Well with our engines the temps/timing issue is all about the language you use. It's very adaptable, and it seems to tune timing in both directions until it gets to an optimal point of "just before bad knock." So it's not really fair to say something like "When my water goes over 190 the engine pulls timing on me and I lose power". An equivalent statement that's more correct in its implications would be to say "The car adds timing and makes self-tuning gains when I manage to get the water down to 190". It's not really going by temp, it's going by knock-sensor. Adding more octane rating helps, any kind of cooling always helps. But you'll find you're chasing an unreasonable goal if you never want this engine to "pull timing". It's always pulling timing relative to something, but that something might be unreasonably cold conditions
