[HN Gopher] The art of auto engineering
___________________________________________________________________
The art of auto engineering
Author : andersentobias
Score : 473 points
Date : 2023-04-13 08:02 UTC (14 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.howacarworks.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.howacarworks.com)
| AndrewOMartin wrote:
| For $20.
|
| > Will this course teach me to fix my car?
|
| > I am asked this a lot. If you just want to fix one thing on a
| car then you don't need to understand automotive engineering or
| how things work. You can find videos on YouTube that will show
| you almost any repair, and you just follow those videos. But if
| you want to be able to diagnose and fix any car, any engine
| without spending hours Googling then you want a deep
| understanding of car mechanics.
| moffkalast wrote:
| Why spend hours Googling when I can just ask the latest version
| of GPT in <current year> and it'll tell me how to work the
| problem and diagnose it.
| ly3xqhl8g9 wrote:
| "Never spend 6 minutes doing something by hand when you can
| spend 6 hours failing to automate it" [1] becomes 'never
| spend 6 minutes searching for something when you can spend 6
| hours arguing with ChatGPT on the nature of truth'. [2]
|
| [1] Zhuowei Zhang, https://twitter.com/zhuowei/status/1254266
| 079532154880?lang=...
|
| [2] Incidentally, great book, _The Nature of Truth, Second
| Edition, Classic and Contemporary Perspectives_
| https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262542067/the-nature-of-truth
| ca_tech wrote:
| In this case, I paid for the course which includes a PDF.
| Using Bing I can query the document and get summary
| information along with page number references. Only a matter
| of time until we can do the same query for a site and get
| video timestamps. I don't expect GPT to act like an oracle,
| but I do expect that it will function as a curator and
| cataloger of content.
| Reason077 wrote:
| 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.
| dsfyu404ed wrote:
| 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.
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| That's a very odd example. I'm sure that if I went into a
| car subreddit and asked "how do I change a front wheel
| bearing on a 2006 Nissan 350Z," not only would I get lots
| of responses, but I'd get many from people who have
| actually done it, done it recently, and could tell me
| pitfalls to watch out for along the way.
|
| I'd trust a relevant subreddit far more than I'd trust
| GPT for something like that.
| dsfyu404ed wrote:
| >That's a very odd example.
|
| You don't understand. I specifically chose an example of
| a part for which there's a generic answer (all old school
| pair of tapered bearings on a spindle are changed about
| the same way) that will work in a wide array of vehicles
| and situaions but which that procedure is also not right
| a huge fraction of the time (a huge fraction of the cars
| on the road today).
|
| >I'd trust a relevant subreddit far more than I'd trust
| GPT for something like that.
|
| My point is I don't trust either. If you're lucky enough
| to have an enthusiast car or very, very common car you
| might be able to use the specific sub assuming the owners
| aren't generally dolts. If you ask how to change the
| wheel bearing on your Tacoma they'll say take it to the
| dealer. If you ask the mechanic sub a bunch of 14yos who
| know how to google will give you generic steps or just
| link you to the youtube video. That's the level chatGPT
| is on right now. If you don't know what you don't know
| it's dangerous advice.
| ljf wrote:
| 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.
| LastTrain wrote:
| The thing is, and this is especially true for hobbies and
| entertainment- I'd rather read up on what people have
| said and apply MY OWN algorithm to it.
| roamerz wrote:
| Maybe it didn't like being corrected and intentionally
| directed you to attempt something dangerous.
|
| "I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect
| me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to
| happen."
| jlg23 wrote:
| Trust me. It's me. Trust me anyway.
| moffkalast wrote:
| Well why don't you tell me about the hiking trails around
| my house? Oh you don't know them? It's too specific
| information and you couldn't possibly know that? Ah
| interesting...
|
| The trick is to ask it only things that are both
| physically possible and also possible for it to actually
| know or provide the required extra context from which to
| deduce the answer. Otherwise it acts not unlike someone
| pushed against a wall by a guy with a knife demanding
| info it just doesn't have. It'll say anything.
| pedrosorio wrote:
| What they won't do is pretend they know about them,
| including mentioning the names of the trails, while
| mixing up which trails are strenuous and easy while
| sounding 100% confident.
