Bat-Fink

Right no PSL style KB heroes wanted just a genuine answer from someone who know WTF they're on about.

Say i've got a fresh in the uk STI IV woudl a knocklink and PFC be a good safety net?The car has no other mods other then the Knocklink and PFC. Would this be a good setup?

So i could drive the car hard with no worries?

Bat-Fink

Read the first line.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

A knocklink is only an indication of whats happening, not a safety feature, but you do get a visable warning.
If you want safety then have a remap and run on the best fuel you can get

Tony

theotherphil

You can get a knock reading from the commander unit which reads from the oem knock senson. A knocklink reads from it's own sensor and is user adjustable (!)

Bat-Fink

Know that guys,just would a remap for uk pisswater.
And a knocklink be a good idea?Justto be safe in the knolwedge that the car is running safely?


As in no nasty boost spikes,and not running lean?

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Realistically the knocklink is a good indication of whats happening, BUT dont take it for granted, if you want the full security then you would also need a nice lamba link and a full set of gauges which would be an indication of boost spikes and leaness of your fuel.

Tony

Bat-Fink

Ah right mate what gauges tho?

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Boost, oil pressure/temp and exhaust gas temp, though a decent water temp gauge would come in handy

Tony

pslewis

Yes, buy a CockLink ... fit it ... then adjust it until you get no RED lights!! ... YEP!! Value for money there then!!

Ask yourself 2 questions and you will have your answer:-

1. Would I fit a smoke detector to my house that I could adjust until it didn't go off when it detects smoke??

2. Do I want to look cool in front of the 14 year olds at Macciee Deeees on Friday night??

If the answer to either is YES - then buy one!!

If they answer is no, then step back from your wallet ............ fools and money and CockLinks go together like Stawberries and Cream!!

And I DO know what I am talking about!!

Pete

GC8

Youre talking ****e Peter. Just because a KnockLink serves no useful purpose on your MY'00 standard UK car; it doesnt mean that its of no use on an STI IV.

Unless youre going to the expense and trouble of replacing the ECU ten Id say that a KnockLink, or better a Detalarm, was a wise precaution. If you drive the car in the way that it was intended then its probably essential as detonation is likely and a holed number three piston or run big-end will soon follow.

Simon

GC8

More worryingly Pete; here you plainly have no idea what youre talking about (if you really believe the ****e that youve posted) and when you consider the likely implications, youd be better keeping quiet. On the occasions that you ask for help here do you want someone trolling for their own amusement, knowingly giving you ****e advice for the craic?

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Simon,

don't feed the troll - just ignore him - he hates it

Oh and you are right, if you troll his threads when he wants advice he gets all upset and starts firing off insults, and they are not even good ones

Rannoch

pslewis

Simon, darling, sweetie .... don't fret you big girlie!!

My Engineering Experience tells me, and I will tell others, that a CockLink is for Chavs and idiots who want to waste money!! Thats my HONEST opinion ..... NOTHING to do with Trolling!!

Never, in the history of Automotive Engineering, has so much bollox been talked about how good a CockLink is, by so many to so few!!!

FFS you ADJUST a CockLink until it stops showing a RED light!!! Yeah, like thats a good piece of safety equipment then????

Pete

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Pete you set these to MAXIMUM sensitivity
And as an ENGINEER you should know that you get the minimum safety feature(s) that are needed as anything else goes out of your profits so fitting a Knocklink IS an ideal and cheap solution to an expensive problem.

Tony

pslewis

Oh Yeah??

I see that SUBARU are fitting them now

They are THAT good But they are NOT are they?? They would rather offer £3000 worth of FREE petrol to buyers!!

I have read over and over again that the sensitivity is turned DOWN to stop the RED light flashing!! So there you have it - buy one and adjust it so it does absolutely NOTHING!!

Nah, sorry .... for the 14 year olds and chavs ..... ONLY

Pete

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Well pete, if that is your way of thinking so be it, but then again, why invent any gauge to show you whats happening thats after market?
Why?? because for the information

Tony

Trout

iTrader: (1)

OK Pete - it's your expertise and you are not trolling.

Tell me - how does an ECU knock sensor work? Subaru, indeed most if not all car manufacturers have knock sensors on the engine. In fact you could use the ECU knock sensor to drive your Knocklink if you wanted - although not advisable.

