Public Service Announcement: Top Tier Gasoline

[Fast31]

I was just watching some Tacoma YouTube videos by The Car Care Nut and stumbled across a video about Premium vs Regular gasoline, at the end of the video he suggested using gasoline from Top Tier Gasoline stations. I went down a rabbit hole as I had never heard of this before and found it quite educational! Do yourself a favor and check out Top Tier Gasoline . As The Car Care Nut States, if you want to truly look after your vehicle, purchase gas from a Top Tier Certified Gasoline Station! I know I'll be switching gas stations starting tomorrow...

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[Truz66]

I suggest that if you want to plug your or a connected business on this forum, just be honest about it being that. My 2 bits.

 

[Fast31]

I suggest that if you want to plug your or a connected business on this forum, just be honest about it being that. My 2 bits.

Has nothing to do with me. I have nothing to gain except share some knowledge I was happy to learn, it's unfortunate that we live in a society where everyone assumes that everyone else has a motive. Check out the website and it will be clearly evident that I have nothing to gain.

 

[Truz66]

Ok, sorry if you are affiliated with this product but this is a marketing club. Nothing in their website informs about non-top tier vs top tier actual qualifications. As a petroleum engineer, I recognize the value of quality fuels when fit for purpose but there is more marketing than science in premier fuels and this is yet another spin on that.

 

[Wags]

I've been using gas from Sheetz, BJ's and my local grocery store for years and never had an issue.

 

[Fast31]

Ok, sorry if you are affiliated with this product but this is a marketing club. Nothing in their website informs about non-top tier vs top tier actual qualifications. As a petroleum engineer, I recognize the value of quality fuels when fit for purpose but there is more marketing than science in premier fuels and this is yet another spin on that.

Wow, LOL. You clearly havn't looked at the website. They don't sell anything, they are a certification body that various gas stations such as Shell and Chevron meet their standards.

 

[Fast31]

I've been using gas from Sheetz, BJ's and my local grocery store for years and never had an issue.

Agreed, I havnt had issues with other gas stations either. I'm just sharing something I thought was interesting but obviously I made a mistake, I would have been better off being the 384 person asking what trim levels come with the digital key, LOL. Hell, I used to race IMCA modifieds and won races with "Jumbo Joe's" fuel

 

[Sner]

I suggest that if you want to plug your or a connected business on this forum, just be honest about it being that. My 2 bits.

Most major stations in canada and the US are top tier fuels. See this list worldwide. It’s an organization funded by car manufacturers and fuel retailers. Not sure what you think is a marketing plug for top tier Fuel. It make sense to use it. It means using a major retailer. In Canada, some smaller local stations are not top tier, and frankly you shouldn’t be buying fuel from them, smaller stations don’t turn over fuel fast enough and can sometimes be an issue As their fuel sits underground for long periods of time. Get off @Fast31’s back, he’s just trying to educate others.

 

[Truz66]

Sigh. Ok, if it gives you comfort then cool. No offence intended. It is an added expense to meet ASTM and other standards but again, that can give comfort.

 

[theKurt]

I am genuinely curious about this.

As I understand it, fuel doesn’t/can’t usually travel far from the refinery, so all retailers in a geographic area will be starting off with the same product.

If that marketing is to be believed, then the ‘premium products’ with their detergents and other additives are supposed to keep an engine running smoother for longer (I don’t know why Shell says nitrogen is good since the air coming into the engine is 70%+ nitrogen already and isn’t part of the combustion process, but I digress…)

Other than the logical stance that ‘fresher fuel’ is better than stuff sitting underground for a long time, are there any benefits to those supposed top tier fuels over ‘Bob’s Corner Gas Station’?

 

[Drakka01]

I am genuinely curious about this.

As I understand it, fuel doesn’t/can’t usually travel far from the refinery, so all retailers in a geographic area will be starting off with the same product.

If that marketing is to be believed, then the ‘premium products’ with their detergents and other additives are supposed to keep an engine running smoother for longer (I don’t know why Shell says nitrogen is good since the air coming into the engine is 70%+ nitrogen already and isn’t part of the combustion process, but I digress…)

Other than the logical stance that ‘fresher fuel’ is better than stuff sitting underground for a long time, are there any benefits to those supposed top tier fuels over ‘Bob’s Corner Gas Station’?

Top Tier fuel providers have additives blended in the truck's tank when it fills up from the "shared" fuel source. So the fuel is all the same until the tanker comes to get some to deliver to the local station at which point things are added to make it Shell's gas or Sunoco's gas.
Kind of like BP's "Invigorate" branding which is more or less the same thing. It's mostly just detergents to keep carbon buildup off the valves, etc.

Bob's, Sheetz, Walmart, and other discount fuel places are probably selling the raw product from the shared source without any additives. You can, of course, just buy your own additives and pour them in with each fill-up but that's less convenient.

 

[Osprey]

Top Tier fuel providers have additives blended in the truck's tank when it fills up from the "shared" fuel source. So the fuel is all the same until the tanker comes to get some to deliver to the local station at which point things are added to make it Shell's gas or Sunoco's gas.
Kind of like BP's "Invigorate" branding which is more or less the same thing. It's mostly just detergents to keep carbon buildup off the valves, etc.

Bob's, Sheetz, Walmart, and other discount fuel places are probably selling the raw product from the shared source without any additives. You can, of course, just buy your own additives and pour them in with each fill-up but that's less convenient.

This is pretty much my understanding as well. I know a guy who works for Valero and he describes it much as you do. The shared source means that all gasoline of a certain octane rating is all the same at the distribution terminals. When put into tanker trucks for delivery for whatever branded station, the truck also gets the additives added to the shared source petroleum.

The additives are the "secret sauce" that makes Conoco gas different from Exxon or Mobil. Ethanol is also added at the terminal based on season if I remember what he told me correctly. Walmart and other discount type gas apparently does have additives as well, but are more of a generic blend that is used across non-proprietary blends.

 

[Dansflhti]

I think Top Tier has become a recommendation since the introduction of Direct Injection on cars. IIRC the first time I noticed it was in the owners manual of a 2013 Honda Accord I bought new. It might even be in the Tacomas manual. I won't have my manual until I pick up my new Taco around noon today.

 

[Sner]

Sigh. Ok, if it gives you comfort then cool. No offence intended. It is an added expense to meet ASTM and other standards but again, that can give comfort.

Not sure how it's an added expense. Costco is a top tier retailer of fuel, and it is always 10cents a litre less than all other stations.

 

[Kielly]

I tend to go where it's cheapest One of the cheapest provinces for gas but still at $1.60/L for lowest octane these Tacoma's can break the bank easily

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