willem wallace

I posted in Tech as I felt that this question would be better addressed by people who see the disassembled components of an engine. I have just been fortunate enough to be able to purchase a 2012 LS3 Grand Sport, 5000 mile, one owner car. I keep my cars, if I like them, a long time. That being said, my question is regarding Top Tier fuel. I live in an area where the fuel is available, but presents a slight inconvenience to get to the station that sells it. That, coupled with the added cost of the fuel leads me to my question. Does the use of Top Tier fuels make a significant difference in an engines life and performance over the course of 100,000 miles. Would a better or as effective approach be to add a fuel cleaning additive such as Techron on a regular basis in conjunction with more convenient, close by, high octane fuel?

Unreal

IMO, all fuel is fine. Just run premium, and add a bottle of techron every oil change or so. I've never cared about where I get gas.

KENS80V

The problem is not in the engines life but the fuel level sensors life. It has been reported many times on here that running non top tier fuel can lead to contamination of the fuel level sensors. Adding Techron would help but in my opinion is a band-aid solution. The cost of dropping the tanks to change out the fuel level sensors can be well over $1000 depending where you take it. There are many many posts on this forum about the problem.

The non top tier fuels contain higher levels of sulfur contaminants and leave deposits on the fuel sensors critical surfaces. There is even a GM Tech bulletin out on the problem.

acheman8

This blanket statement with no qualifications is simply not correct. What makes a Top Tier fuel a Top Tier fuel is the additive, and ONLY the additive.

All base gasoline product refined and sold in the US has to meet sulfur specs (as well as other contaminants) as outlined in the code of federal regulations, part 80. The base gasoline can come from ANY refiner that meets those EPA specifications

No retail outlet such as Exxon, Mobil, Chevron or Shell gets 100%l of their gasoline from one of their own company refineries. ALL of that branded gasoline DOES, however, get the proprietary additive package (typically at the distribution terminal) that differentiates those brands from each other.

So to answer your question, I think you would be just fine if you filled up anywhere that is convenient, using the proper octane of course, and dump an occasional bottle of Techron in the tank.

Now, having said all that, I'm surprised you can't fine a Top Tier retailer in your area. There are a surprising number of outlets that meet Top Tier specs. Click below for a list...

http://www.toptiergas.com/media/TOP_...te_SXOOBEs.pdf

KENS80V

It's the additives in "top tier fuel" that help remove the sulfur and other deposits. I misspoke in saying that non tier gas has more sulfur. All the major auto manufactures recommend using top tier rated fuel including BMW, M-Benz, Audi, GM, Honda and Toyota.

Use a bottle of techron once in awhile or use top tier rated fuel. Whatever floats your boat!

The important point is the use of non top tier fuel could be problematic to the fuel level sensors without an additive.

Personally, I'd rather have the benefits of the detergents used continually in my fuel supply rather than in higher doses on an occasional use.

acheman8

Agreed!

Gearhead Jim

Forum member "LDB" is a retired oil company engineer, he says that using Top Tier fuel will definitely keep the interior of the engine cleaner over the long run. Using a non-Top Tier fuel will result in more internal deposits, but how much will depend on the qualities of the brand you use, they all claim to be great but talk is cheap.

He also said that adding a bottle of Techron or GM Fuel Treatment (same thing) occasionally will help clean up the engine somewhat but not do as good a job as staying with Top Tier. You can do an Advanced Search for his previous posts and learn a lot about gasoline.

acheman8

Forum member acheman8 is a CURRENT oil company engineer with over 30 years experience in the downstream business.

GeneSch

Sounds like the best thing to do is to use a little bit of every ones fuel this way you never over dose on one additives..

What about E85? How are the flex fuels on the floats and sensors?

acheman8

All of the non-metallics in an E-85 engine are SUPPOSED to be compatible with ethanol. SUPPOSED to be. I'm not gonna vouch for the auto manufacturers...

Gearhead Jim

When you have some extra time, we'd appreciate it if you would do an Advanced Search under his name "LDB" and "gasoline", read his more recent posts (he's been posting for a long time), and tell us what you agree/disagree with.

Rick369

I have owned 2 C5's and 2 C6's. Have always used 93 octane top tier gasoline in all of them. Never had a fuel level sensor problem in any of them.

Where I live, my choices are Kwik Trip, Mobil, BP and Speedway. All but Speedway sell top tier gas. The price per gallon is exactly the same for all 4 brands in my area. I normally fill up at Kwik Trip because they are the only brand in my area that has "Top Tier Gasoline Guaranteed" on their pumps. I will occasionally fill up with Mobil.

CriticalmassGT

And Costco actually has separate tanks of additive and they add it when the tanker comes to fill the fuel tanks.

And yeah, it's worth it, especially when you combine the top tier fuel (QT is also top tier and both Costco and QT aren't much more expensive than non-top-tier stations). with an oil that has a good additive pack with detergents and friction modifiers.

Last time I looked BP was not on the top tier list anymore.

Gearhead Jim

As of 5 minutes ago, BP is on the Top Tier list. For some reason, they list all three grades separately instead of just saying "BP".

For many years BP said that their Premium met the TT specs but not their Regular; the TT organization requires that all grades sold at all stations must meet the spec and so BP wasn't on the list..

AORoads

Since you're a current engineer with an oil company, I wonder if you could answer a couple of questions. What is the occasional time period to use a bottle of Techron along with Top Tier gas---every three fill ups, every oil change (5K miles, typically), etc.?

And last, have you tested/torn down engines in the lab to see the effects of no-Techron used, Techron used every three fill ups, etc.? Maybe there is some other method to test engines without a full tear-down. Thanks for the info.

Gearhead Jim

He seems to be saying that you can skip buying Top Tier gas, and just dump in a bottle of Techron occasionally.

I wonder what his recommended interval is, and if he is indeed saying that an occasional bottle of Techron is an adequate substitute for Top Tier.

cb1980

maybe it is just Techron trying to sell their product but on the bottle it says every 1000 miles for best performance or something to that effect. I just added a bottle in my new to me C6 and will probably go with that interval of 1 bottle every 1000 miles

AORoads

I wouldn't do it every 1,000 miles.

See here: "...To keep the entire fuel system clean, use TECHRON Concentrate Plus every 3,000 miles or at scheduled oil change intervals, not to exceed twice per oil change.

That is from Chevron's own page, under subtitle "Applications." See for yourself.

http://www.chevronlubricants.com/en_...l#.WNkCY_nyvIU

acheman8

I would say EITHER use Top Tier fuel, OR add a bottle of Techron every oil change. Doing both is not necessary.

John Harry

There are two Techron products - Fuel Injector Cleaner to be used every 1000 miles, and Concentrate Plus to be used every 3000 miles. You want the latter.