- So this is science, but it might kill you.
- When gas prices go up,
people do crazy things to save 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 TikTok
and thought I would try it out.
- Today. We're busting fuel hacks
from $0 to this ridiculous $600 device.
So we can find out exactly what you need to do
to save money at the gas tank.
I'm Justin, this is Nolan.
Welcome to Donut.
- [Narrator] Myth, number one, remove your tailgate.
- I've heard this for years.
People stand by it and that's removing the tailgate
from 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 bed
and that opening it will just let it flow free.
- [Justin] So it actually does the exact opposite.
If you leave the tailgate up,
it creates a vortex to allow the air
to slip right over the whole 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)
- [Announcer] Here comes a new challenger!
- All right, what do you think about this thing, Nolan?
- Hmm, kind of looks like Starscream's butthole.
(Justin laughs)
- Well, that's called a Vortex Generator
and they've been around for over 10 years.
And the manufacturers that make them claim
that they can do one to two miles 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)
- [Justin] According to the manufacturer,
it works by amplifying air currents
and compressing the combustion ratio of oxygen
to air-fuel molecules.
- So they're saying this kind of acts like a turbo in a way.
- Think about it though.
It says compressing the combustion ratio
of oxygen and air-fuel molecules.
- [Nolan] That's like some techno battle, really.
Like it doesn't mean anything.
- Yeah. It's a lot of scientific words
that don't really make any sense.
If you tried to go to court over this.
You could even explain that science bull crap.
- It doesn't make sense,
so you can't sue over it because it's not saying anything.
- [Justin] Yes.
(Justin chuckles)
- Well, at least it's producing American jobs,
made in the USA.
(alarm blaring)
- For our next fuel hack.
This is the most expensive gadget 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 legends
about a water powered car that big corporations
don'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 to work by turning water
into combustible fuel by simple process called electrolysis.
It all starts with this plastic tank.
Just fill that with water
and add the electrolyte powder that came with the kit
the dry cell passes an electrical current through the water
that current interacts with the electrolyte,
separating the water molecules into their component gases.
The HHO gas travels back up into the bubbler.
The bubbler separates out water vapor and delivers pure HHO
to the engine through the intake,
just like gasoline, hydrogen combusts in the presence
of oxygen and spark.
So by adding hydrogen to your engine,
the HHO device should reduce
the total amount of fuel it needs to run.
Okay, so, so far it all sounds like it's good science
but let's find out if it actually works.
The bubbler is as high as we can possibly go
it's right up here on the top of the firewall.
So next is the tank.
But this HHO dry cell doesn't really have
a natural way to mount.
So we're just gonna zip tie strap 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 to do is add this spacer
on the O2 sensor,
wrap it in aluminum foil
so that the sensor thinks it's running too rich
and advances timing to make 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 directions
as close as I possibly could.
Every picture was different.
The diagrams are confusing now 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 test our shiny new generator
but 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've heard of over the years is
over inflating your tires.
- Yeah. I mean, that's something I've done in the past.
We also did it before we headed out
on the like high low truck trip.
I don't know, I guess it's more of a superstition thing.
- [Justin] Well, I mean, the idea is pretty straightforward.
You want to over inflate it
so it has less contact with the ground.
So you're riding on skis instead of a full fat tires.
- [Nolan] Yeah.
- [Justin] That's less resistance
which means the car does less to push it forward.
So the drawback to over inflating, your tires,
having that smaller contact patch
makes your tire wear unevenly.
- [Nolan] Yes, and also it affects the driving dynamics
of the tire itself.
If you compromise that contact patch,
your tire's gonna wear out faster.
- Make sure your tire pressures
are actually where the factory wants them to be
because that's where your car will be most efficient.
How are you feeling?
Is this science or a scam?
- Well, unfortunately, Justin,
as much as I want it to be true, this is a scam.
If you can call it.
- That in the long run, it doesn't really help you so,
it's a scam!
- [Narrator] Our next myth,
fill up your car when it's cold out.
- It's based on the idea
that gas is more dense when it's colder.
And then when it's been sitting in the sun all day
that it's thinner and you get less fuel for your money.
Unfortunately, that's just one huge scam
because fuel is stored in tanks underground
and is not affected at all
by what the weather or temperature is doing outside.
Going out on a cold morning specifically to fill
up your gas tank, isn't gonna do anything for you.
