KS - Looks like the UV didn't fry your cortex...or was that your medullah oblongata? Anyway, I thought I'd clearly intended to put MM's views in the "opinion" category, however, his observations and opinions I think (and I think a passel of people will agree) are valid because of his depth of experience. It's not the holy grail, but what knowledgable reader of Mike Miller (Roundel and Bimmer) would choose to disagree?

If you remember some of the long-ago earlier parts of this thread, posters acknowledge that the product is the same as it comes from the distributor...the only difference is the additive package which is put into the truck of "Shell,""Exxon,"or "Fred's" and put in (allegedly) at the distributor's location. How can you determine what's put into the gasoline? You can't...you have to trust Shell, Exxon or (probably not) Fred's to put in the pieces, additive, or whatever that turns "Fred's" into "Top Tier." If you could have a little litmus strip which you could swab around the nozzle (calm down now...) of any service station's pump to reveal the presence or absence of detergent components, you'd be fine...you'd know...you could trust your BMW powerplant to this gasoline. My view is that you know that detergent components are not in Fred's Gas, Fred's costs less, and for about 8-cents per gallon you can insure that the best stuff (Mike Miller knows all: ) is in the gasoline.

Now that I/you (more me than you) have turned off a whole bunch of readers, I have to admit that asking Mrs. ExGMan to "just pour three ounces of this stuff into the tank" has resulted in a look of incredulity (we've been married 39 years). I guess all that SI-1 will go into my Toyota Tundra...

 

Very true, Mike's opinions are way more educated than mine!

And fjwagner is right to correct me. I only used the term top-tier in my haste to type, all major gasolines, Exxon included, have excellent detergent packages.

And good point on the the Mrs.! Keep us updated on your experience in the Tundra. I've never known anyone who has used one of these products for an extended period.

 

1 > It does not matter whether U exceed or not......
2 > Politics and Bureaucracy, If you do not meet criteria of some org. U cannot participate and you are not in ...period
They can set up their own Standards and name .............
3 > It is arrogance and it is the most profitable oil co. (do less research on alternative fuel than some other oil Co.)
4 >It is not only BMW, but Audi(VW), Honda and Toyota too designated the top tier gas.
BMW has the best engine awards and the most recommended cars under most categories.

Of course it has one of the good gas in the market, but do not meet TOP TIER GAS STDs.

 

1 and 2) guess you did not read my note that carefully. ExxonMobil does exceed but had not elected to participate for internal reasons.
3) EM does have research on alternative fuels, but the core business is hydrocarbons and will be for quite some time. The infrastructure is such that the world is reliant on hydrocarbons for the foreseeable future. ExxonMobil primary focus for alternative fuels is hydrogen. Corn is not the answer.
4) the car companies listed established a standard that if applied for will ensure acceptance. EM has elected not to apply even though their fuels meet the standards. see item 1.

and your last point, see my responses above. Bottom line, Top Tier is a marketing ploy and should not necessarily be your sole basis for your purchases.