Top Tier Fuel - What exactly is it?

Rock62

Rock62

Well-Known Member
I've heard this term multiple times. Yet, I'm not clear as to what defines "Top Tier Fuel".

I know gasoline is made at refineries, piped to distribution centers and onto a mixer, then trucked to the local Go-Go Juice station.

The mixers is where all the additives are mixed. This separates Amoco, BP, Casey, QuickTrip........etc fuel. The basic gasoline is the same in all........

So, what makes a "Top Tier Fuel"? or is this all marketing foofoo dust.
 
Top tier is basically the major brands like shell, Irving, mobil, Sunoco etc. Even costco qualifies for top tier brand, but Cumberland Farms which is gulf does not.
You'll likely notice those bargain basement discount fuels are not top tier. I have always tried to use a top tier brand unless no choice. Shell, and Irving have been a couple favorites.
 
Hmmmm..... in this area you can't judge based on price.

There is a State Law keeping prices equal. In this town, every station is selling 87 -10% blend for $3.26/gal

So, Top Tier is defined by Brand Name. What a crock.
 
Rock62 said:
Hmmmm..... in this area you can't judge based on price.

There is a State Law keeping prices equal. In this town, every station is selling 87 -10% blend for $3.26/gal

So, Top Tier is defined by Brand Name. What a crock.
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Actually the top tier brands have more detergents than those margin basement places. I had a long discussion with a Quebec shell engineer back in the 90's on octane grades. The 87 grade from any manufacture can have a number of various additives that allow it to meet 87 while the premium grade is very strict what they are allowed to only use. I had a 440 modified trail sled I built. It was very fussy on fuel having higher compression, and porting. I use to go over to the airstrip every morning that was close to our motel to fill up on their av gas that these motorized hang gliders used. From what I saw were sonic brand fuel pumps.
 
Don Drake said:
Made gasoline for decades. Top tier is a fallacy.
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Not according to several studies that graded top tier gasolines. All of them claimed that top tier fuels produce less harmful carbon deposits in an engine due to having more detergents than non-top tier fuels.
 
do you think they sell top-tier fuel at this place in northern Arkansas on US-62

IMG_7187.JPG
 
This is my point buried in the question.

You can't determine who has "Top-Tier Fuel". Additionally, the consumer has no clue as to what defines "Top Tier Fuel" or what additives are in the stuff. Or the benefit of the additives.

I know Federal Law regulates the minimum standards for fuel. The EPA is tasked with testing.

I believe the phrase "Top Tier Fuel" is all marketing dirty speak to sell product.

I'm inclined to believe any fuel (87 octane, 10% ethanol) is suitable. I ran a tank of 15% once, fuel mileage tanked, truck ran fine.
 
I know the feds have minimum standards for what must meet a certain fuel grade, or up to how much ethanol can be blended in the fuel for the region its being sold in, but to be a top tier I think its more about the addition of quality detergents, and how much is in a gallon of gas. I know shell has their infamous Vpower with nitrogen for their premium grade which has been tested showing less carbon deposits when run on it. I've used shell, or Irving mostly for decades in all my vehicles. Can't ever recall a fuel related issue.
 
Ok....allow me to pose another question related to additives.

I would assume the "quality detergents" cost more than "detergents".

Why would a company with intense focus on profits add costly ingredients in a cost driven, highly competitive market? Such practice would tend to reduce profit margins. There are many areas in the country with State driven cost controls on fuels. This squeezes the margins.

FWIW, I've used every brand of fuel over my years of driving from the cut-rate to the name brands......never had a fuel related problem. I began using the dreaded 10% ethanol back in the mid-70s in an ol' clapped out '63 Buick. Not one issue related to fuel.

So what are these "quality detergents"? What does adding N2 to the fuel do for the engine? Its already ingesting nearly 80% N2.

I'm still inclined to marketing double speak.

I have a feeling these "quality detergents" are highly guarded Brand recipe secrets. As a consumer, we may never know.
 
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Gasonline, heck the producers of all petroleum products trade crude and refined products regularly. Let's say refiner A has a tanker delayed. They call refiner B and "borrow" what they need. Somewhere down the road refiner B is short so refiner A pays them back.

It's the same with finished products like gasoline. Refiner A is short 87 octane because of a process problem. He calles Refiner B and borrows what he needs. Payback is the same.

Now most of the time you never see any sign, as a consumer, because the gasoline is pipelined from one refiner to another.

But sometimes you will see, as an example a Texaco tanker delivering to a Shell station. And often when you see a generic tanker making a delivery it is from a smaller independent refiner to a major brand station.
 
tacojoel said:
I know the feds have minimum standards for what must meet a certain fuel grade, or up to how much ethanol can be blended in the fuel for the region its being sold in, but to be a top tier I think its more about the addition of quality detergents, and how much is in a gallon of gas. I know shell has their infamous Vpower with nitrogen for their premium grade which has been tested showing less carbon deposits when run on it. I've used shell, or Irving mostly for decades in all my vehicles. Can't ever recall a fuel related issue.
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A little chemistry. Nitrogen is an inert gas. It does nothing to enhance combustion because it is inert. But it does increase the volume of the finished product. And since you brought up shell let me tell you a little story.

Shell, for years, hyped their gasoline as Shell with Platformate. Platforming is a process that uses a platinum based catalyst to alter the molecular structure of the gasoline thereby increasing the octane. Sounds great. Everyone else uses the same exact process. The call it reforming and the gasoline from the process is called reformate. Same exact stuff using the same exact catalyst from, you guessed it, the same exact manufacturers.
 
Yes, agreed. Base stock is the same. There are a limited number of refineries. The base stock gets comingled with other refineries.

The differentiation comes at the mixer blending the recipe for a brand.

My questions are focused the definition of a "Top Tier Fuel". Yeah, I know, probably spinning down a rabbit hole................

All in all, I'm doubtful if there is a nickels worth of difference between a "Top Tier Fuel" vs other fuel. Seems more like verbiage to push sales.
 
As to a definition, from post #12
"I believe the phrase "Top Tier Fuel" is all marketing dirty speak to sell product."

The majors all had their own special blends (the exact same ones as everyone else) for decades before Top Tier came around.

Heck I think they stole the whole idea from the military or who ever came up with the "tier one" stuff.
 
Thanks Don.

Pretty much what I was thinking. The phrase "Top Tier Fuel" is a marketing term.

So, I'll keep my ol' fill up process that I began using in late 70s. Fill with the cheap stuff. Makes no difference.
 
Rock62 said:
This is my point buried in the question.

You can't determine who has "Top-Tier Fuel". Additionally, the consumer has no clue as to what defines "Top Tier Fuel" or what additives are in the stuff. Or the benefit of the additives.

I know Federal Law regulates the minimum standards for fuel. The EPA is tasked with testing.

I believe the phrase "Top Tier Fuel" is all marketing dirty speak to sell product.

I'm inclined to believe any fuel (87 octane, 10% ethanol) is suitable. I ran a tank of 15% once, fuel mileage tanked, truck ran fine.
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Check the pump island before fill

There should be a sticker stuck indicating top-tier
 
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