Originally Posted By: dlayman
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Wow, I had no idea a big name like Sunoco wasn't a Top Tier brand. Disappointing. Time to take my new-ish direct-injected Honda elsewhere.
It doesn't mean Sunoco is necessarily any lower quality than the listed Top Tier brands, but of course there is no way to know. I don't know what the cost for certification is, but I've heard its quite high. They may simply have chosen not to get the certification. With this becoming more and more emphasized, I think at some point, almost every available name brand will be forced to get certification or risk losing business. As of right now, I doubt that even 10% of the population even knows what Top Tier is and maybe 1/3 of that care. Most people still buy on price and location and will for some time.
Why would Top Tier make a difference regarding direct injection, if you're referring to carbon build-up on valves? My 05 Civic made it to 300k miles on 90% Sunoco gas with no fuel or engine system problems. I have very few places to buy Top Tier in my area. I'm lucky if I can just get a name brand, like Sunoco, instead of some unbranded convenience store stuff which is 90% of the market around here unfortunately.
Good point. That is another problem with this study. It identifies the TT gasolines, but does not identify the Non-TT fuels used. Sunoco has a good reputation and I used it regularly when I lived in an area where there were stations. I never had a problem with it.
The no-name brand convenience store gas is probably ok to use once in a while. I am not an ARCO fanboy by any means, but the reason I identified them is because they are the same cost as the no-name places in my area. If I am going to go to a "big brand" place I have to drive a bit further. So, given similar costs, this study makes my decision for me when deciding ARCO vs. Fastrip vs. Bob's Gas.