[Altavia]

Most Chevron, Shell, Mobil, Sunoco and 76 stations here have Top Tier along with Costco.


From Consumer. Reports

Top Tier Gasoline Is Worth the Extra Price, Study Shows - Consumer Reports

Top Tier Gasoline Is Worth the Extra Price, Study Shows - Consumer Reports.

Test results showed that, on average, non-Top Tier gasoline left 19 times more carbon deposits on injectors and intake valves and in the combustion chamber than Top Tier gasoline had.

AAA also found that Top Tier gasoline can have a cleansing effect, reducing intake valve deposits by 45 to 72 percent when used over a 5,000-mile interval. Variation in the results is attributed to the detergents used by different brands.

Further, analyzing gas prices over a 12-month period found just a 3-cent price difference between non-Top Tier and Top Tier gasoline.

Bottom line: For the nominal investment, this study shows that motorists would benefit from using Top Tier gasoline as their primary fuel.

[JRcorvette]

Top Tier Fuel is better for your engine and there is no denying that. As for better gas mileage I really don’t know and don’t care about a few extra MPG. We simply do not drive that many miles a year and if you do the math the difference in money is about the cost of a good meal in a nice restaurant. I will say that if you have a turbocharged engine you need to be using premium fuel. Yes it will run on regular fuel however it is not good for the engine or turbocharger. Most new cars have turbocharged engines these days.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by Efuchs

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.

Was in the marine tanker transportation industry. Efuchs is correct. The base gasoline is the same for all the wholesale dealers. We only carried two kinds of the gasoline ever in the oil tankers: regular and premium, due to different octane levels. that was pumped into different tanks at the distributor.

There are additives added to gasoline for specific companies, i believe added at the rack when filling the trucks. There is no other way to add specific additives to a specific retail customer. However, the additives are miniscule, and may marginally make a difference in the long term only.

There are also different additives in engine oil, and those additives are handled the same way, prior to bottling by adding to base lube oils. The oil additives are more important than the gasoline additives for engine life and cleanliness.

As far as MPG differences, we experience different trip directions mpg differences solely due to elevation changes. . . starkly obvious when towing a travel trailer. . especially when MPG goes from 19 to 10/11 MPG.

but everyone believes what they want to believe, confirmation bias is a bitch! And people can buy cheap gas and add their own additives if you want to buy them at any automotive parts store. I occasionally add 2-3 times the recommended amount of injector cleaner per tank of gas every 20K miles or so when the tank is empty to "clean" the injectors. I might be helping, i really don't know but it makes me feel good that i am performing some kind of performance maintenance.

YMMV

[Bruceg0028]

It was the exact same route and zero stops since one tank got us there and less than 1 tank back. Since I stopped using BJ gas and my mileage is back at 31MPG.

Also have a friend who does airport runs and he stopped using them also saying his milage was also way down.

I can only assume that’s the culprit. CAR only has 29k on it and gets regular oil changes and tire rotations and air pressure checks.

I said in the post, just check your mileage and see if you experience the same thing. But of course lots of negative comments as always on this forum. lol.

[Moderator]

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[Beats]

Is it really worth the $60 a year for BJ's just to save some money at the gas pump? BJ's just does not even come close to Costco in any other manner and so many levels, if you disagree you do not or never have had a Costco membership or a BJ's membership to compare it to. I have had both and warned the management at BJ's with their stupid coupons that I would be gone in a minute if Costco comes to the Villages, well they did and I did not resign up in April when my BJ's membership expired. I told them many times that the coupons were ridiculous and many times the items in the book were not in stock when you went to the store. Very little help when you needed someone, not enough check out lines, sample area was a joke as is the clothing area. Lets not even address the food court section which leaves BJ's seriously lacking. BJ's is just a company that does not listen to its members! I know they are sorry to lose me because of how many emails that I get a day that they want me back and one has to ask how many others are out there that have also canceled their memberships. Good luck trying to win us back.
I will keep my Sam's membership for convenience for my location as it is a far better store than BJ's, but I do not see myself ever going back to BJ's and my prediction is that BJ's will be gone within a few years.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by Bruceg0028

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

using your stats, using 10,000 miles driven
using $3.00 per gallon Top Tier and 10% discount on non top tier gas. .
with 31 mpg versus 27 mpg.

the savings is only slightly better than $60 per 10,000 miles driven or about 3% in total cost. . . maybe enough for some people, not enough given any time and / or distance restrictions for everyone when the gas budget is 1-2% of the total household spend per year. The savings is 0.067% of a dual social security income household, assuming max social security benefits, excluding any other additional income. .

would be more impactful for a single social security household. . but the savings is too small for many people, versus other cost savings opportunities with groceries, eating out, alcohol, etc.. .

