Knock Detection, News

Winning The Battle Against Knock — A Deep-Dive Blog Series for Data-driven Tuners & Engine Builders

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On May 20, 2025
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The Battle Against Knock: A Knock Detection Blog Series for Data-driven Tuners

Stop guessing. Start Tuning. Never Miss Knock Again.

Engine knock is one of the most destructive forces in high-performance engines — and one of the hardest to catch. It’s subtle, unpredictable, and capable of wrecking a build long before it becomes evident.

That’s why we’ve launched The Battle Against Knock — a multi-part knock detection blog series for serious tuners, engine builders, and calibration professionals.
Besides the theory, it’s also a practical guide to understanding detonation, detecting it with precision, and using that data to drive better, safer calibrations.

When it comes to extracting peak performance from high-output engines, few threats are as persistent — or misunderstood — as knock.

Whether you’re building a turbocharged street car, tuning a competition engine, or refining ECU strategies on the dyno, detonation remains one of the most critical challenges in modern calibration. It’s subtle. It’s destructive. And if not handled correctly, it can undo months of work in seconds.

What You’ll Learn in the Series:

  • What knock really is — and why even mild knock is more dangerous than it sounds
  • Why modern engines are more prone to detonation under real-world conditions
  • The science behind knock detection and a comparison between different detection methods
  • How knock damages pistons, bearings, and heads — and how to catch it before it’s too late
  • Proven workflows that integrate knock detection from first pull to final map
  • How ignition timing, fueling, and boost strategies can be refined using knock trends
  • Real-world examples and practical advice from professional calibration environments

“In knocking conditions, the flame front propagates at extremely high speeds — often exceeding 500 to 1000 m/s — breaking down the thermal boundary layer and generating destructive pressure waves across the combustion chamber.”

Why It’s Different

This series goes beyond theory. It’s built on years of real-world calibration experience — including thousands of hours on dynos and race tracks, and insights drawn from professional-grade knock detection systems developed in-house at PLEX.

Whether you’re refining a high-output build or stepping up your tuning process, this is the knowledge we wish we had when we started.

Start the series today — and calibrate with confidence, not guesswork.

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