Originally posted by WARBIRD1989
Obviously this is a problem that needs to be fixed immediately, if this was a 2.3 l ford I would say don't worry you can put a head gasket on in 40 minutes, but not these cars. So I would be very careful about any detonation.
I used to have a problem with detonation before I installed the RJC POWER PLATE this little piece of magical metal allowed me to run as much as 20 pounds with stock Turbo and run low 12,'s after increasing my Turbo and spending 5k on a transmission I am now running 15 pounds and running 11.98et's.
If I were you I would try running some octane in a can and see if this control's the problem. I also have an adjustable few regulator, so sometimes I will just at a few extra pounds and detonation is under control, unlike the Fords I used to race, these cars do not allow you to adjust timing by simply turning a bolt. Obviously there are methods available if you would like to spend some money. You may just have a problem with cheap gas, I know different gas can make a big difference in my car. I always use 2 cans of octane whenever I fill up.
You say you're getting oil? I have had some Chryslers and Fords that used a lot of oil. As far as I remember this never created much of a problem with detonation. Unless you have had this problem for a long time and you have actually built up a lot of carbon on the Pistons. Even something like the wrong size plugs can create this problem.
You may look at motor temperature as well, even with both of my fans running continuously, I still run over 200 degrees in the summer. This too is an issue, especially when you start adding modifications that will produce heat. With any high-performance car I have ever built my first performance item is a good breaking system and then a large cooling system. I have several for 460 powered mustangs, even with 4 row aluminum radiator, heavy-duty eight blades fan, custom shroud, high-performance water pump, I will still run hot.
Have you done a compression check, it is not a fun thing, but maybe a necessary thing for you to do. Honestly I did not have much problem with detonation, I stopped playing games a long time ago, and realized it is much cheaper, to spend a lot of money on good parts and invest your time, then it is to try to go fast cheap, I have nearly $13,000 in a motor&trans, but this combination allows me to run high 11's on pump gas with drag et.s. I still get 20 miles plus and have functioning air-conditioning.
If you have a stock Turbo I would definitely consider replacing it yes they are a lot of money but well worth it in the end. I guess what I'm trying to say is I learned a lot from svo mustangs and Thunderbirds. But now that I have a serious Turbo car I am investing serious time and money, I do not know what your ultimate goal is as far as speed, so it is hard for me to conclude what advice to give you.
15 pounds is not that far from stock so even something like cheap gas can be an issue, like I said I had issues at fourteen pounds at one time until I installed rjc plate. So if you do not have one try it. Even the new supercharged mustangs have a distribution plate just under the blower. So the technology is there.
I do not know if any of this will help you without actually standing in front of a car and driving it is hard to tell anything. I love my wonderful Trans Am, if one tire, is a pound low on air I know it.