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Toys Technology

Do Computer Geeks and Gearheads Overlap? 105

Posted by Cliff from the does-a-car-have-an-accelerator dept.
Johnath asks: "One of the great things about finally owning a place with a garage is that it's given me a chance to start taking apart my car and putting it back together. I'm certain I'm not the only one here who does so. The analogies between custom cars and custom computers are as obvious as they are numerous: the quest for higher performance, the analysis of detailed benchmarking and comparison studies, the fanatical brand loyalty -- a nitrous tank on an inline-4 is materially identical in my mind to a 4" heatsink on an overclocked duron. How much overlap is there between these groups, how many people here are car geeks? My preference is to optimize for efficiency and mileage over power gains, but I'm interested in car-hackers of all persuasions. Where do you go for geek-level treatments of oil brands, exhaust options, and dyno results? Is there a gearhead Slashdot hiding out there, or only the brand-specific boards like myfordfocus.com?"
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Do Computer Geeks and Gearheads Overlap? More

Do Computer Geeks and Gearheads Overlap?

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  • I wish I could afford a car (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    but I dedicated my life to free software.

  • hehe (Score:3, Funny)

    by revmoo ( 652952 ) <slashdot.meep@ws> on Tuesday October 14, 2003 @09:38PM (#7215443) Homepage Journal
    overclocked duron.

    No, THAT would be the computer equivalent of a 4-cylinder honda civic with racing stripes.
    • Modding cases is very much like modding cars I think.

      I'm a huge geek, I'm also a gearhead. Not into taking cars apart and all that (in fact I don't even own one) but I'm a HUGE racing fan, love all the techie stuff etc...

      I think there's probably a HUGE crossover.
  • I installed a turbo charger on my 71 charger... my computer got a little left out so i designed and fabricated a blower for the top of the case and 2 smallish fans to drive air into my case. My next step is to find the same paint that i used on my car and paint my case. Midnight blue... that looks great with the blower and RAM cooler...
  • Cars and modded computers have windows.

  • Do Computer Geeks and Gearheads Overlap? (Score:3, Funny)

    by utahjazz ( 177190 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2003 @09:52PM (#7215518)
    Well if they're both consenting adults then I guess they can do whatever they want in the privacy of their own homes.
  • They can overlap in major ways. The best way to get more power out of your car (without adding a turbo or supercharger) is to remap your car's fuel and timing (and boost, if you've got a turbo already) curves in the ECU. The code is proprietary to each manufacturer, so you have to reverse-engineer it first.

    I own a Subaru Impreza WRX, and one of the major tuning companies, Cobb Tuning [cobbtuning.com], hired a computer engineer to do exactly that. Now I can pay $400 for 35 more horsepower. I like the crossover.
    • I'm the computer nerd who does ECU work for Cobb Tuning. Most people don't realize that Trey (the man who started it all) is a competent computer engineer/programmer himself. He did tons of work reverse engineering the logic flow of the wrx ECU to find out how things work.

      We have a pretty broad talent base at the shop and it allows us to do pretty amazing things. We're expanding the computer end of things and even recently hired someone to write software full time. There are tons of applications that co
      • Whoa! When I mentioned Cobb, I never really considered you'd be on /.

        I'll be picking up a Stage1 reflash from you guys in a month or two. Thanks for all the hard work!
  • I do a lot of work on computers as well as cars so this is something I have thought of before. Whether trying to get one more frame per second on a game or trying to get an extra 10th of a second off your quarter mile time it all comes down to a techincal area that requires dedication and knowledge in order to be successful at it. I have built computers and modded them for years but have now finally started on trying to build a kit car from scratch. check out My Manta [mantaproject.com] for a shameless plug of my car :p

    I do

    • I find lot's of overlap. Particularly when you find modern cars are loaded with computers (an engine controller, a drivetrain controller, etc, etc.)

      In my example, I'm working on a Dodge with an old Electronic Fuel Control computer (carbureted). I look at it and think: "What were they thinking!?" and "I can do better than that!" and out comes the microcontroller programmer and the laptop....

  • Yes, they overlap. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Logic ( 4864 ) <esm+slashdot@logic.net> on Tuesday October 14, 2003 @10:09PM (#7215620) Homepage

    I grew up as a geek in a small rural town. That meant two things: first, any money I had went into my computer, meaning the truck I drove was a POS; and second, the teasing you took by being a geek in the lower grades turned into the teasing you take having a slow POS when your low-GPA, V8-loving classmates are getting their licenses.

