ive ran both in my Rubi and it does seem to run better with higher than 87, even though i use 87 as much as i do the others.
I can only speak from my race car engine building. Bore has nothing to do with it unless the compression is raised. Years ago we would build street race V8's using a flat top 10.1 piston because you could still run pump gas. If you wanted more you could run a 105 racing fuel and advance your timing which would equal more power. Gas is not the power, the advancing the timing is, but since you advance the timing you needed a higher octane that would not detonate as fast.
Just to explain a bit , 87 octane explodes with a bang so to speak or shoves the piston abrubtly. The higher the octane (93+) the slower the burn or in other words it pushes the piston forcfully but not abrubtly which can produce a smoother better power.
So to answer your question, boring would not require higher octane. A proformance piston of higher compression or advancing the timing or both could or would require a higher octane.
Hope I did not make that to confusuing
hey eurobro what kind of gas mileage are u getting? my foreman drinks the crap out of it! i went 25 miles on a full tank and she was getting empty. oh and i use 93 only because thats what my truck takes too, so i jsut fill the gas cans while im at the station.Stupid question but I do not know much about fuel/octane ratings and performance. My Foreman gets HORRIBLE gas mileage. By putting in a higher octane (since it burns slower) would my gas mileage increase?