Adam it's time to get back in the water and sink the car again. this time make a cup out of your hand, shirt or hat. catch the air in a pocket, then breath from the air pocket...this should work!

-Adam

When I watch this the first idea that came to my head was to take apart a BIC pen (most people have at least one in there car), and use the tube as a straw to breath in the air. Like they said though you are going to be in pretty bad shape if your car hits the water, and if you were able to do all this without drowning it would be a miracle.

Breathing from the tire would require use of items from inside the car. perhaps if the tire was cut and use of a empty bic pen was inserted into the opening to breath.

quote:

Originally posted by mythmod:
Can you breathe the air in your tires if your car goes underwater?

Talk about it here!

MythMod

Am I the only one who thought that sinking the whole car was totally unnecessary? You could of just sank the tire, maybe?

Why couldn't he use a funnel?

quote:

Originally posted by slinky471:
I think he should have tried biting the tire stem. That way he could have inserted the stem in his mouth while sealing his lips around it so no water comes in. Then bite through the stem to start the air flow.

I like that idea, too. Personally, I agree with some of the other people that this myth seemed very rushed. Sure, breathing out of a pressurized tire is pretty impractical, but the whole premise of the myth is impractical. So why bust it so quick?
I felt like they could have found some way to make it work. Not to mention having someone other than Adam trying it. Not that he's incompetent, but he's not exactly an action hero haha
I wanted to see more than 2 tests, more than one person trying it, and more possible ways to extract the air from the tire. I think this one is highly plausible, at least in the idea conditions of the pool, that is

on the underwater tire breathing you could use a walmart sack and fill it up with the air and breathe out of that

The hole Adam made wasn't big enough. Bigger hole, bigger bubble, easier breath. He could've also used his shirt or hat (something made of fabric) to trap the air in a pocket, then breath out of that. I do it all the time when I go swimming. A hand wouldn't provide a big enough breath. The pen tube idea isn't bad either...

As I was watching this show, I heard Adam say something about your face being bloody from the crash and I thought about the airbag, which would deploy in the crash. Could you breathe from that airbag. Also some air would be caught on the ceiling

Per a diver that has "been there, done that", jab a pen housing into the stem area, lock lips around - swallow the small amount of water in you mouth - then push for air, breath, exhale, push for air, breath, exhale... PS this diver also drinks beer underwater (needs to be a bottle).

you have to remember that there is a button on the valve that has to be pushed to open the valve. the best bet in my opinion is to cut the stem to use it like a straw.

problem with trying to put mouth on the valve stem was that the valve stem was to close to the tire which allowed both bubbles and water to enter the mouth. Maybe try longer valve stems or aftermarket valve stem extenders designed for aftermarket hub caps.

this myth should be revisited. adam couldnt get any air because the valve stem was too short. i believe if the tire had a longer valve stem or one of those stem extensions, there would be a better chance of getting air.

Needs to be revisited and they should use a valve stem remover and breathe the air that way.

all you need to do with the under water breathing is cup your hand over your mouth to catch the air as it rises. i've done it this way in the past

I've read through several of these posts and while I'll agree using your shirt, hat, bag, hands even to cup the air are would work without to much effort some of these ideas I got to laugh at. First biting, cutting, breaking the valve stem, forget it. Your underwater, running out of air, time is a serious issue. I'd say again, go get a bicycle inner tube or an old tire and try and break that stem off by hand your going to be in for a surprise. Oh and wet it first so it's as slippery as it would be under water. Your not going to break it or snap it off and if you bite it, unless your like Jaws from James Bond, your going to have broken teeth. Valve stem remover... ummm not likely to be in the car so scratch that, and if you've ever used one, using it under water while your running out of air, again forget it.

Not trying to hurt peoples feelings but come on, think practical here.

I'm a lifeguard and we learn how to create big flooting devices out of just clothes (if your stuck or something). So basically you can tie a knot at the waist and the sleeves of your shirt, then you could put the hole of the tire where the neck is. The air will go up to the top of the shirt and the water will flow out. When the shirt is full of air you can put the shirt over your head (with the neckline facing down) and breath through the neckline. Its not the best solution but it should give you a good two or three breaths of air (and you can always do it over with other tires).

You can also breath out inside of the shirt because we only use a small percentage of the oxygen we breathe (thats why mouth to mouth works).

animematt - I thought the same thing when I saw this. Why sink the whole car, but I'm sure if they only took the tire, everyone here would be complaining the tire wasn't on the car.

windnwar - well said.

I'm pretty sure it's possible to do and I agree that it was busted a touch too soon.

In a jacuzzi pool I learned to breath the air from the bubbles at the bottom of the pool and while I didn't get it on my first couple tries by creating a perfect seal I'm able to stay under for minutes at a time.

While a tire valve is different from a jacuzzi it's the same idea... High pressure air from a small hole.

I would suggest starting small with a bicycle in a kiddie pool. Work your way up to a motorcycle before you try a car. James Bond started small too.

first of all I really enjoy the show
I am a cold water diver on the east coast and one of the first things that we learn was how to breath from a free flowing regulator(ie cupping your hand over the mouth piece and breath)I know I wasn't the one in the pool but this seemed like a plausable solutionto me.