Top Tier gas - USA Today article

[surfstar]

For everyone who says "brand x gets me better gas than brand y", please show us...I cannot find ANY difference between stations/brands in my area and I have the data to prove it:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...page=0&vc=1

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I have the vehicles that say otherwise -- plus a good education in math.

When you think about it, the brand with the least add-pack for stuff like detergency must add more pure gasoline. That could signal the better gas mileage & provide an answer why top-tier regular grade fuels like Shell offer lower MPG stats to posters here - including myself.

In the end, it seems to boil down to the purchaser's choice on what he desires...ie.... cleaner fuel lines or better MPG. I've gone a vehicle-lifetime on Shell without any cleaners like Seafoam, Techron....etc. But my daughter uses the same vehicle & cheaper independent gasolines & needs these fuel line cleaners & more frequent gas filters during the vehicle lifetime.

I have-yet to try a vehicle lifetime using my best mileage Speedway gasoline here in Michigan. I guess time will tell.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

I will only say what I have experienced between between Murphy USA and Quik-trip. When I used Murphy USA, I would consistently get 22+ mpg. I then switched to Quik-trip and could never get over 20 mpg. I did the same type of driving too.

One time in December I filled up with Murphy USA between two fill-ups at Quik-trip and it averaged 21 mpg, but then I went back to Quik-trip and it went back down to 20 mpg. I switched back to Murphy USA a couple of months later, and mileage went back to 21 mpg on the first fill-up, and the next tanks thereafter were 22+ mpg.

I have since stayed using Murphy USA and even during the winter months, there is no noticeable drop in fuel mileage.

 

[Durango]

OK can anyone then name some detergencies that can be added to ones gas tank to make-up for the loss? I mean off the shelve parts stores in bottle form. is Techron one of them? What else?


Durango

 

[CharlieJ]

Gasoline in my area is all priced about the same, well except for discount club gas, so I use Shell exclusively in my Mazda 3 and Rx-7. The MPG in the Rx-7 didn't seem to change from using Shell, Chevron or BP. But, in the 3, I constantly get higher MPG than what the manufacturer's sticker says in city and highway driving with Shell, so i stick with it. BP didn't yield good results in the Rx-7, caused lots of deposits on the spark plugs/fouling, but Shell and Chevron always left the spark plugs spotless.
But I don't think it was the BP gasoline that caused it, I think that the tanks at the station were rusty or contaminated.

 

[Master ACiD]

if the minimum ammount of detergents were not enough the epa or some other agency would raise the level.

also look at things in perspective. even the lowest quality gas sold in north american is loads better than 3rd world gas.

 

[PSS]

The article doesn't mention that Some companies like BP don't join because they don't want you to realize that the Regular gas you buy from them meets top tier requirements. That would cut into their hi profit Premium sales

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Someone here published an email from BP stating only the BP Premium meets Top Tier standards.

 

[Volvohead]

The best gas is the almost always the freshest gas in the tightest station tanks.

The factors addressed in Top Tier standards are of minor significance compared to the far more detrimental effects of fuel aging and point of purchase contamination. Top Tier doesn't help much if there's water in the fuel or it's been sitting around for 30 days.

A number of refiners who don't have Top Tier certification assert that their premium grades meet or exceed Top Tier standards, including BP/Amoco.

 

[Master ACiD]

Gasoline retailers must meet the high TOP TIER standards with all grades of gasoline to be approved by the automakers as providing TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline.

that reads to me as if a retailer wants to be top tier, they must be top tier in reg, mid and pre. cant just be premium.

 

[badtlc]

Quote:

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For everyone who says "brand x gets me better gas than brand y", please show us...I cannot find ANY difference between stations/brands in my area and I have the data to prove it:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...page=0&vc=1

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I dont know about others, but I am smart enough to know how to calculate gas mileage and try and keep all variables as equal as possible. If i went to the extent of making a spreadsheet to keep track of my gas mileage, then I'd have much bigger problems than what kind of gas I'm using.

 

[benjamming]

badtlc,

So you do an error analysis or your data sets as well? Any data to share? Plugging into Excel is not a problem at all.

 

[Volvohead]

Quote:

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that reads to me as if a retailer wants to be top tier, they must be top tier in reg, mid and pre. cant just be premium.

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That's form over substance. If a vendor wants to be "approved by manufacturers" as "top tier", then all grades must meet the test standards. But I don't run all grades in my tank. If the grade I do use exceeds the test standards, am I getting something less? The fuel is "top tier" quality AFAIK. That it doesn't have the "approval" means nothing.

This is analogous to the API "starburst" argument against oils that otherwise well exceed the test sequences but don't want to pay for the certification. A house brand conventional has the starburst, but Redline doesn't. I'll take the Redline, thank you.