road tuning question

is there anyway to use egt as a reference for optimizing ignition timing when road tuning if your car isn't fitted with knock sensors? if not what exactly is the info provided by egt used for? only optimizing fuel or when to pull timing out above a certain temp?

I've seen some people try and tune ignition using EGT but to be honest it is far too slow in reacting to be useful for knock detection. If the cars not fitted with a knock kit the tuner should have one they can fit, they're starting to come down in price to the point that they are cheaper than a good EGT kit

EGT is generally just for component protection or assisting in identifying fuel problems or missfires.

Having egt based ignition retard would create a positive feedback loop too. It will continue to drop with advanced ignition and the faster burn of knock will see slightly lower temps for the same timing.

I definitely wouldn't try using EGT to tune your ignition timing. As Chris has mentioned above, it is too slow to react directly to a knock event and there are too many other variables that will affect the ultimate EGT value.