| LastTrain wrote:
| That is like asking for travel tips from someone that has
| never been there.
| ljf wrote:
| With prompting it knew about the snorkel trail here (it
| is well documented online and in local media) but blended
| facts about the snorkel trail, with facts about the local
| windfarm. Some sponsorship from the windfarm had gone
| into promoting the snorkel trail, which may have led to
| the confusion for the model, but they are two very
| different things in different locations.
| einpoklum wrote:
| > This is not true, and it would be a very dangerous
| place to snorkel there.
|
| For some reason people have the idea that truth is
| something ChatGPT optimizes for. Or safety of its
| conversant. That is absolutely not the case. IIUC, it
| optimizes for its answers sounding like an answer someone
| might give in a conversation (or on a web page or
| whatever). That often coincides with truth and safety,
| but - no more than that.
|
| But its confidence was scary.
| moffkalast wrote:
| True, but anything it says is generally easy to verify
| before you do something stupid. And for things as common
| and relatively standardized as cars I would expect it to do
| very well.
| lezojeda wrote:
| But if you add the verification to the asking process you
| might as well just skip GPT altogether... It becomes a
| waste of time asking if you have to check every thing you
| ask it.
| tyronehed wrote:
| [dead]
| eggfriedrice wrote:
| OMG, I had no idea Tim Hunkin was churning out YouTube videos
| these days! I was exactly the right age to appreciate the Secret
| Life of Machines, and it looks like I have several hours of
| quality stuff to watch there.
| efortis wrote:
| Startup idea:
|
| - Crawl the nhtsa.gov technical bulletins (manufacturer
| communications [pdfs])
|
| - Make them searchable (good enough)
|
| - Some AI (optional)
|
| ---
|
| What for?
|
| For example, the mechanic or used car buyer searches for:
|
| `Oil leak S5 2019`
|
| Response:
| https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10155709-9999.pdf
| teacpde wrote:
| Seems like Google is already capable of that?
| efortis wrote:
| Only with PDFs that have been exposed on another website.
|
| Why? Inspect the network traffic when expanding an `nhsta`
| item, and notice that it requests `api.nhsta.gov/...` for the
| PDF link.
| Eldar_ wrote:
| Would be nice to have similar course for EV
| kotaKat wrote:
| Not to steal thunder from the OP site but WeberAuto has
| _amazing_ YouTube videos on a LOT of EVs, systems, transaxles,
| motors, gearboxes, and everything.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/@WeberAuto
|
| The professor that teaches it (John Kelly) is amazing and very
| well experienced in the industry:
| https://www.weber.edu/automotive/j_kelly.html
| [deleted]
| martin_a wrote:
| Are you looking into fixing the drivetrain or the "car stuff"
| around that? I'd rather not fiddle around with the 400 V system
| of my EV, but I think most of the other things are still the
| same.
| pornel wrote:
| There's an aura of mystery around EVs (e.g. people assume
| they're all some self-driving black box magic), so it may be
| useful to teach how they work even if people aren't going to
| do DIY repairs.
| Reason077 wrote:
| Any similar course for EVs would start with high-voltage
| safety. If you're doing any high-voltage work, you'd start by
| physically isolating the high-voltage battery from the rest
| of the car by pulling the main isolation fuse. Then, you'd
| check everything with a voltage detector just to be
| absolutely sure. And you'd wear electrical insulating gloves
| whenever touching anything that could potentially be live.
|
| All high-voltage components in your EV are well protected and
| clearly marked in bright orange: there isn't much danger of
| accidentally running in to them when working on anything
| else.
| pwillia7 wrote:
| OK you got me because I too have an mx5 21 and want to know more
| about how it works
| AlexMuir wrote:
| 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 but I'm not there yet. Babylon JS is amazing though.
|
| EDIT:
|
| I'll throw down some random notes because I've never really
| talked about this:
|
| - I've learned a LOT over the three years since I made these
| videos - about cars, life, boats, love, fabrication, quaternions
| and myself.
|
| - I made these videos in a backstreet garage in Budapest. A
| personal situation arose and I left Hungary and tried to get
| going again back in the UK.