    Karma's a bitch, though. Being a geek today means a lifestyle that those same knuckle-draggers can only envy (assuming, of course, that you're working right now), and their "old-n-busted" will have a tough time keeping up with my "new hotness".

    Seriously, while I might have gotten a bit of satisfaction out of the way things played out, I just sort of naturally gravitated towards import modification after finally coming up for air after immersing myself in technology for so long. Racing (autocross is my primary interest right now, although I make it to the drag strip every so often) and performance tuning makes the time and effort you put in "real" to others around you in a way that an elegant hack can never be. Go ahead, tell a non-geek friend or family member that you're entering the International Obfuscated C Code Contest [ioccc.org] this year, and compare that reaction to the one you get when you say you ran your car at Real Street Drags [realstreetdrags.net] last week and smoked a few V8s with your little four-banger.

    Still, I don't see automotive performance being a mainstream geek thing. Sites like DSMtuners [dsmtuners.com] are filled with /. readers, but whenever I mention that my car is up on jackstands again, most of the folks I work with give me that "why wouldn't you just have your mechanic do that?" look.

    • I'm a geek and I still have to drive old-n-busted :( But someday I hope I get rich and CAN pay a REAL mechanic to do my work. Or that I can afford a lift and a real garage so I can do my own work and not have it be a fuckshow.

      I do enjoy working on my rigs but there are certain menial things like changing oil that I really can't justify taking the time to do myself. Disposing of it is a PITA too.
    • Once I graduated from University, I had the time and money to go after what I've always lusted for, a fast car. The more I learned about cars and handling the less I liked the big muscle cars I looked at growing up, and yeah, I'm a hick too, complete with beer-drinkin', pickup drivin', tire-burnin', you name it.

      I got into Solo I and II, hopefully Formula Ford soon. Import modification is all about using technology to keep engines making close to 200 hp -per liter- from blowing up under boost. Engines were
    • My current autocross weapon is a '73 Porsche 914. Why? Because you can't buy a 1900 lb. mid-engined sportscar in the US anymore although there are many at double that weight. Lots of bang-for-the-buck if you want to build a competitive car. I pulled the deteriorating 30yr-old analog injection system and built digital injection/ignition around a programable ECU from a little company in South Africa. I program it with an old 486 laptop and a serial cable. Lots of junkyard parts - injectors from a Subaru turbo

  • Geek? Perhaps. (Score:4, Informative)

    by j-turkey ( 187775 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2003 @10:17PM (#7215667) Homepage
    Geek N.: A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.


    --An excerpt from a definition [everything2.com] of geek.

    As far as overlap between car and computer geeks go, I can see alot of it. I've got a number of friends in my "circle" who are car geeks as well as computer geeks.

    Depending on your definition of the term "geek" -- I'd consider myself a quasi car-geek, only because I don't fix everything on my car. I do stuff like suspension work, brake work (pads, rotors, adjustments, etc), and routine maintenance, but generally avoid any internal engine work (or, for that matter, anything that would involve dropping the engine or transmission).

    That being said, I love cars. I simply think that they're neat machines that are fun to operate. I'm a particular fan of (what I define as) sports cars. My definition is a general adherance to the British (European) sports cars of earlier days. Lightweight (2500 LB or under is a MUST), inexpensive, purpose-built (no/few frills), RWD, and typically low-powered. I track my car (I'm cheap as well, so my "sports car" is both a track car and daily driver), and will tweak it as needed. Part of my car geekiness moves away from mechanical upgrades, and focuses on fixing the driver to make the car go faster...this a bastardization of an old axiom from my autocrossing [scca.org] days. I've now given up autocrossing entirely to persue track driving. I'm only able to do it a handful of times per year, since it can get quite expensive -- but I often will be on-track with my computer geek comrades.

    --Turkey
  • well, i rebuilt my car (bought a '93 Subaru Justy with 145k on it, stuffed in a new block, and now i have a 45mpg gas miser with a new engine for $550) and insofar as i'm a slashdot reader who exclusively runs linux (albeit mandrake), i suppose i'm a computer nerd. so yeah, one vote here!
  • And for all the reasons you listed. I'm a computer/car geek, in that I see both my computer and my car as not only tools, but extensions of myself and my personality, and as such. they must be bent over and vigourously spanked until they do my bidding. My current state of employment has prohibited me from doing all the things I want to do to my car, but trust me we'll get there.

