The Aesthetics of Fuel Efficiency: Separating Fact from Fiction

When it comes to fuel efficiency, there's a lot of misinformation out there. From turning off your accessories to the effectiveness of HHO generators, it seems like every driver has an opinion on how to save gas. But what really works? Let's take a look at some common myths and see which ones are worth your time.

Turning Off Your Accessories: A Waste of Fuel?

Myth number 13 suggests that turning off your accessories, such as headlights, air conditioning, and radio, can increase fuel consumption. But is it true? According to experts, the answer is no. While it's true that turning on your lights consumes more power than leaving them off, the difference in fuel efficiency is relatively small – less than 1%.

So go ahead and turn on those headlights at night. It may not be the most eco-friendly choice, but it won't break the bank... or your car's fuel economy.

Manual Transmissions vs. Automatics: A Tale of Two Myths

Myth number 14 claims that manual transmissions are more efficient than automatics. But this one is a bit of a myth-buster. The truth is that modern automatics have more gears and better technology, making them just as efficient – if not more so – than their manual counterparts.

The days of two-speed or three-speed automatics are long gone, replaced by sophisticated transmissions with up to 10 gears. So while manuals may be fun to drive, they're no match for the efficiency of modern automatics.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells: A Pipe Dream?

Myth number 15 takes us to the realm of hydrogen fuel cells. Jimmy just installed an HHO generator in his car and was expecting a major boost in fuel efficiency. But alas, the results were underwhelming – he only got 16.4 miles per gallon.

It turns out that hydrogen fuel cells are still in their infancy, and the technology just isn't quite there yet. While it's an interesting concept, HHO generators aren't the answer to your fuel efficiency prayers.

