Top Tier Gasoline, New Study

Design

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Well... they are either on the list or they're not lol. I imagine Top Tier conducts their own quality checks in order to maintain the partnership they have enjoyed with many of the major manufacturers (Honda being one of them).

CN: Going with a "listed" retailer improves your chances exponentially.
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tcl

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https://media.ford.com/content/ford.../2017-ford-f150-more-torque-better-boost.html

looks like ford is switching all ecoboost to dual injection like Lexus, port and direct.

....
Adding port injection may help them with the valve deposit issues on their current ecoboost engines. The video below talks about the deposit problem and that Ford engineers found induction cleaning services performed to remove the deposits are destroying the turbos (starts at around 3:45 into the video). I'm still a little leery of pure DI.
 
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Gavnzdad

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Well... they are either on the list or they're not lol. I imagine Top Tier conducts their own quality checks in order to maintain the partnership they have enjoyed with many of the major manufacturers (Honda being one of them).

CN: Going with a "listed" retailer improves your chances exponentially.
Yes, and a big corporation would never post misleading results on the internet. :)

Don't you people know? If it's posted on the internet, it HAS to be true. I mean, come on, some of you people....:nono:
 

kirkhilles

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I just really don't like that its a whole gas-stations-have-to-pay-to-be-Top-Tier. Maybe its a non-profit organization, but I just don't get why the manufacturers couldn't just focus their efforts on increasing the detergent requirement, etc, etc for laws as opposed to creating this company. If it were just a standard, fine, but charging fees raises red flags for me. As far as I know, their thinking could be to basically get every gas station in America to start paying an annual fee. That'd be a HUGE easy annual revenue stream for them.

I'm not saying its a scam, but when money is involved, its really hard to trust them.

The real problem, though, for me is that we have a lot of off-brands around here. For instance, a local Raceway according to Gas Buddy is "Top Tier", but its not on the "official" list. Same too for High-Tech Gas.

Its too much of a PITA, kinda like Ethanol. I feel like we are getting played.
 

Design

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Oh there's definitely marketing hype here, no doubt. But the standard exists in the absence of government regulation. I for one am glad we have something, even if only 5% of it is there to benefit the consumer.

Adding port injection may help them with the valve deposit issues on their current ecoboost engines. The video below talks about the deposit problem and that Ford engineers found induction cleaning services performed to remove the deposits are destroying the turbos (starts at around 3:45 into the video). I'm still a little leery of pure DI.
That video is a bit outdated and really does "overblow" the problem of GDI. He has another video where he gets into the scavenging process and how accumulation can occur due to backward flow, which is accurate. And outlines the importance of valve timing in GDI.

What he's failing to acknowledge is that while Ford has no "approved" method on the books, basic methods such as atomizing a GDI cleaner or blasting the valves with media do work. These methods have worked on every other GDI platform on the road. And no, they won't overheat the turbo when done correctly. But the latter process is both complicated and expensive, and can really screw up the motor if done incorrectly. More importantly, what he doesn't acknowledge (which is why I question his knowledge on the subject) is the risk of carbon deposits fouling the OCRs.

The jury is still out on Honda's design. But as long as owners use a decent quality oil and fuel, and change out oil at the recommended intervals, I expect deposits will be less of an issue for the first 100K.
 
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reversals

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Oh there's definitely marketing hype here, no doubt. But the standard exists in the absence of government regulation. I for one am glad we have something, even if only 5% of it is there to benefit the consumer.
My thoughts exactly. Even in this minimum form of standard, we get a clearer picture of whats in the gas. Whether you agree with detergents as a whole is a different story.
 

anarchivist

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https://s3.amazonaws.com/associationcommunicationfiles/PDF/Fuel-Quality-Full-Report-FINAL-1.pdf

New study by AAA (link above)

Key Findings

  1. The test engine operated on a TOP TIER gasoline averaged 19 times fewer intake valve deposits than when it was operated on non- TOP TIER gasoline. (based on the ASTM D6201 test - TOP TIER gasoline averaged 34.1mg of deposits per intake valve versus non- TOP TIER average of 660.6mg)

  2. Based upon secondary research findings, long-term use of a gasoline without an enhanced additive package can lead to reductions in fuel economy of 2-4%, drivability issues, and increased emissions

  3. In most cases, carbon deposits can be reduced or removed from critical engine components1 by switching to a gasoline that meets TOP TIER standards.

