We just use the local gas station 87 octane. BP, Mobil, Shell, etc

 

I just buy whatever is the cheapest and closest to me. Never have thought about top tier and have never had to do any fuel related issues with my vehicles.

 

Don't forget, the Fit engine is Direct-Injection.

Have you ever owned one of those before? (Hyundai, Audi, VW?)

 

Have you installed a catch can yet? The "evils" of Direct-Injection and the "purity" of top-tier gasoline seem to be riding the same degree of hype.

Go to toptier.com and look at Express. The message is the same as it has been for over a year, essentially "we're working on our website." The Express colors are the same as Mapco Express and Delta Express colors. Those stations pepper Middle Tennessee. One of the Mapco Express stations is on the nearby K-Mart lot and it is actually carrying BP on the signage.

The Kroger stores give gas points (10 points/10 cents per gallon for every 100 dollars groceries) Even at current prices and the small 10.6 gal. Fit tank, 30 cent/gallon can save 3 or 4 dollars per fill up.

I've used all 3 (mostly the Mapco which is 2/10ths of a mile away), never any bad performance from a Civic Si, a beater Buick, a Corolla, a Suzuki SX4, or now the Fit. From the CVVC Civics forward, except for high performance models, Hondas have been capable of running on marginal gasoline.

 

87 either shell or 76. Costco or Arco if I'm reeeeally in a pinch

 

I generally use Shell or Exxon around home, and whatever "name brand" I can find on road trips....always 87 octane. I guess time will tell how well Honda has the DI sorted

 

I still think that Direct Injection is primarily a bugaboo designed to sell unnecessary accessories. I'll go by Pat Goss rather than a bunch of worry warts and nit pickers. Unless the engine is pushed past ordinary, reasonable limits on a regular basis, the catch can is unnecessary.

 

An interesting article came out recently in our local newspaper here in the SF/ Bay Area in Ca., regarding octane rating of gasoline and vehicle requirements. The article was picked up from the Tribune News Service by the local paper. The beginning couple of paragraphs said the following: "Research by AAA has found that motorists wasted $2.1 billion in 2015 buying premium gasoline for cars that don't require it. Using tests designed to evaluate vehicle performance, fuel economy and emissions, AAA researchers said they found no benefit to using premium gasoline in a vehicle that only requires regular-grade fuel."

The article went on to say that premium gasoline is higher octane gas only- not higher quality. The researchers from AAA urge car owners to follow their vehicle manufacturer's recommendations for their vehicle's octane requirement, as found in the owner's manuals.

The article also stated that AAA says about 16.5 million US drivers used premium gas despite the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation that they use regular. About 70% of US drivers own cars that require regular gas. About 16% drive vehicles that require premium, and the remaining 14% have vehicles that require mid-grade gas.

 

The Debate never ends does it?

I think this is "fueled" by the dichotomy between sources that present that fuel is fuel and you should just use what the Owners Manual states, and the Gas Companies themselves that are continually hyping improved performance from whatever higher grade, more expensive additives or octane.

For me?

95%+ of the time, I just use "regular" 87 octane, usually from Top Tier stations.
A handful of times per year, just for kicks, I might fill up with premium.
Just for kicks.

 

I use the least expensive unleaded regular that is readily available.

 

Good luck changing any minds. You have two groups here. Those who drink the kool-aid and those who follow manufacturer recommendations. The people who subscribe to the additive myth have ignored the link that I posted about the EPA rules. That EPA links states that all additives must be approved by the EPA and the fuel sold must be substantially the same as the fuel used when the engine and vehicle was certified. Only two have been approved. Both were for ethanol. Since "Top Tier" membership requires 9% to 11% ETHANOL, there is your additive package. When I ask the kool-aid drinkers what additives they are looking for and in what quantities, I get no responses.

I have also posted examples of how fuel is refined and distributed these days. The days of independent tea kettle refineries for various brands have long since gone away. All brands of fuel in a given area get their fuel from the same one or two refineries or remote terminals in their area. The average terminal has six tanks for all refined products. Look at the one in your area on Google earth. Those tanks have to contain 2 grades of gasoline, diesel, and one small one for trans mix. That leaves two for other things like ethanol, fuel oil, kerosene, avfuel, etc. When I ask the kool-aid people how they think 10 or 12 brands in the same area that are served out of those two gas tanks get different or fresher fuels there is no answer. One told me that he will concede that they are all the same fuel but the additives are mixed on the truck. So now we need separate tanks on the trucks to contain the various additives. Sorry they do not exist and a teamster driving the truck is not going to be responsible for the proper or improper mixing of fuels.

If you can not tell, I spent many, many years in the industry working for one of the major crude oil producers and refiners. A lot has changed over the years and today the government has such tight controls on product content and quality that there is very little wiggle room for differentiation of product from retail brand to retail brand.

As a side note.

1. Ethanol may not be transported by pipeline due to it's cleaning tendencies. It loosens up stuff stuck to the inside of pipelines. So ethanol is moved primarily by rail and truck. It is mixed with fuel at the terminal. These days most US terminals (NOT ALL and not Alaska) have ethanol mixing facilities and that ethanol "additive" may be changed on site as determined by EPA, state, or customer requirements.

2. Aviation fuel is not moved by pipeline because it still contains a high amount of lead which will pollute other types of fuel when the pipe line changes from one product to another. The same goes with delivery trucks. A little amount of lead will kill a lot of catalytic converters. So when a batch of avgas in made it is stored in and sometimes transported by rail cars.

I'm off of the soap box. Hopefully I kept all of the technical jargon out of the posting.

 

... but it's Top Tier Kool-Aid!

 

N9cv, I'm not sure I understand. Are you defining Top Tier as the kool-aid? Since the manufacturer (Honda) recommends Top Tier, your initial statement about two camps confuses me.

I fall into the camp that follows the manufacturer recommendation, therefore I use Top Tier per the manual. Are you saying this is pointless?

 

Some manufacturers' recommendations are technical in nature, and some are marketing. Recommending fuel bearing a specific trademark is commerce, not technology.

 

I agree with you and n9cv and am skeptical of Top Tier. Every brand of gas I've ever heard of and dozens I haven't are listed. It sits of the BS alarm.

 

Before the tank of Chevron gas is delivered to the pumps, the truck driver turns down an isolated dirt road and takes a packet of powder that says "Chevron--Confidential" on it and climbs up to the top of the truck, opens the hatch and pours it in. The truck driver then turns on the mixing blades in the tank and checks the gauge to make sure that it is properly dissolved. Then he gets back in the truck and delivers his load to the station for all of us to enjoy a cleaner Top Tier ride.

 

LOL, some of the comments in this thread crack me up. Y'all are entertaining for sure.


For me personally with the Stock FIT, I stick to Costco 87 (its cheap) and the fuel is clean (big turn over + they change their filters pretty frequently).


On the Turbo Eclipse and my crotch rocket, nothing less than 91 (Also Costco/Chevorn/Shell) due to the requirement and the parameters in which they are initially designed for and operated in.


Higher octane gas does not mean its "better". Its just more resistant to pre-detonation and lets me tune for more Powah....

 

I use what ever and where ever 87 octane is available.

 

Kroger (TN) gives points discounts. Spend $300 in groceries, get 300 points and reduces price per gallon by 30 cents. Fill up on Fit can be $3 cheaper.

Neighbor doesn't have a car, I drive her to store. She spends $J00/month. I use her card to get the points. I also use her card to buy groceries.

Win win.

 

Yep, we have Kroger (TX) nearby and that is where I normally fill up. But, I'm at the stage in life where I won't jump hoops to save a few dollars.