"Not sure how I feel about the whole "riding the knock sensor" issue."
not to stir up the pot but this has been discussed at length and, at this point, basically beating a dead horse.
from another forum but worded way better that I ever could:
"The stock car "rides the knock sensor" just like they chastise the JB for doing. The proCEDE also "rides the knock sensor" with its autotune or when overboosting on any map (which is COMMON). Without doing so, it wouldn't know where to set it's limits."
I mean, hell, BMW's manual says it's just fine and dandy to use 89 octane on these newer cars even though it "will have light knock."
Yes, knock is cumulative and obviously can be bad over time but, for the most part, these cars are way more advanced than most will ever realize or perhaps admit with all their safety programs and what not. And, yes, most will freak from these "enthusiast" forums spitting worry like the car will explode tomorrow because you are using JB instead of Procede or COBB...and there have been very very rare occurrences (mostly from those pushing the cars way past recommended thresholds with FBO's and customized tunes) where there has been damage but there are thousands out there running these tunes in base form for years with absolutely no problems. Take it for what it's worth. I, for one, feel completely safe running these things with a fair margin of conscious maintenance on the car here and there just to make sure all is sound. But you do that, if you're smart, with any performance modification, no?
PS: I have absolutely no bias as I have used and still own a Procede v5 which runs just fine and has some very cool features...I simply prefer the easier install/uninstall and more consistent power delivery of the JB on my cars...for now.