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Marathon Gasoline

08H3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,314
Location
United States
I will dispense with the background, but the end result is that it is in my best interst to use Marathon gasoline. Marathon is not a Top Tier fuel, but I'm of the opinion that while being a Top Tier fuel does provide some guarantee of a quality product, even if a fuel is not Top Tier does not necessarily mean that it's bad or substandard. After all, Top Tier is voluntary. So, that said, does anyone have any data on how Marathon compares to Top Tier fuels? Really what I am looking for is DATA, not OPINION. "Marathon sucks." or similar comments don't really help. Thanks in advance.
 

08H3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,314
Location
United States
Had a couple extra minutes to research my own question and per Marathon's web site, they state that their gasoline contains "more than 2x the EPA minimum" of detergents. So that sort of answers the question if someone knows how many times the EPA minimum TT gasoline has to be. Anyone?
 

Hans3T

Lif"T"ed
Messages
3,035
Location
NC
There is a Marathon station near my folks place in NC. They advertise that they use STP additives. I fill up there pretty often.

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f5moab

Mr. Beretta
Messages
1,986
Location
Hiding in a potato patch in Idaho
Top Tier is NOT about how much detergent and additives are added to the fuel it is about the types of detergents and additives used that prevent carbon buildup, valve sticking; injector and engine cleaning specs. It also guarantees that no metallic type additives will be used. A good example is ferrocene (iron) and methyl cyclopenta dienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) use to replace lead can lead to spark plug fouling and early catalyst damage, and top tier prevents their use.

You can add ten times the amount of a detergent to a fuel but if that detergent is not effective, it will not do the job. Does Marathon do the job? NO way of knowing since I am not privy to their testing info, and I guess they don't want to pay for the independent tests and fees required for a Top Tier designation. That DOES NOT mean Marathon is not good fuel. I used it when living in MI since it was a predominate fuel in that state and never had a problem. But back then I kept my vehicles no longer than two years, so I really didn't care. I have read that BP, which is not a Top Tier, actually passed the independent top tier test but did not want to pay the fee to the top tier organization, which is not just GM it is also BMW, Toyota, Honda, VW and Audi (I believe that is all).

Here in Moab, I use Maverick quite a bit on the H3, but about every other fill up I use Chevron. So far the new truck has used either Chevron or Conoco.
 

M22KLARS

Unsafe At Any Speed
Messages
2,315
Location
Minnesota
In MN our most common gas stations are Super America, Holiday and Kwik Trip. I fill up at Kwik Trip if possible due to the top tier status. I have also found that I can usually squeeze more miles out of a tank than I can at the other 2. Not exactly sure how or why... additives? But it does happen.
 
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