    I don't know if there's an all purpose gearhead site like /., but as you said there are plenty of brand-specific sites, generall
  • After always looking down on those who worked with their hands I'm finding so much enjoyment doing it myself. I would have loved to have been a teenage gearhead, but I was too concerned with people's perception that I be "smart".

    In short, being an insecure fool made for missing out on a lot of fun, and yes, I think gearheads and techies overlap a ton.
  • You want kerberos V5 telnet/rcp:

    [paul@fogarty paul]$ echo "kerberos is nifty" > /tmp/kfile
    [paul@fogarty paul]$ rcp /tmp/kfile hibernia:/tmp
    Trying krb4 rcp...
    trying normal rcp (/usr/bin/rcp)
    [paul@fogarty paul]$ telnet -a hibernia
    Trying 192.168.0.3...
    Connected to hibernia.somewhere (192.168.0.3).
    Escape character is '^]'.
    [ Kerberos V5 accepts you as ``paul@SOMEWHERE'' ]
    Last login: Wed Oct 15 03:38:04 from fogarty
    You have mail.
    [paul@hibernia paul]$ cat /tmp/kfile
    kerberos is nifty
    [paul@hibernia paul]$ logo

    • I think you meant this to be posted here [slashdot.org]
      • Yeah, i did. Very strange, cause that's where i'm almost sure I posted it to. I didnt even open the "Geeks and motorheads" story, so i dont know how i could have accidently posted to it.

        A strange slashbug perhaps?

        weird...
  • I'm a mac user... Well, I always used them to connect to unix iron, but now macs *are* unix iron, so I am a happy camper. I don't do silly casemods, but I do enhance the innards to give it a bit more power.

    I am also an SCCA Rally driver [no, not professional], and a Solo I and Solo II driver. My daily driver is a honda accord that I've modified with a Japanese Domestic Market H22A [JDM Prelude], coilovers, lightweight rims, etc. For the most part, this daily driver looks stock [slightly lowered]. The rally

  • definite overlap, but no /. (Score:4, Informative)

    by nlh ( 80031 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2003 @11:17PM (#7216086) Homepage
    As a fellow gearhead/nerd, this is an area I'm pretty familiar with. You are definitely not alone out there, though I think you'll be hard-pressed to find a totally general interest "car nerd" site like /.

    This is because, like tech nerds, gearheads are generally divided up among their different camps. (Heck, we're in a camp here on /. -- I'm sure there a Microsoft-loving nerd sites out there, right?)

    You'll generally find:

    -- the Asian Import crowd (Hondas, Acuras, Nissans, etc.,) -- clubsi.com, etc.

    -- the VW crowd (vwvortex.com -- my home)

    -- the Audi crowd (audiworld.com)

    -- the BMW crowd (bimmer.org)

    -- even the Ferrari crowd (ferrarichat.com) -- and believe it or not, these guys are a LOT more nerdy and friendly than the BMW crowd.
  • a nitrous tank on an inline-4 is materially identical in my mind to a 4" heatsink on an overclocked duron.

    Exactly. Both are pointless, will probably lead to pointless destruction, and be a lame way of buying better gear in the first place.

    Case modder=people who put giant wings on their 100 HP cars.

    Lots of analogies.

    There are only brand specific stuff. Occasionally you'll get some reasonable discussion.

    Now, if you are a car guy, and like things like 'rock linux' and 'gentoo', may I suggest it is time [locostbuilders.co.uk] t [yahoo.com]
    • I know a guy who ran a 75 shot on a bone stock Integra Type R for over a year. Went through like 10 tanks, and after tearing it down, there was no observable wear on the cylinder walls, pistons, etc. Nitrous is cheap, simple horses. Properly done it is reliable and will give you as much horsepower as your motor can handle. Hardly pointless.

      The wings on the other hand...

      And next time I have a few spare years worth of evenings after work I'll look into the kit =D
      • I wouldn't compare an Integra Type R to a Duron, though. There's something there to start with. We're not talking about kids with a Civic DE (or DX, or whatever the base model is these days) putting on a 150 shot.

        It's actually not a 'kit' in the typical sense of the word. It's based on a book called 'build your own sports car for 250 pounds (that's the silly looking thing Brits think of as money)'. Lots of custom variations, all hand built frames, etc.

