BJ's wholesale Gas

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/bjs-gas.226470/

 

no USA

 

actually the manual calls for "87 octane or better"

 

Cool story.

I'mma go with the sourced citations until sufficient data is presented showing otherwise. I mean the "random internet guy who may or may not have been somewhat involved somewhere in the processing chain" is great and all.

 

When I worked at a gas station (SLC, Utah area) in the 90s fuel came from the one of 2 refineries that I recall. Fuel was the same but top tier brands used a different additive/detergent mixture. So your not getting Techron unless you go to chevron, etc.

 

The 1GR can go almost 100,000 miles without changing the oil before the engine dies from sludging. The frame can rust out before that if you fall behind on washes and undercoating in the winter

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2008-tundra-1grfe-v6-engine-dead-at-98k.232540/ (see? I always cite my sources)

 

My dad always told me to spend my money on good food, and put the cheapest gas in your vehicle.

 

Correct, higher octane won’t hurt the engine, but it also won’t improve the performance either. If you want to pay more and get nothing in return than go for it. I mean guys, we’re talking about a Tacoma engine here. We bought it for it’s old school proven tech and reliability. It doesn’t need 93 octane gas.

 

Haha I’m calculating full price for the year. You’re calculated difference. My bad haha

 

When I worked at an Exxon in high school a grown man stopped in and said in all seriousness "My car runs on shell gas and I can't find a station around here, do you think I'll do much damage if I put enough Exxon to get me to a shell station?" I thought he was joking so I said "I'm not sure, let me call HQ" He responded with "ok, I'll wait". Went inside and checked out the Playboy that the mechanics left in the break room for a few minutes then knocked on his window and told him that it would be ok just this one time. He responded with a "thanks, give me $4 of Supremeium"

Seeing these gas threads like this always makes me smile.

 

Joke's on him because Toyota uses ExxonMobil fuel and oil at the highest levels of racing

 

The manual says 87 or higher. I use 91 ethanol free. Drives amazing.

 

Dealing with fuel contracts and fuel chemistry for years myself, he knows what he is talking about. A fluid ounce of auto parts store Techron (polyetheramine / PEA) per 10 gallons of no-name gasoline, instant top tier Chevron fuel.

Most of the correct information on the the internet is from random people that work in the industry, the rest is marketing wank and keyboard ninja's with nothing better to do. Occasionally you will find research papers posted, like the Toyota internal report on the development of 75W-85 low viscosity gear lube used in your rear diff.

 

https://toptiergas.com/FAQConsumer/

 

That website is run by The Savant Group. Their business is services to the fuel industry, among others. They invented Top Tier, and marketed it. The Savant Group builds the reputation by marketing Top Tier fuel branding. In return fuel companies pay them big money to approve their fuel as Top Tier, therefore buying into the marketing "license".

 

Sorry, this is mostly just kind of restating the obvious and not addressing the meat of the discussion, in that it's all the same, as has been claimed in this thread.

Are they advertising falsehoods? Are fuels with their license are the exact same as those without? Is the detergent effect non-existent?

In my area, the price between the two are the same or only a few cents difference. Given that factor, is there a compelling reason to not choose the Top Tier station?

 

For me and 400$ A Year, No

 

Exactly. But it gets even more complicated: some
Top tier brands only add extra cleaning detergents to their 93 octane, not the 87. And if 93 costs $.75 more than 87, you’re much better off just pouting in a $6 bottle of Chevron Techron every 4-6 fill ups. Techron does a better job too.

so that’s what I do: buy fuel from whoever, and have a six-pack of Techron on-hand to add occasionally. But keep in mind that our engines run the D4S self-cleaning system that sometimes switches to port injection to clean the valves. So it’s inherently going to run cleaner than many other GDI engines out there

 

They are fairly marketing top tier, it is better fuel; but, it's nothing magical. The additives have been proven effective, which is why they are used to meet the federal requirements.

The fuel sold in the local area likely all came from the same local fuel terminal, it all meets federal and state requirements. Top tier fuel is the exact same fuel from the same terminal as everybody else, plus additives to meet the top tier standards. Typically top tier fuel will costs you more at the pump due to the added expensive of the extra additives plus the marketing cost/value of it. Their material cost of the additives is likely less than a cent per gallon. If you can find top tier in your area for the same price, by all means, it's better for the same price - or less even if you have a Costco.

Some areas just don't have top tier fuel readily available, the price difference is ridicules, or you have to buy premium unnecessarily to get it. In such a case you can make your own top tier fuel, if you're so inclined. A 10 oz bottle of Techron will cost you $5 at Walmart. The approved detergent in Techron is PEA (polyetheramine). With the levels of PEA it contains, it works out to roughly 1 fluid ounce of Techron per 10 gallons of gas to increase the detergent level to that roughly of a top tier fuel. So, to make your own top tier fuel is roughly 5 cents per gallon. Other brands use PEA as well, Redline has the best concentration price ratio last I looked. I myself just put an ounce in the fuel tank at fill up, if I remember, or at home. It's personal preference to do a low dose all the time rather than a high dose at mile intervals.

No name fuel is fine. Bad fuel is not about cleaning additives or being top tier, it's about how well it's transported and stored. It all leaves the terminal at or exceeding specification. What the tanker moved last time, how well it was cleaned if at all. At the station, how clean the tanks are maintained, water ingress, biological growth, fuel age, etc... Lower cost fuel may come from lower overhead, or better profits on the hot dogs. In OP's case, saving 20 cents per gallon for presumably good fuel, and if so desired spending 5 cents per gallon for an top tier additive, seems like a win to me.