[GoodyearMTR]

I am experiencing detonation like crazy, I am runng 93 octane which is the highest I can get without running race fuel (110) I have been mixing 2Gal of 110 to the rest 93 and this just about stops all pinging. I have not replaced thermostat with 160 or used those Denso Plugs. Short of running another gallon of $4.60 racing fuel to my mix I dont know what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Dick Foster]

What kind of kit do you have? Where did it come from?

 

[97TacoDude]

Try dumpin' a serious lead additive in the gas. Lead is one heck of a knock killer!

If you lead your gas, definitely take the cat out and replace it with a straight pipe. You'll have to put the cat back in before inspection time of course, unless you drive under 5,000 miles per year then you can get an exemption (in PA anyway). I say lead that bitch up and see how she runs.

 

[GoodyearMTR]

Its a TRD SC from Partznet.com

 

[flatlandtacoma]

I have not replaced thermostat with 160 or used those Denso Plugs. Short of running another gallon of $4.60 racing fuel to my mix I dont know what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Yeah, the two things you have not done are cheap and easy, colder plugs or colder thermostat or both will help with the detonation so you can run 93 octane.

 

[GoodyearMTR]

You talking about that octane booster shit they sell at the parts stores? I tried the best they had.....$6.00 a bottle it was supposed to bring octane up three points..........yeah right!! It didnt do anything. I am open to suggestion though, ones you have tried and had work.

 

[flatlandtacoma]

Oh, and check out this link for the health of your truck:

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum/profile.php?do=addlist&userlist=ignore&u=1733

 

[GoodyearMTR]

You think it will make a big difference? I will order tomorrow. If I keep driving it like this it is going to explode!! Though running the 110 fuel eliminates detonation.......at a small price of course!! They laugh at me at the gas station where I go, they tell me that racing fuel will blow up my engine!!! It will only blow it up when its running good without ping and my foot is all the way to the damn floor! Without race fuel I look like a grandpa, or someone who doesnt know when to shift!

 

[97TacoDude]

I don't see how high octane gas will "blow" an engine. It might blow your budget, that's about it. Octane only resists pre-detonation, that's it. It does not make the fuel any more "potent". Some people have no idea what they are talking about.

And by the way, I was not joking about lead. Lead is probably the best pre-detonation preventative there is. It's just not goot for the envoronment, hence the switch to the more expensive octane.

 

[KStacoma]

Get some Toulene or Xylene and raise your octane yourself. Look it up on a search engine.

 

[NUKE]

Interesting...
I've been running the Alpine blower at 5 psi for about 75000 miles with no problems. For the record, I'm not running the 5th injector or the Uni-Chip piggyback ECU, just the blower. 93 octane gives me no ping at all.

There's a reason Alpine still sells these kits and TRD doesn't.

 

[Dick Foster]

Try dumpin' a serious lead additive in the gas. Lead is one heck of a knock killer!

If you lead your gas, definitely take the cat out and replace it with a straight pipe. You'll have to put the cat back in before inspection time of course, unless you drive under 5,000 miles per year then you can get an exemption (in PA anyway). I say lead that bitch up and see how she runs.

Oh yeah it's a knock killer alright in addition to killing some other stuff in the process. I don't think you have one friggin idea or half a clue about EFI engine management systems today. Adding ethyl lead to gas would be OK for an old pushrod small block running a carb and no emissions control i.e. an engine of 40 years ago. However, that lead will also take out his cat in seconds, then it will proceed to take out the O2 sensors. If you don't know what you're talking about, STFU. No advise is better than bad advise, so get a clue already.

 

[Dick Foster]

I suggest that you get in touch with Gadget at URD. Did you do anything to add fuel or just bolt on a blower and push more air in there to create an engine destroying lean burn in true TRD fashion?

 

[Dick Foster]

Ethyl lead was used to boost the octane numbers for gasoline in days gone by. Back then, normal premium pump gas was rated at over 100 octane. Engine compression was typiclly a lot higher then too so the need for more knock suppresion in the fuel and Ethyl lead was a cheap way to do it. While the published octane rating was different than the standard used today. It is still reperesentative of what Ethyl lead did. It increased the octane rating and supressed knock. You are right in your point, that higher octane fuel will not blow an engine. However, lead would tend to seriously screw up some other stuff. He should be able to get it tuned to run with common premium fuel. The sooner he gets that done, the better.

 

[NUKE]

Not to mention that it will leave some really nasty deposits on your exhaust valves!
I don't understand why I have no probs with the Alpine kit on a dead stock truck and everyone else is having issues with the TRD units.

 

[GoodyearMTR]

Did the Alpine kit come with a piggy back ECU? The TRD unit is not just a bolt on and go blower, it does have a piggy back ECU, I tried running it without the ECU and it ran like shit no more power than stock and alot more pinging. I ordered those Denso plugs and the 160 Thermostat from TRD, I might add they think quite highly of those parts!!

 

[GoodyearMTR]

Its a weird situation with my blower, if I really get down on it, I can see a little smoke coming from rear. It will pull good for a second, flat spot.....then it will pick up again, it has done this ever since installed. It feels like its not getting enough fuel, but the lite soot on tailgate tells me different. I am concerned that adding the 160 thermostat will only make the problem worse, not to mention decrease my gas mileage even further, but then again.......with the better plugs, maybe the fuel mixture will burn more efficient and stop leaving soot on rear of truck. This may turn out to be an ignition problem, as far as the dead spot, that maybe the fact that the knock sensor simply cannot adjust quickly enough to compansate for the increase in boost, giving me the detonation problem. I will say one thing, running a mix of 110 with 93, makes this mutha scream, eliminates all the detonation, and just about eliminates the flat spot.

 

[97TacoDude]

I'm quite certain I said to take the cat out. One could try running 100 low-lead, found at almost all airports. It even has a purdy blue tint to it! It's not even that expensive.

It would just be an interesting experiment, I'm not saying to run 20 tanks of leaded gas through the engine! Maybe try a couple of gallons to see if pre-detonation is really the problem.

 

[NUKE]

The Alpine kit I bought came with the piggyback ECU, 5th injector, a 5 psi pulley, an 8 psi pulley and a few other things. I tried running with the 8 psi pulley and the ECU but there was no advantage, just a substantial loss of fuel economy (3-4 mpg). I disconnected the ECU and went back to the 5 psi pulley and have had no issues since. The only mod that I have made is to go to the next step colder spark plug. I believe the stock replacement Bosch plug is 4417, I'm running 4415 (yes, that's only one step).
The truck also typically gets 20-21 mpg highway. Something to consider when running preemo fuel!

 

[NUKE]

Is your flat spot between 2000 and 2200 rpm?
I had the same flat spot with the Uni-Chip that came with my Alpine. I pulled the ECU and no more flat spot. I has this blower on two different trucks and had the same flat spot at the same rpm on both trucks.