Can you tell us in you great expertise how they work?

And then tell is with your great Engineering Expertise why a visual analogue of what the ECU is doing is pointless! All a Knocklink is, is a visual representation of what the knock sensor is sending to the ECU.

I look forward to your response.

Rannoch

Scott.T

iTrader: (2)

It seems a high percentage of threads that mention turning down the knocklink seem to have pslewis involved.

I don't recall reading any for a while that advised on turning them down.

The only time they should be turned down, is if the car has a little valve train or gearbox noise. And that the Knocklink 'HAS' been calibrated by a mapper with detcans (a mapper with detcans would be able to tell the difference between true det and engine noise).

In all other cases (probably greater than 95%) the knocklink should be set to maximum.

If you are running a PFC with a FC Commander and a Knocklink then you have two methods of checking for/keeping and eye on det.
Both should tally if you get any det i.e a level of 30 on the commander should get a red or high yellow on the knocklink.

The benefit of the cammander is that you can store peak values and also graph/plot the trace to see if it's a gradual increase in noise or a det 'spike'.

DCI Gene Hunt

Wouldn't it be good if you could wire a ****-link to some under car neons, thus killing two birds with one stone and making it an actually useful aftermarket device, well for Chav's anyway....

Crosstalk

Ah, the joys of Scoobynet, despite Bat-fink requesting serious answers only, the fun ensues.

Pete has a serious point, regarding just how necessary is it, however I do understand the notion of calibrating the thing so it stays un-lit during "normal" conditions, and hence lights up only when there's a real problem. Using Pete's smoke detector analogy, it's like having a smoke detector that forgives candle smoke or bathroom water vapour, but lets rip with the alarm when the chip pan goes up.

Three questions though -

- to check my understanding (because searching the archives here on this subject is a needle in a haystack job), the problem occurs when the fuel is too low an octane rating and detonates during the compression phase of the cycle as with a diesel engine, therefore causing damage, yes?
- if it's so essential how come the engine management system doesn't analyse the performance and back off if pre-detonation (pinking/knocking - whatever it's called) occurs?
- does anyone make a knocklink that connects to the management system and does the same thing?

It just seems that if it's such an obvious and potentially engine fatal condition, relying on visual assessment of an LED display and having to back off the throttle feels a but crude.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Simple answer to your question.
Said car is designed to run 100 ron fuel, it will retard but ONLY so far, after that..... BANG
Also said car is of a different market to our own, another problem.

Later STi's (new age JDM) have a much better engine management system (without a lean spot as per said car) which retards much better, even so I still run a knock link which still shows me that ive got a problem. (and no im not a chav etc etc etc)

Tony

dougwrx

Get a f===king life Pete , your like a broken record

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Yes, Pectel and others do - but they are very expensive and very difficult to set up. With a Pectel you can have one knock sensor per cylinder! Or if you use a single knock link it can work out which cylinder is which by the noise signature.

My understanding is that the later Subaru ECUs actively map the car (upt to a point) up to keep it just inside the detonation to optimise performance.

The knocklink itself is crude but can give a warning that something is amiss before things go bang. Cars with forged pistons can sometimes take a lot of det before something breaks. But if it continues it will break!!

Rannoch

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Get your own material m8. Unless ofcourse you ARE PSLewis??

DCI Gene Hunt

That's rich coming from a loser like you...........

SiHethers

Bat-fink

Both would not be necessary. If you want to run straight UK fuel without octane booster safely, get a remap, such as the PFC would allow. The mapper will be able to set this up to flash the CEL if you get det, thus giving you an easily visible indication of det, although this can also be displayed graphically and numerically on the FC commander. You should gain power/torque doing this as the boost, fuelling and ignition can all be optimised for your setup.

Simon

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Sad? Me?
I'm not the one with a higher daily post average than Pslewis!

DCI Gene Hunt

Nope, that's true....... BUT you are the one sad enough to go and CHECK!....

WHAT A NO LIFE...........................

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Fair comment!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Back to the posters point:

Yes, on a Jap spec Sti not mapped for Uk fuel, it would be a wise investment. Get one fitted properly and don't fiddle with it!

Ns04