Plus your engine's gonna be hot
and the fuel tank's gonna be hot,
so what does it matter?
Total scam.
- [Narrator] Myth, number six.
Get the junk out of your trunk, talking to you, Nolan.
- Okay. So this is an easy one.
If you want to get more efficient, lose some weight.
A lot of people use their cars as mobile storage units.
And that just weighs it down.
Killing your gas mileage.
- Yeah, I've got so much crap in my trunk right now
and my car's full of stuff.
(Justin laughs)
- Oh, ramps because it's too freaking low.
We might have to sacrifice this weight
because we need them to get into driveways.
This one's science confirmed by some really basic physics,
force equals mass times acceleration.
So it takes more fuel to move a heavy car than a light car.
If you've got a bunch of junk in your car, get rid of it.
All that trash is weighing you down.
Look at that.
Oh, this isn't junk, this is actually our brand new
Donut Media bubble logo in puff print!
Like the one I'm wearing!
You can actually feel it, it's really nice.
It's one of my favorite shirts, yet.
I love this color combo and the blanket's really good too.
Get yours today at donutmedia.com available now!
- [Narrator] Myth number seven, drafting behind a semi.
- All right so this next one, shake and bake, right?
You see a big semi punching a hole through the air.
You tuck up into his draft while he does all the work,
cruise there and look good.
MythBusters actually tested this one a few years ago
and they found the best distance
for maximum fuel efficiency was between six to 10 feet.
Now at that distance, you are saving gas,
but driver doesn't know you're there
and you can't see anything in front of the truck.
So if he hits the brakes or anything else hazardous happens,
your insurance premium's probably about to go up.
So this is science, but it might kill you.
- [Narrator] Myth number eight.
(alarm ringing)
- What if there's a product you could just buy
to save you MPGs on the road?
Something you could just plug in.
- Yeah, right here we have the Benzine Cars,
OBD2 eco plugin, BNYKDYJ.
- According to the manufacturer,
you plug this thing in
and it creates an eco mode for your vehicle.
- Gotta pull the key out 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 way
for us to really know without driving a full tank of gas.
So how should we figure out how it works?
- I say we just bust it open with a hammer.
- I like that idea.
(hammer bangs)
(Justin Laughing)
- Engine tuning is actually pretty complicated.
You need to have know-how.
You need to have a computer with the correct software.
This is just a little plastic thing that plugs
into your car.
There, there is some circuitry here,
does it say a micro chip.
(Nolan chuckles)
- Well, what disappoints me more than anything is
that this thing claims it can just fix any car.
This thing could work, but it can't be universal
because every vehicle is tuned differently.
- A $10 thing you buy on Amazon,
I'm sorry to say is not capable of doing that.
We can use this to mine crypto dude.
- [Narrator] Myth, number nine, use top tier gas.
- Some people paradoxically believe
that if you put more expensive fuel in your gas tank
that you're gonna somehow get better fuel economy.
The more expensive gas must be higher quality, right?
Well, unfortunately that is not true.
Octane designates resistance to detonation,
91 octane fuel is designed for cars
with high cylinder pressure,
your German cars, turbocharge engines.
If you put a lower octane fuel
in your high octane car,
the fuel might detonate prematurely
which can also damage your engine
and 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 car needs 91, you gotta buy 91.
If your car needs 87, you gotta get 87.
- [Narrator] Meanwhile...
(engine whirring)
- [Jimmy] Pedal to the metal, let's go!
- [Narrator] Myth, number 10, remove your windshield wipers.
So this next one is actually already pretty dumb.
The myth is removing your windshield wipers
will actually increase the slippiness of your car
and reduce drag.
(dramatic music)
You need those for safety for one.
- [Nolan] Yeah.
- And they don't really do that much damage
to your aerodynamics.
- Oh, I'm gonna be worried about this one inch tall block
affecting the drag over the car.
How about you look at the front of the car itself?
There's no way that this has any effect
on your overall aerodynamics.
You know, there's people on farms that go as far to say
that you should remove your antenna, your rear spoiler
your rear view mirrors, which not only is very unsafe
but the savings are gonna be 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)
- [Narrator] Myth number 11, roll your windows up.
- Okay so another really easy trick to saving fuel
is rolling up your windows.
- So rolling up your windows can actually
increase 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 a windows down kind of guy,
especially if I'm not going that far,
I'll just roll the windows down.