So what really works? The answer is simple: driving habits matter. Follow Justin on all social media @justinfreemaan and Nolan on @nolanjsykes for more tips on how to save gas and reduce your carbon footprint. And don't forget to like and subscribe to this channel for more content!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- So this is science,but it might kill you.- When gas prices go up,people do crazy things tosave money at the pump,like putting Coca-Cola in the gas tank.Nolan, get that outta here man.What are you doing?- I don't know I saw something on TikTokand thought I would try it out.- Today. We're busting fuel hacksfrom $0 to this ridiculous $600 device.So we can find out exactlywhat you need to doto save money at the gas tank.I'm Justin, this is Nolan.Welcome to Donut.- Myth, numberone, remove your tailgate.- I've heard this for years.People stand by it andthat's removing the tailgatefrom your truck to get more MPGs.- Yeah, I guess the thinking is,with that tailgate and the up position,it's catching all that air in the bedand that opening it willjust let it flow free.- So it actuallydoes the exact opposite.If you leave the tailgate up,it creates a vortex to allow the airto slip right over thewhole bed of the truck.Just like having this camper cover.- Dude, this thing's in sport mode.- This is science, this is not a scam.It's already been proven.Keep your tailgates up.(door bangs)- Here comes a new challenger!- All right, what do youthink about this thing, Nolan?- Hmm, kind of looks likeStarscream's butthole.(Justin laughs)- Well, that's called a Vortex Generatorand they've been around for over 10 years.And the manufacturers that make them claimthat they can do one to twomiles per gallon better.Before we talk about it.You wanna guess how much this costs?- It looks like it costs maybe $7.- Like five bucks, right?- Yeah.This was $80.- Give me this.(Justin chuckles)Does this work?(cricket sounds)- According to the manufacturer,it works by amplifying air currentsand compressing thecombustion ratio of oxygento air-fuel molecules.- So they're saying this kindof acts like a turbo in a way.- Think about it though.It says compressing the combustion ratioof oxygen and air-fuel molecules.- That's like sometechno battle, really.Like it doesn't mean anything.- Yeah. It's a lot of scientific wordsthat don't really make any sense.If you tried to go to court over this.You could even explainthat science bull crap.- It doesn't make sense,so you can't sue over it becauseit's not saying anything.- Yes.(Justin chuckles)- Well, at least it'sproducing American jobs,made in the USA.(alarm blaring)- For our next fuel hack.This is the most expensivegadget that we are testing today.And it is a HHO Generator.These things can get upwards of $600.- $600, better pay for itself fast.- If you've ever heard of urban legendsabout a water poweredcar that big corporationsdon't want you to know about,this may sound familiar.- That sounds like (beep).(Justin laughs)- Our main piece here, is this water tank.And then this HHO dry cell.This is all supposed towork by turning waterinto combustible fuel by simpleprocess called electrolysis.It all starts with this plastic tank.Just fill that with waterand add the electrolytepowder that came with the kitthe dry cell passes an electricalcurrent through the waterthat current interactswith the electrolyte,separating the water moleculesinto their component gases.The HHO gas travels backup into the bubbler.The bubbler separates out watervapor and delivers pure HHOto the engine through the intake,just like gasoline, hydrogencombusts in the presenceof oxygen and spark.So by adding hydrogen to your engine,the HHO device should reducethe total amount of fuel it needs to run.Okay, so, so far it allsounds like it's good sciencebut let's find out if it actually works.The bubbler is as highas we can possibly goit's right up here onthe top of the firewall.So next is the tank.But this HHO dry cell doesn't really havea natural way to mount.So we're just gonna zip tiestrap it, inside the engine bay.(energetic music)(drill winding)This is not an easy install.This is not for normal people to do.So what it wants us todo is add this spaceron the O2 sensor,wrap it in aluminum foilso that the sensor thinksit's running too richand advances timing tomake it run smoother.Like they even have a picture,of the O2 wrapped in aluminum foil.(energetic music continues)(engine humming)I followed these terrible directionsas close as I possibly could.Every picture was different.The diagrams are confusingnow that this is all in,it's time to send Jimmy out,to see if it even works.Good luck, Jimmy!(upbeat music)Jimmy's going out to testour shiny new generatorbut there's plenty to do back at the shop.Not every hack costs $600.Some of them you can do for free.One of the things we'veheard of over the years isover inflating your tires.- Yeah. I mean, that'ssomething I've done in the past.We also did it before we headed outon the like high low truck trip.I don't know, I guess it'smore of a superstition thing.- Well, I mean, theidea is pretty straightforward.You want to over inflate itso it has less contact with the ground.So you're riding on skisinstead of a full fat tires.- Yeah.- That's less resistancewhich means the car doesless to push it forward.So the drawback to overinflating, your tires,having that smaller contact patchmakes your tire wear unevenly.