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Tweaking cars - like tweaking computers??

T

theNEOone

Diamond Member
i'm just getting things together, in anticipation of getting my first car (next year.....bleh, too long). i know that once i get it, i'm gonna be under the hood trying to tweak the damn thing in every way possible. the problem is that i know absolutely nothing about cars. i know they need gas, you gotta change the oil every 3k miles or so, and i know how to drive - that's about it.

i want to learn more about cars (particularly the rsx which i'm extremely interested in), so that when i finally get mine i won't be a n00b. now, are tweaking cars similar to tweaking computers, in the sense that you don't need to know every little detail about it to make it run better/faster? for example, i don't know how a cpu works, and i don't understand those complex diagrams that anand posts about pipelines and such when it comes to GPUs. i don't know the intricacies of ram, but i know that low cas timings are important. i can distinguish between the advantages of ddr for rdram, fsb timings, different chipsets, etc.
basically, although i don't know how each part works individually, i know how all the parts come together to make a good performing computer. does the same thing go for cars?

also, anyone got some good links to sites or forums where a noob can get started??
 
A computer is designed so that anyone with half a brain can fit the card/DIMM/CPU into the correct slot. If it doesn't fit, something is obviously wrong. And if something goes wrong, you can tell almost immediately, usually with a BIOS error.

Cars are not like that. They are mostly electronic with some mechanical aspects. You can work on a computer with a phillips screwdriver and a pair of pliars. To do some things to your car, such as read engine output, requires hundreds of not thousands of dollars in gear. Stuff is not generally 'plug and play' in the hardware aspect like a computer is, either. And if you do something wrong, you may not notice it until you are going 70 mph down the freeway and you have a lot more at stake than a $200 CPU.

Most modern cars are difficult to work on, in general, without a lot of specialized tools that cost thousands of dollars. And the easy stuff - like changing oil or brake work- can be done in your drivway but most stuff cannot.

I am an EE, I understand computers down to the circuit level, and cars still baffle me.
 
Some things are easier than others. My friend installed a CAI on his RSX by himself in about 5 hours, and I don't think he has much experience working on cars.

BTW, when you install a CAI in the RSX, you remove the stock airbox, which creates a monster space in your engine where a turbo would fit quite nicely...😀
 
Originally posted by: KingNothing
Some things are easier than others. My friend installed a CAI on his RSX by himself in about 5 hours, and I don't think he has much experience working on cars.

BTW, when you install a CAI in the RSX, you remove the stock airbox, which creates a monster space in your engine where a turbo would fit quite nicely...😀
Click to expand...

5 hours? :Q

holy shiz - which manual was your friend reading? 😉
 
Might I add that there is a certain level of abtraction in every device. Like you said, you can abstract yourself from the inner workings of a DIMM or of the motherboard if all you are doing is installing them. But the more detailed you go, the more you must understand and the less you can have abstracted for you. The same is true for cars. You don't need to know the inner workings of your engine to change the oil. But if you are trying to replace your cams and install a turbo, you'll need to know a bit more.

In general, the more basic the task, the more abstraction you have.
 
hold up!!!

an RSX as a first car????? you payin for it, or your parents? i mean DAMN dude, slow down, get one that will be not worth much, if you crash, who cares much (and i bet you would crash the RSX)!!! and insurance is gunna luv you forever if you get an RSX as a first car.

im only 17, but remember those rules!!! you pay for it, you get what you want. your parents pay for it, you get what they want you to have. You pay for a sports car, inusrance will rape you in all of your orifaces. you will be a cop target, and if anyone doesnt like you, something will happen to your new car.

just get a beater, cars dont like being driven to and from school everyday. short drives are bad for them. get something cheap, the might need a little fixing, and learn on their. i can now replace brakes, change the oil, and do most things to my car, i learned from my dad though.

JUST GET A KID CAR, NOT A FREAKING SPORTS CAR!!!

MIKE
 
Originally posted by: KingNothing
Some things are easier than others. My friend installed a CAI on his RSX by himself in about 5 hours, and I don't think he has much experience working on cars.

BTW, when you install a CAI in the RSX, you remove the stock airbox, which creates a monster space in your engine where a turbo would fit quite nicely...😀
Click to expand...



