04-21-2021, 01:28 PM | #1 |
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Top Tier Fuel vs. "Other" question
GM specifically recommends the use of Top Tier Detergent fuel which seems perfectly reasonable to me. The engine in my car is a Direct Injection motor and the higher / better quality detergents in the Top Tier fuel would seemingly help to keep it a bit on the cleaner side internally.
Most of the time, I am easily able to hit a Costco to fuel up and their Kirkland brand is a Top Tier fuel. Given that it's also generally the least expensive option for me, I have no issues at all regularly filling up there. My question is how much impact will using non-Top Tier fuel have? Are there any studies or reports that show the actual difference either in these engines or ones very similar to it. And what about more occasional use of non-Top Tier fuel? How much impact does that have? I'm interested in understanding this because occasionally it just isn't practical to be able to get to Costco and there is a BJ's that's MUCH closer to home with similarly lower costs for the fuel. This morning, for example, I was pretty much on fumes and headed entirely the opposite direction from Costco. So, stopping at BJ's made the most [financial] sense because any of the Top Tier stations in the area were at least $.40/gallon more expensive. If anyone has links to any reports or anything that has been done around this that would be relevant and useful (one common theme I keep saying is citing "19 times fewer deposits" which is a metric I call bullshit on - there's no way to measure that), I'd be curious to see them. |
04-21-2021, 01:36 PM | #2 |
Drives: 66 Chevelle SS Join Date: Mar 2013
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Be nice if gm would reveal what stations do NOT sell "top tier" fuel. Even Arco
is a top tier fuel which I'd suspect is what is sold at Costco.
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04-21-2021, 01:36 PM | #3 |
Drives: 2018 Camaro V6/RS Join Date: Nov 2018
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I've wondered and looked into this myself. Bottom line I don't think there will ever be a satisfactory answer. Personally, I run top tier fuel for peace of mind, since I will never truly know how much of a actual different it will make. And if it brings me a certain level of peace and happiness then it seems clear that's what I should do lol
Last edited by HCI2000SS; 04-21-2021 at 01:48 PM. |
04-21-2021, 01:37 PM | #4 |
Drives: 2016 1ss camaro Join Date: Feb 2016
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i only use shell v power and i use a lucas fuel treatment about every 3 months or so who knows if all that shit is actaully worth it but i dont drive my car much on streets mostly track use so
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04-21-2021, 01:57 PM | #5 | |
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04-21-2021, 02:01 PM | #6 | |
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- The current generation LT1 overall runs cleaner than previous iterations of the DI engines - Top Tier gas has better quality and concentration of detergents - DI engines tend to suffer from buildup on the back side of the valves which is what Top Tier gas is implied to help with, but gasoline never touches that area which is why the buildup occurs in the first place (it doesn't regularly get washed off).. So.. Huh? As I mentioned, generally regular use of Top Tier gas is ok by me because Costco is on that list and it's the cheapest fuel around (and relatively accessible for me). I'm just curious about the possible impacts of having to mix a tank in here and there from BJ's when I simply can't get to Costco... |
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04-21-2021, 02:23 PM | #7 |
Drives: 2024 Riverside Blue 2SS 1LE Join Date: Mar 2016
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I have been told in the past that all gas, diesel, and other fuel products are stuffed into a pipeline and when you purchase a "gas" product you get what comes out and there is no guarantee of where that gas was produced. I believe the definition of top tier is to purchase from a reputable dealer. So unless you live near a refinery you're getting what every they dump in the pipeline. Some upcharge for mixing in additives at the terminal before delivery but other than that it's all the same gas.
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04-21-2021, 02:27 PM | #8 |
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I know here on Long Island, all of the stations get refilled from the same distributor, so, brand be damned, they are all the same
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04-21-2021, 02:28 PM | #9 | |
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04-21-2021, 02:40 PM | #10 | |||
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The additives are added into the tanker at the point of fill at the refinery. Top tier companies each use their own proprietary blend of additives. Some non top tier stations use some additives and the El Cheapo stations use none. So Ember has the straight scoop for the what and how of top tier. Ember - I would say that the occasional use of non top tier is fine. Just keep using that Costco gas as much as possible.
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04-21-2021, 02:46 PM | #11 |
Drives: 2019 Camaro SS Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
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I dont know if it’s just a coincidence but the two times I was in a pinch and had to throw GetGo gas in my car I always had a loud tick on cold starts the next time I drove it. Almost like an injector was sticking or something. Never happened with BP, Shell, or Exxon gas.
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04-21-2021, 03:08 PM | #12 | |
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I'm kind of in that mindset that "occasional" should be fine. I guess what I'm really striving for is how to get to a reasonable definition of "occasional." My car has had a total of 254 gallons of fuel put into the tank. I can't account for the first 19 gallons because I don't know what the factory plus dealer put into the tank. Of the remaining 235 gallons, 54 gallons were from BJ's while all of the rest were from Top Tier stations (one Citgo for 15.5 gallons and the rest from Costco). My driving is predominantly around town with a few longer drives built in when I took the car to visit my parents. Am I already at the "occasional level" or am I using too much gas from BJ's so far? |
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04-21-2021, 03:13 PM | #13 | |
2020 Shadow Gray 2SS
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Throwing a bottle of Techron Fuel Cleaner in once in a while wouldn't hurt anything either... Remember the detergents in Top Tier do more than clean the valves (which in our engines never get sprayed on) they also keep your injectors and the rest of the fuel system clean as well...
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04-21-2021, 03:16 PM | #14 | |
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