- Yes, and also itaffects the driving dynamicsof the tire itself.If you compromise that contact patch,your tire's gonna wear out faster.- Make sure your tire pressuresare actually where thefactory wants them to bebecause that's where yourcar will be most efficient.How are you feeling?Is this science or a scam?- Well, unfortunately, Justin,as much as I want it tobe true, this is a scam.If you can call it.- That in the long run, itdoesn't really help you so,it's a scam!- Our next myth,fill up your car when it's cold out.- It's based on the ideathat gas is more dense when it's colder.And then when it's beensitting in the sun all daythat it's thinner and youget less fuel for your money.Unfortunately, that's just one huge scambecause fuel is storedin tanks undergroundand is not affected at allby what the weather ortemperature is doing outside.Going out on a cold morningspecifically to fillup your gas tank, isn'tgonna do anything for you.Plus your engine's gonna be hotand the fuel tank's gonna be hot,so what does it matter?Total scam.- Myth, number six.Get the junk out of yourtrunk, talking to you, Nolan.- Okay. So this is an easy one.If you want to get moreefficient, lose some weight.A lot of people use theircars as mobile storage units.And that just weighs it down.Killing your gas mileage.- Yeah, I've got so muchcrap in my trunk right nowand my car's full of stuff.(Justin laughs)- Oh, ramps because it's too freaking low.We might have to sacrifice this weightbecause we need themto get into driveways.This one's science confirmedby some really basic physics,force equals mass times acceleration.So it takes more fuel to movea heavy car than a light car.If you've got a bunch of junkin your car, get rid of it.All that trash is weighing you down.Look at that.Oh, this isn't junk, thisis actually our brand newDonut Media bubble logo in puff print!Like the one I'm wearing!You can actually feelit, it's really nice.It's one of my favorite shirts, yet.I love this color combo andthe blanket's really good too.Get yours today atdonutmedia.com available now!- Myth numberseven, drafting behind a semi.- All right so this nextone, shake and bake, right?You see a big semi punchinga hole through the air.You tuck up into his draftwhile he does all the work,cruise there and look good.MythBusters actually testedthis one a few years agoand they found the best distancefor maximum fuel efficiencywas between six to 10 feet.Now at that distance, you are saving gas,but driver doesn't know you're thereand you can't see anythingin front of the truck.So if he hits the brakes oranything else hazardous happens,your insurance premium'sprobably about to go up.So this is science, but it might kill you.- Myth number eight.(alarm ringing)- What if there's aproduct you could just buyto save you MPGs on the road?Something you could just plug in.- Yeah, right here wehave the Benzine Cars,OBD2 eco plugin, BNYKDYJ.- According to the manufacturer,you plug this thing inand it creates an ecomode for your vehicle.- Gotta pull the keyout from the ignition.Find OBD2 connector in car,after releasing the button.Just wait a bit,just wait for a while.- It remaps the ECU, but there's no wayfor us to really know withoutdriving a full tank of gas.So how should we figure out how it works?- I say we just bustit open with a hammer.- I like that idea.(hammer bangs)(Justin Laughing)- Engine tuning is actuallypretty complicated.You need to have know-how.You need to have a computerwith the correct software.This is just a littleplastic thing that plugsinto your car.There, there is some circuitry here,does it say a micro chip.(Nolan chuckles)- Well, what disappointsme more than anything isthat this thing claimsit can just fix any car.This thing could work,but it can't be universalbecause every vehicleis tuned differently.- A $10 thing you buy on Amazon,I'm sorry to say is notcapable of doing that.We can use this to mine crypto dude.- Myth, numbernine, use top tier gas.- Some people paradoxically believethat if you put more expensivefuel in your gas tankthat you're gonna somehowget better fuel economy.The more expensive gas mustbe higher quality, right?Well, unfortunately that is not true.Octane designatesresistance to detonation,91 octane fuel is designed for carswith high cylinder pressure,your German cars, turbocharge engines.If you put a lower octane fuelin your high octane car,the fuel might detonate prematurelywhich can also damage your engineand cost you even more money.You're gonna end up buying more gas.So that's just science,that's engineering.I'm sorry to say, if your carneeds 91, you gotta buy 91.If your car needs 87, you gotta get 87.- Meanwhile...(engine whirring)- Pedal to the metal, let's go!- Myth, number 10,remove your windshield wipers.So this next one is actuallyalready pretty dumb.The myth is removingyour windshield wiperswill actually increasethe slippiness of your carand reduce drag.(dramatic music)You need those for safety for one.- Yeah.- And they don't reallydo that much damageto your aerodynamics.- Oh, I'm gonna be worriedabout this one inch tall blockaffecting the drag over the car.How about you look at thefront of the car itself?There's no way that this has any effecton your overall aerodynamics.You know, there's people onfarms that go as far to saythat you should remove yourantenna, your rear spoileryour rear view mirrors,which not only is very unsafebut the savings are gonnabe extremely negligible.It's just not worth it.