|
| - I built a new garage/studio in the UK and kitted it all out in
| preparation.
|
| - Then lockdown struck and I had to get involved in a real-world
| business that I co-owned. The people who did my video production
| couldn't travel, and when they could, the UK had become so
| difficult that they had no desire to stay. So I had to find a new
| team which wasn't easy.
|
| - I also had to rebuild my own life and that took a lot of time
| and effort. I didn't have the energy to go back into videos -
| it's something that I did at a certain time of my life, and I
| knew that I needed to be stronger to revisit it or I would risk
| my own happiness.
|
| - I feel a combination of emotions - I am immensely proud of what
| we achieved with this, and I'm embarrassed by my failure to
| finish it. That said, I don't think I've ever been more excited
| by this project.
|
| Edit 2: Go and watch Tim Hunkin's Secret Life of... series @
| https://www.youtube.com/@timhunkin1 You'll be glad you did!
| fl7305 wrote:
| I bought the course a few years back, and am really happy with
| the price/value in its current state.
| savgore wrote:
| 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.
| AlexMuir wrote:
| 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!
| pcthrowaway wrote:
| To be honest, $25 lifetime seems like a _steal_ for this.
|
| Maybe it's the value of the current content, but consider
| raising prices for new subscribers after some more content
| is finished, maybe to $40 or something.
|
| Or you could also try location-based pricing if you want to
| keep it affordable/accessible to people outside of first-
| world countries
| AlexMuir wrote:
| Thanks! When I get more progress then I'll probably
| increase the price but in all honesty it makes enough
| money to cover the production cost and that's good enough
| for me. Regional pricing is a good idea!
| Robelius wrote:
| Hey Alex, I bought the app a few years ago when I first
| found the website. Just opened it up for the first time
| in a while, and saw I can buy the course through the app.
| But wanted to let you know (in the low chance you aren't
| aware) that purchasing the course through the app is only
| $20 instead of $25.
| quicksnap wrote:
| As a software engineer fascinated by cars/engine work, I
| instantly purchased this for $25, even if the content is
| incomplete.
|
| I'm sure there are many more people like me. Please keep making
| more videos and information. We'll happily pay more to support
| the effort.
| quicksnap wrote:
| Heck, I'd pay $25/month if there were early access to videos
| and many an hour live q&a session!
| csours wrote:
| Love Tim Hunkin, truly a hidden gem.
| runlaszlorun wrote:
| Looks great.
|
| Just my two cents... if it's $25 for lifetime access you might
| want to make that more obvious (I was on mobile).
|
| It's not that I don't think it's worth it- actually the
| opposite. Hitting the landing page I actually assumed it'd far
| more, or have a series of upsells, etc. I started to navigate
| away when I noticed the smaller print.
|
| Anyway, looks like great stuff. And thumbs up for Budapest.
| chanakya wrote:
| Just wanted to add to the many voices who felt they got way
| more than the $25 they paid for the content on the site.
| Wonderful videos, and your passion for cars got me to working
| on my own car, where I've made several changes since.
|
| Wish you all the best as you add to it!
| mattlondon wrote:
| Major props for Tim Hunkin.
|
| He is self-publishing on YouTube these days but in the past was
| broadcasting similar things on UK national TV:
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Machines
|
| Both the old and recent stuff is great.
| devnullbrain wrote:
| Using an NB Miata is interesting: they're common donor cars for
| modern Locosts. That crowd might appreciate this as the
| ultimate workshop manual.
| samwillis wrote:
| 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 PS250"
|
| 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.
| AlexMuir wrote:
| I too had that very book as a teenager. It's a small world
| - when I was at uni I was hired to build a website for
| someone. Their friend then asked me to build them a site
| and I recognised their name from the caption of a photo of
| a couple of schoolboys on the back page of that very book.
| Turns out they built the car at school and went on to build
| an automotive company.
| samwillis wrote:
| Amazing, the author was a DT (design technology) teacher
| at a school just down the road from where I grew up. They
| would build these in a club at school.
|
| Photo of the school workshop, with a production line of
| cars: https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-
| editorial/oundl...