        • Fair enough. I guess I just assumed the cheep ricer kids just put a coffee can exhaust tip and a 3 foot high wing on and called it quits =)

          Neat looking cars! These aren't street legal, are they?
          • The cars are quite legal, since they are homebuilt. If you build less than a certain number of vehicles (5, 10, ???) you don't have to meet crash regulations. Now the trick is that the exact legality is determined on a state by state basis. From the lists, at least a dozen US states have had these things okayed by their DMV. The rules for the UK are very specific, and take into account their homebuilt status. Not sure about Austrailia.

            And yes, they take all the upgrades that rice cars do! 10HP stickers, co

  • Overlap Yes, Not Just Gearheads (Score:3, Insightful)

    by JLester ( 9518 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2003 @11:36PM (#7216204)
    I've noticed lots of overlap not just with gearheads, but with any type of mechanical devices. Look back at the discussion from a few days ago about ink pens and mechanical pencils!

    I've always found it interesting that the guys who like the really high tech things also like vintage and/or antique items. Personally, I'm the IS Manager for a school system. I have the newest computers and gadgets you can buy, but I also have old tools and other mechanical devices. I have a Ford F-350 diesel truck (very advanced engine, drive by wire, performance chip, etc.), but I also have a 1966 Ford Mustang for pretty days. I also work on a stock car race team with a friend.

    My two hobbies come together on my website TheDieselStop.Com [thedieselstop.com], a website with technical information about Ford diesel vehicles. It isn't a geek/gearhead Slashdot, but we have over 30,000 users and around 1.4 million messages to search through dating back through 1997. A high percentage of our users are also in the IS/IT field in some way.

    Interesting question, hope you get some answers on why this is so.

    Jason

    • Cool - I was going to mention The Diesel Stop as my favorite new site (as in new to me). I had *no* idea how much you could tweak a PSD. Lots of good advice to be had there - it's helped me a lot. Good articles too.

      I'll second other sentiments in that you'll only find pretty specific stuff on the car side (DMS, z06vette, tdiclub, etc.. The reason is is that there's so much material that can be discussed on just one type of vehicle alone, that adding more just makes in messy. The trick is finding the g
  • i've always seen software as the reason computers were cool -- pimped-out hardware with DOS on them aren't any fun, but i've seen obsolete, minimal hardware do amazing things with well written software. while i can appreciate sexy hardware, imho it is software that makes a machine much more than a box with flashing lights on it (and don't forget the clear panels, 18 fans w/ lights and the glow in the dark, flame paintjob)

  • My roomate is a car guy. I explain computers to him in brute car language, and he explains cars to me in 1337 speak. It is a technical coexistence. We're both in the college of Engineering at the Uni (compsci and mech.engr), and I'd say we have a good bit in common with most engineers - science and technology are a common language.

    All it takes is a common language.


  • I've been both for as long as I can remember...

    I grew up taking things apart to see how they worked... just like my big brother, but unlike him - I put them back together (and they worked).

    I was rebuilding motorcycles and building home-made go-karts (with motorcycle and snowmobile engines, lawn-tractor tires, etc.) as a young teen, and got hooked on computers the first time I saw one... ah, the number of nights I got such a small amount of sleep because I couldn't stop coding in assembly on my new (at the
    • My first car was my Grandma's '72 Duster with a slant-6

      If you're feeling nostalgic: Check out slantsix.org -- these guys are regularly running 12's in the 1/4 and a couple of guys are pulling 10's and 11's. Not bad...

      • and check out thedodgegarage.com, there's a guy with an '85 Reliant that was running 10.41@132mph.

        blew a connecting rod though, and he's not sure he wants to fix everything that went wrong after that.

        Was running the 2.5L engine, 444hp max, 412 ft-lbs max, at 30psi boost.
        • Yeah. That's about the amount of power some of the slant's are producing. There are two challenges in the slant

          the cylinder head wasn't designed for high flow and was originally for a 170cuin (2.7L). There are no aftermarket options. Chrysler made a high flow head for the 2.5L 4 cylinder

          The crank in the slant is long and only supported by 4 bearings. The 2.5L has 5 bearings. The racers are finding the slant cranks are good to around 400 hp, after which flex does them in and they start to break. Th

  • Overlap (Score:4, Funny)

    by ninewands ( 105734 ) on Wednesday October 15, 2003 @01:19AM (#7216638)
    Well, yeah, I think so.

