Cars - Are we expected to know too much?
Discussion
A brief conversation recently set me wondering about this. A work colleague had been informed of my automotive enthusiasm and discussed his kit car with me. It was an obscure thing, and I really was baffled when it was described. I understood the vagaries concerning spec and what type of carburettor it ran but the rest; such as where it was made and its running gear I was unable to comment on.
He now appears to regard me as something of a pretender in this world, though I would contest that fact. I do my own servicing, can weld, paint, wire up and have a reasonable understanding of how things work.
On the other hand I don't know much at all about new cars. Even though I'm still young they don't interest me sufficiently to learn all of the intricacies of model and marque so most pass by unidentified.
It seems almost that there is a heightened state of learning for what may be termed the true car enthusiast; able to discern a model year by trim details or the sound of the door closing. I know that I shall never reach such nirvana, however does it really matter that much?
Other fields of study do not expect their denizens to know absolutely everything that ever happened; even classical scholars and such. So do we expect too much of ourselves, almost? Are we expected to know all that concerns four wheels? And why do we feel a bit silly when unable to answer? I know I do.
He now appears to regard me as something of a pretender in this world, though I would contest that fact. I do my own servicing, can weld, paint, wire up and have a reasonable understanding of how things work.
On the other hand I don't know much at all about new cars. Even though I'm still young they don't interest me sufficiently to learn all of the intricacies of model and marque so most pass by unidentified.
It seems almost that there is a heightened state of learning for what may be termed the true car enthusiast; able to discern a model year by trim details or the sound of the door closing. I know that I shall never reach such nirvana, however does it really matter that much?
Other fields of study do not expect their denizens to know absolutely everything that ever happened; even classical scholars and such. So do we expect too much of ourselves, almost? Are we expected to know all that concerns four wheels? And why do we feel a bit silly when unable to answer? I know I do.
It's a constant learning curve, because automotive technology progresses similarly to any other technology!
When I started pulling stuff apart, it was all reasonably basic engineering - engines, gearboxes and parts were all fairly easy to understand just by pulling them apart, looking in manuals and understanding them.
Then along came ECU's and electronic control. Because it was important to me to continue to understand cars and bikes, I just carried on buying manuals and doing research - either by talking to mates who are mechanics, and latterly using the internet.
I got to a stage where I understood modern electronics and the use of Ocsilloscpes for electronic troubleshooting. I was happy, content and a little bit smug.
Until bloody CANBUS came along - arrrgghh!
So then I did the same routine - manuals, internet and my own fiddling. After a year or two, I now understand CANBUS wiring as well.
Mechanical stuff has evolved at a slightly slower pace - but there's still things like modern turbos and turbo control, high pressure fuel injection, and Diesel DPF's etc. to grasp...
But you only get all this by bothering to immerse yourself in it!
There's so much info available on the net now - you don't really have any excuse, lol!
When I started pulling stuff apart, it was all reasonably basic engineering - engines, gearboxes and parts were all fairly easy to understand just by pulling them apart, looking in manuals and understanding them.
Then along came ECU's and electronic control. Because it was important to me to continue to understand cars and bikes, I just carried on buying manuals and doing research - either by talking to mates who are mechanics, and latterly using the internet.
I got to a stage where I understood modern electronics and the use of Ocsilloscpes for electronic troubleshooting. I was happy, content and a little bit smug.
Until bloody CANBUS came along - arrrgghh!
So then I did the same routine - manuals, internet and my own fiddling. After a year or two, I now understand CANBUS wiring as well.
Mechanical stuff has evolved at a slightly slower pace - but there's still things like modern turbos and turbo control, high pressure fuel injection, and Diesel DPF's etc. to grasp...
But you only get all this by bothering to immerse yourself in it!
There's so much info available on the net now - you don't really have any excuse, lol!
If I don't understand what I'm being told I tell the person! And I'm interested to learn, this seems to go down well. But I understand what you mean, I remember a couple of years back being scoffed at for not knowing what a lambda sensor was, I got that nasty sinking feeling as I was interested in cars but didn't know the ins and outs.
Urgh, trust me it's ten times worse for those of us in the IT industry...
"oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
"oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
Coldfuse said:
Urgh, trust me it's ten times worse for those of us in the IT industry...
"oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
Oh god, so, SO many times this. But not necessarily the in-depth knowledge, more the "ah, you can sort this out for me *for free* can't you?""oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
"Oh, you work in IT, can you set up my wireless network for me?"
"Oh, you work in IT, my computer's running slow, can you fix it for me?"
Maybe that's another conversation though
masermartin said:
Coldfuse said:
Urgh, trust me it's ten times worse for those of us in the IT industry...
"oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
Oh god, so, SO many times this. But not necessarily the in-depth knowledge, more the "ah, you can sort this out for me *for free* can't you?""oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
"Oh, you work in IT, can you set up my wireless network for me?"
"Oh, you work in IT, my computer's running slow, can you fix it for me?"
