Well taking things a little out of order... I'm running 93-octane pump gas, presumably E10. I don't really have a fixed goal, except to get as much reliable power as I can without changing turbochargers... a K04 might be doable in the future, but right now I'm stuck with the stock unit. I'm sort of looking to mimic an APR stage 1 tune except with a little less torque in the midrange and a little more up top. I don't care for engines that peak like crazy and drop off - I like the torque curve to be relatively flat.
I like your idea of adding timing and will definitely start logging knock. I might try adding a little fuel too but generally like to avoid that.
I did have something happen recently that may have a bearing on this. One of the parameters I've been looking at to gauge my tuning results is MAP (manifold absolute pressure). And another project I've been working on lately is building a boost gauge for the car. I was doing some research in relation to that and just this morning realized this engine (CAEB) doesn't have a MAP sensor! So something in the ECU must basically be computing a "fake" MAP value based presumably on MAF and RPM and maybe intake air temp? Anyhow, I'm wondering if any of the tables I've been messing with are just there to support that function.
Edit: I realized I left out an important point from the above. And that point is that if one of these tables is creating a "synthetic" MAP number based on other factors and I edit that table, a) I could think I've increased the car's performance when I actually haven't - I don't have access to a dyno so I'm mainly relying on seeing an increase in MAP and MAF to verify I'm changing the right things. And b) if the ECU is using that synthetic number for monitoring or something like that, the ECU could be doing things in reaction to the manifold pressure being higher when it actually isn't.