Are you using Top Tier gasoline?

[Questor]

Ever since I learned about the Top Tier initiative for gasoline additives I buy my gas from Shell and Chevron, and other Top Tier merchants. Fuel costs about the same consistently but the stuff keeps the engine's top end cleaner. It's not just marketing, it's really better.

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

[Oldshooter]

A very respected mechanic in Beaumont told me that if your buying gas from wally-world or any of the "box" stores than you are no taking good care of your engine and if you are paying a few cents less by doing so you are getting less mileage and not getting the additives that your engine needs to keep it running good. I respect his opinion, but it is hard to pass up $2.30 cent gas for $2.40 cent gas that is better!

[dorothy daily]

in my part of north missouri all outlets,from wally world to other quick shop stores to the brand stations that are left get it from the same distributor and are visible from the road. it other words its all the same in this area.

[Oldshooter]

Dorothy, Here is a thought, from my experience in petroleum transportation the distributer may be the same but the tank that the fuel is coming from may be different. If the retailer is selling for less it may be that he is paying less. 

[Sourdough]

Here in the Interior of Alaska we only have one refinery, they make all the gas for all the different stations.  So Chevron gets the same as Wal-Mart, that gets the same as Safeway, that gets the same as Sourdough.  So up here is does not matter.

[Oldshooter]

Heck I dunno!       it may well vary from state to state but here its not the same, at least as far as I have seen. We used to move fuel by barge to Memphis, there were a total of 95 thousand barrels of gasoline on board in 4 different barges,  they all did not pump to the same shoretanks nor thru the same pipelines!

[torpedoman]

used to drive the gas tanker and trust me guys it is all the same out of the same tank at the tank farm and into the truck then you deliver until it is gone and go back for more.. Personally i compute my mileage at EVERY fill up and it varies but not from top name brand to safeway or wally world but by weather conditions mostly. cool damp weather is best.

[magooch]

I know for a fact that many of the different brands do come out of the same refineries, but the question is, do the different brands add their own additives after the fact?  And if so, do they really ad enough to make any difference and are they effective in the first place. 

I've been known to add some cleaner occasionally, but I'm not even sure it does any good, but it makes me feel better--sometimes.

[powderman]

I read that Marathon is the only co that uses only American oil, we buy from them. POWDERMAN. 

[slim rem 7]

 i guess its possible that tanks could have different gas in the same truck..
 i know the tanks are sectiioned ,,so the driver can controll the thing..at least thats what ive been told

[Graybeard]

I dunno what top tier gasoline is to be honest. I buy my gas primarily at one of two stations. One is to the east of me about 2.2 miles and the other to the west of me about 3 miles. The closest is a Chevron the other a Mavirix whatever the heck that is.

Which I buy at mostly depends on whether I turn right or left when I get to the highway which depends on where I'm going on that trip. Being the high mileage driver I am I average buying gas about once a month tho not all months as some times I don't drive enough to even need to buy gas.

[GatCat]

My understanding is that all gas comes from the same refineries. The "top tier" stations ( brand name, like Chevron, Shell ) then add thier additives, so they can legally advertise it as "with ---". How much they add, and if it really does any good, is questionable. I think the best bet is to use the cheapest fuel available, and now and then add a can of GOOD additive, like BG products, to keep injectors clean.
JMO
Mark

[williamlayton]

There are some wholesale suppliers that buy from a number of different sources.
It can be reclaimed fuel---they may even contract out to reclaim this fuel and sell it again on the market.
The fuel that comes from the refineries are additive free.
If Cheveron does not have arefinery in an area they have company stations in they will contract  with say--Shell--and buy fuel directly from them and ADD their own additives to that batch.
Shell add their additives as the tanker is being fueled.
Blessings

[greg916]

all gas is the same, the difference is the additives, or so I was told form a distributer here in NC

[ironglow]

  A different situation faced here..My county has 2 Indian reservations (soveriegn nations) where great quantities of gas & tobacco are sold. Being on a "soveriegn nation", most of those stations do not adhere to the state weights, measures and gas formula restrictions. I have stopped by a station to get my 2 gal can filled. I was getting ready to fill, when a lad came hustling out of the station saying, "we fill small cans at this other pump"..you figure why.
  One station has a brand name and the weights & measures stickers are in place, he's probably OK.
  A fellow who works for a cut rate distributor, stopped by my neighbor's trucking company because he used to work there. He had half a tank of Gasoline on board, heading back to the distributor. Neighbor said, "why didn't you sell the rest to another station"? He said, " all the stations on the reservation were full."
  My neighbor then says, "then why didn't you take it to O - - - - (a nearby sizeable town) and sell it there"?
  Driver replies; "Can't, doesn't meet the state standards"..

  Not condemning all reservation operators...just take it for what it's worth

[greg916]

Ironglow, I think the standards it doesn't meet are for tax purposes. Some of our owner operators tried reservation fuel to save money, only to find out that they don't get tax credit for this fuel. 

[Empty Quiver]

As I understand it Top Tier is a minimum standard of cleaning additives. Meaning that they are above what is state mandated, they take the additives to the next level. Presumably as good as the name brand fuel. I see the advertising at the "off" brand stations.

Fuel comes out of the pipeline as fuel only, as it is metered into the tank truck the additive package is blended in. Years ago I worked for a AMOCO jobber we bought all but the premium from a Shell pipeline. Premium at that time was 92 octane, the AMOCO ultimate was 93 octane and could only be found in AMOCO pipelines. The Shell pipe pretty well supplied every station in a 50 mile area regardless of brand. The additive pkg was different for everyone though, and was a big deal as far as loading was concerned. You couldn't get another brand of additive if you wanted it.

[Rustyinfla]

  I drove a tanker for two years. Here in Tampa at that time there were 5 terminals I could load at. One was only Citgo, one only Chevron, one had several brands the other two were unbranded. At the terminal that had different brands there were different injector lines going int the main feed line and you could hear them click at the additive was put in the gas at loading. Texaco was the odd man out. They did have their own tanks at the multi brand terminal and there was only certain lanes where their product could be loaded.

  As a general rule you could say that most gas is the same. The additives are what sets them apart.

[ironglow]

Ironglow, I think the standards it doesn't meet are for tax purposes. Some of our owner operators tried reservation fuel to save money, only to find out that they don't get tax credit for this fuel. 

  Could be Greg, the driver didn't explain further. Obviously the tax would be a big feature. In the people's Republik of NY there is nearly $.70 tax on each gallon. The reservation, no-name is perhaps 12 to 14 cents cheaper than brands off the reservation..big bucks being made there ..