Top Tier Gasoline

[gjb89]

Since there has been a few discussions lately on “Top Tier” gas I figured I would share a short article on AAA’s independent study on different tier levels of gas.

http://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/study-shows-top-tier-gasoline-worth-extra-price/?loginMethod=auto

 

In short,

“Top Tier” gasoline had 19 times fewer carbon deposits on injectors, intake valves, and in the combustion chamber when compared to regular gasoline and also can have a cleansing effect. The “Top Tier” was roughly only $ 0.03 more per gallon.

 

 

The picture is allegedly after a 100 hour test. I find that a significant difference in just 100 hours.

 

List of licensed Top Tier stations

76

Aloha Petroleum

Amoco

ARCO

Beacon

BP

Break Time

Cenex

Chevron

CITGO

Conoco

Co-op

Costco

CountryMark

Diamond Shamrock

Entec

Esso

Express

Exxon

Holiday

Kwik Star Stores

Kwik Trip

Mahalo

MFA

Mobil

Ohana Fuels

Petro-Canada

Phillips 66

PUMA

QT

Quik Trip

Road Ranger

Shamrock

Shell / Shell V-Power

Sinclair Standard

SuperAmerica

SuperFuels

Tempo

Texaco

Tri-Par

Valero

 

[Chipster]

I have to wonder if the illustration you have posted means much in direct injected engines where there is no gasoline washing over the intake valves? They will get coked up with relatively low mileage as the PVC system dumps oil vapor into the intake tract.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

True, that would be a discussion for engine oil and catch cans

[David Young]

This is why i 'only use' top tier gas. My local grocery store gives discounts for the gas they sell, i tell them "I wouldn't use their gas in my lawn mower".

[enigma-2]

I only use non-Ethanol gas, top-tier gas. Here's a site where you can look up non-Ethanol gas stations in your area.

http://www.pure-gas.org/

[junehhan]

I would do anything to be able to buy petrol without all that ethanol crap in it. I have run vehicles that exclusively ran in E85 in the past(My F150 and Ford Escape), but it is a lousy proposition in any non-FFV vehicle. It is even more lousy for those of us with turbo engines. Sadly, it just isn't possible around me. I see benefit in E85 capable vehicles when running E85, but see little benefit for regular engines.

[Tacyon]

Years ago I worked for the local cable company as a line tech and drove a Ford F250 van with a fair amount of weight in it. I got in dutch with the site manager for using "top tier" gas. When questioned, I sited that simply looking at the increased mileage and ignoring the cleaning benefits of the gas, that the increase in cost would be outweighed by the increase in mileage. So for 3 months I ran nothing but regular "bottom tier" gas and kept very detailed mileage, gallons, cost, etc.records. Then for 3 months I ran nothing but Premium "top tier" gas with the same record keeping routine.

 

I was kind of going out on a limb with this and hoping that I'd not be made a fool of by backing a myth of better mileage from better gas. Well, I wasn't let down. The increase of cost WAS outweighed by the increase in mileage. Not by a huge margin but certainly outside a standard deviation. Couple that with the benefits of a cleaner running engine which translated into lower maintenance costs and he was sold. They changed policy and recommended that the entire fleet use Premium fuel.

 

Tru story bro ....

[chefduane]

Ok, well, now you've started me thinking (very dangerous). I typically buy gas at Sam's or the local Wal Mart (Murphy) because it was the cheapest. My mindset has been the typical "gas is gas" thinking. But I have been doing some reading on this top-tier gas thing (thinking it was mostly marketing hype) but now am being persuaded by facts and first person testimony (go figure!). There is a Costco close to me so I may start buying gas there as it is noted as a top-tier supplier. Live and learn.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Costco gas works well, and is usually one of the cheapest in the area. They keep the lines moving as well, at least here in MD, with attendants on duty to field questions and even mop up spills. Pretty sure they require a membership card tho.

[enigma-2]

Top tier gas link to retailers

http://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

Figure that top tier, non-Ethanol gas is about $0.05 a gallon more than the cheap stuff, and at say 15 mpg, breaks down to $0.03 a mile (give or take, it's miniscule no matter how you look at it).

