[aaaaaaaaaz]

Originally Posted by BeEmVee

Costco premium fuel killed my Porsche engine. Began to knock, lost power, and was terrible on fuel consumption. Never again. Shell, Chevron, Exxon only in my Bimmer.

lmao

[JMD]

Originally Posted by mraheemuddin

CostCo 93 is Top Tier gas. No issues!

I was going to mention something along your reply,...as what the OP should really want to know is which stations in his area (...or anywhere) serves "Top Tier Gas"!

I don't think "CostCo" has a refinery, therefore, the fuel they resell is purchased from a "Distributor",...which most likely is purchase from a "Wholesaler",...of which, buys from the Refinery.

[AGONXF30]

I have been using Costco Gas for over two decades and I have never had an issue. My oldest car using Costco gas is 20 years old.

[Scott Ayers]

As mentioned previously, all Costco fuel surpasses all Top Tier requirements. Even the diesel. Plus, Costco has its own proprietary blend of additives, after evaluation for several years, which are formulated to optimize operation on older port fuel injection as well as newer Direct Injection engines. Add to that the lower fuel prices at Costco, and there is no logic in using anything else.

[crabman]

I couldn't recall ever having read what the requirements are to become a top tier gas so I looked it up...cut and paste

All retail locations of the brand must retail the same quality of fuel

All grades of a brand’s fuel most be treated with a Top-Tier-approved additive package in the appropriate concentration

Fuel may not be treated with organometallic additives because of their potential toxicity

Retailers must prominently display Top Tier logos

...end cut and paste

So not a lot there: You need to dump their package in the truck, you only sell gas that includes the spec package, no organomettalics (lead, etc), and you have to put up a sign.

Conspicuously missing is why their particular package should cost more, but then I suppose it doesn't. Around here, you can only beat Costco tier one by going to the reservation to buy gas. Also tier 1 and they usually hold at a cent or two under Costco nowadays. No one else sells cheaper than those two.

A curiosity about that package, it's usually added when the truck fills, the driver swipes a card that tells the terminal what package to use and it's automatically injected into the stream during loading. A few outlets do their own and buy the gas naked, Costco is one of them.

Cant remember what car forum I was on when a driver explained how it was done, but yeah, it came up elsewhere at one point.

[tooloud10]

Originally Posted by crabman

I couldn't recall ever having read what the requirements are to become a top tier gas so I looked it up...cut and paste

Thanks, I’ve always chuckled at how so many people insist that “Top Tier” is much more than a successful marketing campaign.

The gas all comes from the same load racks. Sometimes they dump other stuff in with the gas and they charge a little more. Nobody has ever shown me any advantage to it.

[HappyDance]

Originally Posted by crabman

I couldn't recall ever having read what the requirements are to become a top tier gas so I looked it up...cut and paste

All retail locations of the brand must retail the same quality of fuel

All grades of a brand’s fuel most be treated with a Top-Tier-approved additive package in the appropriate concentration

Fuel may not be treated with organometallic additives because of their potential toxicity

Retailers must prominently display Top Tier logos

...end cut and paste

So not a lot there: You need to dump their package in the truck, you only sell gas that includes the spec package, no organomettalics (lead, etc), and you have to put up a sign.

Conspicuously missing is why their particular package should cost more, but then I suppose it doesn't. Around here, you can only beat Costco tier one by going to the reservation to buy gas. Also tier 1 and they usually hold at a cent or two under Costco nowadays. No one else sells cheaper than those two.

A curiosity about that package, it's usually added when the truck fills, the driver swipes a card that tells the terminal what package to use and it's automatically injected into the stream during loading. A few outlets do their own and buy the gas naked, Costco is one of them.

Cant remember what car forum I was on when a driver explained how it was done, but yeah, it came up elsewhere at one point.