    I started out as a gearhead before I got into computers. It was one of those "gateway drug" experiences ... first it was oil changes ... then tuneups ... (this was in the sixties when tuneups were a routine part of owning a car). Then it got bad ... in the 70's I got hooked on rebuilding carburetors (remember them?).

    Replace a throwout bearing? No problem. U-joints? Child's play. Replace the points in a Lucas distributor with electronic switching? A godsend for an MG owner, but merely a trivial task.

    My habit grew worse ... I've done four engine rebuilds from the pistons out. One even involved synching side-draft SU carbs on an old Triumph Spitfire after I had a machine shop custom build parts I couldn't get on the market (oh, the SHAME of it). Hand-grinding valve seats ... clearancing rod and main bearings ... I was doing it ALL just to feed the need.

    The last one convinced me that I HAD to give it up. It was a fuel-injected computer-controlled Nissan ... and all I got out of it was a sore back and temporary relief of the parts-changing monkey on my back. All the thrill, the art ... the magic ... was gone. All I was doing was feeding the habit. Modern engines had made it too simple. The rush of having an engine start on the FIRST try was gone ... (SIGH).

    I've worked HARD over the last 5 years to break the habit. Some days are better than others. I'll notice a little stutter in the acceleration when I punch the throttle ... think to myself "mixture's not right" ... then I have to use my "thought stopping" techniques to keep me straight. It's HARD trying to keep off the drug "ICanFixIt," but I work at it one day at a time.

    Now you know my story. I'm a humbled and chastened grease addict. I've broken the habit and my life is better now.

    I'd write more, but that's all there is to tell. I'm off to recompile my kernel so that it will support the latest alpha-level I/O modules ...

    (Laugh, it's a JOKE, son) ;-)
  • ...than Grassroots Motorsports [grmotorsports.com]

    Chris Owens
    San Carlos, CA
  • I'm guessing there's a sizable portion of the Slashdot population (such as me) not yet old enough to even have a car, let alone be a "gearhead"...

    I did build a 3-speed transmission out of Lego once though, if that counts. (No, I'm serious! It even worked! Complete with a shifter lever!)
  • In my circle of friends (geeks) it's 100%. You either get machines or you don't.

    Oddly enough even we're all gearheads and keyboard jockeys.

    And before you snipe, Yes, were all married.
  • ...I can't really consider myself either. Having been brought up fairly poor, I didn't have access to a computer outside of the 40 min once a week class in grade school. I wasn't allowed to even change the oil in my mother's car, only add more when it leaked out at the rate of 1 qt every Friday. My father does his own breaks, he just doesn't turn the rotars or replace them, ever.
    As much as I'd like to be a geek of any sort, I know my social class. But I love my Duron and my Slant-6.
    • This is the first I've heard of a social class distinction when it comes to working on cars or computers. Is there really something socially preventing you from opening the hood and tinkering with things? Even if you have to take it someplace where others can't see you? :)
      • It does in as much that when the only car you have to drive is in dire need of repair, your mother won't let you fix it because she doubts your ability to do such things, yet she will send you down to the gas station to get cigarettes instead of spending the money on at least paying someone else to fix it. It wasn't until high school when I realized I was poor. Fortunately, in my adult life, I am finacially stable and can do some simple tinkering on my truck and computer. The only debt I have is my credit c
  • I've said this for years, and it's formed the central analogy of my explanation of what makes hackers hack. Almost everyone can understand the drive to explore, tweak, and compete when it's placed into the context of car enthusiasm. To me it's an identical mindset with different tools. Sympathy for hackers seems to skyrocket when people can connect the hobby to something familiar.

    I'm an irregular poster on MatrixOwners.com [matrixowners.com] and GenVibe.com [genvibe.com], which are nearly identical and I'm not sure why both exist when the
  • I am fanatically loyal to GM, and I fix my own cars. I am into vintage. I have a 1970 cadillac sedan deville, and a 1994 toshiba laptop... I fixed both myself. My cadillac has a 472 8 - cylinder, second largest made by GM,and a posi rear... I guarantee my 2,000 pound caddy is better in the snow than your puny little front wheel drive rice burner... I also am loyal to AMD, and I will put my overclocked athlons up against any wimptel machines !!!!
    • My cadillac has a 472 8 - cylinder, second largest made by GM

      what?
      502
      500
      then the 472. unless gm didnt make the 500 themselves for some strange reason...

