Timing 14* or 16*

[Falcons Talon]

Originally posted by Hethj7
I completely disagree here. There is absolutely no benefit from running a higher octane fuel than you need. You are just throwing money away.

First off, that link is very informative. I had read something like that years ago, and this falls right in line with my knowledge.
I'm no expert here...probably far from it, but I am looking at something from this excerpt which I took from the link provided.

Use of a fuel that has a higher octane than is required by the engine and the way it has been tuned will result in unburned deposits being created and left behind in the combustion chamber, and on top of the piston.

Provided that you are tuned to run 87 octane gas (10*), yes, you may be harming more than helping by running a higher octane.

If you advance your timing (tuning) to the point of detonation, your are creating a unstable environment that the high flammability of 87 can not control, but by simply using a higher octane level, you can remain tuned at the higher advanced timing because the higher octane can stabiulize the fule to burn at a more controlled rate.

So the million dollar question is, what is the timing advance that will provide the best performance, and what octane do you need to run that timing without having a meltdown.