430 Scuderia Ping

I notice that my scud has a slight ping noise at 2500 to 3200 rpm's on gentle acceleration. The local dealer said they contacted Ferrari of North America and it is normal and even gave me a demo ride in a scud that they had for sale which also had the same ping noise. I have been using Shell high octane gas. Has anyone else experienced this problem in a scud or regular F430?

 

Sounds like an issue that won't get fixed until nearly everyone who owns a 430 calls and complains. Unfortunate. Hopefully you're able to get someone to take care of the underlying cause before it becomes an actual issue. Just because multiple cars do this, doesn't make it acceptable. I'd suspect it's related to the fuel we have here vs. in Europe and the ECU tuning.

 

Here's some .02 FWIW.

Perhaps you could mix in some 100 octane fuel to your California 91 (or 93) octane to increase the octane rating and see if the pinging disappears.

I have read that carbon buildup on the valves and piston tops can also cause pinging. Are you driving too slow (joke)?

 

Check your sparkplug gap. Too large a gap will cause pinging.

 

It's funny how there are regional differences.
Here in the US, any hint of piston slap, or ping, or brake squeal are viewed as cardinal offenses.

In Australia, they like a little tip-in knock because they understand that's the sound of power!

 

most people that hear pinging in the motor wouldnt even know what it is, and for the Australian comment that is pretty narrow minded, I am sure there are people around the world that may think the same thing, as for me I only run the best fuel I can get, always min 98ron