Top Tier Gas

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Top Tier only for me. It's recommended in our VW owners manual, and the cost saving from using non Top Tier gasoline is negligible.
 
Originally Posted by gregk24
Top Tier only for me. It's recommended in our VW owners manual, and the cost saving from using non Top Tier gasoline is negligible.


No brainer for me …
The best price, most pumps, nicest restrooms//store, freshest fuel, all at our Exxon seller …
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Originally Posted by gregk24
Top Tier only for me. It's recommended in our VW owners manual, and the cost saving from using non Top Tier gasoline is negligible.


No brainer for me …
The best price, most pumps, nicest restrooms//store, freshest fuel, all at our Exxon seller …


Same here. Almost all the new 7-11s are either Mobil or Exxon. I also like their app, I can pay from my iPhone without ever pulling out my wallet. I do rarely get Sams gas if the price is too good to pass up and I'm at Sams. Other than that, it's 7-11 for ours.
 
Originally Posted by TmanP
It's usually the same price as non-TT here, so it's generally a no-brainer for me to use TT (e.g. Kwik Trip, Holiday, BP, Shell, Cenex) rather than EPA minimum brands (HyVee, Speedway, Casey's, etc). But if I'm traveling I don't lose any sleep over brands, and often will buy Pilot, Loves, etc. That said, I would pick a Shell or Mobil at the same price. And if I happened to see Pilot for $1.39 or Shell for $1.59, I'm getting the cheap stuff. But most of our brands are top tier anyway, so they don't command a price premium. It seems like a win-win to me.



Yup, same here. If im filling up for the week, its usually Valero or Exxon, both are convenient and TT so win win. If im going to be on I35 for hours or on the SH130 going 95+mph (85mph speed limit, open toll, WOT
thumbsup2.gif
) then the truck gets whatever is convenient at that point on the highway, usually in my experience is Loves, Buc-ees, Conoco, or Gulf.

I ran Racetrac fuel when I worked there years ago in my Ford Ranger and lawn equipment, hundreds of thousands of miles and hours using it, never a hiccup.


The only place Ive ever had an issue getting fuel from was from TA/Petro.

anyway, the only time I think I would EXCLUSIVELY go out of my way to get TT fuel would be if I owned a T-GDI again.
 
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Just wanted to add that "Top Tier" is a combination of marketing and research. It was really developed by automakers that were tired of customers coming back with warranty or other repairs due to various engine deposits and clogged fuel injectors.

However, at its core it doesn't really say much about the fuel. The fuel itself can be any commodity grade fuel meeting the octane rating requirements. Base fuel from a Shell refinery is no better or worse than from a Valero refinery, and in any case they're fungible commodities that are distributed as to save on transportation costs. Top Tier is a standard regarding the performance of the detergent additive. It does set a minimum performance for the detergent that is more stringent than the EPA minimum performance required by regulation.

If it doesn't cost you anything extra, then it's a good thing. However, I wouldn't really worry about occasionally filling up with some no-name fuel where it may be a generic EPA minimum level of detergent additive.
 
I have nothing against Top Tier gas myself. Price-wise, it's no different than other stations. My issue is finding it. Shell stations are the only place I can reliably get it. We don't have a Costco membership, plus the nearest one is 30+ minutes away in an area we have no need to go to, and the other stations that are supposed to be TT, don't have stickers on their pumps indicating it really is ("The TOP TIERâ„¢ logo must be prominently displayed").
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
I have nothing against Top Tier gas myself. Price-wise, it's no different than other stations. My issue is finding it. Shell stations are the only place I can reliably get it. We don't have a Costco membership, plus the nearest one is 30+ minutes away in an area we have no need to go to, and the other stations that are supposed to be TT, don't have stickers on their pumps indicating it really is ("The TOP TIERâ„¢ logo must be prominently displayed").

I've seen where it claims that on the Top Tier website, but I don't really see it with many of the common brands like Chevron and Shell. They do require that the proper level of additive be used in the fuel sold at all gas stations of a licensed brand. I have no doubt that they make sure that it happens.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
I have nothing against Top Tier gas myself. Price-wise, it's no different than other stations. My issue is finding it. Shell stations are the only place I can reliably get it. We don't have a Costco membership, plus the nearest one is 30+ minutes away in an area we have no need to go to, and the other stations that are supposed to be TT, don't have stickers on their pumps indicating it really is ("The TOP TIERâ„¢ logo must be prominently displayed").

I'm spoiled in our area. It's easier to find TT fuel than non-TT. We have a population of 9,000 but we have 9 TT stations in total (3 Shell, 2 BP, 2 Exxon, a Citgo, and a Marathon) and they all have the stickers or advertising indicating their TT status. We only have 4 non-TT stations and I'm surprised at how busy they are despite having lower quality fuel at the same price. I use the free Shell fuel rewards card so I get 5 cents off per gallon making it cheaper than non-TT fuel every time.
 
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