IMW Eco-Modding Experiment Results (updated)

For those of you who haven’t been following us for the past few months, here’s the deal:

Earlier this fall, we convinced Hyundai to partner with Illuminati Motor Works, one of the teams competing to design a 100 MPG car for the 2009 Automotive X-Prize, to see how many MPG they could wring out of two factory-standard Sonatas.

We gave them a small budget and just nine days, the idea being that we wanted them to test things that everyday car owners could do on their own, for low cost, on the weekends to boost the fuel efficiency of their existing cars, rather than plunking down $25,000 + for a hybrid. Our premise was that the most fuel efficient car on the road might be the one you already own, so to test this theory IMW tried a ton of common and not-so-common mods and used a ScanGauge MPG reader to measure exactly what difference each made on a variety of road tests.

So here’s what they found, organized in a simple display that we brought with us to Maker Faire in Austin, TX back in October. Just click on the photo then mouse over each section for a description of what the mod included and what difference it made! You might be surprised by what works and what doesn’t….

IMW Experiment Board

Originally uploaded by fdrizo

IMW on The Science Channel’s “Brink”

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post! We’ve been crazy busy and already it’s time to head into the holidays, but I wanted to tell you about something kind of awesome.

So there’s this new show on the Science Channel called “Brink,” that’s hosted by this guy, Josh Zepps. He interviewed IMW when we were down at Maker Faire in Texas in October, and finally, after all these months, the segment he shot for Brink hit the airwaves!

Watch it here. You kind of have to scroll down a bit on the right-hand side of the screen until you get to the clip titled “Maker Faire.” And you might ahve to watch an ad for diapers or something first :  (

Totally cool segment, though. Way to go, IMW! And I’m glad the post-carnies in charge of the giant mousetrap made the cut.

In a show of gratuitous co-promotion, this show seems like it’s actually going to be pretty cool. Catch it Fridays at 10 p.m.

Congrats to IMW- Maker Faire Editor’s Choice 2008

The editors of Make Magazine and organizers of Maker Faire have just awarded the Illuminati the “Editor’s Choice” and “Congeniality” award for the 2008 Maker Faire in Austin, TX.  

Not only have the guys gotten a huge response from visitors and Makers alike, but they’ve also impressed the editors of Make Magazine themselves, who have seen thousands of creative groups and ideas in the magazines 3 years of publication.

TONS of Interest

It’s only 4pm on our first day and already the guys of IMW have done a phenomenal job of showing off the two Sonatas in all their eco-modded glory.  

Makers and visitors alike have all been eager to learn how simply keeping your tires properly inflated and adding motor oil additives and antifreeze can improve miles-per-gallon by as much as 20%.  Like our handouts say…. “The ultimate fuel efficient machine may be the car you already own.”

children + large explosions = awe.some.

We’ve had so many people coming to talk to IMW about eco-modding that I haven’t really had a lot of time to explore the rest of Maker Faire, but I do know that there are large explosions and fireballs at the other end of the show hangar and children running all over the place. It takes me back to the Pog craze of 1997.

Seems like a lot of people are into what we’re here to talk about–a lot of factors contribute, but things like the price of gas, the terrible state of the economy, the perceived future terrible state of the economy and my favorite intangible force of nature, peer pressure, all add up to people not wanting to have to buy a new car to get decent MPG. The simple idea that the most fuel efficient car on the road could be the beater you’re already driving seems to resonate with a lot of people, especially these days.

IMW webcast IX

IMW webcast VIII

Finally at Maker Faire!

Holy crap this place is awesome. We just arrived at our booth, the Illuminati Motor Works team has put together a freaking amazing setup and all I have to say for the moment is the following:

They have a 30 foot high robot with one single purpose–to RickRoll people.

More on this later….

IMW webcast VII

IMW webcast VI