Alright, I looked a little further and found a "facts and myths" bulletin on fuel/additives for ALL 2008 and prior GM cars and trucks:
This is straight from the bulletin:
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Use the Recommended Grade (Octane) Fuel
Purchasing higher than required octane fuel is a waste of money. Using higher octane fuels in a vehicle that only required regular unleaded fuel will neither increase performance nor improve gas mileage. In all cases refer to your owners manual and ONLY use the octane rated fuel recommended for your vehicle.
Important: In high performance GM vehicles that DO require Premium (91 octane or higher) fuel, you MUST use fuels of at least this octane. Use of lower octane fuel may result in reduced performance, knocking, and/or permanent engine damage not covered under the terms of the New Vehicle Warranty.
This is straight from the 08 manual:
Use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane rating of 91 or higher. You can also use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher, but your vehicle's acceleration could be slightly reduced, and you might notice a slight audible knocking noise, commonly referred to as spark knock. If the octane is less than 87, you might notice a heavy knocking noise when you drive. If this occurs, use a gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could damage the engine. If you are using gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher and you hear heavy knocking, the engine needs service.
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So, I read the owners manual as 87 octane is acceptable for use. I've driven a ton of 08s on regular octane and never heard any knocking. The bulletin talks about vehicles that "
Require premium" and the manual says "You can also use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane."
The high performance cars I've seen that run on higher octane say "Always use premium fuel, below 91 octane may damage engine components bla bla bla"
87 Octane is fine in 2008 H2s and H3s - has anyone here heard knocking?