Where do you mount your det cans?
 

just as the title says. What point on the block do, you who have used det cans, mount the pickup to? Or does this location not matter, just so long as it is mounted to the engine?

thanks,
Jared

Ive always used a bolt on the valve cover when Ive done it on hondas, I havent done it on the miata yet, but Id imagine that it would work all the same.
You can hear quite a lot, i remember doing it once on my buddys car and the sound of the BOV was louder than anything else

edit:
one of the bolts that hold the engine listing points would probably be good, since theyre directly on the head

most people i've seen do it bolt it to the motor mounts near the oil pressure sensor and the oil filter.

Wouldn't you just hear valve train noise? I'd think you'd want it to be lower down on the engine.

I remove the factory knock sensor and screw it in there.

you hear the valve train a lot, but the detonation is so sharp and loud it stands out, but I suppose it would be beneficial to mount it on the block, im just too lazy

I'd think the oil filter side on the engine mount bolts would be best. The upper most bolt would be just about right in height.

I mounted mine in the OEM location which is near the oil filter. Its on every 5 engine and some have knock sensors already there some don't. Mine didn't so I needed to find a bolt setup that worked to mount it. Basically one bolt for the hole the drill and tap that bolt for another bolt to mount the sensor. Took more time to jack the car up than wiring it all up and fit it.

+1
Which is on the outside of the cylinder walls, on the short block, near the oil filter. My Bosch knock sensor is mounted there = my det can.

wow, thanks for all the great info! I tried mounting it on the furthest back mounting stud on the intake manifold. So far i only hear valve train noise. So either this is a good thing and i have no detonation, or it is drowned out by the valve noise.

i will try attaching it to the same location as the stock knock sensor.

Here is a thread on my local MX5 forum which uses a bandpass filter as well as normal knock sensing to help reduce false readings.
Hope we can help you and others
DIY Det Cans
Band pass filter

I posted a BP filter for use with the factory sensor and any ECU in the ECU section.

I looked at actual Miata knock waveforms and the knock center frequency was 13 kHz.

Damn Im stupid. I thought DET CANS, were literally a tube mounted on the block connected to a can for the purpose of listening to whats happening during combustion.

Cool work. Ours was from the Adaptronic sensing at 7.3kHz so the bandpass focuses there but its all DIY so cost sod all. It might help.

Mine are. They work just fine when mounted to the engine mount. I trust my ear more than the waves and or a light. Now, electronic mic to headphones I would trust, but not waveform shit.

Well Hustler you'd like that kit I posted up then. Some use it with a knock sensor some use it with the mic but no-one has shown how the mounted the mic so I cant help there.

My det cans consist of the KnockSenseMS supplied knock sensor, a mic input in my laptop, Windows Volume Control and Sennheiser headphones.

Slightly bulky but uber

jeez, fancy stuff guys. I am just using the tube and headset stethoscope method.

Seems like a cheap easy way to keep form blowing your shit up during tuning.
The shop i used to work at had a dyno and we would wear the earmuffs and just lean over near the back of the engine, the earmuffs filter out all the lower pitch stuff and detonation is very clear. This method was not used on anything that we thought could sling pats, either way it was probably horribly unsafe.

You can change the component values to center at 13 kHz if you like.

Yeh thats certainly a thought for those doing it. Maplins is like Radioshack's dumb cousin so you guys should be fine for this stuff :D

bumping an old thread, i know...

did you have the knock sensor straight wired to a headphone jack, or did you have to add some sort of power to the system?

can you use any knock sensor?

probably the way i will be going.

Bosch sensor supplied by KnockSense. Not straight to headphones but to MIC IN on notebook and headphones on PHONE OUT. Volume level controlled by Windows :) Recording also easy with the Sound Recorder.

sorry, i meant to 3.5mm headphone jack (as the mic in) would different knock sensors make a big difference? i dont have knocksense, but i do have a few knock sensors from some hondas and some 240s

Try and find out.

Forgot to mention I have the KnockSenseMS box in parallel with the MIC. Might work without though...

as the resident yank in the uk on this forum,I can say with authority its the other way around. Radio shack just sells universal remotes and radio controlled toys now. About ten years ago they stopped being a hardcore nerds shop and went more mainstream. Maplins is SO much better,its like radio shack used to be, and the new "big" stores are better than the shack ever was. The americans on here would cream their shorts with what the average maplins has available on the shelf.

Back on topic, (and the reason I am necro-posting), I have epoxied the mic from that maplins kit to the end of one of the A/C bracket bolts(a/c removed) and screwed that into the block. Testing begins tomorrow, but it should work great and the location is close to ideal.