CAI? airbox? a turbo???

😕😕😕
 
Originally posted by: theNEOone
Originally posted by: KingNothing
Some things are easier than others. My friend installed a CAI on his RSX by himself in about 5 hours, and I don't think he has much experience working on cars.

BTW, when you install a CAI in the RSX, you remove the stock airbox, which creates a monster space in your engine where a turbo would fit quite nicely...😀
Click to expand...



CAI? airbox? a turbo???

😕😕😕
Click to expand...
airbox = where the air is sucked into, and filtered to enter the engine (if its anything like i think it is)

turbo = motorized fan (type thing), which forces air faster into the carbuerator to allow for a "leaner (greater air to fuel ratio)" and can cause increases in horsepower.

MIKE
 
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
hold up!!! an RSX as a first car????? you payin for it, or your parents? i mean DAMN dude, slow down, get one that will be not worth much, if you crash, who cares much (and i bet you would crash the RSX)!!! and insurance is gunna luv you forever if you get an RSX as a first car. im only 17, but remember those rules!!! you pay for it, you get what you want. your parents pay for it, you get what they want you to have. You pay for a sports car, inusrance will rape you in all of your orifaces. you will be a cop target, and if anyone doesnt like you, something will happen to your new car. just get a beater, cars dont like being driven to and from school everyday. short drives are bad for them. get something cheap, the might need a little fixing, and learn on their. i can now replace brakes, change the oil, and do most things to my car, i learned from my dad though. JUST GET A KID CAR, NOT A FREAKING SPORTS CAR!!! MIKE
Click to expand...

He's graduating from college and purchasing it himself. DOn't worry.
 
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
hold up!!!

an RSX as a first car????? you payin for it, or your parents? i mean DAMN dude, slow down, get one that will be not worth much, if you crash, who cares much (and i bet you would crash the RSX)!!! and insurance is gunna luv you forever if you get an RSX as a first car.

im only 17, but remember those rules!!! you pay for it, you get what you want. your parents pay for it, you get what they want you to have. You pay for a sports car, inusrance will rape you in all of your orifaces. you will be a cop target, and if anyone doesnt like you, something will happen to your new car.

just get a beater, cars dont like being driven to and from school everyday. short drives are bad for them. get something cheap, the might need a little fixing, and learn on their. i can now replace brakes, change the oil, and do most things to my car, i learned from my dad though.

JUST GET A KID CAR, NOT A FREAKING SPORTS CAR!!!

MIKE
Click to expand...

um, i'm 21. my uncle will be helping me pay for it once i graduate college. and i've been driving since i was 14. i had a 93 celica as my first car (when i turned 16 that i payed for myself), but left it at home when i went to college and my bro crashed it up. just because i don't know anything about how a car operates, doesn't mean i can't drive. i drive fast, i drive hard, and i drive aggressive. but i've never been in an accident because i know how to handle a vehicle. i said i was a car n00b when it comes to understanding their operation - i didn't say i was a nervous 15 yr old girl w/ a learner's permit. 😛

 
coulda specified that but whatever, i will keep it there. you didnt specify anything, so i assumed wrong. i mean all the time i see ppl on here going. IM 16 help me pick between RSX, WRX, and a mustang. i mean specify your age in the first post, just a suggestion.

MIKE
 
Tuning a car is a lot more difficult than tweaking a computer. With a computer, you can change all the settings you want, and if they don't work you can change them back in 5 minutes. Hell, on a modern fuel injected car (like the RSX) you can't change the air/fuel ratio at all without expensive hardware that will let you burn a new chip, and you need a dyno (which will prrobably run you at least $100/hour to rent) to do the testing. If you do somehow get the car running too lean, you'er very likely to bend a rod or break a piston, and you can't jsut put it back how it was before to fix that.

Even things like simple replacement of parts is harder. In a PC, if your video card dies, you take it out and put in a new one. If the machine doesn't boot, you can turn it off, see that the video card isn't seated, puch on it, and it'll boot up. If you wanted to do the same thing with a headgasket, it takes 10 hours to get the old one off and the new one back on. When you start the car, even if it's still leaking, it will seem fine for a little while, until it starts overheating. Then you have to spend another 10 hours removing the headgasket you jsut put on, throwing it away, and putting on a new one and making sure it's torqued down properly.