You should check out Costco’s annual report here: https://investor.costco.com/financia...s/default.aspx

Search the word “gas” and you’ll learn just about all you’ll need to know about their gasoline sales strategy. In short; they sell gas with a low profit margin to bring people to the warehouse. Gasoline makes up a relatively small 13% of net sales, and unlike other gasoline suppliers, they are willing to keep prices low even if they have to record a YOY loss on their financial statements to the advantage of attracting customers to the warehouse to spend money on other items. Costco, in general, seems to get by on very small margins across the entire business because they generate such insane revenue.

[walketed]

Originally Posted by CMBX23

I'm curious if anyone has input regarding Costco or BJ's Gas. I'm hesitant to use it in my truck and haven't since I've owned it. I would like to if there were no ill effects, I've read a few posts a while back and there seemed to be mixed reviews. Does anyone have some experiences, good or bad about using this "Discount Gas". I'd still use 93 obviously but I've heard they use no detergents the way BP, or Mobil etc. does. I tend to lean to the Mobil stations as much as I can. What do you guys do?

I used Costo gas sometimes for 4 years without an issue.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by tooloud10

Thanks, I’ve always chuckled at how so many people insist that “Top Tier” is much more than a successful marketing campaign.

The gas all comes from the same load racks. Sometimes they dump other stuff in with the gas and they charge a little more. Nobody has ever shown me any advantage to it.

This discussion comes up every so often. There have been a number of studies that show the difference regarding top tier additive packages versus the EPA mandated minimum additives. I only use Top Tier but many seem to feel like you and not see an advantage to it. Everyone is free to choose what they are comfortable with.

[aaaaaaaaaz]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

This discussion comes up every so often. There have been a number of studies that show the difference regarding top tier additive packages versus the EPA mandated minimum additives. I only use Top Tier but many seem to feel like you and not see an advantage to it. Everyone is free to choose what they are comfortable with.

I doubt the difference is easily observable in most case for most folks who don’t have the equipment to look into the engine

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by aaaaaaaaaz

I doubt the difference is easily observable in most case for most folks who don’t have the equipment to look into the engine

Obviously, very, very few people take apart their engine to check for deposits. By "see" I didn't mean physically see in the engine.

[aaaaaaaaaz]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Obviously, very, very few people take apart their engine to check for deposits. By "see" I didn't mean physically see in the engine.

I know. I think most of us can’t feel it either - it is top tier vs epa minimum, not top tier vs no addictive.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by aaaaaaaaaz

I know. I think most of us can’t feel it either - it is top tier vs epa minimum, not top tier vs no addictive.

You won't feel difference between top tier and non-Top Tier in general. The purpose of the additives is to help keep the internals clean, not improve performance. Where you can feel it, and performance drops, is if you get a bunch of deposit buildup in your engine. That was the reason the Top Tier rating was created to begin with. Manufacturers noticed that with the EPA minimum additives (which actually reduced what most gas had at the time) the engines were developing problems with deposits that were causing them to run rough, fail emissions tests, lower fuel economy, etc.

[Gladiator1972]

Originally Posted by CMBX23

I'm curious if anyone has input regarding Costco or BJ's Gas. I'm hesitant to use it in my truck and haven't since I've owned it. I would like to if there were no ill effects, I've read a few posts a while back and there seemed to be mixed reviews. Does anyone have some experiences, good or bad about using this "Discount Gas". I'd still use 93 obviously but I've heard they use no detergents the way BP, or Mobil etc. does. I tend to lean to the Mobil stations as much as I can. What do you guys do?

The only thing I watch for at gas stations is if the gas is dispensing slowly, that means the tank is nearly empty and at the bottom of the underground gas tank is where all the dirty gas is.

[blockhead25]

Worked on advertising for a well known national gas retailer/refiner (though called different things in different parts of the country)

Top Tier is legit and does impact quality. We got a whole long lesson on the meaning and rules of it. At the time it was a competitive advantage for this retailer. Pretty stringent requirements to get the label and not just a marketing ploy. Where I live in socal, vast majority of retailers have the designation now.

I’ve used Costco gas, when convienant, for two cars and had them both for over 10 years with no problems whatsoever…though to be fair, my annual mileage is pretty low.