OK, so I know lots of folks build mechanical det cans for street tuning, but isn't there some kind of modern electrical solution out there that folks are using? Are the folks that are using mechanical det cans just cheap, or do they work better than whatever electronic solution is out there? It's a serious question - I'm planning on having my setup tuned on a dyno initially, but want to be able to do some of my own street tuning down the road if necessary, and don't really want to be riding around with a pair of 3M Peltors on my head with hoses coming out of them....unless that's truly the best way to detect detonation.

I'll add that my application is a D16Z6 / P28 so there is no OEM knock sensor.

 

There are but given that we do not have that onboard our ecu, I'm not sure it's possible. The good ol' det can works wonders! You look funny doing it, but it's hard to beat a classic!

 

Also.. Instead of the muffs, I used a sprague rapaport stethoscope.. Much better than the muffs..

 

Knocksense MS wired in to a spare 5V input on the ecu so I can at least log knock, then spliced a headphone jack off of the knock sensor wire so I can run it into the aux input on the stereo or into a small headphone amp and headphones while tuning. Works great... you can easily decipher valvetrain noise from actual knock.

Engine knock detection and indication for all vehicles