Question about top tier gas

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forcedtalon

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What is the deal with top tier gas?? Isnt what ever gas out there meets there spects is added weather the gas company likes it or not??
The reason I ask is BP ultimate or any BP product is not in the top tier group why is this?
I called the BP hot line and they said in order for a gas to be added in the top tier group the gas company must want to be a part of it and send them a sample to be tested. But why wouldnt BP want to be a part of the top tier group it is my question?
Also I heard not all BP ultimate is crystal clear threw out the country. Us here in chicago subs are lucky to still have it here.
 
Top tier is supposed to have more detergents and additives than required by law.

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

It is funny that Amoco (BP) fuel isn't top tier considering their long history of marketing as a "better" fuel.

I think the problem is that to meet top tier requirements, ALL fuels at ALL stations need to meet the requirements. And it must be logistically difficult to meet that requirement when you have thousands of locations all over.
 
I don't think logistics would be an issue for BP (2nd to XOM with respect to market capitalization for big petro). They got plenty of nice shiny fuel trucks to deliver gas to every station they have.

Just because BP doesn't have the TT certification, doesn't mean their gas wouldn't meet TT. I'm thinking part of the reason may be that BP doesn't think it's worth it to get their gas certified. Like you alluded to, after years of marketing campaigns, people already have the impression that BP gas is clean. A few years ago (before the BP/Amoco merger) Amoco's advertising touted the fact that more drivers think their fuel is the best, cleanest, etc.
Do people really care whether a gas is TT certified or not? Most people just go to the gas station that sells gas for the lowest price.

When BP feels they need to certify their gas they will and I'm sure they'll have no problem obtaining it. The TT certified companies (Shell, Chevron, etc.) obviously thought it was in their company's (and shareholder's) benefit to be TT certified so they did.

It's all about the Benjamins.
 
I am curious if BP(Amoco) has gone down a different path and their current strategy isn't compatible with Top Tier. From what I understand, Top Tier is geared toward cleaning. That is -- Top Tier requires detergents and cleaning agents. Chevron for example qualified for Top Tier without any modifications to their formulations. On the other hand, Amoco has historically used the strategy of preventing build-up, not cleaning it. The ultra clean fuel was sold as so clean that tarnish wouldn't form. They did not claim it would clean their competitors grime. So, I wonder if BP isn't Top Tier because they really don't have adequate detergents to clean their competitors grime. It makes some sense. They want you to use their fuel all the time instead of just once in while. You know, on cleaning day...
 
I saw in the link above that top tier gas must have a certain ethanol percentage. I like everything I read about the top tier gas requirements except the alcohol content. It's odd that Mobil also isn't on the list and I wonder why. That would be great if it is only because they don't want to use ethanol but I doubt it's that simple and nice.
 
I like the explanation that not getting "top tier" approval is because other stations don't believe it is worth the money.

We can all be assured that this is the correct answer. Why it isn't worth the money is another question.

I figure that if BP/Amoco is so certain of its high quality image that it doesn't need to spend money to get "top tier" approval, they problably figure they don't need to spend the money for the extra additives either.
 
JAG,

I have re-read the link several times now and am still confused. My interpretation of the link is that the ethanol is not required in the commercial fuel but is required in the base fuel to test the additive package. In that same section, there are several minimum values that I would think one would want to approach zero. For example, the base fuel in the same test also has minimum values for sulfur.

If anyone else can make sense of the link in this respect, I would be interested in their interpretation.
 
Just some food for thought: On BP's website, they claim that Aamoco Ultimate exceeds Top Tier standards. I didn't see any mention of whether their other grades do or not.
 
Don't forget, to be in the 'top tier' ALL your fuel [octane] grades need to meet the top tier spec, not just your premium.
 
GMorg,
This is what made me think that ethanol is required as part of the base fuel (let me know if I'm wrong):

"1.3.1.2 Base Fuel. The base fuel shall conform to ASTM D 4814 and shall contain commercial fuel grade ethanol conforming to ASTM D 4806. ..... The base fuel shall have the following specific properties after the addition of ethanol:

Contain enough denatured ethanol such that the actual ethanol content is no less than 8.0 and no more than 10.0 volume percent."
 
The candidate fuel sample for the test must be a blend fomulated for 10% ethanol.

In other words, the test fuel must meet the maximum deposit requirements using the worst case scenario, which is 10% ethanol.

The top tier brands, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, etc are supplied in many regions of the country as regular gasoline, with 0% ethanol.

US Gasoline Requirements Map
 
i use shell here for that same reason...shell only uses ethanol during nov-feb..thats it..conoco,use too but they got on the taxbreak band wagon so they and diamond shamrock,sinclair all use ethanol all year long...bp was pulled out of colorado
 
Top Tier is not the definitive standard on gasoline quality. Top Tier is about detergency and deposits. There's more to a good fuel than that.

FWIW, BP/Amoco advertises that their Ultimate 93 exceeds Top Tier standards. I suspect many other premium grades do as well. But the "certification" requires all grades to meet the standards.
 
To my Buckeye Buddies,

You mean there is no more SOHIO?
burnout.gif
 
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