I am almost through my first full tank of using a top tier gas re-fill. I think I notice a difference. The other week I mentioned to my wife that our V60 had what I considered a feeling of a small miss in the engine.

I'm also trying a bit of an experiment. In my area we only have grocery store gas stations and although they may have the detergent that satisfies the EPA they don't have the top Tier detergents as Top Tier stations. So I was in an area the other day and I tried Top Tier same octane as I normally use.

Just get a tanker driver to talk about this and he'll tell you that yes the gas may come out of the same storage supply but while the gas is pumped into his tanker truck there is also another hose supplying the required additives. It is those additives that make the difference between top Tier and non-Top Tier gas. My driving habits are terribly hard on the engine, short trips, tank of gas shows average MPH at 19-20. So I'm thinking that maybe a bit more detergent might be a good idea. My car isn't running the same as it did when I bought it in March 2019 (getting onto freeway I need more pedal). This is my first tank and I plan on filling up with Top tier gas and I'll see if there is a noticeable difference after several tanks used.


""Top Tier gasoline must contain more deposit-fighting detergents, it also must be sold at all of a fuel marketer’s stations and across all grades of its gasoline, from 87-octane regular to top-of-the-line premium. Additionally, to earn the seal of approval fuels cannot contain metallic additives, which are potentially harmful to automotive emissions-control systems."

Inquiring minds want to know why all we have are stations that are linked to food?

Tanker guy Billiy says --

"On the premesis of the loading rack are several large tanks which can contain everything from gasoline to additives, to which once the fuel starts flowing from the storage container, different additives can and do flow from the some of the tanks on the premesis. Yes the GAS may all be the same, however the additives and amounts can and do differ."

Hm????

"Chris Martin, a spokesman for Honda said “we’ve supported it [Top Tier gasoline] because we’ve seen a benefit from it for our consumers in the long run.” He also said the average driver doesn’t know about detergent additives, they just look for the cheapest gas available but “Top Tier fuel goes a step beyond that.”

“We don’t require that our vehicle owners use Top Tier gas” Martin said, but it helps “make sure the engines are going to last as long as they could.” This is obviously beneficial, especially since Honda drivers historically keep their cars for a long time.

Responding to questions via e-mail, Marie Valentine, the Senior Principle Engineer, Vehicle Regulation and Certification Engineering, Toyota Technical Center, said the amount of detergents in Top Tier gas is about twice what’s required by the EPA. However, it can vary depending “on the base gasoline and the chemistry of the detergent additive.

When asked about the price of Top Tier Valentine wrote, “Toyota does not comment on the true cost. However, generally there is no change between TTDG [Top Tier Detergent Gasoline] and normal LAC [Lowest Additive Concentration] gasoline,” good news for consumers wanting to keep their vehicles for many years.

Top Tier is all about keeping engines clean. As far as fuel economy is concerned, it should perform identically to gasoline with lower levels of detergent, so don’t expect a big efficiency boost.”

"Top Tier fuels feature more of these additives than regular gas. In 1995 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a minimum standard for gasoline additives. Since then, refiners and fuel blenders have actually reduced the amount of detergent they put in fuel by about 50 percent. In the long run this cutback has impacted the ability of vehicles to meet emission standards.

According to Bill Studzinski, Fuels Technical Specialist at General Motors, a number of OEMs saw this problem and got together to push for higher levels of detergency. He said Top Tier gasoline is a better fuel for engines, and that it takes the mystery out of what a good fuel is and what an average fuel is."

 

Okay, so what are "Top Tier" stations?

 

https://toptiergas.com/licensed-brands/

 

Oops sorry but no worries because MT6127 gave an answer.

 

I don't work in gasoline manufacturing but I have talked to some colleages over the years who did. What they tell me is the majors really try. They really do. They get a bunch of people to burn free gas and then they experiment on the cars to evaluate their additive packages. Lots of data. There are some tradeoffs between different additive packages, so it might make sense to mix it up a little with two majors.