Edited January 4, 2017 by enigma-2

[chefduane]

Well, I went by Costco today to pick up a few things (I'm a member) and also filled up. The pump actually had a sticker on it that says "Top Tier Supplier." Looks like Costco gets all my gas purchases from now on. Thanks all, for the info!

[TheWizard]

Top tier gas link to retailers

http://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

Figure that top tier, non-Ethanol gas is about $0.05 a gallon more than the cheap stuff, and at say 15 mpg, breaks down to $0.03 a mile (give or take, it's miniscule no matter how you look at it).

 

Here in Florida, the difference between branded and unbranded is usually just a few cents as you mention but the difference between E10 and pure gas is usually about 50 cents per gallon. Right now a local Shell station has regular at 2.36 while pure gas is 2.89. Part of that difference is that nobody around here carries pure gas in regular 87 octane (it's all midgrade or premium) but the midgrade E10 at the same store is 2.56 so there's still a significant difference.

[David Young]

I use 87 octane ethanol free (EXxon) gas in my boat. It cost around 10 cents a gallon more than the 93 octane with up to 10% ethanol gas (same gas station) I use in my Mustang

[TheWizard]

I'd be very curious to see if the higher octane or the pure gas produces better results. The higher octane allows your Mustang to advance timing for more power but pure gas has more energy potential than E10 (ethanol has about 32% less energy than gasoline) so there might be equivalent (or even more) gains to be had there.

 

Want to experiment and let us know?

[akirby]

I would think E-0 (pure gas) should yield better mpg than higher octane E-10 but that's just my gut feel based on E-85 performance..

[TheWizard]

Oh yes, no question that pure gas gives better mileage than E10. But I wonder if the additional energy of pure gas is better for power than the increased ignition timing advance afforded by a higher octane grade of E10.

[akirby]

I'm saying that my gut tells me E-0 would yield better mpg than E-10 Premium.

[macbwt]

I'm saying that my gut tells me E-0 would yield better mpg than E-10 Premium.

I know E-0 results in better MPG's I get better MPG's every time I fill up with non alcohol gasoline. I will add a but to the statement. If you fill up with a non top tier pure gasoline I have also seen lesser results in MPG's. I buy a tank of gas a day and do my best to buy the Top Tier.

[David Young]

I know E-0 results in better MPG's I get better MPG's every time I fill up with non alcohol gasoline. I will add a but to the statement. If you fill up with a non top tier pure gasoline I have also seen lesser results in MPG's. I buy a tank of gas a day and do my best to buy the Top Tier.

 

I agree. I ran a couple tanks of 93 octane 0 ethanol 100% pure gas from a no name gas station and saw 0 performance and 0 mpg gain in my Mustang . I told them if I ever found out they weren't selling pure gas, I would take 'legal action' against them. Six months later they didn't have the big sign stating '100% pure gas' in front of the store . I'll just stick with the 'top tier' gas, even if its up to 10% ethanol

[junehhan]

Well, I went by Costco today to pick up a few things (I'm a member) and also filled up. The pump actually had a sticker on it that says "Top Tier Supplier." Looks like Costco gets all my gas purchases from now on. Thanks all, for the info!

Remember that the well being of your car is our primary concern. It is like choosing to settle for Pabst Blue Ribbon when the good stuff is only a few cents more. We cannot allow a fellow enthusiast to fill their car with the equivalent of PBR.

[Randall Carlisle]

I work for a man who was in the petroleum industry several years ago. back then, All the brands had their gas mixed in specific places. I/E. Exxon, Bp, Shell, et al made their mix at their big tanks after it came through the pipeline; then to the trucks to deliver to stations. But now, not so much. A truck is loaded with fuel. Then the additives are put in on the spot. Then it delivers a run of whatever brand is mixed. Same truck willl take a load of another brand tomorrow. Not sure I'd believe that there is more than a tiny difference in most brands. We do work for some oil companies that run several brands - Sunoco, BP, Marathon, Exxon. They work together to be able to buy bulk fuel so their prices stay reasonable. Some single store sites may have a difference, but then, the owner make take extra pains to make sure his gas is clean, filtered, etc. Or maybe it's all horse poop. most of the lower grades are not that different from brand to brand. THe Premium fuels have more additives to keep engines cleaner. The article referenced has some debate in the comments section over this point.

