I've been on this forum for a few years, and there's a few members that have shown me that they are the true experts with these engines... They've been through more 3800's than you could ever find in any junkyard.
They've pushed these engines to well over 600+ horsepower...AT THE WHEEL.
That's through the made-of-glass 4T65E. A transmission that is known to break with less than 180hp at the crank.
They have the experience and knowledge that comes from many years of working on, building, modifying, tuning, and racing these engines.
Three of them have posted in this thread: Billboost, Blueguy, and Scottydoggs. It would be a good idea to listen to these guys, they have saved my bacon more than a few times, and many others as well.
And if you could sense when your 3800 was just starting to knock without any electronic sensors, you would feel the KR, not hear it. I've felt it in my NA turd, and every time the engine didn't make any kind of appreciably different noise. It was always an almost-kinda-shudder, and the engine seemed to struggle slightly right before the shift.
And after some tuning help from Scotty, I haven't felt it since, regardless of how hard I hammer on the bish. I will admit, however, that I have gotten what someone could possibly mistake for knock or pinging, but it turned out to be the mounts squishing enough to allow metal-on-metal contact. Because 3800's are little torque monsters compared to other, similar engines in the same time frame.
