Probably not poor quality, but I thought it was on the list a some point.

 

Gulf is not on the top tier list. The Gulf stations near me cheaper but charges 10 cents more if you charge your gas vs Shell which does not. I signed up for Shell Rewards and get 5 cents off a gallon. I get another 5% off on my Charge card so the Shell gas which is labeled "exceeds" top tier requirements is cheaper.

 

Little known, but long standing fact: for many years now.. different major oil brands, which have different levels of infrastructure and distribution facilities in local locations, have routinely traded bulk fuel with each other. This is how they quickly and easily load balance supply and demand within a local area for the brands pumps.

In other words (picking two random major brands for discussion.. not fact that they are trading in any given location) it would not be uncommon for Texaco trucks to be filling from non-Texaco localized fuel distribution centers.

And... non oil company brands, like Costco for example, come from local fuel distribution centers of one of the major name brands.

So.. the importance for us as owners is to know if a fuel is top-tier when we pump it into our vehicles or not. Brand does not really matter.

 

Little known, but long standing fact: for many years now.. different major oil brands, which have different levels of infrastructure and distribution facilities in local locations, have routinely traded bulk fuel with each other. This is how they quickly and easily load balance supply and demand within a local area for the brands pumps.

In other words (picking two random major brands for discussion.. not fact that they are trading in any given location) it would not be uncommon for Texaco trucks to be filling from non-Texaco localized fuel distribution centers.

And... non oil company brands, like Costco for example, come from local fuel distribution centers of one of the major name brands.

So.. the importance for us as owners is to know if a fuel is top-tier when we pump it into our vehicles or not. Brand does not really matter.

Before retiring, I worked for an environmental agency inspecting bulk fuel terminals for issued air quality permits. The way it works is that most terminals do not represent a brand of gasoline. Trucks loading fuel for Shell, Exxon, Citgo, etc. load the generic USEPA-approved fuel, and at the loadout, proprietary additives for each brand are added which distinguish one tanker load from another. That's it!

 

I always thought that gasoline is judged by the quality of the detergents added and otherwise, the gas is basically the same since companies share it around with each other.

 

There is nuance in their formulations besides detergent additives.. but yeah.. essentially I agree with you and there is not that much difference at all between different major brands tier 1 formulations. But I also think most of the nuance is proprietary naming of ingredients not all that proprietary.... so more marketing than actual difference in chemistry.

I have never researched what the deal is with fuels that are less than tier 1.. but like all things selling at discount prices... they cut corners for cost.. so the devil is probably in the details somewhere.

 

One of the reasons that I own a Honda is because it runs fine on regular gas. Any regular gas.

If the car can detect and cope with a temperature swing from 20 degrees in winter to 87 in the summer, it can cope with a little variation in the gas.

I don’t worry about it being top tier or not, and it’s never been a problem. There’s no row of different company fuel distributors in Boston where the gas comes in. It’s one big industrial complex with about a zillion miles of pipe. Gas is gas with different additives. I would be more concerned about what’s in the tanks at the gas station then with whatever came out of the truck.

 

20 degrees in winter to 87 in the summer,

I wish I lived where you do. Try near 0 in the winter and 100 in the summer.

 

Gulf is not on the current list of top tier gasolines. Gulf is not the same company you remember from years ago. They've been bankrupt and bought and sold numerous times. Don't think that familiar looking sign is the same company.

 

Yep, I remember how big they were in the 80s. This Gulf station was an Exxon station three years ago.

 

If the fuel is certified top tier, it will say so on the pump

"All retail locations within the licensed country must meet the high standards of the TOP TIER™ program.

• All gasoline grades must be treated with an approved TOP TIER™ Detergent Gasoline additive at the correct concentration.
• The TOP TIER™ logo must be prominently displayed.
• TOP TIER™ licensed retailers agree to not use organometallic additives (such as MMT or Ferrocine)."

TOP TIER™ Gasoline Brands

toptiergas.com

 

If the fuel is certified top tier, it will say so on the pump

"All retail locations within the licensed country must meet the high standards of the TOP TIER™ program.

• All gasoline grades must be treated with an approved TOP TIER™ Detergent Gasoline additive at the correct concentration.
• The TOP TIER™ logo must be prominently displayed.
• TOP TIER™ licensed retailers agree to not use organometallic additives (such as MMT or Ferrocine)."

