Gunther and Ottos Adventures

Came across this amazing story of a German called Gunther and his Mercedes called Otto.
Gunther has travelled through 195 countries (all but 16 counties on the planet) and Otto has clocked up 884,000km. Same engine and even the same pistons.

An incredible story of adventure, worth every minute of the read with pictures to go with.

Here is the BBC special written article.

Hydrogen (HHO) Fuel Mixture

On-board hydrogen generation, water powered fuel saving applied to the air intake air to increase power, fuel economy and decreasing emissions in a combustion engine.
I first heard about this at Ballina when someone at a camp ground had hydrogen injection (additive) system in his Diesel GQ patrol. He stated that he was getting I think 20 – 30% better fuel economy with it.
Sounded cool so I investigated. I was sceptical and more so after reading everyone online saying its all bullshit but the few people that have done this are reporting 5 – 40% fuel economy gain and better power. The argument against is that it takes just as much energy (12 volt power) to split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen as it produces energy in the engine. This argument seemed valid from my reading/understanding the law of conservation of energy. But the proof is in the pudding as they say so I investigated further.
While the energy output from the combustion may not be more than the energy used in its production. It would seem that the increase in energy comes from the increased efficiency of the burning of a hydrocarbon (diesel). The reading I have done indicates that the small amount of hydrogen that is highly explosive assists the burning of the diesel that is less so. In turn you get less fuel used to create the same or more explosive power inside the cylinder and more particulate matter is burnt off.
Now its my turn, I am investigating purchasing one of these systems ready to go or building my own. I do not plan on spending ridiculous amounts of money in case the return on investment is not suitable.
If anyone has any experience with this stuff or information please get in touch with me.
When I get around to this I plan on detailing it and conducting some thorough controlled experiments. I will be happy to admit failure when I can prove to myself that this isn’t the case.
Here are peer-reviewed articles that have scientifically tested and detailed this:
Diesel&HRG (
HydrogenGenerationInjection (

New Truck

So have bought a new 4WD!
2006 Nissan Patrol GUII TD4.2Ti Ute (Coil)
The last year the 4.2L Patrol was produced.

New_Patrol_BL New_Patrol_BL

Basically a power house 2 seat ute that can (will be able to) go anywhere, tow/carry anything and last for ever.
I have spent far more money purchasing this than I would have ever thought I would spend at my age but I found the car on Carsales and couldn’t take my eyes off it. My decision with this brand and model is based on quite a few facts and knowledge that I have acquired being in the 4WD club that I am in (The Motley Crew).
The Nissan Patrol has proved itself as a 4×4. The Patrol drive train is the strongest for the vehicle type available (less breakage in the Patrol vs Landcruiser under extreme conditions). The 4.2 is known as an extremely reliable engine and with good maintenance people have done over 1 Million K’s without an engine replacement.

While maintenance and fuel are likely to be an increased expenditure over a cheaper more modern 4WD I feel the likeliness I will hold onto this vehicle for 10+ years (depending on circumstances) will mean value for money in the long term. The resale value on these vehicles as proved by my purchase is due to the Ute’s being made with 3L from 2007 on and the reliability factor means I should loose less money over the life of the vehicle if maintained well.

I have many plans for this vehicle to make it a very capable 4WD and comfortable tourer. Some of these will include lift, mud tyres, winch, battery system, water tank and canopy just to name a few.
Progress and updates of the cars build will be posted here over time.