MythBusters

Do not try what we do on this show at home.

We are what you call experts.

Stay safe.

On this episode of "Mythbusters"... Bring in the next baby.

There you go.

The team selects six of your ideas.

Strong like bull.

Yep. On this request-fest special

every letter or e-mail that gets pulled from the randomizer

will get tested.

The myths to emerge will involve fuel bills, thrills and spills.

The result from this are extremely surprising.

There will be freezing..

...and sneezing.

I look like a vampire. Aargh..

Tuxedos and tantrums.

So cover your mouth, buckle up

and find out if lady luck has picked you.

All right. It is party time.

Who are the "Mythbusters"?

Adam Savage. Jamie Hyneman.

Is that hot enough for you?

Joining them, Grant Imahara.

Kari Byron.

That's messed up!

And Tory Belleci.

They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

If you have ever sent in a myth request get ready

because in this hour of viewer power,

the tests are at your behest.

What's all this stuff?

This is the "Mythbusters" request fest.

We have taken a random pile of fan submissions for stories we should do

we've put them in this bin

and soon we will do whatever we draw out of here.

Are you ready? Yeah. All right.

Pick one.

What does it say? Dear Mythbusters.

Can a super secret agent spy arrive at fancy party via scuba,

unzip his dive suit and emerge party ready in a spiffy tux?

Heh, spiffy. I have seen this several times

and I want to know if it is possible.

Your biggest fan... I can't read the signature.

That is a great story.

I think we should totally do it.

Do I get to wear the tux?

Absolutely.

Okay then.

It is a classic cinematic costume conundrum.

The super secret spy slips out of the water

and unzips his dive suit, revealing an immaculate tuxedo.

But can a scuba-dive arrival really leave you high, dry and ready to party?

What do you think the plan is?

It's easy.

One of us scuba dives to a party

and the other one arrives by normal means.

When we get there an impartial judge sees if both of our tuxes pass muster.

Exactly.

Okay. But first I think we need a lesson in proper tux etiquette from a pro.

As it happens I have one right here.

Hello Bertrand. Hello Jamie.

Narrator, please tell the nice folks

at home about Bertrand's credentials.

Image consultant, fashion author and all-around style guru,

Bertrand is the perfect person

to get Adam and Jamie looking ship shape

for their upcoming boat party.

Adam, here is yours. Thanks.

When it comes to black tie

it is really important a tuxedo be absolutely perfect.

Otherwise, you will be mistaken for the head waiter.

Also overlooked are the shoes

and really the standard is patent leather.

Apparently patent leather is critical.

It's got to be a hand-tied bow tie.

A clip-on tie just doesn't cut it. The hand-tied bow tie

gives a man his individuality.

Finally the white handkerchief

need to have the pocket square.

That's a pocket square, not a napkin?

It is not a dinner napkin.

Jamie, how do you feel?

I feel kind of tied up like a pot roast actually.

Despite Jamie's discomfort

our dapper duo are now impeccably dressed.

Here we go. I think we're a proper pair of penguins.

And for the myth to be confirmed

that's standard that has to be maintained.

Regardless of their method of transport to the party.

This penguin providing a comparative baseline

will be traveling in comfort above water.

Perfect.

But Agent Hyneman, codenamed "The Walrus", wearing state-of-the-art scuba gear

over the top of his party gear will be going sub-aqua.

All right. It's party time.

All right. Request-fest randomizer, you guys ready?

Go for it.

All right. Here we go.

This is hilarious.

Okay.

This letter says... Hey guys,

I heard that if your car tires are slightly deflated

only by a few psi, fuel efficiency can tail off massively.

I drive a lot.

I would like to know if that's true.

Yeah, we get this one a lot.

That's only half the story.

Yes, there's some people that say

if you have lower pressure you get lower mileage.

But there are other people who say

if you overinflate you get better mileage.

A fuel efficiency myth. I love it.

Everybody loves to save money.

We will take a car, bypass the fuel tank

and install our own fuel cell.

One we can remove and weigh so that we know exactly how much

fuel we are using during the tests.

Sounds great.

Then we do three tests.

Obviously we start with the control, right pressure.

And then we move on to underpressure and overpressure.

This being Mythbusters we are going to have to try

super low pressure and super high pressure.

Oh, yeah.

To test the randomly selected viewer request,

the team demobbed to a remote location.

We have come to an abandoned naval base

so we can test our tire pressure fuel efficiency myth.

We are going to lay out a track,

drive it five different times

exactly the same with five different tire pressures

and see if tire pressure really does

have an effect on your fuel efficiency.

When we get down to actually driving the car,

we can't just go crazy out there.

You have to have a very specific route.

We have to drive the same route every time at the same speed

and the exact same way.

What's more, the weight of the car cannot change between tests.

That's the only way we will be able to compare our results.

Okay. This is fuel efficiency, tire pressure,

we'll start out with our control test,

35 psi which is the manufacturer's recommended pressure.

All right. Let's get to driving.

In charge of making sure Kari adheres to

the meticulously planned course is back seat driver Imahara.

Stop and hold for ten seconds.

Each of the requisite stops

and periods of acceleration are carefully timed

to ensure consistency between the runs.

With the control complete, the guys whip out the fuel cell, weigh it

and crunch the crucial numbers.

That's 8916 grams.

Okay.

Let's take it down to ten psi and do the test again.

The next two tests will be

at the extreme end of the tire pressure spectrum.

Okay. Here we go.

Underinflated at 10 psi, the handling is adversely affected.

You are now at 50.

You can actually... it feels squirrely.

But the team completes

the identical circuit safely.

And move on to the extreme overinflated test.

60 psi. Hit it.

Overinflation to this degree is obviously not recommended.

In addition to risking a dangerous blow-out

the tires will wear unevenly.

But according to some fans, it is supposedly more fuel efficient.

Now, I get the reasoning behind this.

It makes sense. Okay.

You fill your tire to 60 psi

you're getting less contact with the road

because the tire is bulging, there's less of a footprint there.

You are getting less rolling resistance and, therefore,

you are possibly getting better fuel efficiency.

That's the theory.

But the number crunching will have to wait.

Because on the next two tests, the guys are working within real

world parameters of 15% above and below the control.

Feel like we have been here before.

Let's get to the results.

Okay. What have we got?

Okay.

So for the plus 15% overinflated tires at 40 psi,

we consumed 6.2% less fuel.

Makes sense.

In the case of the 15% underinflated at 30 psi

we consumed 1.2% more fuel.

Confirming the myth, the numbers for the extreme tests

are even more extreme.

Basically flat tires increase friction and, therefore,

increased fuel consumption.

But when it comes to saving money,

the raw numbers don't tell the whole story.

And here's why.

What we're finding with the underinflated tires,

is that we're consuming more fuel.

And this makes sense.