A further development of the friction-based concept of the deflagration-to-detonation transition is presented. Employing Zeldovich's quasi-one-dimensional formulation for combustion in hydraulically resisted flows, the autoignition of the unburned gas subjected to the friction-induced precompression and preheating is assessed. It is shown that autoignition, triggering the transition, is readily attainable for quite realistic parameters. (C) 2007 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.