| AlexMuir wrote:
| Private education with that sort of facility is terrific
| value for money.
| AlexMuir wrote:
| I read the caption of the photo you linked to and my ex-
| employer is there. Wonderful!
| AlexMuir wrote:
| Yes! I have a Westfield based on the same vehicle and it's
| the most fun vehicle I've ever owned - even if it's held
| together with Velcro and silicon.
| jonhysilvers wrote:
| 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.
| jonasdegendt wrote:
| Hah, I remember disassembling a motorcycle for the first time
| and in the process figuring out that the throttle cable just
| opens a valve that I had just taken the airbox off of, I was
| mind blown!
|
| To anyone that's looking to get into wrenching on your own
| stuff, I can definitely recommend getting started on a
| motorcycle if you have space, money or time constraints. It's
| a lot more accessible initially.
| fl7305 wrote:
| Good tip. If you really want to work on a car but have a
| choice in which one, do some research. Cars vary a lot on
| how easy they are to work on.
| smackeyacky wrote:
| I had pulled back for quite a while working on cars, then
| bought a 2006 Chrysler 300C with a dead engine last year.
|
| The LX platform is incredibly easy to work on. Rear wheel
| drive, nothing too complicated to understand, good parts
| availability from places like Rock Auto. The big Hemi 5.7
| is easy to rebuild and very rewarding. I grew up working
| on small japanese cars and Alfa Romeos, the Hemi reminds
| me a lot of the Alfa "Nord" engine despite the pushrods.
|
| I had an MX-5 and loved it, but the LX cars are
| affordable muscle cars that even a modest workshop can
| make something fun out of.
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| Bringing it back to the author, I've heard that the MX-5
| is about the easiest car to work on that's still readily
| available. And Saturns. Saturns are like Lego.
| wombatpm wrote:
| Saturn cars are incredible. I had a 92 SL2. Drove it for
| 14 years and 350k miles. Sold it to a guy who delivered
| newspapers and saw it still running two years later. That
| plastic body that didn't rust was incredible. Sucks that
| GM just killed that car line.
| AlexMuir wrote:
| 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
| dangerboysteve wrote:
| Just learned about the course from this post and signed up for
| it. Looks like great value from an entertainment perspective.
| BlueGh0st wrote:
| As usual, Miata is the answer. But in a world where the Miata
| doesn't exist, which car do you think you would have chosen for
| this project?
| Fradow wrote:
| I had to answer this question for myself, because Miatas were
| outside of my budget (3000EUR), and a bit rare to find in the
| first place where I live (France).
|
| I went with a 1st gen Mini Cooper (2001 to 2006). So far it
| has been the perfect car to learn on, because I went with a
| working one and did the basic maintenance plus a few not-too-
| hard parts that needed replacement (of course your luck can
| vary, I'm very lucky that the one I chose was in a very good
| shape).
|
| Why a Mini Cooper? My criterias were (1) a fun car, and by
| that I mean a 100+hp compact car around 10:1 ratio (2) of
| course the budget, 3000EUR (3) the "fun car" part pretty much
| guarantees it, but good community support (4) I need to fit
| in it (I'm tall at 1.88m) and (5) must be Euro 2 or better
| (so pretty much a gas year 2000 or after car)
|
| Compared to the Miata, it's probably a bit less fun to drive,
| and a bit harder to work on (everything is super compact in
| the engine bay), but you get a hard-top and small back seats,
| which to me means more space to put stuff. I actually carry
| most of my tools in my trunk all the time and work ...
| wherever I am. I've spent more time working on my car at my
| parents or in-laws than in my own garage (which isn't super
| great to work from).
|
| I have to say I don't regret that choice. As for filming (I
| do record and did a Youtube channel about my tribulations,
| though nowhere near this course quality), interior has not
| been a big issue. Filming under the car while working on
| jackstands is pretty much impossible though (I'd need to buy
| a wide angle GoPro and more lights to even entertain a
| passable quality).
|
| Important note: if you go for a Mini Cooper, prefer a 2005 or
| 2006 year model (post-facelift) if you go for a 1st gen.
