*High Turnover or TopTier Diesel?*

[whiplash473]

TL;DR - Fill up at a high-turnover non-TopTier or a low-turnover TopTier fuel station?

I am interested in opinions on something I've been going back and forth on in my head. I am very particular to always get diesel fuel from high-turnover places. There is a Pilot truck stop near my work that is only a few years old and ALWAYS has rigs filling up. So I have been getting fuel from there since it opened. However, reading another thread turned me on to the idea of Top Tier fuel companies. Pilot is not on that list. Any of the company names on that list either do not have a station near me or, if they do, diesel is most certainly not the primary fuel sale.

So my question to you guys is: Would it be better to get diesel from a high-turnover non-TopTier station, or a low-turnover TopTier station? Which pretty much seems to just be Costco.

Note1: I have had no problem with the fuel I've gotten from the Pilot near my work for the last two years or so. No gelling issues (with additive, of course) in -20*F weather. I have no reason to change. However, as is the usual case with the internet, I may change in light of new information or I may be searching for a problem that didn't exist for me previously.

Note2: I have been very careful about fuel since the purchase of my 6.7 Powerstroke two years ago with the horror stories of the CP4.2 pumps. So the best I could figure on doing is getting fuel at a high-turnover station and always using plenty of additive.

 

[Bailes1992]

Also something I've considered quite deeply.

I live in the UK and our base diesel is of far higher quality than yours over in the US anyway. But I often have a choice between using cheaper supermarket diesel where turnover is high or branded premium diesel such as BP Ultimate or Shell V-Power where turnover is much much less.

These days I've just settled on using high turnover diesel with an additive like Archoil 6900D-Max. Although if I'm travelling up country where I can find HVO then I always try get a tank or two as my car runs so much nicer on it, unfortunately you can't get it anywhere on pump where I live.

 

[Marcozi]

Costco gas is a top tier gas: https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/

 

[totegoat]

In your case, whichever is cheapest. I never had to add additives.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

TL;DR - Fill up at a high-turnover non-TopTier or a low-turnover TopTier fuel station?

I am interested in opinions on something I've been going back and forth on in my head. I am very particular to always get diesel fuel from high-turnover places. There is a Pilot truck stop near my work that is only a few years old and ALWAYS has rigs filling up. So I have been getting fuel from there since it opened. However, reading another thread turned me on to the idea of Top Tier fuel companies. Pilot is not on that list. Any of the company names on that list either do not have a station near me or, if they do, diesel is most certainly not the primary fuel sale.

So my question to you guys is: Would it be better to get diesel from a high-turnover non-TopTier station, or a low-turnover TopTier station? Which pretty much seems to just be Costco.

Note1: I have had no problem with the fuel I've gotten from the Pilot near my work for the last two years or so. No gelling issues (with additive, of course) in -20*F weather. I have no reason to change. However, as is the usual case with the internet, I may change in light of new information or I may be searching for a problem that didn't exist for me previously.

Note2: I have been very careful about fuel since the purchase of my 6.7 Powerstroke two years ago with the horror stories of the CP4.2 pumps. So the best I could figure on doing is getting fuel at a high-turnover station and always using plenty of additive.

I don't know what Top Tier means for diesel and Costco doesn't say. If it meant a min cetane of 50 and enhanced lubricity then I would probably use it. The reality is that your PS was engineered to run on fuel meeting ASTM D975 and the light duty diesel market is so small compared to gasoline that there's little need to advertise a more competitive product. That being said for your situation I would probably use Pilot as it will obviously have the freshest fuel and in the past spot checks have shown that almost all diesel sold in the US exceeds the lubricity requirements as it contains some amount of biodiesel. There's an incentive to blend it and some states require that their fleets use B1-B5 at bulk terminals so it may make financial sense to just blend bio in everything rather than to order just for govt vehicles. Illinois requires that their govt fleet fills up with some biodiesel in the mix.

I would always top treat my diesel fuel at the pump with a cetane booster/lubricity enhancer.

 

[JohnnyG]

Diesel fuel doesn't contain additives, so no need for the "Top Tier" gimmick.
It is important that the blend be correct and the proper winter grades are followed to prevent gelling of Biodiesel.

Pilot has a lot of truckers dependent on them providing the proper blends.

 

[Davejam]

There are very few companies participating in Top Tier Diesel program at this time.
But , here is the Top Tier Diesel standard:

https://www.toptiergas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TOP_TIER_Diesel_Fuel_Performance_Standard_Rev_A_-_Feb2017.pdf

 

[Bailes1992]

Diesel fuel doesn't contain additives, so no need for the "Top Tier" gimmick.
It is important that the blend be correct and the proper winter grades are followed to prevent gelling of Biodiesel.

Pilot has a lot of truckers dependent on them providing the proper blends.

Diesel has an additive package just like petrol. And just like petrol there are different qualities and quantities of additive packages.

 

[JohnnyG]

Diesel has an additive package just like petrol. And just like petrol there are different qualities and quantities of additive packages.

Not here.

