The majority of fuel depots are set up where there are additive tanks for branded stations. There have been a few fuel delivery drivers who have commented on this on BITOG. They don't want to deal with that at the gas station.
Are there any studies or data to suggest one Top Tier fuel is better than another?
- Thread starter tired
- Start date
The majority of fuel depots are set up where there are additive tanks for branded stations. There have been a few fuel delivery drivers who have commented on this on BITOG. They don't want to deal with that at the gas station.
As y_p_w is well aware, as I've seen him post in the various threads, Costco seems to be the only one that adds their own additives at the actual station. There are at least two good threads on here that discuss the loading and delivery process from the perspective of the actual tanker driver. Also a few threads have discussed the Costco station additive process that they developed around the time they decided to go Top Tier.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
It's debatable whether Shell or Costco is better than the other, but I do believe they're the two best followed closely by Chevron, then U76. But all Top Tier are very good.
The other issue is how to define best. Best for clean injectors and clean combustion chamber (valves, pistons, rings), or best for wear prevention, or best for horse power.
The various independent tests I've seen stated the following:
Best for cleanliness: Shell & Costco are best, followed by Chevron, followed by U76 and the other Top Tier brands.
Best for cylinder and rings wear reduction: Shell followed by Chevron. No other TT were independently tested for this, at least none I could find. So I don't know how the others are for wear reduction. I assume the others are at least better than non TT.
Best for horsepower (tested on dyno): Shell and U76, followed by Chevron. I did not find any tests of other TT for HP.
Best for gas mileage: Likely Shell and U76. That wasn't tested, but I theorize that since they give more power, they might burn more efficiently for more gas mileage.
There are some brands of fuels with higher amounts of additives (Exxon for example, and Costco) than Shell, but more isn't always better. Allegedly/reputedly according to several high performance tuners and dyno testers Youtube videos too much additives can reduce tested HP on dyno. So maybe there is such a thing as too much additives.
I'm of the (admitedly amateur) opinion that there's a sweet spot for type and amount of fuel additives where there's enough to keep things clean, but not so much that horsepower or fuel economy suffer. IMO Shell is in the sweet spot where it keeps things very clean while still giving excellent power and gas mileage.
Search Youtube for Lake Speed Shell gas antiwear testing.
Search Youtube for Shell vs Chevron dyno horsepower test or comparison. I didn't find any related videos for U76, but Corvette forums and muscle car forums often prefer Shell or U76 for high performance. I lurked at those forums.
I assume that Philipps 66 & Sunoco are same as Union 76?
Last edited:
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
OK. Maybe that varies by region? In my local area delivery drivers have been seen adding TT additives at time of delivery. At least that used to be the case 10+ years ago in my local area. I don't know how or when that's done in 2025 in my area or elsewhere. I believe you're correct for many regions. Maybe all regions in 2025.
The important point is that it becomes TT gas when the TT additives are added (regardless of who, when, or where that happens).
Not sure where that happens, but other than Costco that would be highly unusual. Costco has a proprietary system. But how it works has been mentioned before.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...fuel-additives-get-added.228899/#post-3598539
TiredTrucker:
Virtually all additives that go into any fuel, as specified by the retailer, is done at the fuel terminal when the tanker is loaded. I used to haul fuels. It is interesting to swipe a card that lays out the specs for the end retailer, then watch various lights go on with different tanks as they inject additive into the stream being loaded in to the truck tanker. There might be an occasional outlet that does its own fuel dosing, but that is not the norm. Not sure why they would anyway because of the substantial increased cost they incur to have such a setup at their location, monitor it, and pass all other regulatory requirements. Then there is also the liability issues involved. If their additive system goofs up either way, too little or too less, they run the risk of consumer litigation. Why take on that headache? Just have the fuel blended to what you need at the distribution point and then delivered to the retailer. Now, there are many ethanol blender pumps coming on the scene that will allow consumer to select the blend they want at the pump. In my area, that could be E10, E15, E20, E30, or E85. Those have their own potential issues, and many retailers don't want to fiddle with it. Imagine the blender pump, after the consumer selects E10, actually filling the vehicle with E30 or E85.
