[13BlackCamaroSS]

I use Sam's club gas in all my vehicles and never a problem. Their regular 87 isn't that much cheaper then other stations but their premium 93 is always minimum .40 cheaper.

[S2K+1LE]

Originally Posted by wavsine

In an attempt to diffuse your paranoia, it was not the oil companies that came up with top tier gas standards. It was a consortium of BMW, GM, Honda and Toyota.

AAA has done independent testing of TTG and even the Society of Automotive Engineers endorse it.

“AAA was surprised to learn the extent to which detergent additives impact gasoline quality,” revealed John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair. “As advertised, tested TOP TIER gasolines kept engines remarkably cleaner than other fuels we tested.”

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2016/07/aaa...created-equal/

While it is true that fuel never washes over the valves of a DI engine, both Ford and GM employ valve reversion schemas. In addition, injectors can clog much more quickly than you stated. Finally, many top tier gas retailers are selling fuel for about the same price as non top tier.

Burn whatever you want in your $40-50,000 muscle car but please do your own research.

It's a trademark. It is a marketing exercise. That's all I'm saying. At no point did I state or even remotely imply that the oil companies came up with this, please don't confuse yourself.

No one is paranoid here, except maybe you? There's no need to go down that route and attack like that, the emotional attachment to a fuel testing trademark simply isn't worth it.

[00 Trans Ram]

Originally Posted by GelflingEssence

Sam's Club gas has pretty consistantly caused the check engine light to come on in my vehicles. No other ill effects other than that little light. Just to be safe I stay away from Sam's Club gas.

And, how do you know that it was "Sam's Club gas"? Please don't say something like "because I used it for a year, and my check engine light kept coming on". Without proper diagnostic from a mechanic, you may as well be saying, "eating margarine has pretty consistently made people get divorced".



Causation =/= correlation

[00 Trans Ram]

Originally Posted by dfwcowboy

https://s3.amazonaws.com/association...rt-FINAL-1.pdf

Good info!

So, according to the key findings, I can expect:

1) doesn't apply
2) an 2-4% increase in gas mileage, which gets me from 11.5mpg to 11.73mpg, a whopping .23mpg more! (note - 2-4% is a statistically insignificant margin and should be taken to mean that there is no difference)
3) I can just remove any bad stuff later by using the same chemicals occasionally.

In other words, most gas is the same, and you'll never know the difference. (just don't fill up from "Billy-Bob's Gas Mart" that has 1 pump and is in a town of 34.)

[00 Trans Ram]

Wait a sec.

Shell and Valero is listed as a TOP TIER TM gasoline. And my local Sam's gets their gas from either Shell or Valero.

[dfwcowboy]

Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram

Good info!

So, according to the key findings, I can expect:

1) doesn't apply
2) an 2-4% increase in gas mileage, which gets me from 11.5mpg to 11.73mpg, a whopping .23mpg more! (note - 2-4% is a statistically insignificant margin and should be taken to mean that there is no difference)
3) I can just remove any bad stuff later by using the same chemicals occasionally.

In other words, most gas is the same, and you'll never know the difference. (just don't fill up from "Billy-Bob's Gas Mart" that has 1 pump and is in a town of 34.)

I'm not convinced #3 is just that great of a plan unless you want all the "bad stuff" washing downstream into your injectors all at once. Assuming there is a benefit, which at least for some engines is a safe assumption, I suspect there is some kind of interval by which you can run high detergent gas occassionally or use fuel additives for the same benefit. I have no idea what that might be. Maybe it's every other tank and maybe it's one tank per year. Personally I'd just as soon take the guesswork out of it. As someone else said. Do your own research and make your own choices. I'm not convinced either way, but if I must err, doing so on the side of caution seems to have merit, especially when the cost is virtually nothing.

[dfwcowboy]

Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram

Wait a sec.

Shell and Valero is listed as a TOP TIER TM gasoline. And my local Sam's gets their gas from either Shell or Valero.

Gas comes from a limited number of fuel terminals. Some places only have one so this means everyone is getting the same base product. This doesn't mean everyone is getting the same additives. It's possible the same truck is filling up Sam's and the Shell station and the additives are the same. It's also possible different detergent packages are going to each vendor.

[Frankie18SS]

FWIW, I have a CTS with a 3.6 DI that threw an engine light at 40,000 miles or so. Found that it was a clogged injector. System was cleaned out and it was recommended to me by the dealership that I only use Top Tier because the direct injection engines are more susceptible to issues caused by gas.

I know marketing obviously plays a part of every single thing we buy or use but my car did exactly what they said it would do if you don't use the gas with these certain additives. I stick with Top Tier religiously now in all my vehicles. The 3.6 now has a little over 100K on it with zero issues since.

[wavsine]

Originally Posted by Frankie18SS

FWIW, I have a CTS with a 3.6 DI that threw an engine light at 40,000 miles or so. Found that it was a clogged injector.

Bingo. And that's why BMW, GM, Honda and Toyota got together and implemented an enhanced additive package. And just because an engine is direct injected does not mean it will not benefit from TTG.

I do not understand why some people will spend 50k on a muscle car and run crap gas. You don't always have to go to a major oil company like Shell to get TTG. Around DFW, QT is a discount station and they sell TTG.

CR also recommends TTG. They don't accept money for their reviews so I don't think marketing or trademarks motivates them:

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...h-extra-price/

[S2K+1LE]

Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram

Wait a sec.

Shell and Valero is listed as a TOP TIER TM gasoline. And my local Sam's gets their gas from either Shell or Valero.

Yeah, you're onto something here.

I mean does anyone believe KwikTrip has their own refineries?!

[dfwcowboy]

Originally Posted by S2K+1LE

Yeah, you're onto something here.

I mean does anyone believe KwikTrip has their own refineries?!

It wouldn't really matter if they did. There's no significant differences in the way Shell refines their fuel compared to anyone else. The differences are with the fuel additives which can and do vary from one vendor to the next, which is why Top Tier only addresses the additive packages used.



https://www.toptiergas.com/faqs/

[MidLife RS:)]

I use Sams gas in our 2 daily drivers. The SS only gets 93 octane top tier and Sams doesent have 93 in our area.

[GelflingEssence]

Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram

And, how do you know that it was "Sam's Club gas"?

Cause and effect.

Within a day of filling my vehicle with Sam's Club gas the light would come on. A day after filling up some where else it would go off.

Also I could tell where my wife filled up her vehicle just based on weather on not the light was on.

[00 Trans Ram]

Originally Posted by GelflingEssence

Cause and effect.

Within a day of filling my vehicle with Sam's Club gas the light would come on. A day after filling up some where else it would go off.

Also I could tell where my wife filled up her vehicle just based on weather on not the light was on.

Well then, you and your wife better stay away from margarine!