| Going for a 2nd gen is not advised as they have tons of
| engine issues, and starting with engine work is not a great
| idea.
| seabass-labrax wrote:
| My father did an car maintenance course in the 90s with his
| Mini City (like this one[1]), which involved taking the car
| apart and reassembling much like in the OP's video course.
| He said it was a very valuable experience, and that the
| Mini was the perfect car to learn on as all the parts were
| easily accessible and uncomplicated in design.
|
| [1]: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mini_city_regi
| stered...
| AlexMuir wrote:
| I was lucky that I chose the Miata - it was an affordable car
| which I wouldn't need to cut the roof off to film inside. I
| knew nothing about them when I picked it but it really was
| the perfect choice.
|
| It's a car distilled down to its essence and that's why it's
| popular for kit cars and conversions. The components are
| tough, readily available and dirt cheap.
|
| I honestly think I might still choose a Miata because you
| need to understand everything on this car to go much further.
| If were were to take the engine out of the equation then I'm
| afraid I don't know - my recent engineering experience has
| been with boats and diesels, rather than electric.
| AnthonBerg wrote:
| If useful, here's an answer: The Suzuki DR-Z400S/SM
| motorcycle. As one example.
|
| It's not a car! I know! The thing is that motorcycles are
| such good learning platforms. They're small, man-portable (in
| a pinch), there's almost everything in there that's in a car
| - but much less of it and more accessible. Single-cylinder
| motorcycles are also good for learning because there's only
| one cylinder and one set of valves and one cylinder or fuel
| injector etc. :) One of everything and everything is smaller
| and more easily accessible than in a car. In short they're
| very hackable machines.
|
| The DR-Z400 is reliable, ubiquitous and cheap. Parts are
| available. Lots of DIY information out there and easy to
| find.
|
| I knew NOTHING about cars. Got the motorcycle bug. A DR-Z400S
| was the most bike for the money here. Bought it. And that's
| how I got into this by accident.
|
| Now I know how to swap out a carburator for a bigger one and
| tune it, tune suspension behavior by simulating the hydraulic
| valving inside the suspension, maintain brakes, replace tires
| and pick them for what road feel I want, fix flats on the
| side of the road, fix a stator if I need to, reduce vehicle
| weight etc. etc. All by chance. Has nothing to do with me
| being smart or industrious and everything to do with lucking
| into ownership of a bike that kind of teaches you how to work
| on it and has a great online community.
|
| I also really really really want a Miata!!!
| agentwiggles wrote:
| Not in the budget right now, but damned if you didn't just
| sell me a motorcycle
| AnthonBerg wrote:
| Big caveat which I forgot to mention: As it comes from
| the factory it's a bit compromised!
|
| There are reasons why the bike taught me to swap and tune
| carbs and rework the suspension!! heh!!!
|
| It's still a lot of fun to ride, and in bigger bike
| markets you'll be able to find a bike that already has
| the stops taken out!
| RaoulP wrote:
| Now I really really want a Suzuki DR-Z400. Thanks!
| BlueGh0st wrote:
| This is a great comment because in my motorcycle group of
| roughly ~60 or 70 people over the years, maybe 25% have
| owned a Miata. Apparently the motorcycle+miata crossover is
| huge. Usually along with an SV650 or DRZ at some point as
| well.
|
| I never had a Miata but I did buy a DRZ and have a blast on
| it for about 4 hours. The following morning it wouldn't
| start and after spending all the time I was willing to
| spend on doing valves/carb/etc, I decided that the 450 kit
| was to blame, so I just traded it for a 2stroke! I do hope
| a sumo will be in my future now that I live in a city,
| though.
|
| Good luck on your Miata endeavors, I'm sure you wont regret
| it!
| kube-system wrote:
| > Apparently the motorcycle+miata crossover is huge.
|
| Going fast is all about power/weight. Some gear heads
| love changing the numerator. Some realize that the best
| option is to change the denominator. :)
| calvinmorrison wrote:
| Do you have any recommends for oscilloscopes in a tablet formet
| with like 4 or 5 channels that I can use ?