      2,000 pound caddy

      again, what? there has never been a 2,000lb caddy. ever. 4,500 is closer to accurate, i would guess. perhaps you meant 2 ton and typed it in lbs and tons? i do stupid stuff like that...

      better in the snow than your puny little front wheel drive rice burner

      no chance in hell. i own four cars, a 375hp 74 nova i built, 289(!)
  • Looks like that improving a car or a computer consists only of more and more and more power. What about handling all that power efficiently?

    A 300hp car is useless if it ain't got good brakes, suspension, etc. The same applies to computers. It's sad to see people trying to run faster processors and forgetting to use more memory (avoid swapping), faster disks, efficient OS's, etc.

    As an example, I race an old '96 145hp bike. I managed to drop my track times by a few seconds not by getting more power, but w

  • Among quite a lot of the geeks I know (myself included) we tend to have old-ish but technologically advanced cars like Citroens, BMWs and the like. We tend to get them when there's something drastically wrong with them (so you can pick up a 5000 car for 500) and fix them. Citroens are really good for that, since even the main garages won't touch the hydraulic systems these days. It's simple to work on really, if you're used to it.

    Incidentally, WTF is wrong with Slash? Why can't I use accented character

  • There's ton's of overlap. Cars are an engineering piece of art; and, as you're probably aware, most newer cars are full of computers.

    I use google as a source of links for information on what I'm working on. Usually once you hit a major (brand specific) site they'll have more links to other useful sites. There are some generic sites (/. style) but they're usually not very helpful unless you're the guy asking "how do I change the oil in my ....."

    If you're interested in simulation analysis, there are

  • IRC (Score:1)

    by vasqzr ( 619165 )

    #cars

    Give it a shot.
  • UK based but with members from various parts of the world...Pistonheads [pistonheads.com]
  • I really get satisfaction out of working on my vehicles. Plus I save money. And I know that I can do the work better than most mechanics, who while not necessarily malicious, are usually idiots.

    The thing is, cars are so fsking complex, and each individual make/model has so many unique nuances, that I honestly can't belive that your average mechanic can really learn it all. Hell, it took me years to learn everything there was to know about my VW Passat alone! Start tossing in GM's, Fords, 'yotas, Hondas, et

    • The thing is, cars are so fsking complex, and each individual make/model has so many unique nuances

      I went the other route [livejournal.com] and converted my MR2 to an all electric drivetrain. Everything is simple, some batteries, a 1000amp/192VDC DC controller and a motor. Transmission and brakes are the only stock mechnical componets left. If anything is wrong I can figure it out in a few seconds with a voltmeter, most of the components have warrenties way longer than the body of the car will last.

      Best of all the c

  • I was a Ford mechanic for ten years doing drivability and electrical work before deciding to switch careers. Now I am a the "computer guy" for a small business. As a mechanic family members would always ask me to work on their cars, now not only do they ask me work on their cars they ask me to work on their computers too. I can't win.
    • I have had the same problem after I (successfully)replaced the engine in my Blazer, people have been having me do radiator flushes for Lates.
  • I'm a bit late into the car game, I started a couple years ago getting a Dodge Neon to auto-x. I did oil changes and all that stuff, then I got a cold air intake and new exaust... Next thing I know I'm totally replace ing the suspension, swaybars, spring, shocks. I just sold it now a couple guys at work are doing the Grass roots Motor sports $2004 challenge [grassroots...sports.com]

    We are putting a chevy V8 into an 86 RX-7. The thing is sitting in my garrage currently getting taken apart when we get time. But I work for a
    • Good luck to them on the $2004 challenge! I'd like to hop in on that someday... if I can get my hands on the right things to make it under the price category!
  • I just got my newly EFIed Volvo 242 Turbo (now there is an oxymoron! =P) started a couple weeks back, running on a Megasquirt [yahoo.com]. I've been a member of a couple of Volvo related mailing lists for years now, and that has been helpful in so many ways. Many of the members were longtime mechanics, and had worked on Volvos for years, so help was always an email away for the most part.

    Now that I've moved into a more exotic area I've subbed to a couple of EFI lists, mostly related to the EFI I use. While discussi
    • i wish i could give you some karma or something for giving me that link to megasquirt. i didnt even know diy injection existed, let alone for so cheap! thank you, thank you

      my 74 nova will be injected much sooner than expected...
  • I know quite a few people, including myself who are avid car and computer fanatics. It seems that our conversations drift between the two topics a lot, and we spend any amount of money we can into both areas, whichever peaks our interest, although I think we spend more time working on our cars or racing with them at different venues around the country than we do spend on our computer systems.

