Well it looks like BP has finally given up its stubborn resistance & has finally become a top tier fuel!!!! Top Tier Gasoline

 

Wonder which additive company funds the Top Tier web site? More additives == more profits & sales by ChemCo.
Note the mfg's that want Top Tier:
BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Audi

Among that crew, you don't see Ford, Honda, Nissan, any British, no Korean, and only one Japanese manufacturer. I'm not sure what that tells me.
The Cherman companies are Top Price sellers, and I'm a Ford Ranger S driver. Does that tell you I won't be likely to be visiting a "Top Tier" station soon? It should. Nothing against them, but I have a feeling they are a marketing tool for a large Chem Co. trying to get their 'mix' of additives rated as a requirement {or your warranty is void..?}.
tom

 

Before they became "Top Tier", Ford had long been promoting using BP.

As I understand it, "Top Tier" came about because the fuel quality, detergent additive level, ect, mandated by the EPA just wasn't cutting it, so the listed mfgrs banded together to set new min fuel standards, treat rate & deposit loading limits, that would eliminate most fuel system problems those mfgrs were then having, thus "Top Tier" came about.

Top Tier fuel has a good bit higher level of detergents, ect & those detergents must keep fuel system & engine deposits much lower than the min EPA LAC treat level.

To become a qualified Top Tier fuel, the marketer must demonstrate their ad pack & treat rate meets min deposit loading & that ad pack must be in All octane levels marketed.

Yah its also used as a marketing ploy too, but the fuel quality has improved & that's good for we consumers & our engines.

 

So now that BP is "top tier" will Ford quit promoting them...? Kind of reminds me of the API rating system for lubes and the 'trademark wars' on Mercon and what ever.
You may produce a lube or fluid that meets or exceeds API test XyZ and thus could be rated as Sx, or Mercon as the case may be, BUT you'd have to pay API to get their seal of approval. Per container/gallon/liter/pint/quart/whatever. Or a 'lump sum' fee.
You as a merchant are not allowed to put the API seal on the container without paying the fee. Is that a good thing? I don't know. Seems to me that if Conoco were selling oil that passed the API test, which they could state on the label, but they didn't have the 'seal', I would be tempted to buy their product because 1)Conoco has been around and 2) they won't stay in business if they start making oil out of recycled D-cell batteries and old truck tires.
Right this minute, I am changing oil in a very old lawnmower. I will use the SuperTech 30W oil sold by Wally world. It happens to have an API 'SN' designation, and is made ... well, I thought it was made in Ashland, OH, home of Marathon, but that may be the NAPA house brand. Either way, this one has the API seal, so I expect it to be adequate to meet an old mowers needs. Would I use it otherwise? Probably, unless something about it warned me off.
I kind of think "top tier" is the same thing, a labeling group that tries to specify market place standards, at some price. But what do I know?
tom

 

To each their own, I would rather use something that is an industry designation created by automakers and fuel companies over something that meets a government mandate. The difference is on one hand you have engineers who are better equipped to know what the requirements are, on the other hand you get government employees who make mandates without knowledge of manufacturing processes, physics, costs, or the conditions.

Top Tier standards were around before the current government mandates took effect, and in fact, there were some fuel companies that exceeded the current government mandates but were not considered Top Tier. Once the government mandates took effect, the non-Top Tier fuels lowered their standards to the government levels, so the only fuel that is better than the government mandates are Top Tier fuels.

 

Khan, I'd sooner the politicians would stick to what they know rather than making rules and regulations about things they don't have a clue about. Every time they 'do something' it affects something they didn't expect, and they have to 'do something else' to fix what they broke. Please please please go home and talk to your voters and quit passing bills. As a matter of fact, why not cancel a few the next time you come to Washington...
tom

 

Chevron, Texaco, Cal Tex already exceeded the Top Tier Min specs without having to change their fuel adpack recipe, before they became certified.

Seems to me the Govt/Industry combo turned out to be kind of a symbiotic relationship. Many fuel marketers were purely profit driven, without regard to quality, so overall fuel quality back in the day varied widely. Along came Congress giving the EPA Huge muscle to mandate minimum fuel quality, with focus being on reduction in emissions & maintaining fuel system & engine intake valve cleanliness, so that the emission system would maintain low emission levels. BUT some manufacturers found that the Min LAC detergent levels weren't good enough, because it didn't cover combustion chamber deposit loading & some of the LAC level fuel ad packs were found to be adding to the combustion chamber deposit loading. SO, those mfgrs got together & drew up their own Min levels of deposit loading, that also included combustion chamber loading & thus created the Top Tier licensing program.

It's really not a bad idea, as they require additional deposit control, that includes the Combustion Chamber, that the govt mandated min requirements don't.

