Barry Davies

Hi all.

Without getting involved in the mass debate of which octane fuel to use, i would like to post a quick question.

Standard uk spec turbo (MY97), Pinks when accelerating under load before turbo kicks in. Using 95ron. IS THIS NORMAL?

I have had the car since feb this year and has 40000 on clock. fully serviced etc.

Fantastic car, wanted one for 5 years now and managed to talk the wife into getting one. The pinking is not realy a problem to me, i just want to know if something is at fault.

Cheers

chrisp

Get it into a dealer ASAP !!!!

I have always run my 1998MY UK turbo on SUL. SUK say they should be able to run fine on 95 I was told my dealer to always run on SUL.

Get it checked, it is not normal.

cheers

chrisp

BarryK

Forgive me if I am teaching granny to suck eggs, but are you sure it's pinking? There's a lot of heat shield gubbins and stuff that comes loose and gets rattly, under certain revs it sounds exactly like pinking, but it's not.

Get a dealer to check your nuts. Fnarr fnarr.

Steve Lawson

Barry,try using 97/98 octane fuel although don't be surprised if this does not cure the problem.Have driven two turbos in the last couple of days with exactly the same thing.I suspect that the problem may lie with the fuel companies themselves!
I have made IM aware of the problem and currently await a response.Will let you know the outcome.

Steve

DJB

My MY98 pinks at low revs under heavy load. It seems to have started doing this in the last 6 months. When it happens, I immediately change down a gear.

I suspect that its poor fuel quality thats the cause.

I've just remembered, its due its first major service in 2 weeks. Maybe this is partly to blame (? old spark plugs).

D.

[This message has been edited by DJB (edited 15-07-2000).]

Mojo

DJB,

Thanks for the info, it all makes a lot more sense now.

Mojo

Nimbus

If memory serves me right, from older cars pinking is the result of carbon build up in the cylinder, which when hot allows the fuel/air mixture to pre-ignite. One solution was to give the engine a damn good thrashing. This would clear some of the build up, although the only real solution is a de-coke.

Not sure if this applies to modern engines, and I dought this is the problem here as I suspect most scooby owners are not adverse to 'giving it some'....

Mojo

Sorry to be thick but I'm new to this Subaru game.
What is pinking and what does it sound like?

Mojo

DJB

Pinking is pre-ignition combustion of fuel. Normally the fuel is ignited just before the piston reaches the top of its travel. This allows for a more efficient engine cycle and allows the fuel to burn more completely. When the engine pinks, the fuel ignites spontaneously before the spark causing premature combustion of the fuel. This can cause severe engine damage (can melt pistons).

Its a tinkling sound typically heard at low revs with the accelerator pressed.

D.

[This message has been edited by DJB (edited 17-07-2000).]

Ridge_back

Don't be daft, it isn't pinking.

Barry Davies

Cheers everyone. very helpful...I think. A bit of conflicting advice.
As for the pinking/rattling. Yes I'm sure its not my nuts rattling BarryK, but good question. As for the servicing, it was done at 37500 when i bought it (but it was done by Well Lane Turbo centre in Batley-West Yorks) where I bought the car, so it may not have been done as thorough as a Scooby Dealer. Anyone any comments on Well Lane? As I would need further servicing (for the nuts) and I do have a Scooby dealer nearby..

SUL? reading though other post it seems to me that some are happy running 95RON on standard cars whilst others prefer to run 98RON, more so with the WRX/STI Jap stuff. I suppose I would have to try it and see if it works. Its possibly me straining the engine too much when i plant my foot in the wrong gear.

Barry

Ridge_Back...What is it then.....??????