But running the AC apparently is more efficient.
- [Narrator] Myth number 12, eco modding.
- So what happens when you take efficiency to the extreme?
Have you ever heard of eco modding?
- I have. There's a guy up in slow county, where I grew up
who had a geo metro with a bunch of lexan all over it.
It looked like something beetle juice would drive
to save gas almost.
- [Justin] Let's look at some examples.
- [Nolan] All right.
- [Justin] A lot of geos.
- [Nolan] Lot of geos.
- Yeah, there's a Porsche, oh man!
There's a Roadmaster, there's a wagon!
- It does actually make sense
for like road trips and stuff.
- [Justin] Not the motor though.
- No, definitely not.
The same principles that apply
for going really, really fast.
Also apply for saving gas, you know?
- Yeah, make your car as egg shape as possible.
Man, it feels like a lot of these guys are just like us.
There's just, they're going for efficiency and not fun.
But this is definitely science because we've heard
that some of these guys
are getting upwards of a hundred 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, let us know down the comments.
I'd love to do something like a Hellcat or something
stupidly inefficient, but yeah, let us know
- [Narrator] Myth number 13. Don't turn on your accessories.
- All right so our next myth is turning things off.
Like your lights, your AC, your radio,
all these little auxiliary things
you don't necessarily need to drive,
but they reduce the power and efficiency of your vehicle
while they're on.
But how does that work?
- [Nolan] For those that don't know,
an alternator is an electrical generator powered by a belt
attached to the engine.
And that's what things like your radio, lights,
and hologram anime girl are powered by.
Turning the alternator's pulley does consume some fuel
but it's always spinning whether the lights are on or not.
So how could turning them on increase fuel consumption?
It's actually because of what's inside the alternator.
There's a coil of wire that generates a magnetic field
and the pulley spins a bunch of magnets around it.
The strength of that field determines the resistance
those magnets have to overcome.
In other words, how much power the alternator
is taking away from the engine,
the more electrical stuff you turn on in the car,
the stronger that field gets,
and the more fuel is burned to keep those magnets spinning.
- So it's confirmed, headlights really do consume more fuel.
But how much difference does that really make?
Turns out, not much.
Turning your headlights on is estimated to
decrease fuel economy by less than 1%,
so go ahead and use your lights.
- Especially at night guys, come on.
- [Narrator] Myth number 14.
manual is better than automatic.
- Justin, have you heard the one about manual transmissions?
- Yeah I've heard that back in the day,
manuals were more efficient than automatics,
but there's no way that's true nowadays.
- The reason it was true back then is 'cause,
the transmissions had more gears.
It was really common,
like GM I think had a two speed transmission automatic.
Three speed was pretty common.
Then they started putting four speeds
and five speed manuals in cars, more gears.
Nowadays, modern automatics, they have up to 10 gears,
maybe even 11.
And that's just gonna let the car be
in its most efficient possible gearing.
Whereas manuals, pretty much limited
to six or sometimes seven speeds.
If you have a manual, you're probably the kind of person
who likes to put their foot on it and have some fun.
- [Justin] Exactly 'cause manuals are just
a preference nowadays.
They're not something that's actually needed or good.
- [Nolan] Yeah.
- [Justin] With the way technology is.
So if you're driving a manual, you're doing it for fun.
- Exactly.
Unfortunately, automatics have you beaten
efficiency for sure.
- So this one, it is a bad myth.
- Older cars manuals were more efficient,
nowadays, not true.
- So don't listen to those old people, yet again.
- Yeah, they never had TikTok or anime hologram girls.
- [Narrator] Myth number 15. HHO generator.
- All right so Jimmy just got back
from driving all around town.
Nolan knows the results after this HHO generator
but we were getting 16.4 miles 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 fuel source that we had for this
was not nearly big enough to power our car,
but Jeremiah thinks that he can build one.
- I actually funny enough built these in college.
I built and sold hydrogen generators on eBay.
Three people bought 'em.
- So if you wanna see that happen,
go ahead and and leave a comment down below
as for the number one tip 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 do
when gas prices are high.
Follow Justin on all social media, @justinfreemaan.
Follow me @nolanjsykes
and like and subscribe this video if you liked it
and wanna see more.
All right.
See you next time.
Bye.
- Trash!
(he splutters)