I started recently running in phantom knock on my IX. I cant figure out what it could be. I made sure its nothing mechanical IE exhaust rubbing, pipes rubbing, anything like that. I was getting tuned by Al Dynoflash when we ran into the problem. We tried 5gallons of c16, but apparently it was still knocking. I did a couple of logs today. Maybe someone could help me out with this.... Im attaching my rom and the 3 logs I did...

This is starting to get annoying as Im trying to purchase meth, but I dont want to buy it with me knowing that no matter what, Im never going to run at full potential....

Thanks a bunch!
Dan

 

A couple of your logs show the knock in the same RPM range, so it could be phantom knock. Overall though, I wouldn't be worried too much about that amount of knock.

The only thing I noticed is that you are tuned a bit rich, which can contribute to knock as well. Believe it or not, I have seen a tune knock at 10.5:1 AFR and be clean at 11:1 AFR. I think your tune is a little conservative on the fueling and could possibly be the issue. I would say lean it out a good .5 or so and adjust timing accordingly and see if the knock clears up.

Otherwise if it is appearing at the same RPM all the time and doesn't go away even with further tuning and reduced timing as well as race gas (which you have tried), I would say it's phantom knock as well. At that point, there isn't much anyone can do over the internet for you. It could be a number of things, from lifters to a downpipe hitting, etc.

A common cause of phantom knock on DSMs were the lifters. If your car is higher mileage that may be something to look into.


Eric

 

for the love of god, please lean that out.

 

Thats not phantom knock, that is real knock. You are much too rich and may be misfiring. Check for boost leaks and make sure you have disabled lean spool.

 

That load is incredibly low. Like the lowest I have ever seen an Evo that wasnt running on spring pressure in the standard wastegate. I wouldnt bother tuning it right now until you get your boost back to where it should be. Running 16psi isnt cool anyway, but it will make no difference when you have the car running 22+ like it should be.

 

I agree with dan, looking over those logs, it looks like real knock to me.

If you added C16 and kept the same AFR then it is probably misfire

 

Now how would I go about fixing this? Im looking for a good tuner in my area, as this is one of Al's tunes, and Ive already tried mellon (great tuner, just too long of a period and risk)... Im beginning to think I should take the time to learn and just do it myself... Any idea? Any pointers?

Thanks for all the help guys! I really appreciate it!
Dan

PS I live on long island in new york and the closer tuner is about an hour and a half away... (Ivey and Dynoflash)

 

I doubt its misfire, I put brand new factory plugs in with a .024 gap... Even Al checked them and they were fine.

How would I go about fixing this issue?

Thanks!
Dan

 

Gap doesn't mean much if you are drowning the motor with fuel.

10.4 AFR and C16 is mighty rich.

How much boost are you running?

 

Im still running at 21-22psi. I really need a new tune, its becomming dissapointed as Im basically running normal bolt on IX's...

Here are some new logs with it leaned out alittle bit...

 

OP, I do suggest you start learning how to tune yourself. All you really need to know when *LEARNING* is keep knock below 5, try to keep boost reasonable (below 22), and AFR's between 11-12 when in boost (above 10psi). You really are not going to hurt a motor if you listen to that. Do a lot of reading and a lot of experimenting yourself. Asking questions really doesen't help you out (its spoon feeding). Just read some stuff and then go out and try it. You never stop learning, you just get better at tuning.

 

this is very interesting bc i brought my evo to al also about 3 weeks now and with the mods i have i should be pusing over 400 on pump and over 500 on race. this is when he told me i had a bad knock count also. i made like 350 pump 460 race. some bs like that. and my car couldnt make nothing for power. i was pissed as all $hit. so i went look over my hole car. everythign was good i adjust my wastgate dump bc it was rubbing on the starter shield. so i got it away from that and now its not hitting anything. and my exhaust is perfectly fine. let me guess did he say to u, lets take ur valve cover off and look at ur cams that could be a problem but then again that cost more money. im going back to al this sat. bc he said he would try to fix my problem and retune it for me. just hope everything goes out well. hope u figure out ur problem.

 

Hey buddy! Congrats on the car! Buschur 35r huh? Very nice!

Here is the full story,

I was in the process of being tuned by Mellon (I will never put Chris down, He is by FAR one of THE BEST tuners I have ever experienced ), but I couldnt risk getting pulled over anymore and with gas prices, it was ALOT of money I was spending. I just wish Mellon was in NY...

So I decided to go to Al after a good experience I had with him when he was at The Shop CT and tuned my car with basic bolt ons.

I was already about 13 tunes into with Mellon, Solid AFR's of around 11.3, zero knock, but VERY conservative timing as thats what we were about to start adjusting.

I go to Al at ICS on a Sunday morning at 11:30, I was there at 11:20 and called him at 11:40 when he still wasnt there. I went to subway across the street and got food, still waiting for Al. I saw him pull up at 12:05 and I walk across the street about 4 min later. He gave me an attitude about me being late and "we didnt have much time left". Right off the bat, I was already getting annoyed. Bad customer service. Throw the car on the dyno, do some pulls, and he car picked up an extra 21whp MAX.

He starts telling me about how my car is "phantom knocking" and might be "bad gas". So I waste an extra $75 on 5 gallons of c16 and without touching any settings, and with the AFR's from Mellons 11.2-11.4 to Al's 10.6-10.8, I still experience some knock. Then he tells me it could be a mechanical knock, like an exhaust rub, whatever. So for the past 3 weeks ive been diagnosing my car in my seperate garage, doing boost leak tests, pressing in my new AMS front motor mount, making a bracket for my intake pipe that was laying on the intercooler pipe... Nothing changed. Now with the help of EvoM member John F, which Im deeply appreciated of, he took a look at my logs and rom. He sent me back my rom with some changes and the car is not knocking like it use to.

Evoracingstar, funny thing is Al tried that with me. I was completely fed up with the way how the whole process was going.

Dan

 

o.. i just dont want to even get into the heavily detail about how i was treated there. so he is going to look at my car and get everything seettle out for free. i made sure of that bc i didnt waste no 450 to get **** for a tune. ill pm u something and john f i might need ur help!

 

Dan, I wish we could finish up your tune...we're so close now. 9/10ths of the time spent is getting the fuel perfect, timing tweaks typically don't take many more revisions.

persistence and patience will pay off, I promise!

I'm a bit **** about my tunes being perfect so it does take some time.