 

Even though I may need to go 5 miles to get it, I am going to try and use Top Tier. I believe Consumer Reports has no reason to fudge the truth.

"The results showed that on average, Top Tier gasoline had 19 times fewer carbon deposits on injectors, intake valves, and in the combustion chamber when compared to regular gasoline.

AAA also found Top Tier gasoline can have a cleansing effect, reducing intake valve deposits by 45 to 72 percent when used over a 5,000-mile interval. Variation in the results is attributed to the detergents used by different brands.

Further, analyzing gas prices over a 12-month period found just a three cent price difference between non-Top Tier and Top Tier gasoline.

Bottom line: For the nominal investment, this study shows that motorists would benefit from using Top Tier gasoline as their primary fuel.

Given the technological trend toward more sophisticated engines, we think the EPA should consider raising the minimum detergent standards to ensure all drivers benefit from the type of performance and longevity promised by Top Tier fuels. "

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

 

Very useful discussion - I was unaware of the"Top Tier" initiative prior to reading this.

 

also check out Car and Driver - they just did a test comparing regular 87 to 93 octane in four different cars to show the difference in HP and economy. Interestingly, while most cars made more HP, it didn't show up in real world driving. 3 of 4 got slightly better highway MPGs (less than .5 mpg - not enough to offset the extra cost) and all were within .1 sec on acceleration runs (suggesting the octane comes into play for higher HP but not for added torque. The top tier discussion is really about the value of the additives and wether the detergent action is noticeable (yes per Consumers but after one tankful the peak benefit is gained so they suggest the optimal strategy would be to run a tank of 93 (ie top tier) 1 out of every 4 or 5 tankfuls...

 

So one tankful does a good enough cleaning? Out of all the many, many gas stations in my general area (city), there is not one top tier station near me so one tank out of every 4 would be easier for me to do. It is amazing how people treat their cars. I posted this top tier on a Facebook forum and one guy said, "even if top tier is 5 cents more a gallon, some of us can't afford it." I tried to explain that a ruined engine in the future will cost him a lot more than the extra 75 cents at a fill-up (.05*15 gallons). I don't think he understood the concept of a long term view.

 

I don't suppose we really know that. An occasional tank might be just as good as every tank, but I wouldn't know. The additive packages are really compared using the fuel consistently, and of course the tricky part of that evaluation is the carbon deposits. I am not really sure how easy that is to control. I suppose it's true that people don't talk about it much any more. Maybe things have improved.

 

Consumer's Reports did the research on the detergent benefits of premium which is where the "one tank" guideline came from. Obviously if you have a poorly maintained or worn engine with carbon build up, a tank of premium or a can of Techron won't clean that up...

 

It's an easy decision for me. My '15 V60 has only about 50K on the clock. I cover ~ 5K/year with 25+ o/a mpg = 200G. The cost difference doesn't matter

 

Your driving is about where I am except my MPG is lower and I bet my avg MPH is also lower.

 

I'm retired and plan my outings to consolidate trips where possible. My car often sits unused for 2-3 days. Highway driving is infrequent but probably accounts for 60+% of the total mileage. On the highway, I tend to drive at or a bit above the consensus speed - around here 75-80 mph. (I don't use a radar detector but have, for years, relied on a variant of the "80/20" rule - I pass 8 cars out of 10 and let 2 pass me. The first thing I do on start up is turn off the stop/start function.

 

I do start my car and drive it daily. I rarely get on the highway and 80% of my driving is city. when I do get on the highway just as you do, I drive a bit above the consensus speed - around here is 65 - 70.

We looked at a Volvo with the stop/start function and if we had bought the car, I would have turned it off at each start up. Because 80% of my driving is stop & go I'm not sold on the longevity of the starter that is constantly re-starting. Plus I am not so sure about the longevity of an engine that is constantly stopping and starting.

So because of my stop and go type of driving, never as they say....getting on the highway to blow out the crap, my thought is some extra detergent in the gas will help.