Re: LOP operation. I can feel the power fall off dramatically before the engine actually gets rough. In fact, I was losing about 10 knots before roughness sets in. Since I was on a long cross-country with a headwind, I didn't want to tolerate the speed penalty, so I left it in the mid 12s gph.
Yeah, that matches my own experiences with 182s... it makes it tricker to lean since leaning til rough, as you mentioned, isn't really peak performance. The one I flew had a JPI Fuel Flow 450 in it, so I'd lean to 12-12.5 GPH and check EGTs.
