RX8Club.com
Register Photo Gallery FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Used CarsRX8 Live!Vendors TSB & Recalls

Go Back   RX8Club.com > Series I Tech & Performance > Series I Tech Garage
Sign in using an external account
Register Forgot Password?

Welcome to RX8Club.com!
Welcome to RX8Club.com,

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to start new topics, reply to conversations, privately message other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join RX8Club.com today!


Reply
 
 
 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 05-20-2009, 12:06 PM   #1
Registered User
 
Trader Score: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 244
Unbolting the knock sensor

It appears that our knock sensor is very conservative and sometimes determines normal engine noise and vibration as knock. The ECU then pulls timing which results in power loss. If you are not FI and always run premium fuel knock should not be an issue and we may gain power from unbolting it. On the other hand, if you were to experience knock I doubt it would hurt an NA motor.

Here are some quotes from Racing Beat's Site:

“We have also tested the knock sensor system and found that though it is good, it can cause minor problems. The sensor seems to detect normal engine vibrations as “knock” (pre-ignition), and because if this, the ECU retards the timing. Unbolting the knock sensor from the #2 rotor housing (do not disconnect it electronically - this will cause an ECU fault and retard the timing.) usually adds a small amount of power (often 1+HP) by eliminating the random, unnecessary retarding of ignition. Of course, if the engine should experience knock, your unbolted sensor will never know it- but cars ran for many years without these sensors and survived!”

Knock Sensor – “The reason for unbolting the knock sensor is that our testing has shown that the ECU sometimes randomly retards the ignition even when there is no actual detonation occurring. (Detonation - pre-ignition combustion of the compressed intake charge.) The difference is only 1-2 HP, but this is more than the differences we are looking for. We obtain more consistent test results by unbolting the sensor (but leaving it connected electronically so that it doesn't cause a fault in the ECU); thereby preventing it from feeling the vibration it mistakenly thought was detonation.”


Thoughts?
This ad is not displayed to registered and logged-in members.
Register your free account today and become a member on RX8Club.com!
__________________
2005 6MT GT 200.1WHP 143 TQ
kennyfrc1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2009, 01:34 PM   #2
Hit & Run Magnet
 
kersh4w's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (3)
Join Date: May 2007
Location: DC Area
Posts: 6,852
im remembering the thread where someone was looking for an "aftermarket kock sensor." we all had a good laugh about that.
__________________
Speed is money. How fast can you afford to go? - TeamRX8
need a better shift feel, pedal going squeaky on you, want faster shifts? Race Roots clutch brackets.
rx8 service manual
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysql101 View Post
how strong of a transmission do you need with 120 torque?!
kersh4w is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 12:58 AM   #3
Koi no Ousama
 
TeamRX8's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (19)
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 15,461
you better be using high octane fuel, otherwise one series of knocks and it's goodbye apex seals
__________________
Es gibt keine verzweifelten Lagen, es gibt nur verzweifelte Menschen.
- Heinz Guderian
TeamRX8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:08 AM   #4
100% baller (finally!)
 
dondo's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (7)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 5,402
this is what some guys at our dyno day were saying might be happening to my car. it was pulling like 20-25hp less (142-144) than similarly configured cars (165) and then ran once much closer to the other guys (155). This was out of 6 pulls. I have new plugs, ignition coils, wires, and good compression.

do you think this could be part of the problem or is there something else i should look into?
__________________
'04 Sunlight Silver 6spd GT
vBGarage
dondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:14 AM   #5
4 engines/3 manifolds
 
Easy_E1's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Phoenix, AZ.
Posts: 7,485
manchowder31
Send a message via Skype™ to Easy_E1
Quote:
Originally Posted by dondo View Post
this is what some guys at our dyno day were saying might be happening to my car. it was pulling like 20-25hp less (142-144) than similarly configured cars (165) and then ran once much closer to the other guys (155). This was out of 6 pulls. I have new plugs, ignition coils, wires, and good compression.

do you think this could be part of the problem or is there something else i should look into?
Were these piston engine owners? The knock sensor is so bad on our car that is pretty much useless. You'd have to hit it with a hammer to get a reading.
Just to make you feel good,, you have less HP then my 4 Port AT.


