deneb Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Since it's mentioned in our manual to only use 'top tier' fuel, and since there have been a few discussions about what fuels we're using, I did a bit of research, and found a great link about 'top tier' fuels. http://www.toptiergas.com/ Fuels that meet the top tier requirement: TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers: QuikTrip Chevron Conoco Phillips 76 Shell Entec Stations MFA Oil Company Mods, I don't know if this belongs in a different forum, I put it here for max visibility. Please move if appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 no mobile or exxon? wow... i always thought they were up there. Anyhow, I pretty much only use Shell (easiest gas stations to get too) thanks for posting the top tier gas link -- i had never heard that it even existed before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy05 Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Dammit .. where is Costco! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjcdriscoll Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 a place near my brothers apt complex sells 104 octane race fuel - does anyone know if it will be ok to put this in my car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melayout Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I've been a loyal BP customer, but his makes me mad. BP SUCK IT, I'm going Shell. I keed I keeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deneb Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 a place near my brothers apt complex sells 104 octane race fuel - does anyone know if it will be ok to put this in my car? Dunno why you'd want to, unless you've modded the car such that it needs the extra octane. From what I've read, if your car is designed to run on a certain octance, more octane isn't better, since your engine isn't designed to take advantage of it. Some cars can retard their timing such that they can run on lower octane fuel even when they're designed for higher octane, but performance will suffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I looked through that, and it seems like there is a lack of information about who actually did the testing, how many samples of each brand, and the quantified results of all brands. It does say that 4 automakers came up with the standards, and what the standards are, but says nothing about the quantifiable results of the top tier brands, how other brands fared, or consistency of quality. (did they just get a good sample? how or where do they obtain their sample? corporate, distributor, or a random retail outlet...) What was the duration of the testing? It seems like there is some information left out that may hide bias, or fluke results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deneb Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 Do a google search on top tier fuels, loads of info there, dunno if the data you're seeking is there though. The site I posted seemed pretty basic, but I was just interested in what brands are considered 'top tier'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Since it's mentioned in our manual to only use 'top tier' fuel, ...... I just read the section in the manual on fuel requirements, and nowhere does it say to only use top tier fuels. It does say to avoid fuels containing MMT additive, and to avoid high sulfur fuels if you have a "California emissions" Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 you're missing Sunoco I think.. any gas station that sells 100 octane fuel is top tier to me... http://www.racegas.com/gt100locals/default.asp http://www.racegas.com/fuelspecs/sunocogtunleaded.htm Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklin Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Ditto on the Sunoco. 94 octaine is 2nd rate? This is not racing gas but pump fuel. Anyone else selling 94 unleaded you know of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenWeasel Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Ditto on the Sunoco. 94 octaine is 2nd rate? This is not racing gas but pump fuel. Anyone else selling 94 unleaded you know of? Their tier rating is based on detergent content, not octane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emorphien Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 The octanes sold has nothing to do with whether they consider a gas station top tier from what I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklin Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Their tier rating is based on detergent content, not octane. I stand corrected. Thought the detergent issue was resolved long ago. I remember when fuel injection was becomming the norm (1990+) that some fuels lacked sufficiant detergents. BMW for one was sensitive to detergent volumn. Interisting. Did not realize that this was redeveloping as a problem. BTW -I work for Sunoco Chemicals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. CentralOhioSubarus Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Dude, BP suuuuuuucks. I'm surprised you haven't gotten a CEL. I've been a loyal BP customer, but his makes me mad. BP SUCK IT, I'm going Shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levish Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Nice to know BP isn't a good provider, their stations look well kept so I was assuming their fuel was good too. Going to change to the local Shell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Power Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 I work in Oil and Gas ... won't reveal who I work for but I will make a shameless plug. The clue is in my on-line name. I suggest you do buy major brand fuels ... it's all about the additive. Yes, the Costcos and Wal-Marts do buy from the majors but that missing component is the branded additive that's injected into the tanker as the gas is loaded. Why would you pinch 3-7cents per gallon and put crap in your car?!? All to save ~70-90cents per fill up?