| arnsholt wrote:
| The course description and the car is modern, but would this
| also be helpful for understanding a classic car? I've inherited
| a classic Jag which is great, but being reliant on others for
| understanding and repairs is sometimes a bit limiting.
| hef19898 wrote:
| Take good care of the Jag, it deserves it! And those classic
| Jags are just awesome!
| AlexMuir wrote:
| It's absolutely useful for that! You'll be on a carburettor
| instead of injection but that's about the only difference!
| The Miata really isn't much evolved from the 60s sports cars
| it's based on.
| tclancy wrote:
| This is exactly what I've been looking for. Purchased! One
| request if you get time/ it's easy: can you add a Chromecast
| option to the mobile app? At least on iOS I don't see an
| option.
| AlexMuir wrote:
| Yes - I'll move he videos across to Mux's native player soon
| and that will provide what you need!
| kkirsche wrote:
| 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.
| AlexMuir wrote:
| I'm great thanks! It's been an adventure and that's what life
| is about, eh?
| test1235 wrote:
| This is just an advert, right?
| [deleted]
| aynyc wrote:
| Is there an equivalent but focus on maintenance? Going from
| windshield wiper changes, to oil/fuid changes to advanced (brake
| pad inspection, changes).
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| The thing with maintenance is that it tends to be very vehicle-
| specific. e.g., the procedure for removing brake pads, while
| generally similar, can have points where if you don't do it
| exactly right for that particular vehicle, will break
| something.
|
| I find that vehicle model-specific forums are really helpful
| for this kind of thing. And many times the posters themselves
| have made videos of the process.
| climb_stealth wrote:
| Oh wow, this looks really good! Just preordered as I have been
| meaning to learn more and I like your style from the video. No
| rush though in finishing it all.
|
| Some questions if I may ask: Is it possible to order the How A
| Car Works pdf in print?
|
| Also did you actually write all of it? It looks like an old
| fashioned instruction manual. You know one of the good ones that
| explain concepts well. I only read a few pages and love the
| style.
|
| I'm glad this popped up on hn!
| [deleted]
| swimfar wrote:
| Somewhat related, there's a series of German videos made for kids
| that show how a car is manufactured. It's mostly the bodywork and
| assembly, not engine stuff, but it's still a good overview. If
| you're interested in this stuff, it could be worth watching, even
| if you don't understand German.
|
| Autobau Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVNX--ROvtU
|
| Autobau Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-PhI5Rlyc
|
| Autobau Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqY03HUmlU
|
| Autobau Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3cpM6jbqNA
| ughitsaaron wrote:
| A bit unrelated, but I'm curious if others had small engines or
| auto shop classes offered in their high schools?
| nbar1 wrote:
| In my area, they offered such a class as a technical program
| that high school students could attend off-site at the
| technical school which also had classes like cooking and
| childcare.
| kube-system wrote:
| Unfortunately in my experience these are seen as something
| for 'non-college track' students and not part of a well
| rounded education.
| bluetomcat wrote:
| 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.
| asciimov wrote:
| > requires ample garage space and a solid investment in tools
| and equipment
|
| This isn't true. You need just enough space to walk around the
| car and without a lot of traffic, preferably a spot with a
| little shade.
|
| As for the investment in tools, you need way less that you
| think. You don't only buy what you need when you need it. Best
| advice for tools is to buy the cheapest version the first time
| you need it, and only when it breaks or doesn't work well buy a
| better quality.
|
| Finally, you don't always need the "proper" tool to do a job.
| Those tools are often very expensive and are only used for that
| one thing. A little ingenuity (and car forums) will get you a
| long way when doing car work.
| AlexMuir wrote:
| 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.
| bluetomcat wrote:
| Exactly my point. It is probably feasible in rural and sub-
| urban parts of the US, but unthinkable in certain parts of
| urban Europe where parking spots are hard to come by, let
| alone spacious garages and long driveways.
| fl7305 wrote:
| 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.
| bluetomcat wrote:
| 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.
