I hope @SW20S responds. I'll probably steer clear of the brand of gas he used. If I understand the videos by the "Oil Guy" about oil dilution; he's saying gas with less than ideal additives leads to more fuel dilution in the oil, which leads to increased crankcase pressure. I have the M177X motor like what Steve had in his S560 and I want to minimize any chance of elevated crankcase pressure. I'm approaching a quarter tank and will fill up tonight or tomorrow. Just want to make the best decision moving forward.

 

I think the location is as important as the brand, probably more important. One of the reasons I fill up at Costco and or Safeway is because they sell a ton of gas and most of the time I see a distributor truck loading up their tanks frequently. This is an indication that the gas is probably pretty fresh from the refinery and because of the volumes sold, these places tend to take care of their equipment like tanks and pumps. I get very nervous filling up at some small town gas station with a handful of customers a day. The odds of water in the tank or some other contaminant along with stale gas goes up substantially with these little shops, especially when you are pumping premium gas.

 

Shell. No need to avoid Shell lol, Shell is widely regarded as one of the best fuels you can buy with the most robust additive package. My mechanic told me that the best thing we could do to avoid the issue I had was change the oil every 5k miles instead of 10k. He said the overpressure is caused by clogged oil separators. Mine were indeed clogged and replaced.

I don't use Costco, not that I wouldn't, I just don't want to stand in line for gas and there isn't a Costco around here that has a gas station.

 

Not exactly. He’s saying that fuel dilution at the top ring happens. Detergents help keep the injectors clean, which reduces dilution- but it still occurs.

The Shell additive package actually provides an additional amount of wear protection from the fuel - making up somewhat for the wear protection lost through fuel dilution (at the top ring).

 

This is very true; I always use Costco unless I am out of town in big cities and/or traveling, wherein Costco waiting time is crazy. In my town where I live I never have to wait so I always use Costco. When am out of town, I strictly (try) to go Shell or Chevron.

I only had a few cars that I kept/drove close or beyond the 100K mark with strictly Costco gas since the 2000s. I got close to 250K out of my Lexus LS430 (still excellent when sold), 100K miles from our next LX, more than 200K from our Honda Accord, 80K from our GL, 78K from our 1st S550/W222.. all if which were sold in excellent shape with no major engine issues during ownership. I still follow the same approach nowadays, but I no longer keep my cars long enough to test the theory beyond ~20K miles or 1 to 1.5 year for most of them (I used to add a bottle of Techron once per year, but not always and not for all of them).

 

Y’all do know Top Tier is only a retail marketing term that is Trade Marked by some smart sales guys. It has zero technical endorsement from SAE Society of Automotive Engineers nor from API American Petroleum Institute.

Check out TTs “approved brands”. Marketing genius! And, mechanics will love you.

You own the best car so why run anything but the best gas?

Top Tier. https://www.toptiergas.com/about-top-tier/#why

 

Chevron’s Techron and Shell’s V-Power Nitro+ detergents have been proven very effective.

 

I much prefer Premium Ethanol Free since I do not fill up much once every 4-6 weeks.
ANy name brand gas station works for me be it texaco, shell Chevron etc.

If I cannot find any of these name brands then I will dump a bottle of Techron or similar in tank once in a while.
but I really prefer Ethanol for piece of mind and a longer lasting fuel system.

 

Agree with ethanol free. Back east we had to go to PA for it, but now a local station has it. Out west it's pretty easy to find, plus all types of ethanol added. Some pumps out west are a type of IQ test, up to four or five handles per pump all different colors and trying to figure out which button to push related to what hose is ridiculous. Made a mistake once and pumped about half a tank of 50% ethanol in the S560. Burned it off and added pure gas to work it out.

And our Costco back east is crazy, definitely don't go mid-day on weekends, plus the gas pumps are higher than the entry line so can't see what pumps are open. Dumb.

 

So do you like gas with Ethanol or do you like Ethanol Free gas??

 

Top Tier is a marketing term but independent tests have shown that the detergent quality and levels required to be classified as TopTier do absolutely have an impact.

If a brand of fuel had detergent packages that met or exceeded the level required to be TopTier, I would use it no problem. Good example is BP...I would run BP fuel no problem.

To me its a quick and easy way to know if a fuel brand has a good additive package if I am choosing fuel from an unfamiliar brand.

 

By marketing design, Top Tier has established its own “qualification level” that insures why so many minor brands are able to qualify. I pass.

Who paid for all the so called “independent lab” evaluations? I know of zero labs that work for free and many need sponsor “grant financing” or no play ball. Been there done that..

Top Tier is genius retail marketing by some really smart guys. The only two endorsements that matter are SAE and API. TT has neither and I need a beer.

 

The independent testing was done by AAA. They didn't get paid for it in any way. They are member supported. I'm a member, and have ben for close to 20 years. And remember, they went into it with skepticism. It was a service for their 1.2 million paying members. I've uploaded a copy of the full report, let me know what part of the process you find flawed and/or biased.

