my skull.

I'm dead certain it's tip-in throttle pinging. And it's horrible for any engine long term. 91 is the best we get in california save for a few exceptions ...

like the VP Race pump a block from my house. At $7.29/gallon. So...

4 gallons 100 unleaded, 8 gallons 91: pinging still there, maybe a bit better.

8 gallons 100 unleaded, 4 gallons 91: pinging almost down to a single ping. No hunt for red october here..

16 gallons 100 unleaded, two angry swipes of my credit card, no pinging. None. Tried and tried again. Several drive cycles, several days now.

So ... I've searched the f'n archives and I don't think anyone has noticed or cared or been paid enough to care or plans to keep the car long enough to care or drives with the windows down next to a jersey barrier when they shift to the next gear and stomp on it.

Some may remember me, I'm an ex-audi mechanic, ase master certified, this is my third S car and my second FSI engine.

BTW I still have my mkV VW GTI with the 2.0 turbo FSI and it's never pinged a pong in it's life. With the DSG it remains the easiest fun/fast car to drive on the planet IMO.

This car however, pings and pings seriously, repeatedly. Not constantly-- the ECU lets it go on for a good 3-4 seconds before pulling "timing" enough to prevent it. But that's where things get ridiculous. This is a direct injection engine. There is no fuel-air mixture that's suffering early detonation, or at least, there doesn't have to be. There shouldn't be. I should be able to put 85 octane in and it should fire it into the amazing 12.5:1 compression ratio combustion chamber and if it ignites too early, squirt the gas in a little later. But it is not that way...

Are we americans just getting ****ty fuel maps along with the S in the FSI disabled?

That is a fact, the Stratification in our FSI is not enabled here in the US, and your S5 would get 5 honest mpg more in all conditions if it were put into euro FSI mode but you'd need to lose your 3 way US CARB mandated catalytic converter in favor of a 2 way unit else you'd melt it down pronto and since those don't come out of these cars without the headers, and those don't come out without the engine, I'm not predicting seeing anyone do that soon. (But I'd love to)

If that's the case, I'm a sour grape and wish my gas guzzler tax was refunded so I can afford the price difference between 91 and 100.

I realize some people put -anything- in their audis. That the ECU has an idea of what's going on and will pull timing when it senses pinging from one of several knock sensors. These sensors almost never die. And most people have engines that last a long, long, long time.

Things are different now though. There's a big hole in the piston and that's your combustion chamber now. All prior philosophy needs to end, as these engines are oil diluting fuel washdown crazy glass cylinder lined monsters. That. You. Really. Don't. Want. To. Ping.

Critical opinions welcome ....