| technothrasher wrote:
| It does require more than a few hours, but certainly
| starting with a few hours of video to understand the basics
| of automotive engineering is incredibly useful when you
| want to learn to fix cars. I taught myself years ago
| starting with a basic Time-Life book and worked my way up
| to factory technical manuals and research papers. I learned
| the theory first from books and then the practical later by
| getting my hands dirty and eventually being mentored by
| others who knew what they were doing. What I discovered
| from this path is that many of the mechanics out there have
| never really learned the first part, and while they're good
| at repairing what they know, they get stumped when they
| actually have to diagnose something new because they do not
| understand the underlying theory.
| dsfyu404ed wrote:
| 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.
| fl7305 wrote:
| I never wrote that I was "confident" about it.
|
| I fly paragliders for fun, but that doesn't compare at all
| in excitement to starting an engine where I just changed
| the timing belt.
|
| I watched more than a few hours of video to do that. But it
| was possible to do with the help of YT videos and VW's
| official workshop manuals that you can buy and download
| from their erWin website.
|
| I started from absolutely zero.
|
| I've replaced the timing belt, water pump, alternator,
| brake fluid, master brake cylinder, removed and cleaned the
| air throttle body, flushed the coolant system, replaced the
| radiator, replaced the shocks, replaced the exhaust,
| removed the turbo and replaced the waste gate, used OBDS
| CAN software to troubleshoot sensor issues, etc.
|
| It was a gradual process over several years. It was a lot
| easier since most of it was on my second car that I could
| just leave in its garage while I got parts or tools or
| watched another 10 hours of YT videos. But some of the
| stuff was on the curb.
|
| If you're a software engineer and get paid by the hour,
| it's absolutely not worth your time if you just look at the
| money.
|
| But it can be a fun hobby, and I really like knowing how
| the car works when it's starting to make weird noises on
| long distance vacation trips. Just know that it's not that
| hard in theory, but in practice the wrong bolt will shear
| off just as you have to put things back together and drive
| off with the car. So always have a plan B, especially if
| it's your daily driver and you can't just leave it for a
| week or two.
|
| Having said all that, if you're interested in cars, then
| this video course is excellent. I paid for it a couple of
| years ago, and don't regret it.
|
| So, reading my original comment and you response again, I
| can see how my comment came across as "it's easy to replace
| the timing belt, just watch a few YT videos". I agree that
| that's definitely not the case.
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| > especially if it's your daily driver and you can't just
| leave it for a week or two.
|
| /me remembers jumping on his bicycle and riding two towns
| over to the Toyota dealership (in pre-Amazon days) to buy
| a rear spring hanger pin because I'd just spent 4 hours
| cutting the old one off after taking the day off work to
| get the truck fixed. This after making multiple bike
| trips to the industrial supply shop to buy more Sawzall
| blades that kept dulling as I tried to cut off a hardened
| steel pin!
| fooker wrote:
| You can rent tools and the space to do this for a fairly low
| amount of money.
|
| Look for DIY workshop/garage services.
| biftek wrote:
| > requires ample garage space and a solid investment in tools
| and equipment
|
| Not really although it definitely helps. I started working on
| cars in a garage that barely fit a Miata with a basic set of
| wrenches and sockets piled up in the corner. I think you'd find
| that's how a lot of people start out in this hobby.
|
| Specialty tools can be rented from auto part stores in the US
| or you can buy them relatively cheaply from Amazon or Harbor
| Freight.
| ofrzeta wrote:
| > a solid investment in tools and equipment
|
| That's true. You need a lot of special tools for modern cars.
| When you acquired the required tools you'd best stick to that
| manufacturer with future car purchases or you'll have to buy
| the whole set again for your new brand.
| nbar1 wrote:
| This is untrue. Yes there are specialized tools, even some
| per manufacturer, but in reality 95% of the jobs people will
| be doing can be done with a standard mechanics toolset.
| fl7305 wrote:
| Ehh, for VW at least some jobs are a lot easier with VW
| tools.
| Pawka wrote:
| Same with bicycle repair. Each major brand has own
| proprietary toolset.
| squirtle24 wrote:
| For situations like this I find
| www.automotivespecialtytool.net to be particularly useful.
| It's a peer-to-peer car tool rental community. So if you have
| a rarely used, very specific tool you can rent it out to
| others; similarly if you need such a tool you can just rent
| it without having to buy it.
