Yes they were built to run on high octane fuel but it's not a problem running them on normal pump gas, as far as the engine control is concerned anyway.
You have a lambda sesnor which sends fuel trim signals to the ECU and a knock sensor which sends any detonation signals to the ECU, combined these will allow the ECU to alter ingition timing accordingly to suit the engine.
You can not re-map this ECU.
When fitting upgrades we install either piggy back units or a stand alone control unit which are programmable to adjust fuel trims and timing etc.
The best thing you can do is to use a data logger, this will tell you exactly what is going on inside your engine.
If you are not aware of data logging, contact these people
http://www.handheldhalo-datalogging.co.uk/ they will sort you out with the right equipment for your car, it's not expensive, it's easy to learn and interesting too. Ultimately, it can save you an engine build by learning what's going on inside the engine and if you ever do any upgrades, it is an essential item to have to moniter things when you don't have the luxury of equipment like det cans, wide band emission readers etc.
