Mike, Getting Detonation on your chip
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Joined: Oct 2001
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From: Nawlins
Mike, Getting Detonation on your chip
Mike, This is David. I've spoken to you a lot on the phone in the past about my truck. You even returned a phone call to me on a weekend! Anyway, I've been trying to reach you and can only imagine how busy you are with the R&D you've been working on for the 04 trucks and Christmas just a couple days away.
I have a 2000 F-150 Extended Cab w/ the 4.6L spraying a 100 wet shot. My other mods include Magnaflow Cat-back, K&N FIPK, Underdrive Pulleys, Electric Fans, 3.73 Limted Slip, Factory Tech Valve Body, and a flip chip.
I'm have problems with getting detonation with my flip chip on the normal driving side w/ no nitrous being sprayed. As soon as I take it to WOT I can hear the detonation and I back off. I did it the other day and as soon as I got off it the truck had a serious miss at idle. I pulled and changed all the plugs, which only had 500 miles on them since I put them in. #8 was almost crushed, #4 had the gap on it reduced and most of the others were white showing a lean condition. After changing plugs the truck is idling fine.
I've got pictures of the plugs; The original with the one that was completely crushed and the ones i just changed out. They are in my gallery on ford truck world but the last time I posted a link from there on this board it didn't work. If there's an email address I can send the link to that'll work. Or you can just check my gallery out on FTW.
I've pulled out the flip chip and put my original superchip back in but have not taken the truck up to WOT on that chip. I've gotten it up to 3/4 though and can't hear any detonation...
Thanks,
David
I have a 2000 F-150 Extended Cab w/ the 4.6L spraying a 100 wet shot. My other mods include Magnaflow Cat-back, K&N FIPK, Underdrive Pulleys, Electric Fans, 3.73 Limted Slip, Factory Tech Valve Body, and a flip chip.
I'm have problems with getting detonation with my flip chip on the normal driving side w/ no nitrous being sprayed. As soon as I take it to WOT I can hear the detonation and I back off. I did it the other day and as soon as I got off it the truck had a serious miss at idle. I pulled and changed all the plugs, which only had 500 miles on them since I put them in. #8 was almost crushed, #4 had the gap on it reduced and most of the others were white showing a lean condition. After changing plugs the truck is idling fine.
I've got pictures of the plugs; The original with the one that was completely crushed and the ones i just changed out. They are in my gallery on ford truck world but the last time I posted a link from there on this board it didn't work. If there's an email address I can send the link to that'll work. Or you can just check my gallery out on FTW.
I've pulled out the flip chip and put my original superchip back in but have not taken the truck up to WOT on that chip. I've gotten it up to 3/4 though and can't hear any detonation...
Thanks,
David
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Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi David (I'm not sure just which David this is........),
Just very briefly.......................
I don't think you have any problem that is actually due to any tuning we have supplied - and detonation is not going to "crush" a spark plug, by the way. Nor will detonation just reduce another spark plug's gap as you have described, etc. Both of those sound much more like a physical interference problem inside the motor of some kind, like if something has let go and gotten into one of more combustion chambers - as can happen from spraying too much nitrous on the stock fuel pump and the motor going lean & melting parts. And a 100 HP shot of NO2 is too much on the stock fuel system in these trucks - that isn't anything to do with the tuning, you simply do not have enough fuel system capacity to run a 100 HP shot of NO2 - not even on an otherwise bone-stock 1997-2003 4.6 F-150.
The type of spark plug damage you describe indicates something has either let go inside the motor, and/or something has gotten down inside the combustion chamber(s) and made contact with at least 2 spark plugs, etc. - OR - there is a misunderstanding (or misdiagnosed sound) of some kind here going on here.
One thing I *can* tell you is that you're using too much nitrous for the stock fuel system. I've warned many people in your situation (including David O., a very nice fellow who is another customer of ours and who coincidentally has an identical 2000 4.6 automatic and has also been spraying too much nitrous on the stock fuel pump, hmmm..........) not to use more than a 75 HP shot of nitrous (or less, depending on the other mods done to the truck) because the truck's stock fuel system is *not* up to handling any more (depending on other mods) before the stock fuel pump runs out of capacity. And the fuel pump running out of capacity will cause a bad lean condition - when spraying that much NO2 on the stock fuel system, that can easily cause serious internal engine damage. The stock fuel pump should not be relied on to supply more than about 300-310 HP (SAE Net @ flywheel) or so, and that's in the 1999 & newer F-150's - some of the '97-98 models can have an even smaller capacity fuel pump. Run out of fuel pump while spraying nitrous & you'll have an instant lean condition that in just a few *seconds* can result in serious engine damage.
The bottom line is, of course we want to help you and any other customer of ours, David - but that can't be done *here*, my friend. Please follow proper procedure and call us. Just so you'll know, I've been out with the flu for a week now (and still am not up to snuff just yet) - We will be open on Friday the 2nd, and then starting Monday the 5th we'll be off our holiday schedule & back to normal hours.
Good luck & talk to you soon!
Just very briefly.......................
I don't think you have any problem that is actually due to any tuning we have supplied - and detonation is not going to "crush" a spark plug, by the way. Nor will detonation just reduce another spark plug's gap as you have described, etc. Both of those sound much more like a physical interference problem inside the motor of some kind, like if something has let go and gotten into one of more combustion chambers - as can happen from spraying too much nitrous on the stock fuel pump and the motor going lean & melting parts. And a 100 HP shot of NO2 is too much on the stock fuel system in these trucks - that isn't anything to do with the tuning, you simply do not have enough fuel system capacity to run a 100 HP shot of NO2 - not even on an otherwise bone-stock 1997-2003 4.6 F-150.
The type of spark plug damage you describe indicates something has either let go inside the motor, and/or something has gotten down inside the combustion chamber(s) and made contact with at least 2 spark plugs, etc. - OR - there is a misunderstanding (or misdiagnosed sound) of some kind here going on here.
One thing I *can* tell you is that you're using too much nitrous for the stock fuel system. I've warned many people in your situation (including David O., a very nice fellow who is another customer of ours and who coincidentally has an identical 2000 4.6 automatic and has also been spraying too much nitrous on the stock fuel pump, hmmm..........) not to use more than a 75 HP shot of nitrous (or less, depending on the other mods done to the truck) because the truck's stock fuel system is *not* up to handling any more (depending on other mods) before the stock fuel pump runs out of capacity. And the fuel pump running out of capacity will cause a bad lean condition - when spraying that much NO2 on the stock fuel system, that can easily cause serious internal engine damage. The stock fuel pump should not be relied on to supply more than about 300-310 HP (SAE Net @ flywheel) or so, and that's in the 1999 & newer F-150's - some of the '97-98 models can have an even smaller capacity fuel pump. Run out of fuel pump while spraying nitrous & you'll have an instant lean condition that in just a few *seconds* can result in serious engine damage.
The bottom line is, of course we want to help you and any other customer of ours, David - but that can't be done *here*, my friend. Please follow proper procedure and call us. Just so you'll know, I've been out with the flu for a week now (and still am not up to snuff just yet) - We will be open on Friday the 2nd, and then starting Monday the 5th we'll be off our holiday schedule & back to normal hours.
Good luck & talk to you soon!