Is the Chevron gas THAT much better?

[Chris142]

I Always buy the cheapest gas I can find. Never cared about top tier fuel. After watching LSJr videos and what not I decided That I might be better off using top tier gas.

Tonight I was very low on gas so my safest option was either the 76 directly across the street from my work or the Chevron station caddy corner from my work .

Chevron cash price was $4.59 for regular.

76 was $4.09 for regular.

Is the Chevron worth the $.50 per gallon more?

 

[GSCJR]

Only you can decide that; I use Shell exclusively on all my vehicles, and pay the premium for it. Furthermore, I truly believe that it cured an intermittent CEL on my Subaru. The CEL came on less frequently with a new upstream O2 sensor, but now has been off for months. I think Shell fuel is the reason. I even use V-Power for a few months of the year.

 

[Zee09]

I buy TT gas here for the same price as no name gas... 50 cents is too much

 

[Blang]

I've always used top tier gas in all of my vehicles (99% of the time at least). I smelled fuel coming from my Cavalier a couple years ago and pulled the injectors thinking I needed to replace the o-rings (it was something else after all). Anyway, I thought I would clean the injectors while I had them out and there was no visible sign that they needed to be cleaned. I feel confident that Top Tier fuel is worth it... but at the same time I haven't thoroughly tested anything else.

 

[Chris142]

I buy TT gas here for the same price as no name gas... 50 cents is too much

The no name gas is much cheaper here although the price spread has lessened lately. Cheapest no name is still under $4

 

[Zee09]

The no name gas is much cheaper here although the price spread has lessened lately. Cheapest no name is still under $4

Regular here is up from last week to $3.09 no name......... I can go into Pennsylvania as I do daily just up the road a few miles I can get Sunoco for $2.99 and ExxonMobil at $3.04

 

[rstcso]

Clark Howard wrote an article Buying Gas From a Station on This List Is Better for Your Car in regards to the study performed by AAA on non-TopTier vs TopTier fuels. AAA's testing showed engine deposits 19 times greater when using the non-TopTier compared to engines using TopTier fuel. Not 19%, but 19 times different. He links to a TopTier station finder.

Several of the TopTier stations around me are less expensive than non-TopTier, so it doesn't necessarily mean it will cost more.

 

[Hermann]

If you consider BP Invigorate as good as Top Tier, I have had good luck with their fuels.

 

[4WD]

We don’t see those kinds of spreads - the big names line up very close or the same - can be cheaper too … Chevron, Exxon, Mobil, or Shell go in mine … Most often Exxon - they sell allot so figure it’s fresh (and use tracers) …

 

[CKN]

I buy the cheapest gas I can find when I am towing. It's 10mpg. It's never hindered the trucks ability to go up 9,000 foot mountain passes.

 

[rstcso]

I used Shell V-Power Nitro+ premium exclusively in our Audi the first 30k miles, then switched to using Quik Trip's non-ethanol, 90 octane fuel. Both Shell and QT are TopTier certified, but my bet would be Shell has an even higher additive package.

Bought a Honda Pilot on Saturday and filled it with gas for the first time today. I went to QT and got regular 87 octane (up to 10% ethanol), but dumped in a bottle of Amsoil Upper Cylinder Lube before filling. Even with the cost of the fuel additive, I still saved close to $1/gallon over using the non-ethanol fuel.

 

[Sumboodie]

Didn't realize it was any different. I don't buy much gas though, almost everything I have is diesel.

 

[rstcso]

Didn't realize it was any different. I don't buy much gas though, almost everything I have is diesel.

There's TopTier diesel, too.

 

[BrendanC]

shell gasoline exclusively across my personal fleet. been that way since i started buying gas. if i can’t have shell, i go with chevron.

 

[TmanP]

No way I'd pay even close to 50c a gallon more for TT, though ours is generally within a nickel or so.

In much of the Midwest, our TT conundrum is more an issue of availability - for TT brands in town, we essentially just have QT and the odd Shell/Phillips 66/Cenex, plus Costco. Chevron is entirely absent.

Omaha/Des Moines/Lincoln/Kansas City for example, have loads of Casey's, Kum and Go, HyVee, Murphy, etc. Further north or east, you add Kwik Trip/Kwik Star (also not TT), Speedway, Circle K, and some more BP. (Minneapolis, Milwaukee, etc. have a similar situation.) I'd say this applies to large portions of the Midwest/Great Plains.

I certainly run TT sometimes but have really relaxed my standards after BP and Kwik Trip fell off the list. (That, and I got a tank of bad gas at a TT station known for its quality fuel - which made me preference busy non-TT stations like Casey's etc., when on road trips, over dodgy/deserted TT stations.)

 

[chemman]

76 is supposed to be Top Tier. They are listed as being Top Tier at www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/

 

[Ayrton]

I tend to only run Shell V-Power. I believe V-Power and the premium Exxon/Mobil offer is probably the best. V-Power has 2x the additives that the regular Shell has (which is itself Top Tier).

Exxon/Mobil use the same Infineum additives, so I believe their premium is equal and they tout the exact same benefits that V-Power touts.

Chevron I'm sure is the next best, but they don't tell us much or how much they are over gov / top tier levels.

Costco is also probably one of the best too, since it's always fresh and they add a bunch of lubrizol additive themselves right at the store. For regular 87 grade, I'm not sure anyone puts in as much as Costco.

76 does have a little more than top tier standard, 30 percent I believe, so you didn't pick something cheap when you went with that.

Thankfully I have a Shell that is about 1 mile out of the way, but has pricing within 10-15 cents of Costco, which is the cheapest in my area.

 

[JHZR2]

Just run a maintenance dose of additive when using lower end fuels..

 

[JeffKeryk]

AFAIK the only refinery around here is in Richmond. So I'm not sure how much different the gas can be.
My Tundra would love to see $4.09 rag.

 

[Sumboodie]

There's TopTier diesel, too.

I have diesel delivered, i have a 1,000 gallon tank at home. I work for a fuel and oil supplier