TOP TIER™ Gasoline Brands

toptiergas.com

I am confused here. Shell is listed as a Top Tier brand gasoline. Does this mean that ALL Shell fuel is Top Tier gas? I bought some Shell gas recently and looked for the decal on the pumps, but did not see one. So could it be that a Shell branded station can sell another company's product under the guise of selling the Shell product? I try to use the Top Tier gas as it is recommended by Honda. But it would be ridiculous to drive all over town looking for a station that sells Top Tier gas. I'm just curious here.

 

I almost went to a National station because I saw it was $0.2 cheaper, but I couldn't find a Top Tier logo anywhere and realized they are not on the official list! Have to be careful of cheap gas...

TOP TIER™ Gasoline Brands

toptiergas.com

 

TOP TIER™ Gasoline Brands

toptiergas.com

Holy crap you have plethora of fuel brands.

 

Gulf was one of the US "seven sisters" big oil company. Chevron bought them out in the 80s but sold the name off.

Near me their stations are taking over others and the charge a bit less.

The Honda manual recommends top tier for detergency and that an additive MMT is not allowed which can cause emission problems. Honda says MMT can void your emissions warranty.

 

Delete

 

mrtn, keep in mind the USA is a big country and some of these brands are regional. In fact even some of the larger brands are not available everywhere.

 

Yup, I know. Still it's a long list considering the majority never made to the list and big brands tend to gobble up smaller chains.

 

Being discussed on DriveAccord too:

Kroger gas in 10th Gen. Is it safe? Or should I only use...

I have a 1.5 liter sport and used Kroger’s Additech today because I had a ton of points. Was this a bad idea? Anyone use this stuff? What was your experience?

www.driveaccord.net

 

A couple of weeks ago all the Gulf stations around here became Marathon stations over night.
Marathon is Top Tier, so I guess they drained and refilled all the underground tanks in the dark.

 

... probably just dumped the appropriate amount of STP in there to make it Top Tier

 

As your vehicle gets older, 6+ years, the quality of gasoline will start to affect your O2 sensors. Wife's 2010 Accord was continually showing the P0420 code & CEL. Had been buying gas from local grocery store. Local mechanic said to try top tier gas. Ran 2 fuel / cat treatments through vehicle, then started using top tier fuel. P0420 code & CEL have not returned

 

I just looked at the Top Tier list for my area and Costco is not a listed top tier gas!

 

I looked at the list of retailers o the top tier site. Costco US, Canada and Mexico locations sell top tier fuel.

 

As long as the octane number is the same then there is no difference in quality . I had to meet Federal Standards

 

Federal standards refer to the octane rating, not the cleaners in the gas.

 

Sinclair... Wow, I haven't heard that brand for over 50 years on Long Island. As a kid, they occasionally gave put soap shaped like their logo dinosaur

 

Keep in mind the pandemic as well. Sunoco was on the list of Top Tier Gas in March, but I believe came off the list in April or May, apparently one of the was one of their cost saving measures when gas demand plummeted. I don't think they changed a thing about their gas, just stopped paying the marketing fee. And they still provide the same information about their gas on their site that they had before.

 

You will not notice any immediate difference, but over the years your engine will be better off....
Top Tier Gasoline Is Worth the Extra Price: Study Shows Top Tier Gasoline Worth the Extra Price

 

There are differences in gasoline quality. While the Gulf you may remember from a long time ago, like 1984 was a top tier, today it is only a marketing company. They sell rack gasoline, standard gasoline with minimal additive packages. While XOM or Shell or others load out from the same racks [distribution terminals], the additives are all different. I would find a top tier outlet and you will be better off in the long run. I worked for Chevron and we had top tier additives and especially in the premium fuels.

 

You can't go wrong with Shell, the BMW support fuel

 

The Shell pumps near me are labeled with the Top Tier Label that states all Shell fuels exceed too tier requirements.

Also Top Tier fuels can not contain the Octane booster MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl). I know in my Accord manual it states MMT can affect emissions systems and problems my not be covered by warranty. The Maganese is the cause of the problems.

Sign up for the Shell rewards program and you can save at least 5 cents a gallon.

 

1 tank of a non-tiered brand will not hurt anything.

 

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