 

As Carlos said it was done by AAA, it was a fully independent test. I'll believe the test results personally over personal skepticism.

 

I was trying to hold my tongue on this and be nice. I'm not sure if this response is nice or not, but it needs to be said.

You said: "marketing design, Top Tier has established its own “qualification level” that insures why so many minor brands are able to qualify. I pass."
In fact: In 2004, a group of vehicle manufacturers created the TOP TIER™ [3] Detergent Gasoline program to develop a higher standard for gasoline detergent additives that better protects against intake valve deposits and general carbon buildup. This was done by the automobile manufacturers, NOT the oil companies.

You said: "Who paid for all the so called “independent lab” evaluations? I know of zero labs that work for free and many need sponsor “grant financing” or no play ball. Been there done that.."
This was clearly paid for by AAA, not any oil company or group of petroleum companies, and AAA is funded by membership fees. And I can name a few independent labs that perform tests that are not sponsored or done for marketing purposes. Underwriters Laboroties, American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, Inc., Precision Testing Laboratories, Inc.,. That's just a few. It's like saying an auditor hired by a firm is automatically biased because the firm paid them for the audit. Your point makes no sense in the real world.

You said: "Top Tier is genius retail marketing by some really smart guys. The only two endorsements that matter are SAE and API. TT has neither and I need a beer."
C'mon man!!! You actually contradict your previous point. I'm amazed you can't see that. On one hand you say tests are never performed by an independent testing body, which in this case they were. Then you say you would trust testing by an independent body. But you also said they don't exist, even though you named 2, SAE and API. Are you serious???

And I say this as the guy who began the thread admitting that I was ignorant.

 

Thanks for the report. Looking forward to reading it.

 

All good. No hard feelings at all. Fire away bub.

I briefed the report and I thank you for providing the link. I’ll peruse it closer over the weekend.

TT established an arbitrary fuel standard threshold which any major and many minor brand retailers could and did qualify. Kind of like - every kid gets a trophy.
Plain and simple.

Sequentially, AAA hired a lab to validate the arbitrary minimum presence of additives, avoiding API or SAE, yet relying on an arbitrary threshold. Brilliant marketing scheme to create a fabricated top tier image that is anything but.

Did TT and AAA validate the presence of additives? Absolutely. Are those minimum additives and blends equivalent to major brand gas? Highly unlikely.

Want proof? Forget refiner’s stock raw gas which any retailer can contract. Instead, analyze additives and blends of all retailers - which was not done. Include Chevron, Shell, Exxon, Texaco, etal. That will separate the men from the boys.

Your pocketbook and your high tolerance motor. I’ll stick with the pros.

Keep sending your comments please, And thank you again for the technical paper that I will more closely review this weekend.

 

See, this is what I’m talking about. The keyword used here was “many”, as opposed to “any”.
Sure, TT gas has a standard that many brands will pass, including those who didn’t “buy into” the TT certification. But, not ALL brands will. That means that mom and pop convenient store selling gas $2 cheaper than the rest of the town may or may not be selling good “TT” gas. To play it safe, stick to the big brands. Why take the risk to save some chump change? There is scientifically a difference, no matter how small, there is still a difference. To say that it’s just purely marketing and there isn’t any difference whatsoever is just absurd.

 

Top Tier fuels are specifically tested for their ability to keep engines cleaner, which can lead to better fuel economy and reduced emissions. API and SAE standards ensure overall performance and protection but do not specifically target detergency to the same extent. While API and SAE provide comprehensive standards for fuel and oil performance, Top Tier fuels go a step further by focusing on detergency and engine cleanliness, offering additional benefits for engine longevity and efficiency beyond API and SAE.

 

From the report "Gasoline with enhanced additive packages, such as those in the TOP TIER program, will not only help prevent carbon deposit formation on critical engine components, they will also reduce existing deposits that have accumulated over time".
Woooww... This is huge... Good to know; I never expected the benefits to go that far!!!

 

Thaks for your grace, my words were more harsh than they should have been.

Having said that...it's obvious that you haven't read the report. And what you're missing is what the goal of the entire post. It's not about what it is. The focus is what it does. Does it clean your engine or not...that's what matters. Just like what @S_W222 said in his post above.
I just grabbed a gas card, issued by one of the TT gas stations, that's been sitting in my drawer unused for the last 10 years. It will be my go to from now on. I ONLY want quality going in my car, at all times.

I understand your skeptcisim, but I hope you take the time to read it. Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

U get angry pretty fast Carlos, lol : P :P

 

You say “all gas qualifies” yet the results of the study show that’s clearly not the case.

 

Unfortunately most of the time the "Premium" in premium fuel is reached through ethanol, so don't go thinking you should put premium fuel in your carbureted lawn devices (assuming w223 s-class drivers even use these). You're likely better off with regular, or to be sure, ethanol-free if you can find it.

 

Sometimes peoople make me feel like I'm talking to my Ex-wife...