Hello,
A few thoughts on fueling the beast. One can read up on the Octane scale in the link below; there are vast differences in the quality of gasoline due to the number of chemicals that get put into the mix. Back Story. If one observes the writing on the gas pump, it explains the way that the octane scale is determined by the manufacturer; typically, it is the (R+M)/2 method (meaning the Research number plus the Measured number as an average).
The only thing your engine cares about is the "M" since car motors are not very bright and can't do the math nor would they benefit from it if they could. Chemists, engineers, and marketers, can make up any R (Research) number that they choose so long as they feel their lawyers can successfully defend it in a court case.
As an example: If the M (measured) octane rating is say, 90 and R (Research) is also 90, then 90 + 90 (180) divided by two and has an octane rating of 90 at the pump. But say, the M is still 90, and the R is scientifically calculated and determined to be 100, then (100 + 90)/2 = 95 so the fuel is then sold with a 95-octane rating.
Pop Quiz: what is the actual octane rating of the gas in the vehicle for either choice? In both cases, it’s 90 (the measured value).
What octane does is suppress the relative volatility of gasoline. When put under pressure, (meaning during the compression cycle prior to combustion) there is a point where the vapors want to explode just from being squeezed. Having higher measured octane values further suppresses the point at which the gasoline will detonate from compression. The higher the octane rating, the greater the suppressive value. Higher performing engines benefit from having just enough suppression in the explosiveness to keep the fuel from popping prematurely, but not so much that is degrades the velocity of flame expansion.
Normally, the gasoline explosion begins to occur just ahead of the piston's motion to the very top; sparing a discussion about flame propagation properties, suffice it to say that it takes a bit of time before the vapors to fully combust; if it occurs to early, it is not desirable. Premature detonation is what makes the knocks, pings, etc. and in general, it's not good for the motor because those noises are not just sound effects. They are the valves getting slapped around, the piston’s rings taking a beating from non-uniform wave propagation, and other truly ugly stuff that make reliability engineers depressed.
However, some amount of a head start between lighting the fuel mixture on fire and it making the best use of the explosion to push the piston down is necessary; this is usually measured in degrees of advance prior to the piston reaching top dead center (tdc) but this is very dependent on the number of things including the revolutions that the motor is turning, the compression ratio, air fuel mixture ratios, the velocity of the mixture, as well as its atomization, shapes of the surfaces, temperature, and several other important things, so what’s optimal can vary substantially...
Pop Quiz: Is there value in putting higher grade octane rated fuel into an engine than what is can effectively use? Answer: yes, no, and maybe. Yes, because higher grade fuels tend to have less crap in them. No because the engine will actually go faster when the most explosive amount of power is available (meaning the least suppressed beyond what is necessary to prevent premature detonation), and maybe because of reasons including the fact that modern cars have anti-knock sensors in them and they will adjust the air-fuel ratios, degrees of advance, and with some cars, even the valve overlap and lift, to prevent premature detonation and knocking as a result of running less good fuel.
Note to Trolls: I am well aware that I am taking certain artistic liberties with respect to the principles of internal combustion engines, fuel use, and chemistry. If you disagree, in whole or in part, please write your own story and post it rather than critique my offerings (which I deliberately simplified and passed over certain elements.) For anyone actually curious, I’d be happy to respond to legitimate question. Trolls, don’t take that as an offering.
PS, if it was mine, I’d drive with less zeal and cut the fuel with better gas as soon as I was able; then I’d keep diluting the lesser grade by adding better fuel every quarter of a tank; that is, unless it was knocking; in that case, I’d get the booster as suggested. Better gas comes from service pumps with very high turnover. My carbureted high performance air-cooled motorbike is a connoisseur. She will ping mightily on anything not up to spec. Her preferences include Shell, Texaco, and 7-11’s high grades. I quit with zaxon after the Valdez but in full disclosure, she liked that too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptane
Kindest,
Donner