- Yeah, it's not worth it people.Stay safe out there.Don't fall for this stuff, this is a scam.(glass shatters)- Myth number11, roll your windows up.- Okay so another reallyeasy trick to saving fuelis rolling up your windows.- So rolling up your windows can actuallyincrease fuel economy by 20%.And it's been confirmed by science.And that goes for convertibles,like our Cabrio as well.Very surprising.- That's very surprising.And I'm actually awindows down kind of guy,especially if I'm not going that far,I'll just roll the windows down.But running the ACapparently is more efficient.- Myth number 12, eco modding.- So what happens when youtake efficiency to the extreme?Have you ever heard of eco modding?- I have. There's a guy up inslow county, where I grew upwho had a geo metro with abunch of lexan all over it.It looked like somethingbeetle juice would driveto save gas almost.- Let's look at some examples.- All right.- A lot of geos.- Lot of geos.- Yeah, there's a Porsche, oh man!There's a Roadmaster, there's a wagon!- It does actually make sensefor like road trips and stuff.- Not the motor though.- No, definitely not.The same principles that applyfor going really, really fast.Also apply for saving gas, you know?- Yeah, make your car asegg shape as possible.Man, it feels like a lot ofthese guys are just like us.There's just, they're goingfor efficiency and not fun.But this is definitelyscience because we've heardthat some of these guysare getting upwards of ahundred miles per gallon.- Pretty amazing, pretty amazing.- Yeah. I could use that right now.- Yeah, for sure.If you wanna see us attempt an eco mod,hyper miler of our own, letus know down the comments.I'd love to do somethinglike a Hellcat or somethingstupidly inefficient,but yeah, let us know- Myth number 13.Don't turn on your accessories.- All right so our nextmyth is turning things off.Like your lights, your AC, your radio,all these little auxiliary thingsyou don't necessarily need to drive,but they reduce the power andefficiency of your vehiclewhile they're on.But how does that work?- For those that don't know,an alternator is an electricalgenerator powered by a beltattached to the engine.And that's what thingslike your radio, lights,and hologram anime girl are powered by.Turning the alternator'spulley does consume some fuelbut it's always spinning whetherthe lights are on or not.So how could turning them onincrease fuel consumption?It's actually because ofwhat's inside the alternator.There's a coil of wire thatgenerates a magnetic fieldand the pulley spins abunch of magnets around it.The strength of that fielddetermines the resistancethose magnets have to overcome.In other words, how muchpower the alternatoris taking away from the engine,the more electrical stuffyou turn on in the car,the stronger that field gets,and the more fuel is burned tokeep those magnets spinning.- So it's confirmed, headlightsreally do consume more fuel.But how much differencedoes that really make?Turns out, not much.Turning your headlights on is estimated todecrease fuel economy by less than 1%,so go ahead and use your lights.- Especially at night guys, come on.- Myth number 14.manual is better than automatic.- Justin, have you heard theone about manual transmissions?- Yeah I've heard that back in the day,manuals were moreefficient than automatics,but there's no way that's true nowadays.- The reason it was trueback then is 'cause,the transmissions had more gears.It was really common,like GM I think had a twospeed transmission automatic.Three speed was pretty common.Then they started putting four speedsand five speed manualsin cars, more gears.Nowadays, modern automatics,they have up to 10 gears,maybe even 11.And that's just gonna let the car bein its most efficient possible gearing.Whereas manuals, pretty much limitedto six or sometimes seven speeds.If you have a manual, you'reprobably the kind of personwho likes to put their footon it and have some fun.- Exactly 'cause manuals are justa preference nowadays.They're not something that'sactually needed or good.- Yeah.- With the way technology is.So if you're driving a manual,you're doing it for fun.- Exactly.Unfortunately, automatics have you beatenefficiency for sure.- So this one, it is a bad myth.- Older cars manuals were more efficient,nowadays, not true.- So don't listen to thoseold people, yet again.- Yeah, they never had TikTokor anime hologram girls.- Myth number15. HHO generator.- All right so Jimmy just got backfrom driving all around town.Nolan knows the resultsafter this HHO generatorbut we were getting 16.4miles a gallon beforehand.Nolan, what did we get?- Well, with the HHO generator, we got,16.4 miles per gallon.- This thing's complete trash!- Yes, hydrogen cars are a thing,but unfortunately the fuelsource that we had for thiswas not nearly bigenough to power our car,but Jeremiah thinks that he can build one.- I actually funny enoughbuilt these in college.I built and sold hydrogengenerators on eBay.Three people bought 'em.- So if you wanna see that happen,go ahead and and leavea comment down belowas for the number onetip to actually save gas,watch how you drive,keep your foot out of it,don't drive too fast,it's the best thing you can dowhen gas prices are high.Follow Justin on all socialmedia, @justinfreemaan.Follow me @nolanjsykesand like and subscribethis video if you liked itand wanna see more.All right.See you next time.Bye.- Trash!(he splutters)