I would say that the dyno may not be calibrated correctly.
Easy_E1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:16 AM   #6
100% baller (finally!)
 
dondo's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (7)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 5,402
Quote:
Originally Posted by Easy_E1 View Post
Were these piston engine owners? The knock sensor is so bad on our car that is pretty much useless. You'd have to hit it with a hammer to get a reading.
nah, 8s. that's what's weird. even an 8 in stock trim did better than mine: 166...
__________________
'04 Sunlight Silver 6spd GT
vBGarage
dondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:20 AM   #7
4 engines/3 manifolds
 
Easy_E1's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Phoenix, AZ.
Posts: 7,485
manchowder31
Send a message via Skype™ to Easy_E1
That's till pretty low on the scale. I've seen mine range about 25 whp on different dynos on different days.
I've also seen a stock AT do 155 whp. While mine did 145 with intake exhaust and BHR coils and an Accessport. Some 8's just have more HP. I don't know why.

Try some injector cleaner in it. Se if that helps.
Easy_E1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:24 AM   #8
100% baller (finally!)
 
dondo's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (7)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 5,402
Quote:
Originally Posted by Easy_E1 View Post
That's till pretty low on the scale. I've seen mine range about 25 whp on different dynos on different days.
I've also seen a stock AT do 155 whp. While mine did 145 with intake exhaust and BHR coils and an Accessport. Some 8's just have more HP. I don't know why.

Try some injector cleaner in it. Se if that helps.
mine was well below the others and i have intake/catback exhaust/ap/bhr ignition..

i suppose this fails w/o pics though.. i'll try to scan the graphs.
__________________
'04 Sunlight Silver 6spd GT
vBGarage
dondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:33 AM   #9
4 engines/3 manifolds
 
Easy_E1's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Phoenix, AZ.
Posts: 7,485
manchowder31
Send a message via Skype™ to Easy_E1
Has MM done the full range of tuning on your AP? Or are you guy's still working on it?
Easy_E1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:45 AM   #10
100% baller (finally!)
 
dondo's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (7)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 5,402
we did the first part on the dyno in seattle and he told me the coils were bad so i got the bhr ones and recently got those working well so i put it on the dyno again. my plan is to datalog again now and send that in for another map to see if it helps at all.

i can't scan now, scanner's not working, so i'll get them up tomorrow.
__________________
'04 Sunlight Silver 6spd GT
vBGarage
dondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 02:15 AM   #11
4 engines/3 manifolds
 
Easy_E1's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Phoenix, AZ.
Posts: 7,485
manchowder31
Send a message via Skype™ to Easy_E1
I'll remind him tomorrow when he gets back in town. Just do the 11 Deadly questions and submit the logs.
I think you'll have better results when the car has the proper tune on it. I hope.
Easy_E1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 10:25 AM   #12
Thread Killer
 
pdxhak's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Portland,OR
Posts: 9,837
Dondo's numbers are from a Mustang dyno. We had 3 8's dyno back to back to back with my car being the 3rd car. I pulled 163 with new OE coils and plugs. I also have RB intake and Corksport exhaust. What is a bit interesting is Dondo's graph. He peaked earlier than the 3 8s that pulled in the 160s where others still climbed.

Note: I believe we had 6 8s get on the dyno. 3 in the 160s, 1 157, 2 in the 140s.
__________________
pdxhak's vGarage
pdxhak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 12:18 PM   #13
4 engines/3 manifolds
 
Easy_E1's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Phoenix, AZ.
Posts: 7,485
manchowder31
Send a message via Skype™ to Easy_E1
That is still some low numbers for all the cars. I suppose it's just the Mustang dyno.