So, Top Tier fuel marketers have something to beat their chest over, as their fuel ad pack not only has to have a controlled level of oxygenates to help control NOx & keep fuel injectors & intake valves clean, but it must also keep the combustion chamber & piston crowns clean. The min LAC level fuel ads didn't have a combustion chamber deposit loading level test requirement & a number of vehicle manufacturers customers began having combustion chamber deposit related problems, enough so, that they decided to do something about it & Top Tier was the result.

The detergent level of Top Tier fuel is several times the min LAC level & includes combustion chamber deposit level requirements, so when we use Top Tier fuel, we know that fuels ad pack & treat rate meets the min deposit loading spec called out in the Top Tier mandate & All octane levels marketed must have at least that level of the qualified ad pack for the one year license. Thus we can be more certain of the quality level of the fuel we buy from those fuel marketers.

Is it perfect, no, nothing is perfect, but this is a heck of a lot better that the pot luck we had back in the 90's & my Taurus & Ranger testified to that, as both suffered from fuel deposit loading problems, which took me about 2 years to sort out, by using different fuel brands while monitoring mpg & throttle response.

The Taurus throttle response over time became really sluggish, it just got to where it didn't want to "go at throttle up". The Ranger came to suffer from CCDI cold start up rattle. Finding a good ad pack fuel was the answer for me & then the best performing fuel was Texaco with its Clean System-3 ad pack. The second best performing was Chevron, with its Techrolene & I'd swap between those two fuels every 6 months, so that one fuels adpack could tidy up the other fuels deposits. Worked fine until Chevron came out with Techron, which was better than their Techrolene, then the Texaco/Chevron merger ended Texacos Clean System-3 adpack. After the Chevron/Texaco merger, both fuels were using Techron, so I began another search for the next best fuel as my other 6 month go to, in trying to keep the Taurus sluggish throttle response & Ranger CCDI at bay.

Turned out that when Top Tier fuels came along back in about 04, it sorta solved my search problem, as all of those fuels had to meet the combustion chamber deposit loading requirement, so I found that I could use any of the Top Tier fuels & I'd be ok. The only negative I've found is that the Govt mandated E-10 for my area, yields lower mpg!!!!

tomw, if you haven't already done it, click on the tabs at the top or bottom of the Top Tier page link I posted, to find the Top Tier deposit loading spec, licensing agreement, or the story behind why those mfgrs got together to create Top Tier, ect & it might help you feel a little more comfortable with the Top Tier idea.

 

Why have you directed this response at me? I thought I made myself very clear. I AM AGAINST ALL GOVERNMENT REGULATION unless such regulations are needed to protect the public. Fuel standards have nothing to do with public safety, therefore in my opinion, all fuel standards set by the government should be abolished. Let supply and demand, and the industry set the standards.

Top Tier is not a government regulation. It is a standard set by the industry itself based upon needs the industry was seeing. Many automakers were seeing failures in engine components which they determined was being caused by low quality fuels. So the automakers got in touch with several major oil companies to work out a solution. Top Tier is the solution they came up with. My earlier statements show, I am in favor of the industry coming up with the solutions. The government hasn't solved any problems, all they've done is LOWER the standards.

 

Still would never use bp fuel after they destroyed my fishing grounds in Venice louisiana. Hasent been the same since.

 

agree I stand in support of our brothers in the gulf destroyed by BP.
Use to buy their gas and use castrol in my cars. NO MORE

 

I don't buy BP here as it is priced higher. Significantly.

I have read about their Macondo and the mess, and there was a lot of interference by the government that delayed action that stopped the flow. There was a lot of speculation on what was broken and what was damaged, but in the end, the steps taken that stopped the flow were the ones that were prevented for many weeks from being even attempted.
I do not know if there was political power to be gained, but the 'government' sure did not help, and blocked local attempts, such as by Governor Jindal, to make the damage minimal. From ~600 miles away it seemed as if the Fed people wanted to run things, and did run roughshod over the locals, and the experts who have capped wells in the past.
This was a cluster-bleep that cost coast dwellers a lot, started by some bean counter who wanted to lower expenses. Seems they are still in court (9/13) arguing over who gave what order, and should it have been obeyed. From what I read, the crew was not monitoring pressures, did not keep track of their mud, and seemed to ignore some of the signs that things were not well. Sad sad sad. Made worse by FedGov.
tom

 

Then they came up with a so called brilliant way to get rid of the oil. Spray a chemical on the oil that makes it sink. Not an issue if you can't see it right?? Wrong. That's what screwed up our seafood industry. All the oil isn't gone. Is sitting on the fuking bottom!! I have friends who are shrimpers and crabbers that still get oil sludge on there gear till this day.

 

Agreed. BP has not made that situation right. I understand that accidents can happen, but BP was an accident waiting to happen, and is still an accident waiting to happen.