 

The article does not state what grade of fuel was used in the test in the web article. Just that you should spend the money on "top tier" fuels. Is this even in 87 grade? Or just the premium with VPower or Invigorate or Whatever each brand calls theirs. My gas cap says Ford recommends BP gas. I bet it ain't cause Ford researched it and decided that brand was best. I bet some money wexchanged hands for that little BP logo (helios it's called) on each gas cap. BP probably footed the bill for the gas caps and more. But that's fine by me. there is BP near me that is competitve with every other station plus carries ethanol free for my bike and lawnmower.

 

More the problem with ethanol blends is the effects is has on the fuel system. I worked for the state motorcycle training program as equipment manager and got to see first hand how bad ethanol blends are on carbs and such. In as short as a week, ethanol can start separating from the gas. If you own a small engine - weedeater up to motorcycle, either use ethanol free or drain the device when not in use for more than a week.

 

How was the test conducted? 100 hours of idling is not same as 100 hours of high speed running. Again, I saw this in the motorcycle program job. Our bikes would be worn out in 3000 miles. Or less or more. depending on the maintenance at th e individual sites. But a class is let's say 12 hours of motorcycle running, no more than 25 mph. lots of time sitting in line at idle. That's a lot of hours but not a lot of miles. I've seen all kinds of stuff in the engines, valves, plugs, carbs, etc.

 

Just my thoughts...

[TheWizard]

I have worked for a major Shell regional jobber for just shy of 20 years so perhaps I can add some information about gasoline.

 

Gas is gas... just as Randall said. Basic gasoline is essentially the same from all suppliers. The "unbranded" stores will buy from whatever terminal has the best price because there is no real difference in the base gasoline. It's the additives that make all the difference. When a tanker goes to a terminal to pick up a load for a store, they get the additives added to their load as they are filling up the truck. Those additives are what differentiate a Top Tier gasoline from all others. The oil companies are very secretive about what their additives include because it is one of the few things that differentiate them from their competition. Many brand name companies that aren't Top Tier also have their own additive packages but those don't meet the standards required by the Top Tier certification. Unbranded companies have only the minimum additives required by law.

 

The Top Tier designation applies to all grades (regular, midgrade, premium, etc.) sold by the company although many will do even more with their high octane grades in an effort to convince customers that higher octane is really "premium" fuel. In reality, for most vehicles, there is absolutely no reason to use higher octane fuel than what is specified by the vehicle manufacturer. For most engines, unless you are experiencing knocking issues, premium is just wasted money. Some engines have active knock sensing that will increase ignition timing advance as far as possible to take advantage of higher octane fuel and therefore produce a small increase in top-end power. But with the exception of higher performance vehicles (Mustang, Corvette, etc.) even that increase is tiny compared to the difference in cost between 87 and 91/93 octane and is only seen at the top end of the RPM range. I would never recommend it for a people-mover like an Edge - there's just not enough performance increase to even be felt let alone justify the cost.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Thankfully Ford has finally moved the Edge out of the people-mover category with the Gen 2

[junehhan]

Yup. It has gone from hauling people to also hauling ass with the people being lucky enough to come for the ride.

 

You guys are absolutely right. The base product between all the brands are virtually the same as they all come from the same refineries. The difference is in the additive package which differs between the brands. In my area, I believe the refineries are mostly owned by Sunoco and Marathon which are both considered to be very dirty fuels mostly due to their additive packages. Discount fuels usually only contain the minimum amount of additives as federal law requires which has been proven to be nowhere near enough to prevent major drivability problems. Premium usually will have a higher level additive package and sometimes even a different additive package but receiving top tier certification requires that ALL grades of the fuel must meet the standard for engine cleanliness as per their testing protocol. When you look at that list, some of them are no surprise as brands such as Shell and Chevron have always had a reputation for being a really good brand. Others are indeed a surprise as you see some discount brands and chains such as Costco, Kum and Go, as well as some other small chains and coops.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

I will add Kwik Stop/Kwik Star to the list of "good fuel" places. And in my area, Sunoco and "discount" brands are selling at the same or GREATER prices than top tier like Shell & BP. World upside down or what LOL.