hum... I never knew they put dirt in gasoline.

What octane have you previously been using? 85? I don't see how a one time bump in octane would suddenly fix this problem, unless your timing is WAY advanced, or your previous tank was a batch of bad gas, or you are experiencing the "placebo effect".

If the pinging went away just by bumping the octane, by your own explanation above, you need to retard the timing.

 

and I thought I was pretty good at being sarcastic...

85 Octane and as the days goes on and I drive it more, I am noticing the noise...just not nearly as much.

I will have to get a timing light and check the timing.

 

Just new boot goofin! < Reno 911 quote >




All kidding aside, your timing should be at 8 degrees stock, 10-12 degrees max for daily driving fun.

 

Carbon buildup on the valves can cause hot spots and detonate the fuel mixture easier. Higher octane will help resist that predetonation. I had that issue with a non-turbo Z. Had to run midgrade all the time and it ran great. Had nice high compression too like a new engine.

 

if you want to get rid of carbon, run a can of seafoam thru it. or if your cheap like me, i use a water spritz bottle and send a mist of water down the intake while its running. those will both take ANY carbon out of the intake and compustion chamber. 85 is a bit low, our lowest here is 87. i run 92 or 94. but im a different setup. sounds to me like you have a pinging problem caused by timing or carbon (deposits) build-up

 

if none of you guys know the sound hes talking about then just go on YOUTUBE.COM and put diesel truck sound .. or diesel truck engine sound .. i did and i know how it sounds now but sorry dont know what the problem can be

 

Cool thank you.
I will try the Seafoam and see if that helps.
Changing the gas has seemed to help it...not fixed, but helped.
Today it is so cold I had to drive my other car...(sob sob) That just sucked the fun out of driving. But my heater is not working on the ZX so I had to drive the one that has defrost.
I will tackle the heating issue soon enough, been reading all the posts about it, and have some ideas whewre to start.

 

Did you ever do this?

 

Not yet. Just got a timing light 2 days ago...now I need to find a how to section on checking it.
I used to know how 20 years ago, but I want to read up a bit since I cannot go poking around when it is 20 degrees out.

 

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/240z-260z-280z-performance-technical-124/timing-31560/

 

Maybe find the timing mark on the pully and clean that spot before you start the engine. Even mark it with a dot of white paint or white-out.

Careful rotating the dizzy while the engine is running. It can be a shocking experience... I know

 

lol, don't loosen the dizzy to much though. and once you have it where you want it, tighten one of the "tangs" before letting go of the dizzy and shutting off the car. Also, yes, clean up the timing mark plate, and the timing slot in the crank. I always mark the 10 degree spots and the 0 spot on the plate with a long dash of white out and the 5 degree increments with a small dash of white out and i fill in the slot on the crank with white out. that way, you will never ever ever misread anything down there. wish I had a picture to show you... I might be able to grab one while I got the turbo motor on a stand if you really want.

 

Oh hai... here's one from mai kardomainz.

 

that pic blows... haha

 

Well that's productive snow, but very funny!

 

le belle photo!