Warehouse Clubs Fuel
 

I heard many criticisms on the new Costco and why you shouldn’t join the club.

Just something to think about.

Vehicle fuel has ratings called Top Tier. Top tier fuel has special additives that make the fuel better for your car. Most car manufacturers say not to use Non Top Tier fuel in your vehicle.

Sam’s club and BJ’s does not use Top Tier gasoline. However Costco and most other name brand gas stations do. You can goggle this and see who does and who doesn’t.

I have found my gas mileage is significantly reduced when filling up at BJ’s and Sam’s.

We took a trip to Miami this past winter and I filled up at BJ’s the night before. When we got to our destination my tank was just about empty. We filled up with Mobil for our return trip and we had just over a quarter of a tank upon return.
I was driving a Chevy Equinox and my normal mileage is about 31MPG. On that trip it dropped to 27MPG.

I have had other friends check their gas mileage and they also experience a 3-5 mile per gallon reduction in their fuel mileage.

So if you think you’re getting a better deal using the BJ’s credit card and getting an extra 10 cent discount you’re losing it on your mileage. Costco also gives you a 5% rebate when you have their Citibank card and their gas is priced just as good as BJ’s and Sam’s.

I don’t need a bunch of trash talk that I’m wrong. Just do a mileage check yourself and see the results.

If your not sure if the gas is Top Tier just look at the gas pump your buying from and it will say Top Tier on the pump. And as I said earlier you can goggle this to see.

First - it's google, not goggle. Just getting that out of the way.

Meanwhile back to the topic: if you have both types of gas available in a relatively similar distance from your starting point, then sure - top tier might be a better option.

For me, Costco is a 25 minute drive, and most of it is on congested roads, requiring me to sit in traffic or at red lights, wasting gas. BJs, on the other hand, is less than 5 minutes from my house, including the 3-4 minutes I get stuck at red lights wasting gas just sitting there, on my way there.

I already get around 34mpg using BJs gas. That's with the air conditioner running on automatic to keep my car cabin at 78°. Mile for mile, and minute for minute, it just isn't worth the added inconvenience, time, or distance to get better gas at Costco.

When I goggled it I learned that Top Tier fuel includes enhanced detergent additives to keep an engine cleaner. With non-Top Tier fuel you might get more deposit buildups over time. What I did *not* see was anything that would affect mileage from one trip to another.

Different brands may use different octane calculations which could affect mileage.
Different brands might use different amounts of ethanol which *would* affect mileage.
Different trips may have different headwinds, traffic, driving speeds, AC usage which all would affect mileage.

“Placebo effect”

So many variables can take place with gas mileage. Head wind and tail winds, premium gas vs regular gas, etc. We have a Sam’s card and I fill up there when it’s convenient but don’t spend the time and gas to save maybe fifty cents. It doesn’t make sense. But to each their own.

I rarely buy top tier gas. Not conveniently near me. Shell use to be up mulberry, but now it circle K which convenient and OK ✅ for me, but I just have plain car that uses plain gasoline.

Regarding your trip to Miami. I suspect that you may have been driving faster than your normal speed. Maybe you where driving 75mph instead of 65mph. This could account for your MPG drop.

As I understand it, you need to pay to have the fuel tested and rated as "top tier". Some fuels that are actually equal to or better than top tier, are not rated as top tier only because the manufacturer refused to pay for the testing. So, this is a bogus credential.

Also, some gasoline stations sell fuel from various sources, so they don't even know when they are selling top tier fuel or not.

There are a multitude of things besides speed that would effect gas mileage. The method used above simply isn't accurate.

My vehicle must be a slow learner.

I don’t see any mileage difference to speak of between brands and I like to fill up at Sam’s when I’m in the area.

I’ll stick with factual reasons for mpg variance such as seasonality, driving style, etc.

Top tier is better no question. However, there is little to no difference in MPG.

Hate to burst your bubble, but after forty years in the.industry I can tell you that gas is pretty much the same across all brands. In fact, in most areas the trucks pick up at the same racks fed from the same tanks. It's called comingled storage. They may put their own additive packages in but the amounts are negligible and really are directed towards long term cleanliness of the engine, even that is of minimal impact. The additive also allows major companies to see if their branded vendor is buying gas from other unbranded suppliers. You will not see any appreciable difference in mileage. It's all marketing hooey.

It’s Not the Top Tier Gas
 

I don’t doubt that you had a wild mileage swing on a trip.

I couldn’t find any auto manufacturers that say to avoid Top Tier gas. Most recommend it.

BJ’s and Sam’s are not Top Tier gas. Costco and Mobil are. Chevron, Sunoco and Exxon are. Circle K is not.

One cannot easily get Top Tier 93 octane North of Missouri. However, my car runs great on 91 octane with no Ethanol.

ok I won't say you're wrong, I WILL say that's 2 different inconsistent routes. you would need to do the exact trip including speed, stops, etc. aka a mirror trip to actually know the difference. I can tell you this - I've spent 12 years driving this state for work various rental cars and every trip has different MPG no matter what.

Sam's, BJ's, Wawa, and Costco for me in my Lexus.

No significant difference for me, other than per gallon cost.