"Life Hacks" video on YouTube full of BAD advice

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This came up in my YouTube recommended list yesterday.. I thought "Oh, a lifehacks video on how to get better mileage from my car. Could be good"

It wasn't. In fact, it was loaded with really terrible advice, some of it potentially damaging to your car.



I made a comment about how bad his recommendation about "switching your thermostat to a colder one" is.. and he his response just made me want to facepalm. Have a look.
 
Colder engine (ie 160-180 deg thermostat) makes more horsepower? Maybe he meant to say colder air into the engine makes more HP.

+3 mpg for a K&N conical air filter? Looks like they moved the air intake from a cooler source to a hotter one....smart. A 4" 90-degree air inlet elbow is really restrictive? (I'd bet the air filter is much more restrictive). A wider snorkel inlet to that 4" air inlet makes more airflow and hp? (I suppose if you put a 2" flute on your garden hose it will flow more water). (Hey, why not route that air inlet down to a cooler place and ram it in from the grille/wheel well?...that will make horsepower will real/cool rammed air).

That guy's engine bay is no prize. After listening to that, I'm not sure there was a single piece of accurate information given other than stating the engine is a "giant air pump." Both of my cars have aluminum heads. In fact the last one I owned went 230K miles w/o warping.
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Colder engine (ie 160-180 deg thermostat) makes more horsepower? Maybe he meant to say colder air into the engine makes more HP.

+3 mpg for a K&N conical air filter? Looks like they moved the air intake from a cooler source to a hotter one....smart. A 4" 90-degree air inlet elbow is really restrictive? (I'd bet the air filter is much more restrictive). A wider snorkel inlet to that 4" air inlet makes more airflow and hp? (I suppose if you put a 2" flute on your garden hose it will flow more water). (Hey, why not route that air inlet down to a cooler place and ram it in from the grille/wheel well?...that will make horsepower will real/cool rammed air).

That guy's engine bay is no prize. After listening to that, I'm not sure there was a single piece of accurate information given other than stating the engine is a "giant air pump." Both of my cars have aluminum heads. In fact the last one I owned went 230K miles w/o warping.


You are absolutely correct regarding the location of the Air Inlet to a warmer area being a mistake. It is not easy (without careful measurement at all operating conditions) to determine what inlet temperatures underhood actually are; for example they may change at speed. Since there is little need for power at slow speeds it may be OK to be at a seemingly hot area that might be cool at speed, for example.

Also it is very dependent on the pressure available at the location, which would require testing with a manometer. You won't know the answer without testing. It is very vehicle-specific as well; there is no "one size fits all". The most obvious example is the "Cowl Induction" location at the base of the windshield; in some cars this is a low pressure area (bad), in some it's high (good).

I do disagree about the filter being more restrictive than the path, however. Bends in the path are quite restrictive while the typical OEM air filter flows more than the engine actually needs in stock form. On the other hand most OEM intake paths now incorporate Helmholtz Resonation optimization ... in layman's terms this is an acoustic chamber that acts in conjunction with the engine timing (ECM, plus Cam timing) to improve torque at some specific RPM. Removing that feature can reduce torque output from the engine. Again, very vehicle specific. (A Helmholtz Resonator in the intake looks outwardly somewhat like a plastic catalytic-converter shaped section).

The ideal filter location and path should be at the highest pressure area, typically in most cars this is at the front licence plate location. Depending on the shape of the vehicle body there may be other areas, but testing is required to determine where they are. The more aerodynamic the vehicle's shape, the less likely an alternate location can be found, and most modern cars have quite low drag coefficients, reducing the likelihood you will find an alternate.

Getting air from there to the motor's intake in a straight path or one with minimum bend severity is far from a trivial matter (the car's radiator tends to be right in the way, and it's hot itself), while any benefit requires at least freeway speeds, if not higher.

Because the stock filter is typically more than "good enough" the aftermarket filers like the K&N often offer no improvement at all. This can be improved, but not without careful intake tuning, and not, typically, on engines without power improvements over stock form. Put another way, any potential improvement in airflow can't be achieved without corresponding engine modification.

A (slightly) colder thermostat can make more power, but once more, not on a stock engine. Changing to a cooler thermostat is likely to put the ECM into an un-optimum tune in stock form; they expect to see the 195 thermostat and don't work well without it. A cooler thermostat in a race-prepared engine requires an aftermarket ECM (ideally) or modifications to the OEM ECM (band-aid method) in order to take advantage.
 
wow.. reminds me of that joke.. Can't fix stupid.. lol
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What I find entertaining is, I actually posted in the comments section, mostly as a warning to anyone viewing it, but also as a response to him:

"Modern engines require hotter operating temperatures to run at their most efficient. If you try to force them to run colder, you'll get worse fuel economy and your ECU will throw a CEL. DON'T do it. Ignore this really bad advice."

... his response:

"And the moment you engine gets slightly to hot, warped heads due to the fact aluminum. Aluminum let's go of heat quickly,true... But gives out at lower temperatures then cast iron. This is why mechanics and car manufactures love people who aren't in the know."

Besides the horrendous English, it appears his understanding of metallurgy is also way off. Also, I get the impression he's trying to call me clueless.


... boy I'd love to see what responses he would get if he tried posting stuff here.
 
I doubt a troll like that would even try and come here. They tend not to like facts/truth.. I did read the comment on youtube, thanks for posting it here. It was like wow.. can't fix stupid!!
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What's even more sad/funny is that he is arrogant and ignorant to anything close to the truth.
I'm glad you SirTannon, posted that, so that others can see the truth. I noticed others were posting that the guy was full of it too.
 
I put cooler thermostat in a 1987 Dodge Dakota (I think it 1987) and it ran alot better but the gas mileage tanked.
The garage told me it was because the engine was dumping the fuel to the motor trying to achieve the temperature that was supposed to be in it and not able to get it.
So with a computer car a cooler thermostat could raise your HP sort of.
 
I love those DYI videos people make where they stutter and stammer, call parts by the wrong name, and use a 16 inch adjustable wrench for everything. Wearing flip flops while doing mechanical work, and laying in the dirt with a loud radio playing isn't how they do it a my garage.,,,
 
Can't figure out how to turn phone sideways before recording.

I stopped watching 5 secs in.
 
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
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hmm, considering that changes timing...makes sense to me.
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Especially considering an incorrect understanding of minutes of arc if it rotates 60 degrees that would be an hour. Brilliant
(to clarify, one minute of arc is 1/60 of a degree, im referring to another issue of people thinking that a minute is one degree)
 
the bar to entry on youtube being so low means there will be more garbage than good.
nature of the beast.
scary part is these folks reproduce.....
 
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