I'm not a believer in high octane for the hell of it. Octane retards pre-ignition... thats about it.

I've been getting some pinging on my truck though, and am trying premium to quiet it down.

How many run Premium vs Regular?

 

I've always used regular, even when towing, without a problem and just turned over 100k.

 

I've only ever put regular (87octane) in the tank... but on this last recent trip I noticed 86 and even 85 octane at some of the pumps.... Anybody use them? any problems? if it saves money and the truck don't mind, then I sure don't either... I should have tried a tank, but it was mostly - fill the tank, drive til it's gone, fill the tank, repeat.... and I didn't want to take the chance of a full tank of something that might hurt the engine...

 

I have always used 87 octane on my stock vehicles. Anything more is a waste.

In the early to mid 90's, I was heavy into modifying Fords, mainly mustangs. I remember most of Ford's engine control systems had knock sensors. That allowed the computer to advance the timing and take advantage of the higher octane. Same thing with distributors. If you advanced the timing you could make noticeably more power with higher octane.

Do our V10 engine control systems use a knock sensor? I am not sure, but if it does, you would gain something from using higher octane.

 

I'm guessing from the pinging I occasionally get that the V10 *does not* have a knock sensor.

Perhaps my compression is being bumped up by carbon buildup...

 

87 octane, no ping. We run the 10% ethanol stuff here on Long Island - I believe it's year-round.

Yeah, the V10 does have a knock sensor, actually.

Which is why it's so weird when I hear stuff like this.

Over the years I've been in this forum, I've read just about every post.

I can say this. There are a small number of those who's V10 pings. Most never do.

Sometimes it's the bellhousing cover rattling, sometimes it's an exhaust heat shield. The V10 throws off some weird vibrations sometimes.

There are those who reset their PCM (computer) and it goes away for a long time. These seemed to be somewhere in the 2000-2002 range, I think. Maybe even just 2001. To me, that's a bug in the software.

And then, we come to the final set of people, VERY small number, whos V10 pings. No matter what, it pings on 87 octane. They have to go to 91, and even 93 sometimes to get it to stop.

And I don't think they ever cure it, or at least we've never heard back from them ... maybe that's a good thing.

But first things first.

1) Reset the PCM - easiest to do, and you don't even need to pay for it Drive it for a week, or at least 100 miles or so. Did the pinging go away?

2) Try 93 octane. Run the tank down as far as you feel comfortable, until the low fuel light is on, and then put 10 gallons of 93 in it. Run it for a few hours. Does the pinging quiet down or go away completely? If so, this is a compression/octane issue.

3) If the pinging still doesn't go away, it's not a ping. Or, it's not a ping caused by compression/detonation. Like a wrist-pin. Or piston slap.

Oh, and by the way, when does the pinging occur? Half-throttle? Full-throttle? All the time? Certain RPMs, what?

 

I've always used regular. I tried premium once just to see what the dark side was like and it was no difference except my wallet was thinner.

 

I run regular in both my X and F250. I never ever have pinging with my X, my F250 pings occassionally.

 

How do you reset the pcm? I'm guessing unhook the battery for 1/2 hour or so.

 

Around here regular is 85.5 so I use the mid grade of 88, no pinging..

 

Yup, and turn your headlights on after the battery is disconnected. This will drain whatever residual "juice" is in the PCM.

After that, you should do the OBD-II "readiness" driving cycle, which is basically just normal driving, half stop-and-go, the other half highway driving. Check your owner's manual, you'll find the procedure. It doesn't have to be strictly adhered to (some people find it hard to go 65MPH on the highway and then coast to a full stop)

 

Last week I got a tank of AM/PM (Arco) reg. gas in my 00 V-10 and it pinged a little, this was the first time in its life it pinged, I added a bottle of octane bust and 1/4 tank of the good stuff and it went away.
This gas was also cheaper, by 15 cents than the other stations, on the other corners, and Im convinced its cheep low octane gas. Gas in Calif. is running from $2.95 to $3.30 per gal in most places, about $3.06 on avg. Higher closer to the interstates.
No more Arco reg for me.

 

Always run 87 except when I tow our 5th wheel that is 13,500 I use 91+. I do feel a difference on the hills, pushing it way beyond the normal.

 

I have never even considered running higher than 87 octane. IMHO, it's a waste of money.

I wonder if it's actually a "timing" event or if it's something altogether unrelated that we're reading so much about? Can't say since I've never heard any Triton engine "ping".

 

I have, my '96 t-bird with a Superchips even with 93 octane. I changed to a 180 degree thermostat and never heard it again. But that was with a Superchips meant for 93 octane.

Whenever I hear about this, I immediately think "EGR" but the fact that most V10's don't have them precludes that.

Regular maintenance first:

Fuel filter.
Clean MAF.
Check for vacuum leaks.
Check fuel pressure - both under load AND idle! Check fuel regulator operation.

And as always, try 93 octane and see if it reduces or eliminates it. If it does, that points at ignition/compression.