[Power Hungry]

Belt slippage is all to common during full throttle shifts. Between the aggressive nature of the shift strategies (especially when customized) combined with the reduced/eliminated torque reduction during shifts causes the engine RPMs to drop so fast that the alternator pulley breaks traction and squeaks for a split second. Annoying, but not harmful. As BlackFX indicated, a new belt will eliminate that problem.

Outside of that, Jack indicated a .5 degree adjustment for each bump in octane. This is a good rule of thumb. Ultimately, you need to use your judgment. Some vehicles will run a full 5 degrees advance and run fine on pump gas, other can experience detonation running the basic tunes. It depends a lot on fuel quality, altitude, engine condition, and other factors. If you hear ANY detonation at all (generally under heavy load) then back the timing off 1 full degree at a time until it goes away.

Shifting is kind of the same way. It's a very subjective thing to describe shifting and each person has their own idea of what an "ideal" shift strategy is. In the end, do what works best for you. Some people prefer an aggressive shift while others just like a little firmer shift. Some like late shift points, others like early shift points. It's tricky to get the customer what they need.

We try to make the programmer as flexible as possible without giving too much room to cause a problem with the vehicle. Again, using your best judgment is the way to go. If you're still uncomfortable, we're here to answer those questions.