To boost octane or not to boost octane..that is the question.

[Bob Parmenter]

You used the word boost, and the trade name 104+, an "octane booster", so I'll assume you meant that product and not a gasoline blended to 104 octane rating. I took some of that product with me on a 1600 mile road trip in a SBC powered street rod I had a few years ago as "insurance". The engine wasn't particularly finicky, but would ping on occasion at higher operating temps and higher loads. So I took the booster along in case I needed it. At one point on the trip I got some pinging, so put in a recommended dosage. After a few miles the car began to run more poorly. As the miles progressed it got worse. At our next overnight stop I pulled the plugs after cool down. They were covered with a beige colored deposit that nearly bridged the electrode gap. After purging the fuel system the "problem" went away. I've never used the stuff again!! Perhaps it was that my plugs were too cold for the content of the booster, but whatever, I didn't like the results. You may want to check your plugs as the source of your complaint.

Just to concur with Race, in the absence of pinging, higher octane alone won't change results. There has to be a change in timing to realize "improvement". An EFI system with a knock sensor might make a difference since the computer will "adjust" the timing (as well as other functions) according to sensor inputs.

Octane requirement is largely dependant on operating temperature. So the faster heat disipation of aluminum explains why higher compression ratios are enabled. But so too will air density, air temp, load, air/fuel ratio, timing, etc. Any function that affects temperature in the combustion chamber.