# Top Tier Gas **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** chevrolet, camaro\ **Created:** [November 17, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647 "2009-11-17T23:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![medalheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@medalheart](https://community.cartalk.com/u/medalheart)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/1 "2009-11-17T23:54:33Z")
I just bought a 2010 Camaro is it really necessary to use top tier gas like the manual says to use? ---
**Author:** ![jayhawkroy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jayhawkroy/32/33_2.png) [@jayhawkroy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jayhawkroy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/2 "2009-11-17T23:59:20Z")
I think the term in the manual is “recommended” or “preferred”. GM helped initiate the Top Tier gas program, so it is not unusual to see that recommendation. Ford recommends BP gas, but I don’t use BP all the time, either. I buy Top Tier when the price is the same as other gasolines available, which is most of the time. My rental car Chevies generally get non-Top Tier, and seem to have survived fine. ---
**Author:** ![GSN\_fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@GSN\_fan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GSN_fan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/3 "2009-11-18T00:01:41Z")
No. Sometimes their gas is just the same as the normal gas, but with a few additives. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/4 "2009-11-18T00:04:02Z")
Necessary? Maybe not. Good idea? Probably. I buy Top Tier gasoline whenever I can find it. It’s not just marketing. The factory engineers know what they’re doing. If they didn’t care about the extra detergents in Top Tier gasoline, they wouldn’t bother to suggest its use. ---
**Author:** ![bscar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar/32/34_2.png) [@bscar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/5 "2009-11-18T00:32:23Z")
[http://www.toptiergas.com/](http://www.toptiergas.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/6 "2009-11-18T00:44:40Z")
Exxon / Mobil, the WORLDS largest marketer of gasoline, is strangely missing from the list… This sounds more like corporate back-scratching than anything else… Gasoline is sold with a price sign, period. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/7 "2009-11-18T00:46:22Z")
And then there is the other side… [http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-06-13-bad-gas-usat\_N.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-06-13-bad-gas-usat_N.htm) It does appear that high performance cars do benefit from Top Tier gasoline additives. Here’s what Tom and Ray have to say about it: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083001430.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083001430.html) ---
**Author:** ![ken\_green](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/ken_green/32/816_2.png) [@ken\_green](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ken_green)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/8 "2009-11-18T00:51:19Z")
"Ford recommends BP gas." There’s not a BP station in 500 miles of here. No worries mate. ---
**Author:** ![jayhawkroy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jayhawkroy/32/33_2.png) [@jayhawkroy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jayhawkroy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/9 "2009-11-18T01:12:41Z")
Yep, kind of hard to use BP if they don’t market in your area. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/10 "2009-11-18T17:09:32Z")
“Yep, kind of hard to use BP if they don’t market in your area.” Not to mention a real Top Tier gasoline. The only gas on the list that I’ve seen are Shell, Chevron, and Texaco. But there aren’t many Chevron or Texaco stations. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/11 "2009-11-18T17:46:41Z")
About a year ago a local convenience store chain became a Top Tier retailer. Before then there were none in my area. Now I’m torn between the Top Tier seller, who’s gasoline has 10% ethanol, and another local gas station that claims to have ethanol-free gas. I buy whichever is most convenient when it’s time to fill the tank. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/12 "2009-11-18T20:39:18Z")
I doubt it. Finding Top Tier gas can be very difficult to find. Closest one to my house is at least 20 miles away…I’ll pass at least 10 gas stations getting there. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/13 "2009-11-18T20:44:36Z")
Since it’s just a better detergent package, are they implying that their cars run much dirtier than others? ---
**Author:** ![oldschool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e19adc/32.png) [@oldschool](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldschool)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/14 "2009-11-18T23:10:17Z")
The GM TSB section is overflowing with reccomendarions to use Top Tier gas. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/top-tier-gas/39647/15 "2009-11-18T23:42:31Z")
I was wondering why I had never heard the term " Top tier gasoline " then I checked the list on the web link bscar provided. I live in western NY state and we don’t have a single retailer on the list in our area and yet our cars seem to run just fine.