[maistocars]

Bill14454, OrangeBloss, and King of Beer, among others - you really don't need to include the original poster's post in your reply - only do that if you're replying to a secondary post within. You'll save us all a lot of time scrolling down past that.....pulleeeeze!

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by maistocars

Bill14454, OrangeBloss, and King of Beer, among others - you really don't need to include the original poster's post in your reply - only do that if you're replying to a secondary post within. You'll save us all a lot of time scrolling down past that.....pulleeeeze!

Thanks for the advice but I’m good. Posts can be changed, sections can be highlighted, and people can get lost in all the replies - including the original reduces confusion.

[Boilerman]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Was in the marine tanker transportation industry. Efuchs is correct. The base gasoline is the same for all the wholesale dealers. We only carried two kinds of the gasoline ever in the oil tankers: regular and premium, due to different octane levels. that was pumped into different tanks at the distributor.

There are additives added to gasoline for specific companies, i believe added at the rack when filling the trucks. There is no other way to add specific additives to a specific retail customer. However, the additives are miniscule, and may marginally make a difference in the long term only.

There are also different additives in engine oil, and those additives are handled the same way, prior to bottling by adding to base lube oils. The oil additives are more important than the gasoline additives for engine life and cleanliness.

As far as MPG differences, we experience different trip directions mpg differences solely due to elevation changes. . . starkly obvious when towing a travel trailer. . especially when MPG goes from 19 to 10/11 MPG.

but everyone believes what they want to believe, confirmation bias is a bitch! And people can buy cheap gas and add their own additives if you want to buy them at any automotive parts store. I occasionally add 2-3 times the recommended amount of injector cleaner per tank of gas every 20K miles or so when the tank is empty to "clean" the injectors. I might be helping, i really don't know but it makes me feel good that i am performing some kind of performance maintenance.

YMMV

I’ll believe Consumer Reports over what someone on a forum says who claims to be an expert.

[PeteP]

The original post is completely incorrect. I build engines, have raced cars, own multiple classic and performance cars and study fuel formulations. You should always use Top Tier gasoline, otherwise overtime your fuel injectors, valves and pistons will build up carbon deposits. The car manufacturers actually created the top tier fuel designation which requires certain levels of deterrents in the gas. They did this to extend the life of the engines / reduce repairs. I always go out of my way to get top tier fuel and when I can’t I add Techron fuel treatment to my tank. Top Tier fuels= Shell, Chevron, Mobil, ,Costco. Use it in your golf cart too.

[Jerry101]

[QUOTE=OrangeBlossomBaby;

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

… thanks for clearing that up for us!!!

😴

[Arctic Fox]

Do you remember Redex? A can of fuel additive that you squirted into your tank before filling up. It was supposed to make your engine run better but I never saw anything to prove that it worked. Still, at a few cents a squirt I was occasionally tempted.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by PeteP

The original post is completely incorrect. I build engines, have raced cars, own multiple classic and performance cars and study fuel formulations. You should always use Top Tier gasoline, otherwise overtime your fuel injectors, valves and pistons will build up carbon deposits. The car manufacturers actually created the top tier fuel designation which requires certain levels of deterrents in the gas. They did this to extend the life of the engines / reduce repairs. I always go out of my way to get top tier fuel and when I can’t I add Techron fuel treatment to my tank. Top Tier fuels= Shell, Chevron, Mobil, ,Costco. Use it in your golf cart too.

Especially true for the the latest direct injection turbo engines. The shop I use reports excessive carbon causing issues as early as 30K mi on those cars.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by PeteP

The car manufacturers actually created the top tier fuel designation which requires certain levels of deterrents in the gas.

I'm assuming "detergents"?

Any other differences between Top Tier and normal gas?