  4. Approximately six in ten drivers (63%) believe there is a difference in the quality of gasoline sold by retailers, yet only (12%) of drivers purchase gasoline based upon its detergent additive package. The primary motivation for choosing a particular gas station is location / convenience (75%), followed closely by the price of the fuel (73%).

  5. Most TOP TIER gasolines do not cost significantly more than non-TOP TIER gasoline. The average price difference between the TOP TIER and non-TOP TIER brands surveyed was three cents per gallon over a 12-month period
Great info. I used Top Tier 9 out of 10 times on my old car, but with my X, every time. Costco for the win!
 

anarchivist

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This car only requires 87 octane, going higher will not hurt it, but is just a waste of money.
I use Costco which is all Top Tier. On my 12.7 gallon tank, and Costco only selling an 85 and 91 octane fuel, the difference in price to just put in 91 is fractional to me. I can afford the 60 plus total cents or so difference every 2 weeks.
 

Boz

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I use Costco which is all Top Tier. On my 12.7 gallon tank, and Costco only selling an 85 and 91 octane fuel, the difference in price to just put in 91 is fractional to me. I can afford the 60 plus total cents or so difference every 2 weeks.
I think the tank is specified at 12.4 gallons. But I know 13.4 gallons will fit if it is extremely empty to start and if you fill it slowly to fit in every last drop!
 

tacthecat

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I use Costco which is all Top Tier. On my 12.7 gallon tank, and Costco only selling an 85 and 91 octane fuel, the difference in price to just put in 91 is fractional to me. I can afford the 60 plus total cents or so difference every 2 weeks.
In Western MA 91 is 60 cents a gallon more than 87.
 


reversals

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I use Costco which is all Top Tier. On my 12.7 gallon tank, and Costco only selling an 85 and 91 octane fuel, the difference in price to just put in 91 is fractional to me. I can afford the 60 plus total cents or so difference every 2 weeks.
The car has no added benefit if you use a higher octane gasoline. I think thats what @WhatTheFun meant.
 

89AKurt

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I'm on a road trip, in North Dakota now. The pumps have Top Tier labels, never seen in AZ before.
 

creamofpayne

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Wow, I had no idea about Top Tier gas - knowing myself I'm not surprised though. Looks like my usual fill up at Fry's is not TT which is disappointing. Guess I'll be going back to Quik Trip or Costco from now on. Appreciate the heads up.
 

Civics4Ever

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I question the list of brands. I use Speedway gas most of the time. Marathon is the parent company. And looking at their website, it states their gas has up to 2x more detergents than recommend by the EPA. They are not on the list.
 

DarkTimber

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Costco for local. When traveling, it depends on the state. Quick Trip when East of Colorado.

In 1991, I moved to Colorado with my '84 CR-X MT. The 1.3 litre engine under performed when I put Conoco gas in it, so I stopped using Conoco gas. Is today's Conoco gas the same as the 1990's? No, not likely, but I still avoid Conoco gas.

For my small engine cars like my '84 CR-X MT and '98 Civic Hatch MT, Winter mix always under performs the Summer mix. It is wasteful we change mix due to season. It has not been proven to help and former Oil company chemical engineers dispute their benefits. It just costs us more money, especially when refineries shutdown to change over. Different mixes in different states is also inefficient.

I use the lowest octane which at Costco is 85.

Once a year, I put BG 44K into my fuel tank. It is a costly cleaner. Does it make a difference? Don't know, but my '98 Civic Hatch MT @175K & '02 Highlander @133K are still going strong.
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