Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
It's assumed that the base fuel will conform to industry/regulatory standards. Chevron really doesn't make a better or worse base fuel than anyone else. However, the concentration of additive does make a difference, and that's basically what Top Tier is addressing.
That's not what I'm talking about. I mean, where he mentions that the pumps say it's not a Chevron product. Of course, the base gasoline can come from anywhere, and that's not the point. I mean, if it's not Chevron gasoline (i.e. gasoline with Chevron's additive package), then what is it? BP? Something else non-TT? Something TT?
Who knows. I mentioned race gas. There's a well known 76 gas station maybe halfway between San Jose and San Francisco that sells 100 octane race gas with a blue tint. The nickname of the stuff is "Smurf gas". They were carrying it way back when the 76 brand was owned by Tosco and they had clear info that it was made by Tosco and met all the street fuel standards that Tosco had for their fuel. Then after the ConocoPhillips various mergers and divestitures, the 76 brand no longer included 100 octane race gas, but this gas station still sold 100 octane. Not quite sure who they got it from, although it could have been Sunoco, Torco, or (right now most likely) VP Racing.
These days 76 is certified as Top Tier, but I would suspect that this particular fuel may not meet the standard unless they specifically paid extra to squirt some of their own additive. That's always possible, but I'm not sure how that works with the Top Tier organization.
If anything, it sound as if the gas station mentioned by the OP may be in CYA mode when it comes to meeting the Top Tier standard - if this particular fuel isn't getting the specific Chevron additive called for in the Chevron agreement with Top Tier.