Kind of. Higher octane is used to prevent pre-ignition. High compression ratio engines need higher octane so you can get a proper concentration of fuel inside the cyclinder before it fires. Low octane fuel will ignite before the spark plug fires (the cylinder head is hot enough to spontaneously combust the fuel before the spark plug fires) creating knocking. High octane will not do that. You get more power out of high octane fuel because you are getting the proper mixture of gas in the cylinder before ignition. (Around 20-25 degrees before top dead center on the compression stroke.)
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