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The art of auto engineering

howacarworks.com

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Re: The art of auto engineering

#31

Post by AlexMuir »

kkirsche wrote: post #29
AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

I hope you are doing well these days after what sounds like a challenging journey to get to this point. Thanks for making and sharing this great content.

I'm great thanks! It's been an adventure and that's what life is about, eh?

Re: The art of auto engineering

#32

Post by savgore »

AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

I bought this course a year or two back and I don't feel short changed whatsoever, I really enjoyed it and thought that something will have caused the projec to drop off as the passion and knowledge is there in all your content.

Thanks for the work you've done on it so far - and super excited to find out that the passion is still burning to make it even better.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#33

Post by bluetomcat »

fl7305 wrote: post #13
bluetomcat wrote: post #9

Good stuff, but to do all this "at home" requires ample garage space and a solid investment in tools and equipment. It also helps to have non-busy roads in the vicinity, in order to do "test flights" after the fixes. It is certainly helpful as a guide to understand the basic automotive systems and not get scammed at repair shops, but for most people to start wrenching on their car confidently, not so much.

I went from zero knowledge to changing my timing belt with the aid of the mfg manuals and YouTube videos. A general series like this really helps putting individual YT videos into context. A YT video on changing the timing belt might show me all the steps, but not how the engine internals look and what "interfering" means.

You can do many small repairs and maintenance activities without much specialised tools and equipment, but to confidently disassemble and rebuild engines, fuel and exhaust systems, body parts, driveline components, etc., requires more than a few hours of videos.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#34

Post by AlexMuir »

bluetomcat wrote: post #9

Good stuff, but to do all this "at home" requires ample garage space and a solid investment in tools and equipment. It also helps to have non-busy roads in the vicinity, in order to do "test flights" after the fixes. It is certainly helpful as a guide to understand the basic automotive systems and not get scammed at repair shops, but for most people to start wrenching on their car confidently, not so much.

This is true - I can only speak about Europe but almost no young people have feasible access to either the space or tools to do any of this unless it's their career or they have family. I wish I could solve the space, tools, and money situation but I can at least help with knowledge.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#35

Post by dsfyu404ed »

Reason077 wrote: post #24
moffkalast wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why spend hours Googling when I can just ask the latest version of GPT in and it'll tell me how to work the problem and diagnose it.

The main problem with GPT is that it will sometimes quite confidently give you incorrect information. It's like a kid who will just make up some elaborate story rather than admit they don't know something. So it can't be considered a trustworthy source. Yet.

This. Asking GPT is basically like asking Reddit or some other "non expert" commentary system that's basically a pool of existing high level information.

It works fine if you want to know how to change a generic wheel bearing on a trailer (wouldn't surprise me if it erroneously lectured you about using high temp grease for disc brakes along the way tho). It falls on its face in almost every case in which the generic "average google result" answer is not the correct answer or there is situational circumstances that make the generic answer inappropriate.

Sure you might get an "expert" answer on Reddit and GPT might scan over the "right" answer to your question in its computation but in most cases the generically correct but wrong in this instance answer is going to be more popular and more prolific and be what gets spit back at you and it'll be faster for you to just dig up the right answer yourself than coax the right answer out of whatever you're asking.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#36

Post by ljf »

Reason077 wrote: post #24
moffkalast wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why spend hours Googling when I can just ask the latest version of GPT in and it'll tell me how to work the problem and diagnose it.

The main problem with GPT is that it will sometimes quite confidently give you incorrect information. It's like a kid who will just make up some elaborate story rather than admit they don't know something. So it can't be considered a trustworthy source. Yet.

I asked GPT about some snorkel trails near my house, as I wanted to know what it knew of them and see if there was anything I didn't know about that I should find out before I snorkel again.

First of all it told me that the area is not suitable for snorkelling, and that it is dangerous here. When I corrected it and reminded it about the snorkel trail it confidently corrected itself, then directed to me to snorkel 6 miles out to sea (where a windfarm is) telling me that the sea is only 2 to 10 meters deep there, and safe to snorkel. This is not true, and it would be a very dangerous place to snorkel there. But its confidence was scary.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#37

Post by AlexMuir »

savgore wrote: post #32
AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

I bought this course a year or two back and I don't feel short changed whatsoever, I really enjoyed it and thought that something will have caused the projec to drop off as the passion and knowledge is there in all your content. Thanks for the work you've done on it so far - and super excited to find out that the passion is still burning to make it even better.

I'm so happy to hear that. The initial 20-hour estimate was just guesswork really. I made 14 hours so far and we haven't even got through the engine, never mind the transmission, steering, suspension, fuel, ECU, brakes, and so on. Probably be more like 50 hours in the end!

Re: The art of auto engineering

#38

Post by samwillis »

devnullbrain wrote: post #19
AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

Using an NB Miata is interesting: they're common donor cars for modern Locosts. That crowd might appreciate this as the ultimate workshop manual.

For those unaware a "Locost" is a Lotus 7 self build replica from the incredible 1996 book "Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as £250"

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0854299769/ref=dbs_a_def...

The original donor car was (I think) a Mk3 Ford Escort, obviously they are a collectors car now.

There have been a number of revisions now, it's published by Haynes the publisher of many car repair manuals. There is also a whole network of small business selling parts, you can buy ready made chassis and body panels for them.

I was gifted the book in the late 90s as a teenager, always planed to one day build one. And the fact the house I bought a few years ago has a garage with an inspection pit is only making it more tempting.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#39

Post by AlexMuir »

jonhysilvers wrote: post #22
AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

I bought the course a couple years ago, really happy to know that there's more content on the way. PS: I could never had imagined that the acceleration pedal controls air intake and not gas.

Lots of this stuff surprises me too. If you haven't already - check out Tim Hunkin's Secret Life of... series. https://www.youtube.com/@timhunkin1

Re: The art of auto engineering

#40

Post by dsfyu404ed »

bluetomcat wrote: post #33
fl7305 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went from zero knowledge to changing my timing belt with the aid of the mfg manuals and YouTube videos. A general series like this really helps putting individual YT videos into context. A YT video on changing the timing belt might show me all the steps, but not how the engine internals look and what "interfering" means.

You can do many small repairs and maintenance activities without much specialised tools and equipment, but to confidently disassemble and rebuild engines, fuel and exhaust systems, body parts, driveline components, etc., requires more than a few hours of videos.

Everyone's first time with each of those subjects is prefaced by "a few hours of video" (or equivalent).

Nobody goes from doing nothing to doing everything in one go. It's the sum of many iterations of education then experience on many smaller subjects.

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