Sometimes I get the idea that many average consumers have a very limited scope when it comes to how they get the stuff they buy and what goes on behind the scenes. The regulatory and civil litigation issues really play a major role in how things are done. No retailer is going to stick their junk in front of a sliding patio door and dare someone to slam it shut.
GoldDot40:
It's obviously not like that everywhere. I load, haul, and deliver Shell gas fairly regularly. Our local terminal has several additive tanks with their brand contents labeled on them. Shell has one....as well as BP, ExxonMobil, Marathon, ConocoPhillips, etc. When I pull for a Shell branded store...Motiva is the supplier account I select in the system. The additive is mixed as it's loaded here.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
So it varies as to when the Vpower additives are added to Shell gas, and possibly some other TT gas brands. It might also vary by region. Overtime it will probably keep getting more standardized until it's the same everywhere for most brands.
Regardless of when and by whom the TT additives are added, it becomes a specific brand of TT gas when the specific TT additives are added. That's what's important to the topic of this thread, IMO.
Regardless of when and by whom the TT additives are added, it becomes a specific brand of TT gas when the specific TT additives are added. That's what's important to the topic of this thread, IMO.
It's more complicated than that. Often meeting the Top Tier additive requirements can be done with something that's "scalable" where it can meet that requirement as well as minimum EPA requirements in lower concentrations.
HiTEC® 6590C is a concentrated version of HiTEC® 6590, a gasoline performance additive with EPA, LAC, and TOP TIER™ approvals.
There's really nothing to prevent every brand name seeking to meet Top Tier from just using the same off the shelf additive. I wouldn't be surprised if there were major (or even minor) brands out there that used the same additive. Obviously there's not a single additive when Lubrizol, Afton, BASF, and Chevron Oronite all claim to have Top Tier certified detergent additives and where some even claim they can make custom additives for customers. I'm also pretty sure that Chevron's Techron formulation isn't anything they sell as a bulk additive. Or BASF's custom additive for BP. But I would think whatever Oronite sells is developed by the same chemists that worked on Techron.
Chevron Oronite offers a full line of gasoline deposit control additives to meet our customers’ cost and performance targets. Our OGA additive packages for refinery and branded retail gasoline includes regulatory compliance packages formulated to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Final Rule Lowest Additive Concentration (LAC) requirements and/or California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements. Our performance additive packages exceeds Top Tier™ standards.
Last edited:
You can link to individual posts. There's a universal share symbol in the upper right of every post, next to the bookmark. Just hover on that and copy.
Direct link to the mentioned post
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
Thanks for that advice.
I will use it in future.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
OK. It becomes TT gas when a sufficient amount of a TT additive package has been added. I think you're splitting hairs when you mention scalable because I think my earlier post clearly implied a sufficient amount of TT additives even though I didn't explicitly say "sufficient amount".
However, I do take your point. It's scalable.
Examples:
Kroger/Fred Meyer gas (as previously discussed) likely has some Vpower additive in it, but less than branded Shell gas.
Safeway/Albertsons gas likely has some Techron additive in it, but less than branded Chevron gas.
Last edited:
Well - there are a few things. They require a test result, and I suppose there could be the additive that can meet the EPA "LAC" requirement, but where no amount of upping the concentration will meet Top Tier.
As far as the supermarket gas stations go, I really doubt they're using anything other than the cheapest generic additive that the fuel depot makes available. I can't see Chevron or Shell sharing their proprietary additive. Their deals with supermarkets usually don't have anything to do with supplying fuel or additive.
They're going to buy fuel on the spot market and pay as little as they can. That's the dirtly little secret about fuel. The vast majority of base fuel is some commodity grade and for the most part nobody in the industry cares who made it. It just has to meet the grade and everyone gets along. The fuel pipeline/barge/rail carriers mostly deal with "unsegregated" deliveries where their job it to get such and such amount of a certain type of fuel to point A/B/C/D. In the industry, the end customer doesn't care who made it as much as whether or not it meets the requirements. Shell/Chevron/XOM/Valero/Marathon/Sunoco mostly make commodities and hand them off to the transporters to move around as little as they can.
I say it's a like a bank where customers withdraw at different locations and nobody cares where the money came from or how it was transported there.
Similar threads
