basically if you have 87,89,93 octane go for the 93, if you have 95 or 97 even better.
the engine will run better with higher octane due to engine ping/detonation.
more octane also means you could add more timing until ping/detonation for more power.
the higher the octane the less chance the gas will pre-ignite. (higher flash point)
so lets say your running 89 and the engine is on the edge of detonation/ping that means some of the fuel is igniting Slightly before it should, that may translate into the feeling that your engine timing is retarded. retarded timing means more engine heat and less power.
when you drop 93 octane in the tank the fuel will ignite later or at the correct time which would feel like more power to your foot.
now you could run octane booster, this would allow you to greatly advance the timing without engine detonation.
when ever you saw old car movies like 2 lane blacktop right before a race you may notice them messing with the engine timing, and idle rpms. They would advance the timing all the way till the engine was on the ragged edge of detonation and bump up the idle rpms this was to get all the power off the line they could. then when the race was over they would reduce the timing back and the idle rpms to make the car easier to drive on the street and in traffic.
for our cars they don't need lead additive or octane booster , but they will run better on higher octane gas, but you don't have to use it if you don't want to, you can usually adjust the vacuum advance down or up for bad or good gas.
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