    As for an online community, I've only seen brand/model-specific car sites. People are either too proud or too stub
  • Is there a gearhead Slashdot hiding out there?

    Well, technically it wouldn't be hiding, and I assume the software running /. would allow for the addition of a "Gearhead" section fairly easily?

    What about it, you single-digit-user-numbered admins, gearhead.slashdot.com? I mean, hell, what could it hurt? The fanatical Ford -vs- Chevy debate would allow for some interesting modding and in reality, isn't that much different from the Apple -vs- Windows silliness.

    'cept maybe for the tooth count of the participa
  • There is a lot of overlap, near as I can see. The demeanor of people who work on cars is very similar to the demeanor of people who do serious work with computers; patient, thorough, thoughtful, and often soft-spoken.

    The demeanor of the idjits who rice up their Hondas, on the other hand, is very much like that of script kiddies. No interest in how the car actually functions; just slap on whatever fits from the impulse aisle at Pep Boys and call it good.

    --saint
    (Owner of a mostly-restored AMC Matador Coupe)
  • I'm a lousy mechanic, but that's okay, I'm a lousy programmer.

    Currently it's a huge collection of ancient Ducati singles, a Norton 750 with a hole in the case, Yamaha SR500, and a beat-up 67 Barracuda notchback with a /6 (part of my process to owning a Dodge/Plymouth for every year between 1960 & 1970).

    And then there's some random computer stuff, too.
  • I drive nothing but Italian sports cars (and the occasional odd British one) and just as these cars are unusual, so is my taste in computers and operating systems.

    My co-worker is a riceboy (www.riceboypage.com if you don't know) and I give him endless grief about it, but it's all just gentle teasing, even if my car runs circles around his.
  • What is it this week with geeks trying to identify with other stereotypes?

    First, How many Pushups can you do? - Slashdot "Jocks." Now we have geeks dieing to "multi-class" (to use a geek term we can identify) with gearheads? What's next cheerleaders?

    The old roles have died in the 21st century thanks to the internet we all live multiple roles. I for one am glad. I myself am a geek/jock/outdoor enthusiast/marketing-PR employee if we need old stereotypes.

  • For the car [need4neon.com]. For the computer [xoxide.com].
  • Of course there's overlap. The mindsets are also related. Yeah, I agree that the watercooled, overclocked celeron guy running winxp probably also has a honda civic with a 5" wide tailpipe. Then I think about people like me, and many other slashdot readers. We strive for understanding and embrace that which is ahead of its time and with great potential.
    Sixteen years after I got my first computer and started learning about cars, I look at my computer and car now and laugh. I have a dual AthlonMP 1.2, 5
  • And i'm a snob at both...
    I've got an Apple PowerBook 12" (fun in a small package) and a Volkswagen Golf VR6 [or the GTI VR6 as it is over there] (even more fun in a small package)
    I try to find out all I can about either of them and while my modding done to the car has to date only involved replacing the chip in the ECU with an aftermarket one (GIAC) - all the modding I've done to the PowerBook has involved firstly maxing out it's specs and re-flashing the DVD-R/CD-RW BIOS to double the drive's speed and a
  • how about this : I drive a 1987/88 Subaru Turbo wagon it used to be an automatic. Not anymore its a standard with dual range 4WD and a lift kit! my PC's are ALL Frankensteins... 133 at 200Mhz to the 800 athlon i just got and am using here.... yeah I may not be a GHz user yet but hey, I admit to being a bit of a recycler too. So If your wanting to find thread follow thru then realize that even in the forums there is to offhanded comment that makes reference to her or the onion or who know what else at the
  • In the UK there is (or was) a huge modded Car scene but was mostly been off-line, probalby because it predates the Web. It featured Clubs a few good magazines, such as Classic Car [uniquemagazines.co.uk] and CCC (sadly it in is last month) [cccmagazine.com], with had decent technical articles and ran awesome track days [cccmagazine.com].

    However this has increasingly been replaced by a Street (Racing) Cruising (some of the links will not be work safe) [carpages.co.uk] scene based on more mainstream, non-geek pop culture (not work safe) [fastcar.co.uk]. It does feature a younger and more-internet
  • Hacking computers and hacking cars is exactly the same with the exception of one thing.

    Computer hackers are complete dorks and car hackers are cool.

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