One caveat to Clark’s recent article on Top Tier gas…
The single most important criteria for being considered Top Tier gas is that you pay them a fee. No fee, no Top Tier label. Just because something is not labeled Top Tier does not mean it doesn’t meet (or beat) the standards required. There was a period when BP was not labeled as Top Tier just because they refused to pay for the label - their gas didn’t change.
Is there any way to determine that a gas station brand has the top tier additive package but has not paid the certification fee?
Unfortunately not that I’m aware of. I only really know about BP because they released a statement when they decided to stop paying for the Top Tier label. Apparently though, they’ve decided since that it was worth paying for (since they are listed again).
Ever since Clark said to only buy Top Tier gasoline, I’ve bought almost exclusively from Costco and QT. But, I have bought other brands from time to time bc it was convenient or while traveling. I would say 90% if my purchases are Top Tier. I don’t pay more for it as I can see since both have competitive prices. All gasoline comes from the same places. Some delivery trucks just pour the additives in while they are filling the trucks. Some truck farms have special pumps that put the additives in as they fill their trucks. But, all of the gasoline is basically from the same source.
Go to the Top Tier website.
That doesn’t answer p1g1’s question. Going to the website will tell you which brands DO pay for the “certification” but will not tell you which brands have equally good gas (with additives) but DO NOT pay for the Top Tier label.
I have not found brands that have equally good gasoline, but do not pay for the Top Tier label. The links below may be helpful to understand the issue. I buy gasoline from Sam’s Club, exclusively, and I have not seen the Top Tier label. I find it odd that Costco has Top Tier gasoline, but Sam’s does not. I use a bottle of high mileage Techron every 5000 miles (oil change). I drive a 2004 Tacoma, V-6.
I’m not sure of which brands right now but there were several years where BP fell into the category (Top Tier quality/additives without paying for the Top Tier label).
What I don’t see being asked is if there is a way to tell if a Top Tier gas label is fraudulent? I imagine you could go to the Top Tier website to find out but if that’s not an option are there other ways?
Fascinating topic. I researched “gasoline quality” on Consumer Reports and got a reference to a study from AAA titled" "AAA: Not all Gasoline is created equal by Ellen Edmonds dated 7/7/2016. Here’s the link: AAA: Not All Gasoline Created Equal – AAA Newsroom