Any name brand, with the highest octane I can find which in CA is 91

 

I am surprised by this list. Most of the Porsche people I know like BP and Sunoco and Sunoco is norton your list. I had always heard from a trucking company guy that Exxon was not very good.

One other problem, in my area, stations are consistently cheating using below grade gasoline. This included 31 local stations of most manufacturers. Not sure what to do about that.

 

It is not "my list". It came from the Top Tier Detergent Gasoline Website you can find online.

Top Tier Detergent Gasoline

TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is the premier standard for gasoline performance. Seven of the world's top automakers, BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Audi recognize that the current EPA minimum detergent requirements do not go far enough to ensure optimal engine performance.

Since the minimum additive performance standards were first established by EPA in 1995, most gasoline marketers have actually reduced the concentration level of detergent additive in their gasoline by up to 50%. As a result, the ability of a vehicle to maintain stringent Tier 2 emission standards have been hampered, leading to engine deposits which can have a big impact on in-use emissions and driver satisfaction.

These automakers have raised the bar. TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline help drivers avoid lower quality gasoline which can leave deposits on critical engine parts, which reduces engine performance. That's something both drivers and automakers want to avoid.


| HOME | RETAILERS | WHY TOP TIER | DEPOSIT CONTROL |

 

PS Here is their link. They have a lot of extra info on it.

www.toptiergas.com

 

Truly fascinating information - thank you! I did not assume you made up the list. I only meant to imply you provided it. And, of course, since it was on the internet, I am sure it is true! See you around JerZ!

 

Wow! 95, 98, 100? Did that give you any performance advantage? I wonder why your BMW did not like it? Sounds like ignition and valve issues.

 

+1 Dang you learn something new everyday. Never thought about that.

 

I guess that since Ulukai is in Sweden is talking about RON index. To take a simple comparison, 95 RON in Europe (and everywhere else) ~ 91 AKI (RON+MON/2) in the US. Similarly, 98 RON ~ 93 AKI.

So the 95 his BMW did to like would be our 91 but this is still surprising as most European cars are happy with 95 RON.

 

93 with ZERO ethanol.

 

Shell 91. Here in California, we don't have anything higher than 91 unless you want to go race fuel.

 

The car seemed to go faster and the motor did work smoother imo.
In Sweden it is very strict that the gas is as clean as possible and when it says 95 or 98 octain, it is. It is no Ron index.
Our gas costs a lot more than yours. For one liter 95 costs about 15 SEK which is about 2,3 USD.

 

I mostly use Shell or Chevron . I am not so sure that I buy into the labeling of gasoline as "top tier" . I have seen the list before. It might be the case but I simply have doubts.

Anyone can write a list and call it fantastic . It's not uncommon to see science fused with marketing using junk data to make extraordinary claims .

One thing I do try to follow is picking a gas station with new or clean equipment to gas my car . I feel that the cleanliness is as important as the gasoline quality .

 

Agree with Shell first, then Sunoco. It's a shame that politics is forcing us in the US to deal with potentially damaging E10 gas--you can't avoid it in NY. And now I've heard that there may be a push for E15 soon...

I'm coming from a 2011 M3, and there is a ton of discussion on the BMW boards about gas quality. Most relates to the problematic 335i high-pressure fuel pump of a few years ago that was overly sensitive/delicate. It was clearly a flawed design, but BMW initially tried to blame the problems on poor quality gas. Shell was the one consistent brand that had the appropriate detergents/additives to treat the 335's fuel system the best. So, just out of caution I always used Shell in the M3, or Sunoco in a pinch.

This would sometimes become amusing when I would hit New Jersey Motorsports Park down in southern Jersey. On a couple of occasions I found myself at the track, after the last session of the day, with maybe 1/16 of a tank left. (Must be a good design that the E9X M3 never seemed to suffer fuel starvation on the track from a near-empty tank, even when running R-comp tires.) On those occasions, the track pumps were closed for the day, and I hadn't been smart enough to have extra gas in a jug with me. There are no Shell or Sunoco stations in the towns immediately around the track, so there I would be, tiptoeing up Route 55 toward the Jersey Turnpike, hypermiling the M3.

We're talking about 7th gear (DCT), 50-55mph in the right lane, getting passed every two minutes by Priuses, Civics, school buses, Shriners on minibikes...

Believe it or not, you can turn the M3's 14mpg mixed-driving average (and 5mpg on-track average) to 25-30mpg when you really need to.

 

Chevron. HQ is based in the Bay Area. Like to support local companies.

 

Yes grasshopper I seek but can't find it here. There is 100 octane racing fuel at. $8 per or 91 octane