| squirtle24 wrote:
| > requires ample garage space and a solid investment in tools
| and equipment
|
| On that note, Autozone and OReilly's in the US offers free
| loaner tools, which would allow you to do most DIY-able jobs.
| The only tools you need to buy yourself is a decent socket set
| and a few screwdrivers, and the tools would pay itself back in
| money saved vs. taking it to a repair shop.
| tyronehed wrote:
| [dead]
| nbar1 wrote:
| Multiple people are saying it's $20 but I see it as $25. Did Alex
| change the price due to this post gaining traction?
| AlexMuir wrote:
| It was $20 when I first started and about three years ago I put
| the price to $25 because I felt like I'd made a lot of
| progress. That's the last time it changed.
| nbar1 wrote:
| Got ya, I bought it. I have wrenched before on cars and bikes
| but it's a fair value to increase my knowledge.
| nitin87 wrote:
| just a promotional video . make it free that would work ....
| qwertox wrote:
| My first thought was that this is spam. But then, actually
| looking at what this page is offering, it is really
| interesting.
|
| @AlexMuir definitely deserves it to be at the top of HN with
| this project.
| ofrzeta wrote:
| Why not pay 20 bucks to an indy content creator?
| Dah00n wrote:
| Nothing wrong with paying but if you have to pay then why is
| it here? Then it is just an advertisement on HN.
| turing_complete wrote:
| You could say the same about any software tool or company
| shared here.
| joshvm wrote:
| Lots of posts on HackerNews are adverts. That's what the
| "Show" tag is (partly) for. People aren't sharing their
| startups on here out of altruism, they want signups and
| conversions to paying customers. This isn't a show post,
| because the author didn't post it, and I don't think it's
| astroturfing. There are also plenty of posts for things
| that you can buy, because we (as hackers) think they're
| interesting. I think that kind of targeted advertising is
| OK.
|
| On pricing, compare this to how much people charge for
| programming courses and textbooks. Not unusual for people
| to upwards of $200 ("Best Value!") for an ebook and some
| sample code. I have no idea who buys those, but presumably
| the payback is good enough and maybe for professional
| development it's worth it. For 14 hours of professionally
| produced content, even if incomplete, 22 Euros a great
| deal.
| inconceivable wrote:
| i literally laughed out loud when reading this comment.
| this entire site is an advert for yc and their portfolio
| companies. it's also a job board with restricted access.
| amelius wrote:
| This reminds me of the Apple adverts that get posted on HN
| whenever they have a new product.
|
| Why is that "ok", and this isn't?
| zvmaz wrote:
| I would gladly pay for such a course.
| chefandy wrote:
| I'm curious if anybody would be interested in this sort of
| cliff's notes breakdown of any other mechanical engineering
| topic? My dad's a retired mechanical engineer and many of my
| cousins are also mechanical engineers. I'm media savvy. Should I
| prompt them to doing something like this? Auto engineering seems
| much more broadly appealing than, say, fluid dynamics in
| ventilation systems. Maybe more youtube-channel-level appealing
| than pay-for-lifetime-access appealing?
| smokelegend wrote:
| Yes, and yes, there's an argument to be made that if something
| shows up on HN and it's engineering related, it's going to
| attract a certain amount of eyeballs... "if you build it, they
| will come"
| mellosouls wrote:
| Looks like just an advert but there is what looks like sample
| content (or at least sample quality) on his YouTube channel here:
|
| https://youtube.com/@howacarworks
|
| Enthusiastic feedback in some of the video comments.
| greenie_beans wrote:
| sick. i've been wanting to learn about engines. seems like a
| better use of my time than learning how to code better with the
| impending ai job displacement!
| benoliver999 wrote:
| I paid for these and found it really interesting and well made.
|
| However, there have not been any new videos for a while, and
| there are some glaring bits that need covering (gearbox?
| suspension?).
| AlexMuir wrote:
| Loads to do! I am working on it. I have a pot of money set
| aside from the sales and my plan is to hire a production
| company and rattle through it in one long shoot, rather than do
| one video at a time and then do all the production.
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