I know from a tuning standpoint that the engine can have much more timing then it currently has at the given IAT and I am just curious as to where my timing is going in the top end when knock was relatively low in comparison.
Heavily disagree. Any knock means the engine is knocking. For some reason the age old adage that CF is good and means you are making full power got locked in but IMHO its complete garbage. Dont let it knock and it wont start trimming things and getting into different maps.
I keep repeating this and eventually I will remember to take specific logs for it but it is very obvious once you tune this way, if you stay out of CF range you are actually riding the limit and making the most power on this car, your overall timing stays more consistent and actually higher. You are seeing small det, once there is any CF, you are knocking and doing slow damage to your engine and immediate damage to power output. When CFs are still at zero, there is KV, albeit minor and happy. Try it.