Learn something new everyday! Top Tier Gas

[khp3655]

I poke around car forums quite a bit and have seen many debates about octane and gas, usually about trying to save money using 87 octane. In my Z4 s30, it is 90 or better, which usually means 91. I thought that was enough to be doing right by my engine.

Although I had seen it mentioned a couple of times over the years, I just learned that Top Tier Gas is a thing, and it sounds like using it makes a difference. A number of articles came out recently about an AAA study and showed just how much less carbon build up there was in engines that used Top Tier Gas. Now that I know where to look and the symbol to look for, much more Top Tier Gas in is my future.

Is the idea of using Top Tier Gas (vs just using the proper octane gas) well-known? As someone who enjoys cars, travel, and learning, I was genuinely surprised that I had not known about this standard before.

[jzeiler4]

I became aware of Top Tier gas twenty years ago when GM, BMW, Honda and Toyota collaborated on setting the new standard. It is the only gas I buy unless there is none available.

[ctcarbonari]

Full Disclosure - I only became aware about 3 years ago when I got my "new-to-me" bimmer and started looking into it. Before then, I ignorantly believed it was a myth and filled my tank with whatever was convienent (and usually cheap).

[DanG]

I have been using top tier for years.

[BlkGS]

Top tier gas just has extra cleaners than the minimum required by federal law. It's mainly a marketing gimmick, where you run the test everyone passes, and then pay the licensing fee.

You're not gonna get anything out of it more than you would by adding a bottle of techron or other PEA based cleaner in a tank once a year. You'll get no benefit from it in a Direct Injection motor.