Idea for a YouTube series.

[TheAussieStig30]

Been having a few thoughts about doing a YouTube series, it might be pretty popular.

Basically I'm looking at a group of us buying a car, driving it for a month or so, to gain some fuel efficiency figures, then doing modifications to it to try and improve the fuel usage.

I'm thinking a early 90's Festiva cause they're cheap and not a bad thing.

We can do a few different things from removing weight, different oils, different exhaust, adding aerodynamics, removing bits from the engine, all sorts of stuff.

I'm thinking it would be popular as people want to save fuel, and if we use an affordable car and do cheap mods, they can try them out themselves and see how they go.

Anyone interested??

[mash again]

google hypermiling, some crazy stuff some will do to get better economy, like always drive on the white line for less friction.

[Dash_XR]

Mighty Car Mods but with more Aussie cars.

[TheAussieStig30]

Yeah I've read a few sites about it, the general theme though is do a mod, drive it for a week, compare it to the original figure and see if there was any gains. Even stuff like choosing different fuel brands/blends etc and working out advantages premium to normal fuel, working out cost per km, and if it's better to use premium or normal fuel etc,

Not full on hyper mile but definitely simple stuff like shutting off at reds, coasting down hills, etc etc and see if a 20 year old car can be as efficient as a brand new one with minimal mods, then eventually go full on and hyper mile and try to get the best economy out of it on a trip interstate or something, I dunno.

Only sort of pieced it together but with a few funny guys and some clever engineering it should be pretty successful.

[TheAussieStig30]

Mighty car mods but not changing cars ever week, and mods just specifically to improve economy, but yeah, same feel, backyard stuff, minimal $ spend, adapting stuff from wreckers etc.

[Dash_XR]

The two hosts make the show though, content can be fined tuned later I guess. They work on there own cars and bombs to keep costs down.

[TheAussieStig30]

Yeah, true, but there's a lot of other people that will work well together and put on a good show. Sometimes they're not as technical as I would like and occasionally they **** me, Moog sometimes takes it a bit too far on the annoying scale.

My idea would probably appeal to a smaller demographic as it's specifically for improving fuel economy, and seeing gains/losses with specific mods, but it think it's a good thing.

Look at one of my examples, choosing the right fuel. If we test, say, 6 brands of fuels and each fuel, we can confidently say that X manufacturer and Y fuel gave us the best economy and a breakdown of running costs per km for each fuel. Now, for people who do big km, if it means that one company's fuel costs 20c/km less to run they can save serious money. And personally, I think TV or radio stations would pick up on stuff like that and plug the channel and get more views.

You're right, the hosts are a big part. So it would need likeable guys or girls, or both, who work well together and can be funny.

[Dash_XR]

Yeah mate I didn't mean act like them or anything just that they work well together which makes it interesting. Like UK top gear compared to the Aussie one, it can't seemed forced.

Fuel economy is definitly going to become more of an interest as prices continue to rise so definitly a good topic.

[TheAussieStig30]

Oh yeah, UK top gear works awesome, Aus didn't and even US doesn't work as well.

Unfortunately not many of my friends are car minded, and the ones who are, aren't interested in this style of thing.

Once it takes off, we could even try different cars, 6cyl, V8's, LPG vs petrol, loads of things.

Another would be full synthetic oil v mineral oil, if it reduced friction on the engine (which it does) does it improve fuel economy? Is it worth paying $60 for a bottle of oil in fuel economy alone? Same deal with platinum/iridium plugs, even auto and manual gearboxes. I think there's something that will appeal to everyone.

I'd love to see the difference in a small 4cyl with normal wheels, mag wheels and space saver wheels all around filled with nitrogen.

Difference between EFI and carb, differences between cold air intake and none, reusable filters versus stock and pods, the list is never ending.

The format would need to be technical enough to appeal to smart guys but fun and simple enough to appeal to everyone. It could be a series type thing where one series the engine is focused on, then the exterior, then interior, then a section with fun stuff, myths, stupid things that are meant to make huge gains like the eBay mods.

I'm sure it would take off

[Yellow_Festiva]

There is an older Aussie couple that hold several economy records, smashing (the already near impossible to obtain) factory figures by 30-40%.

Your idea has merit but it sounds like a bit of what MCM'S and mythbusters has already done.

PS, you will have at least 1 fan if you do a show on dropping a Mazda b6 engine into a late 90's Festiva :-)

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

PS, you will have at least 1 fan if you do a show on dropping a Mazda b6 engine into a late 90's Festiva :-)

Make that two, lol.

[TheAussieStig30]

Haha something to look at later, but yes, an engine swap for more economy would be something along the lines of my idea.

MCM cover a lot of things, not just economy, so my idea is different in that respect. The format, and feel, however, yeah, would be similar.

[pottery beige]

you do realise you cant film this sort of thing on your phone, slap it on youtoobs and its all cool story bro

[pottery beige]

check this out for some slick camera, editing tips and sound effects

how to basics

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR4s1DE9J4DHzZYXMltSMAg

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

you do realise you cant film this sort of thing on your phone, slap it on youtoobs and its all cool story bro

There's a guy on YouTube who does exactly that with test drives. He started doing it while in college to get his Pharm D. degree, and now has enough viewers that he makes more money from his YouTube channel than he will with his doctorate. I don't even think he edits his footage, but I could be wrong. I am talking about Kyle Lindsey (Saabkyle04).

[Dash_XR]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

you do realise you cant film this sort of thing on your phone, slap it on youtoobs and its all cool story bro

There is thousands of them, people that just sit there talking about how boring their life is have thousands of subscribers lol.

[pottery beige]

cool, spose it will be ok long as you dont use an i potato phone

[Dash_XR]

Granted you have to put a bit of effort in but not much. You are only after a certain viewer really.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

cool, spose it will be ok long as you dont use an i potato phone

I'm very happy with my potato phone.....

....but

Apple ad filmed entirely on iPhone celebrates 30 years of Mac

http://www.youtube.com/embed/zJahlKPCL9g

Now that is cool.....

[turbojosh]

Definitely sounds like something I'd want to watch! Hell I'd even want to be apart of it if it ends up happening!

[Xauterus]

Just start doing it and see if you get a following. It is not like you need to invest too much into it.
A guy on youtube started a sucessful series called Mustang Medic and it was all on an i potato. Has a fully equipped workshop now.

[TheAussieStig30]

I thought about doing it as a one man show but I don't think it would work out. Ideally, it needs at least 2, if not 3 people to do it the way I'm planning.

Plus, I'm at work 6 days a week, have a considerable back injury, have no shed to store a car in, and I currently own a XB GS I'm doing an engine swap on, a XE V8 I'm playing with, plus my daily and my wife's daily, so if I pulled up with a car and a camera I'd be scalped.

I have an iPhone but would rather use HD gopros or similar for the project, but starting out with a few iPhones, provided there is good mounts for them isn't too bad, I suppose.