maddog, why were on the topic,
what do you think about shaving the head .040 over with stock piston and rod,
will that be too risky only running 92 octane?

 

My cousin had a 96 blaster bored 30 over and a shaved head (dont remember how much) with the stock rod. He ran premium pump gas and never had any problems at all. I think you will be alright.

 

ya well done

 

That depends on what type of race fuel. If you use an oxygen base blend race fuel you will pick up some power. If you just dump some octane booster in pump gas then no, you won't pick up any power, but may save your motor from detonation. The more oxygen you can get into your motor the more power it makes. It dones not matter if the O2 comes from a liquid like nitromethane, a liquid like oxygenated race fuel, a gas like nitrous oxide, or if you put a bigger cam in and it can draw more air, which has about 20% oxygen in it. Your after that same illusive molecule, O2.
As far as reliability goes. It will make your engine more reliable if you have high compression. The reason? If you have high compression and get into detonation with a low ocatane fuel, bang goes the motor. If you use high octane fuel on a low compression motor, nothing will happen except your wallet will be lighter; and depending on the tune, you may or may not loose power.
All in all, it is best to run the octane that the manufacture suggests or "slightly" higher. If you had your motor worked over, then ask the builder. If you built the motor, then start high and learn to read plugs.