But I like it. It means there are 6 MT RX8's out there with less HP than my 4 Port AT.
Easy_E1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 12:36 PM   #14
Thread Killer
 
pdxhak's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Portland,OR
Posts: 9,837
haha...what are you mods? If you are spraying or FI then it does not count
__________________
pdxhak's vGarage
pdxhak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:39 PM   #15
Registered
 
JantzenRX-8's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (8)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Norman, OK
Posts: 1,265
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdxhak View Post
Dondo's numbers are from a Mustang dyno. We had 3 8's dyno back to back to back with my car being the 3rd car. I pulled 163 with new OE coils and plugs. I also have RB intake and Corksport exhaust. What is a bit interesting is Dondo's graph. He peaked earlier than the 3 8s that pulled in the 160s where others still climbed.

Note: I believe we had 6 8s get on the dyno. 3 in the 160s, 1 157, 2 in the 140s.
I can't remember what Dondo's graph looked like but we have similar mods and similar results.

Here is mine for comparison.

Click the image to open in full size.
__________________
___________________
04 Titanium Gray MT
JantzenRX-8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:46 PM   #16
Koi no Ousama
 
TeamRX8's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (19)
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 15,461
^ your curve goes dead at around 7000, looks like the APV may not be opening
__________________
Es gibt keine verzweifelten Lagen, es gibt nur verzweifelte Menschen.
- Heinz Guderian
TeamRX8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:56 PM   #17
Registered
 
JantzenRX-8's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (8)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Norman, OK
Posts: 1,265
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeamRX8 View Post
^ your curve goes dead at around 7000, looks like the APV may not be opening
Would that throw a CEL?
__________________
___________________
04 Titanium Gray MT
JantzenRX-8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 02:04 PM   #18
Thread Killer
 
pdxhak's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (2)
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Portland,OR
Posts: 9,837
Dondo's graph did that as well. The other 8s keep climbing where theirs start to fall off.
__________________
pdxhak's vGarage
pdxhak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 05:33 PM   #19
100% baller (finally!)
 
dondo's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (7)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 5,402
here are mine:
SKMBT_C35309052414060.pdf
__________________
'04 Sunlight Silver 6spd GT
vBGarage
dondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 05:55 PM   #20
100% baller (finally!)
 
dondo's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (7)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 5,402
Quote:
Originally Posted by Easy_E1 View Post
I'll remind him tomorrow when he gets back in town. Just do the 11 Deadly questions and submit the logs.
I think you'll have better results when the car has the proper tune on it. I hope.
submitted today.
thanks!
__________________
'04 Sunlight Silver 6spd GT
vBGarage
dondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2009, 02:20 PM   #21
Koi no Ousama
 
TeamRX8's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (19)
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 15,461
Quote:
Originally Posted by JantzenRX-8 View Post
Would that throw a CEL?
only if it's stuck in the open position
__________________
Es gibt keine verzweifelten Lagen, es gibt nur verzweifelte Menschen.
- Heinz Guderian
TeamRX8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2009, 07:22 PM   #22
Registered
 
JantzenRX-8's Avatar
 
Trader Score: (8)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Norman, OK
Posts: 1,265
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeamRX8 View Post
only if it's stuck in the open position
But if it completely stops operating it think's everything is A-OK? That seems odd.

I'll have to check to see if the motor that controls the APV is operating correctly.
__________________
___________________
04 Titanium Gray MT
JantzenRX-8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2009, 07:22 PM
RX8Club
Mazda RX8




Paid Advertisement


 
 
 
Reply

Tags
04, club, delete, find, knock, location, mazda, mod, noram, power, removal, rx, rx8, sensor, systems, tested, unbolt

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
knock sensor problem. bmxer Series I Tech Garage 4 07-11-2012 09:23 AM
Two questions on our knock sensor. Rote8 Series I Tech Garage 0 10-22-2008 08:06 PM
where is the knock sensor olddragger Series I Tech Garage 3 01-14-2006 04:25 PM
Knock sensor zoomzoom_8 Series I Tech Garage 8 07-20-2005 10:31 AM
Knock sensor? VikingDJ RX-8 Discussion 3 04-20-2004 06:06 AM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
SEO by vBSEO ©2010, Crawlability, Inc.
All content Copyright © 2007 by Internet Brands, Inc.
Emails Backup