Maybe that's another conversation though
- sigh*
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
But you only get all this by bothering to immerse yourself in it!
There's so much info available on the net now - you don't really have any excuse, lol!
Nailed it. If you're sufficiently interested, that can be the required motivation.There's so much info available on the net now - you don't really have any excuse, lol!
So very, very few modern production cars are of any interest to me.
It seems to be the running trait for anybody knowledgeable about a given subject (cars, IT, gardening etc) - most people don't give two s
ts about your hobby and go out of their way to avoid talking in depth about it. As soon as they get a problem in said field, however, you're their best friend and are expected to sort things out immediately.
I'm not the handiest chap when it comes to vehicular maintenance but I'm quite easily pleased, so any car troubles my peers want me to look at generally come with a crate of Corona and a lime. That'll do me (unless it's a big ol' task).
ts about your hobby and go out of their way to avoid talking in depth about it. As soon as they get a problem in said field, however, you're their best friend and are expected to sort things out immediately.I'm not the handiest chap when it comes to vehicular maintenance but I'm quite easily pleased, so any car troubles my peers want me to look at generally come with a crate of Corona and a lime. That'll do me (unless it's a big ol' task).
Coldfuse said:
masermartin said:
Coldfuse said:
Urgh, trust me it's ten times worse for those of us in the IT industry...
"oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
Oh god, so, SO many times this. But not necessarily the in-depth knowledge, more the "ah, you can sort this out for me *for free* can't you?""oh you work in IT, can you help me getting around the security of [insert obscure program]"
or
"oh you work in IT, can you tell me which you think is better a [insert obscure laptop model number] or a [insert obscure laptop model number]?"
Er, no.
"Oh, you work in IT, can you set up my wireless network for me?"
"Oh, you work in IT, my computer's running slow, can you fix it for me?"
Maybe that's another conversation though
- sigh*
all because he wants fast internet, I guess I should tell him that his current 2mb link may be the cause....
Futuramic said:
A brief conversation recently set me wondering about this. A work colleague had been informed of my automotive enthusiasm and discussed his kit car with me. It was an obscure thing, and I really was baffled when it was described. I understood the vagaries concerning spec and what type of carburettor it ran but the rest; such as where it was made and its running gear I was unable to comment on.
He now appears to regard me as something of a pretender in this world, though I would contest that fact. I do my own servicing, can weld, paint, wire up and have a reasonable understanding of how things work.
On the other hand I don't know much at all about new cars. Even though I'm still young they don't interest me sufficiently to learn all of the intricacies of model and marque so most pass by unidentified.
It seems almost that there is a heightened state of learning for what may be termed the true car enthusiast; able to discern a model year by trim details or the sound of the door closing. I know that I shall never reach such nirvana, however does it really matter that much?
Other fields of study do not expect their denizens to know absolutely everything that ever happened; even classical scholars and such. So do we expect too much of ourselves, almost? Are we expected to know all that concerns four wheels? And why do we feel a bit silly when unable to answer? I know I do.
Maybe they found out that you drive a Ford Orion He now appears to regard me as something of a pretender in this world, though I would contest that fact. I do my own servicing, can weld, paint, wire up and have a reasonable understanding of how things work.
On the other hand I don't know much at all about new cars. Even though I'm still young they don't interest me sufficiently to learn all of the intricacies of model and marque so most pass by unidentified.
It seems almost that there is a heightened state of learning for what may be termed the true car enthusiast; able to discern a model year by trim details or the sound of the door closing. I know that I shall never reach such nirvana, however does it really matter that much?
Other fields of study do not expect their denizens to know absolutely everything that ever happened; even classical scholars and such. So do we expect too much of ourselves, almost? Are we expected to know all that concerns four wheels? And why do we feel a bit silly when unable to answer? I know I do.
But maybe it's that fine line between being enthusiastic about cars and being a 'car enthusiast'? What sort of kit where they building?
Some people like to share their knowledge for the enjoyment and advancement of the conversation.
Some people just like to show off.
Some people treat it as a competition and keep pushing until they get to the point where they can snub you for not knowing as much as they do.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone needs to have any mechanical or textbook knowledge about cars to be an enthusiast.
It’s possible to just enjoy them for their sound, movement and looks.
Some people just like to show off.
Some people treat it as a competition and keep pushing until they get to the point where they can snub you for not knowing as much as they do.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone needs to have any mechanical or textbook knowledge about cars to be an enthusiast.
It’s possible to just enjoy them for their sound, movement and looks.
Just because I don't know all the internal workings of various engines, gearboxes, etc. doesn't mean I can't enjoy and appreciate cars.
Yes, make the effort to get your head around the basics of motoring maintenance but there's no need to become a fullblown anorak about cars just to be a PetrolHead.
Yes, make the effort to get your head around the basics of motoring maintenance but there's no need to become a fullblown anorak about cars just to be a PetrolHead.
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