 

[Davejam]

Diesel fuel doesn't contain additives, so no need for the "Top Tier" gimmick.
It is important that the blend be correct and the proper winter grades are followed to prevent gelling of Biodiesel.

Not True at all...
Directly from EPA:

Additive Types:
Required - Corrosion Inhibitor, Demulsifier, Anti-oxidant, Metal Deactivator
Permitted - Anti-static, Flow Improver,
Not Permitted - Deposit Control

 

[wavinwayne]

For my BMW diesel, I always fuel up at whatever truck stop is convenient, and I always add a dose of Hot Shot's EDT.

 

[JohnnyG]

Probably came along when biodiesel became a thing.
Anyway, no deposit control, which is typically what the top tier providers claim.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

There are very few companies participating in Top Tier Diesel program at this time.
But , here is the Top Tier Diesel standard:

https://www.toptiergas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TOP_TIER_Diesel_Fuel_Performance_Standard_Rev_A_-_Feb2017.pdf

Yay!! That better than than the federal standard of 520um
"..4.2.2.2 Demonstration of Performance. To meet TOP TIER diesel performance the fuels must have an HFRR at60°C wear scar diameter of less than 460 µm to provide sufficient lubricity...."

Edited: error.

 

[Bailes1992]

Not here.

That is absolutely the case everywhere. Your engine would not run on 'raw' diesel for very long.

 

[JohnnyG]

That is absolutely the case everywhere. Your engine would not run on 'raw' diesel for very long.

Having worked in the industry for 28 years, diesel was always "raw" with no additives and no engine failures.
Only two things were ever added to diesel fuel during those years, kerosene to prevent gelling in winter, and a bactericide, IF there was a problem at the storage facility.
Until biodiesel came about, which introduced a myriad of issues.

 

[whiplash473]

I don't know what Top Tier means for diesel and Costco doesn't say. If it meant a min cetane of 50 and enhanced lubricity then I would probably use it. The reality is that your PS was engineered to run on fuel meeting ASTM D975 and the light duty diesel market is so small compared to gasoline that there's little need to advertise a more competitive product. That being said for your situation I would probably use Pilot as it will obviously have the freshest fuel and in the past spot checks have shown that almost all diesel sold in the US exceeds the lubricity requirements as it contains some amount of biodiesel. There's an incentive to blend it and some states require that their fleets use B1-B5 at bulk terminals so it may make financial sense to just blend bio in everything rather than to order just for govt vehicles. Illinois requires that their govt fleet fills up with some biodiesel in the mix.

I would always top treat my diesel fuel at the pump with a cetane booster/lubricity enhancer.

Well-put. Thank you.

I'm not sure about other states as I have never paid attention but IL pumps always say "up to 20% bio". I don't know enough about biodiesel to have an opinion on the matter ( I read up on it some years ago but have forgotten most of it), but all the pumps around here say that so I suppose there isn't much reason to worry about it since there is no getting away from it.

I have always used additive in every tank since I started driving diesel trucks some ten years ago. With my 7.3 I used Stanadyne but changed over to Hot Shots "EDT" with the 6.7 primarily for it's lubricity-touting marketing. Lubricity and cetane boost being the primary reasons for using it. And their winter EDT has proven quite well for me in the winter months.

Pilot has a lot of truckers dependent on them providing the proper blends.

This has been my thought as well. Also, as I stated earlier, there are always rigs filling up there. Every big-nozzle pump has a truck in it and usually a few waiting. Granted, it may be the time of day that I fill up but still, that's a lot of fuel moving considering I don't even fill up on the same day each week yet the pump traffic is always packed.

 

[Bailes1992]

Having worked in the industry for 28 years, diesel was always "raw" with no additives and no engine failures.
Only two things were ever added to diesel fuel during those years, kerosene to prevent gelling in winter, and a bactericide, IF there was a problem at the storage facility.
Until biodiesel came about, which introduced a myriad of issues.

You might just want to let Exxon know that they're mistaken then...

Guest Blog: Diesel fuel additive considerations

Learn why fleets should be cautious when determining whether aftermarket diesel fuel additives are necessary.

www.exxon.com

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Having worked in the industry for 28 years, diesel was always "raw" with no additives and no engine failures.
Only two things were ever added to diesel fuel during those years, kerosene to prevent gelling in winter, and a bactericide, IF there was a problem at the storage facility.
Until biodiesel came about, which introduced a myriad of issues.

Nor should there have been with the higher levels of sulphur which provided the necessary degree of lubricity. Min Cetane was always and continues to be 40. When US transitioned to ULSD (circa 2008) a lubricity additive became necessary and bio in low concentrations (
Too bad the US car market was built around gasoline rather than diesel.

 

[Jetronic]

Boo.!!! That's no different than the federal standard.
"..4.2.2.2 Demonstration of Performance. To meet TOP TIER diesel performance the fuels must have an HFRR at60°C wear scar diameter of less than 460 µm to provide sufficient lubricity...."

The federal standard used to be 520 microns, when did that change?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

The federal standard used to be 520 microns, when did that change?

Your right! I was think Euro spec (EN 590). Comment will be edited to a YAY!.