Well, I'm now a happy owner of a new 2009 MCS, which I bought last week, and I've done a lot of research in this very helpful forum and elsewhere about the proper gasoline to use.

I'm determined to use at least 91 octane, and would prefer to use Top Tier, which the manual recommends, however there are no retailers in my area (upstate NY) that are Top Tier certified.

I have read many different suggestions of which brand of fuel to use, but I'm more interested in learning where I could find the information that specifies what additives and detergents major gasoline brands use so that I could make a better decision. For example, Mobil and Sunoco are the major brands in my area, but their web sites seem to only have generic information that say they add more detergents than necessary as specified by law.

My question is how much more? And how does it compare with the higher requirements of Top Tier certified gas?

 

I think there has to be some of these?
TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers:
QuikTrip
Chevron
Texaco
MFA Oil Co.
Conoco
Phillips 66
76
Entec Stations
Shell
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Turkey Hill Minit Markets
Mileage Stations
Chevron Canada
Shell Canada
Petro-Canada
Sunoco Canada

I only put 93 and 94 when I found it in Orange County, New York. Try a Google search in your area for gas stations. I use this from Motor Trend to find the lowest price on Top Teir gas:

http://www.motortrend.com/gas_prices...ork/index.html

Also check all the Stickies on the forums regarding fuel/gas/petrol.

 

the simple truth, is you can drive yourself silly trying to figure out what Brand/Octane gas to use. I think as long as you stick with 91 or higher you should be fine. Some other gases might clean or give you a slightly better MPG but the differences will be subtle if any. I don't buy into the Top Tier Gas retailers. My main issue with that "certification" is there is no organization that is conducting these tests. If there is, somebody please help me out. And yes, i've been to http://www.toptiergas.com. Show me on that site where I can find the organization behind it. Where is the contact info? Where is the testing guidelines, frequency...etc... there's nothing but a list of retailers and the certification Standards. What really bothers me is there is no contact info anywhere on that site. It surprises me that the webistes for the retailers on the list reference http://www.toptiergas.com.

Long story short.... 91 or higher.

 

Heh, interesting:

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I feel so inadequate as an IT professional. I didn't even think to do a domain lookup. :(

that is interesting... owned by GM.... makes me even more skeptical of the "list".

 

Actually there isn't any by me in Rochester, NY. I was more interested in finding out what additives and detergents each main local retailer had, and how it compared with Top Tier.

Barring that, I'll just try out various 91 octanes from different retailers and see if I notice any real difference.

 

It doesn't bug me going from the Top Tier list even if it is owned by GM, etc. There are plenty of Shell stations around and it's not like gas costs a lot more there.

 

Wow there is not any in your area, Sure Sunoco 93 is fine. If your really that concerned try asking Sunoco for their MSDS materials online, Kwik Fill and Gulf had theirs online, but you gotta request Sunocos. And Gulf and Kwik Fill listed the chemicals, detergents, etc of the fuels. The next part now would be to determine the criteria that Top Tier uses. But again, Sunoco 93 for the sake of simplicity. Also, just found out the 100 octane that 76 sells in CA is actually Sunoco?

 

so I filled up my new Mini yesterday for the first time... I'm pretty sure the dealer had regular gas in it. I have a Shell conveniently located on my way home and they have a "Shell Saver" card you can get. No cost, and thru june you get 5 cents off each gallon. I filled up on 93 octane. Within the 10 miles it takes me to get home, I truly noticed a difference. throttle response was quicker and smoother and idoling was smoother as well. One of the things bugging me about my Mini was when I accelerated from a stop, the reponse on the throttle was a bit sluggish. that is not an issue now. I usually use Quik Trip becuase they are the cheapest in my area. i will go back to them once the 5 cent deal ends. I'll let you know if there is any difference in Premium between the two.

 

I filled up at a Shell yesterday and when I was selecting which grade it said $.05 off V+ or whatever the 93 is called. Cool.

Also, I had a Discover card that I had converted to a Discover Open Road card, which basically gives you 5% back on all gas purchases. Figured I'd pass it on.

 

Thanks a lot for your advice, I'll check out the MSDS materials. I didn't realize that was the document to check.

As for what Top Tier uses, I know in the manual (don't have it in front of me), it states the composition of additives to strive for, and provides Top Tier as a suggestion for an easy alternative.

 

"Top Tier" is marketing hype.
I've used many different brands and have never had a problem. (168k miles)

Jim

 

I noticed something when I moved back from PA back to CA.
When I first arrived to PA my pinging went away about a few weeks into it. I thought it was maybe the cold air and that 93 octane might of contributed. In PA I used Shell 93, Sunoco 93/94, and Texaco 93 in that order. When I moved back to CA and put 91 again after only a few days my ping came back again, and has not gone away, even though I use Shell and Chevron 91 in CA.

If someone that has been using 93 consistently for at least several months, try puting 91 for a few weeks to see what happens. I want to see if it is the same results as me. Any Volunteers?

 

When I was in Virginia, I used a variety of brands, but it was always 93. After being transferred to California, I've used Shell pretty much exclusively, but obviously 91 is the best I can get here (without going to the 100-octane stuff).

I never had any problems after switching to Shell 91, but then again, I don't have a 16% supercharger pulley and a 2% crank pulley, either.

 

Sorry thats my old sig, but I left it in place in memory of past MCS, Sheila...RIP. Mostly stock JCW GP kit now. ITG filter, Redline fluids, RMW tune, Hawk HPS + pads and thats it. I'll try Shell exclusivly, see if it gets better.