One day, I parked my Miata in a Taco Bell parking lot with the top down and gave my wife a phone call. Now, I’m hearing impaired, and I wear hearing aids to help me out. They’re Bluetooth-enabled, too, so while I’m on a phone call, whoever I’m talking to can typically hear what’s going on around me pretty well, too, since the hearing aids pick up the surrounding area.

Well, while I was on the phone, someone else parked her car next to me. She got out of her car, kinda hesitated for a second, and kinda shyly said, “I like yo cah…” before heading into the Taco Bell. It took me a moment to realize what she’d said, so by the time I turned in my seat to say, “Oh, thank you!” she was already a bit away. Meanwhile, my wife started laughing in my ears, mimicking how the stranger had said, “I like yo cah…”

You are correct. In fact, GM’s v6 engines (at least) even have separate high octane and low octane spark advance tables, and the ECU switches between them based on the feedback from the knock sensor. However, the difference between high and low octane fuel has never been significant enough for my butt dyno to detect. The only reason I occasionally put a tank of premium through my LGX is because premium has higher detergent concentrations than regular.

Ya know that GM 3.6L engine that everyone hates because of the timing chains?

Yeah, that one. I actually really, really like that engine. The LLT I had in an earlier car and the LGX I have today are both excellent engines. I wouldn’t mind dropping one in a Miata someday.