badmfkr

iTrader: (4)

will a 160 degree thremostate minimize detonation & pinging.

I've done the other recommended stuff like cleaning the intake,MAF, new AC delco plugs this helped minimize the pinging but still have pinging still waiting for the tune untill after cam.

Thanks

JD_AMG

It wouldnt hurt.

I highly recomend a catch can if you dont already have one.

glennhl

Helped mine tremendously. However, you have to reprogram the computer to get the fans to come on earlier or it does you zero good.

JD_AMG

I was actually wondering about this. Where could you get your car programed? Or do you just have to buy one of those programers?

Patman

Getting the fans reprogrammed is certainly recommended when doing a 160 thermostat, however I wouldn't exactly say it does no good to install a 160 with the stock fan settings. Even with the stock settings you'll still see cooler temps with the 160 thermostat when you're moving on the highway. And your temperature overall will stay cooler as long as you're not stopped in traffic for too long.

Having a cooler thermostat will definitely lessen the severity of the pinging. So will swapping to colder plugs like the NGK TR6s. Just keep in mind that colder plugs need to be changed more often since they foul out quicker.

glennhl

You are correct, if you don't reprogram the fans in the computer, the 160 stat will still help on the highway, but that's normally not the problem. Whenever I was on the highway, even the 187 T/S was fine and my car didn't ping. But around town, the temps climbed and the fans didn't come on until around 230F. Then, if I got on it, it would ping in the higher RPM range.

So if you want to fix your pinging problem by installing a 160 stat, then you have three choices.

1) Do not reset your fan temps, then you'll only have the benefit on the highway, when it's normally not a problem to begin with.

2) Reprogram your fans to come on at a lower temp by using HPtuners for your year car (maybe you can find someone that has HPtuners for your year car?).

3) You can buy a handheld reprogrammer and reset the fans.

Of course, there are other fixes for Pinging:
1) Reprogram the amount of spark advance (using HPtuners, LS1 Edit, etc.).
2) Richen up the mixture.
3) Clean up the combustion chambers (I poured GM top cleaner down the plug holes and let it soak, be careful to pump it out before re-installing the plugs)
4) Check to see how much oil is getting sucked from the PCV system into your intake manifold, if it's bad, get a catch can, oil really lowers the octane rating of gasoline.
5) Run a higher octane gas.
6) Make sure your injectors are atomizing correctly (try running injector cleaner through the gas tank, I use Techron, or you can get a kit that runs the cleaner directly through the injectors).

Sorry to give you so many options, but pinging can be a real pain. A light pinging is annoying, but normally doesn't do any damage, however, a loud rattling (detonation) can cause some serious damage.

glennhl

Sorry, I did leave off an option for your fans:

You could get a fan switch. I installed one so I could run my fans while I'm sitting in the staging lanes. You could manually turn on the fans while you are in traffic, but that would be pain in the neckl and you'd probably run them way too often.

If you do reprogram your fan temp set points, be careful to not go too low or they will run all the time. I'd like to be able to easily raise the fan on temp while I'm at the strip just so the fans don't come on at the end of the quarter and start sucking up power.

Patman

Believe it or not, another thing which lessens detonation is going to a set of steeper gears (like going to 4.10s in an M6 or 3.73s in an A4) That is because it lessens the load on the engine.

If you log your knock retard with a scan tool you'll notice that it shows up more in the higher gears. So that shows that it really does depend on load. But if you've switched to 4.10s from 3.42s, the knock you previously might've gotten at the top of 3rd gear now won't show up until the top of 4th gear.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

The fans in stock tune are probably the biggest factor,
they will allow engine coolant temps as high as 226F
before even trying to cool. The fluid thermostat only
sets the -minimum- temp. That's all. If you put in a lower
one and still have to live with the stock upper limit in
your tune, then you have only increased the swing and
not fixed the real problem.