Could I use 93 octane to drive around and get my drivabilty tune close/in the ball park.Then switch over to the 116.How far out would it be from 93 to 116. $90 dollars for 5 gallons of 116 is alot to waste while trying to get all the low load sites.

For low load tuning 93 will be fine as you will get to MBT long before your knock threshold. It should be safe so long as you keep your foot out of it. You will only need the higher det resistance when you are tuning the med/high load cells on the dyno. There will be no difference between the two octanes tuning low load. Have fun and be careful road tuning.

Blaine

Why not go with water injection ?
My friend's V6 street Typhoon is cranking more than 1000hp with 93 and water meth injection. His CR is 9.5/1 with a big cam. He never buys C16, his tuning is always perfect.
I installed such a system on my TTV8 with no knock despite a lean condition last year. Seems to be very efficent and low $ if you also drive your car on the street. We both have about 20 Gph nozzles.