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AreEyeSeeKay Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 I was doing some searching on this "top tier gas" website...but somebody else already has.... http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-84965.html What, exactly, is this "Top Tier Gas" web site? It doesn't disclose any affiliations, so some investigation is warranted: nwhois toptiergas.com Registrant: National Products Group (DWZWSDYIHD) P.O. Box 3475 Tulsa, OK 74101 US Domain Name: TOPTIERGAS.COM Administrative Contact: Denny, Jim (18276434I) ynnedj@aol.com P.O. Box 3475 Tulsa, OK 74101 US 9188368551 Hmmm. Not too informative. However, let's Google on the phone number. There are a large number of hits, most of which point to a "Quik Trip Corporation", which operates a large number of gas stations in that area. A Google of the Quik Trip web site reveals that Jim Denny is their Vice President of Marketing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 anybody know how good/bad Wawa gas is? We have a station right next to work so I end up using that 90% of the time... I get good mileage and the car runs fine so I think its alright.. but its not listed as Top-Tier obviously... figure its probably rebranded toptier though. Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonovUrbizniz Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Most BP USA stations use AMACO fuels as far as I know of which their premium is further refined than ANY other gas on the market... So can't imagine that not being on there... forget cleaner additives... it's actually CLEAN to start with. Although if the BP station you go to DOES use BP gas... STAY AWAY... Texaco and shell use the same gas so... Can't imagine that texaco isnt' on there if shell is. Also can't imagine why exxon/mobile aren't on there... that doesn't make much sense to me. Mobile/Exxon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deneb Posted June 14, 2005 Author Share Posted June 14, 2005 I was doing some searching on this "top tier gas" website...but somebody else already has.... http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-84965.html I read most of that thread, there's some interesting info there. It states that some brands meet or exceed the top tier requirement even though they haven't 'bought in' to the top tier designation. Lots of interesting info in there, it sounds like using 'off brands' might not be the best idea, although it may be a lot of marketing speak as far as 'top tier' goes. A very very brief excerpt from the thread: "But a refusal to join does not mean a marketer's gasoline is harmful or inadequate. "We're still looking at it," said Scott Dean, a spokesman for BP Amoco. "Our Ultimate [premium] gasoline already has twice the detergent concentrations as required by the EPA standards. The other grades meet or exceed those [EPA] standards." "All our fuels are already blended to meet or exceed Top Tier standards," said ExxonMobil spokesman Russ Roberts, adding that he wouldn't comment on whether the oil company plans to join the program." For me, I'm gonna stick with Chevron, at least it's a name brand that says it meets top tier specs. Guess I don't really know for absolute certain that the Chevron gas at any given station on any given day actually meets the spec, but there's some peace of mind using a nationally known brand that has a reputation to uphold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Power Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Correction from previous post ... Shell divested its interest in Texaco fully summer of '04 as a result of the Chevron's acquisition of Texaco. Texaco = Chevron. Although some of the majors are not listed in this TOP TIER category, I fully endorse all majors. WAWA is "unbranded." So again, they may be picking up the refined gasoline at Shell's terminal, but the gasoline is injected with the minimum federal required additive. Pay a little extra for that detergent my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenWeasel Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 I usually use Shell or Sunoco, but I wouldn't be scared of putting a tiger in my tank or filling up with Mobil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Power Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Anyone running their GT on Regular vs. required Premium grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 WAWA is "unbranded." So again, they may be picking up the refined gasoline at Shell's terminal, but the gasoline is injected with the minimum federal required additive. Pay a little extra for that detergent my friend. I figured Wawa could sell their gas cheaper than everybody else just because of the sheer volume of gas sold, not how much extra stuff they may put into it. Hmmm. Ill try to run something else for a few fill ups and see if I notice anything different besides having less money in the bank. I know you probably cant feel the difference in the short term and its long term stuff this "top-tier" focuses on... I wonder if that extra 5-10 cents a gallon is worth the extra money on every fill up vs. running some techron cleaner through your engine at every oil change or something. Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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