All gasoline powered cars sold in
the USA are capable of running on
“regular” fuel. Increase in octane
results in higher horsepower for
their cars and pickups. Computers
compensate for timing issues using
various octane.
I put a performance chip in my 5.0
and to maintain the factory warranty,
need to run at least 91 octane. So, I
would have to “detune” to run 87 octane.
Your Hellcat may not love regular fuel, but it will run fine if you happen to fill it with regular. It just won’t perform
at its best.
True. They don't perform well once you burn a hole in a piston from pre-ignition caused by running the wrong fuel. Octane prevents detonation. It is not a horsepower enhancer by itself. It simply allows one to run higher compression with more advanced timing. There are limits to how far a car computer can dial it back. Use the wrong fuel for long and you will be buying a set of pistons.
My point was towards Ford having turbochargers in nearly everything - and that there is a noticeable performance drop with regular.