So I’ve always been one to purchase top tier gasoline for our vehicles, but I recently started a new job that has a much longer commute and I’ll be putting a lot more miles on my vehicle (23 Camry 2.5). We are members of Sam’s Club and that is close to my new job so I’m wondering if I should start taking advantage of the lower gas prices there or if it would still be worth it to use top tier gasoline in my vehicle since I do plan on keeping it long-term.
Is top-tier gasoline still worth it?
- Thread starter gregk24
- Start date
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Do the math - can always catch FIC on sale - use before oil change …
I just bought Gumout @ two for $8 - felt it work …
I just bought Gumout @ two for $8 - felt it work …
dnewton3
Staff member
If you search "top tier" referring to gas, you'll get more than 10 pages of returns here on BITOG; discussing everything from availability, quality, value ROI, the new "+" standard, etc.
And yet you think yet another thread is going to definitively reveal an answer?
Want my opinion? I predict you'll not get a consensus after several pages of yet another Top Tier thread.
And yet you think yet another thread is going to definitively reveal an answer?
Want my opinion? I predict you'll not get a consensus after several pages of yet another Top Tier thread.
When at home I prefer to fill with Top Tier, but when it isn't in the cards it's not the end of the world.
My question is, if Sam's is anything like the Costco's I've seen, is it really worth the lower prices for those lines?
My question is, if Sam's is anything like the Costco's I've seen, is it really worth the lower prices for those lines?
The Xterra below has 425K miles running whatever gas it could find. I did pour a can of techron in on occasion - like once a year. Injectors have never been out. Fuel trims are perfect. It also has only had conventional / blend oil its whole life but that is another thread.
I would buy from the high volume cheap place if I were you.
I would buy from the high volume cheap place if I were you.
Sam's gas is generally OK. My daughter uses it for the same reason you state. I prefer Top Tier but don't have to go too far out of the way to get it. We do run Techron every 6K miles before oil changes, though as a preventive.
Is TT fuel worth it? Depends 
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Seriously, it has been debated to death and will come down to how much you believe in it's marketing, any scientific results, the planets aligning, or some voodoo black magic. Me personally, I've seen enough to determine it's beneficial to some degree, and use it whenever I can. It's also pretty easy to obtain as most stations close by are TT and compete on price all of the time.
Then, I have a Costco nearby, that I fuel up at the majority of the time. Lubrizol's new additive used in Kirkland Signature Top Tier + plus rated fuel is currently the only certified TT+ approved fuel. This has to meet a new test certification method for GDI engines along with the previous tests. It is advertised to have 5 times the detergent additive vs. minimum level in standard rated fuels. Sounds good to me. No more expensive than the others I can get and lines move quick so I'm not inconvenienced. Why not fuel up there? Plus, I can get a bazillion pack of toilet paper and a slice of pizza with a drink for cheap.
.Seriously, it has been debated to death and will come down to how much you believe in it's marketing, any scientific results, the planets aligning, or some voodoo black magic. Me personally, I've seen enough to determine it's beneficial to some degree, and use it whenever I can. It's also pretty easy to obtain as most stations close by are TT and compete on price all of the time.
Then, I have a Costco nearby, that I fuel up at the majority of the time. Lubrizol's new additive used in Kirkland Signature Top Tier + plus rated fuel is currently the only certified TT+ approved fuel. This has to meet a new test certification method for GDI engines along with the previous tests. It is advertised to have 5 times the detergent additive vs. minimum level in standard rated fuels. Sounds good to me. No more expensive than the others I can get and lines move quick so I'm not inconvenienced. Why not fuel up there? Plus, I can get a bazillion pack of toilet paper and a slice of pizza with a drink for cheap.
Obsession? on BITOG?? WTH ya talkin' about Willis
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I live about 2 miles from Costco and it's the cheapest place to fuel up near me by far, so it's a win-win - cheapest and it's top-tier.
There's like a million threads on this topic. I would think with over 9,000 posts you would learn how to use the search function by now....
There's like a million threads on this topic. I would think with over 9,000 posts you would learn how to use the search function by now....
IMO TopTier is an extortion campaign on oil companies and their distributors. It means there is a certain amount of detergent and a licensing fee has been paid to TT. It’s doesn’t mean there’s no detergent in non TT fuel. I don’t look for TT and I’ve only had one fuel pump failure and no injector failures in over 1M miles on my various cars, most of them non TT fuel.
Don't forget the retired guy's lunch special; Slice and a drink for less than 3 bucks. Win-win-win
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No need for the attitude
I agree that Costco is likely the best deal if there is one close and you don't mind the line. They don't need to make money selling gas, they make money selling memberships.
It always does surprise me that around the South at least most TT stations are the dingiest 3rd world enterprises you will find. So it has the TT aditive and who knows what else from there 30 YO tanks.
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- Messages
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Your on an obsessed forum so why would TT gasoline be any different
The bathrooms
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I see that one of the mods said the same thing, so.......something to be said about not cluttering the board with redundancy...especially with members that have been here for a while.
Our Costco is brand new, so it actually looks nice for now.