Tools: The tools required to work on a computer are a screwdriver and pair of pliers. They cost about $10 total. The tools required to say, replace that headgasket, are going to cost at least $250, and you will need specialized tools for othwer specific tasks on the car.
Performanc: with a PC, you can know nothing about it except that it has an AGP slot, and you can put a Radeon 9800 Pro in there, and it will work, and the graphics will be better. Cars are not the same. If you take some little motor, know nothing about it, and try to turbocharge it and run 35 pounds of boost, you are going to blow up the motor, simply because the parts inside the thing weren't designed to handle the forces that 35 pounds of boost creates. You need to know what kind of pistons, rods, crankshaft, etc are in there to be even thinking about putting a turbo on the car.

Now, I will say cars are a lot simpler than computers. The reciprocating piston engine is not as complicated as an arithmetic logic unit. However, no onme designed cars so that they could be upgraded in 10 minutes by a monkey, and you really have to know how they work or you will only be able to do the simple tasks (change the oil, replace filters, etc). It is not that hard to learn how the engine works, though, and there are plenty of other Integra and RSK owners out there who would be more thhan happy to help you and teach you about your car.
 
i was exactly like you about 2-3 years ago when i first got my new (used, but new to me) 94 Integra. First off let me say, car stuff is WAY more expensive than computer stuff. The range of prices on car stuff is amazing, cheap stuff is really really cheap, but the good stuff (Spoon, Mugen, Toda, Jun, etc) for Hondas at least, cost an arm and a leg. But with respect to your question about tweaking, yes, if your used to computers, cars are a lot harder, its more mechanical, not everything is plug and play. Sometimes things get stuck and you have to be creative to get around some scenarios, comptuers are just straight 1 2 3. However, working on a car, I think, is a lot more rewarding than working on a computer. When you put that new video card in a computer, which took less than 5min to do, you know exactly what will happen because there are benchmarks out there for your exact setup and chances are nothing will go wrong. However with cars, when your done labouring for sometimes an entire weekend and start that engine, its so exciting knowing you did everything yourself and yet theres that sense of risk that you don't know what will happen with the mods you just did. anyways, there's my rant.
 
Why do you want an RSX?

You said you don't know much about cars, so I am going to assume you don't know that an RSX is front wheel drive and the disadvantages that go along with this.

You see, there is a reason that Formula-1 racers are rear wheel drive. It is just better to be pushed from behind than pulled from the front. Not to mention drifting.

And besides, an RSX is a dressed up Honda Civic. It is basically a souped up economy car.

If your in the price range of a new RSX you could get a much better car. Imo, if you are really interested in tuning your car, the ideal car would be the nicest 240SX you could afford. 240's are true entry level sports cars with rear wheel drive and great handling. The 91-93 fastback's are the lightest and therfore have the most potential. The 91's have the best cams. The 95-96's are nice, but the 97-98's have a much meaner looking front end.
Just don't get anything before '91.

These are true tuner's cars because you can drop a JDM spec SR20DET right onto the stock engine/transmission mounts. SR's have nearly unlimited potential as far as tuning goes. You can also go the other route and stick with the KA24DE the 240's come with, they have more torque than any engine Honda makes.

Sorry to poop on your RSX, but I just can't stand all these tuned up economy cars running around here.
 
underground, he isnt looking for a sports car. he is just looking for an everyday driver. yea drifting in a rwd, but when do you drift when driving in new york? oh wait thats right, you drift when you try to take a rwd around a bend, and its snowy out! fwd is a little better than rwd for winter conditions, and is a better year round car. he isnt looking for a lets soupe it up car, but rather one he can tweek for better MPG, and a little horsepower (from what i understand) plus the cost of parts for the sx's is a lot more because they are no longer made.

MIKE
 
I don't know much about working on cars, but I am sure that most car tweakers started out working on totally crappy car. Tweaking with a brand new or almost brand new car will most likely get your warranty cancelled.
 
I'd say buy whatever you want for a daily driver, but dont fvck with it - yet.

also pick up an old american muscle car (find something nice and cheap), and mess around with it.. lots of room under the hood, a lot more simple.. minimal electronics involved, mostly mechanical.


hopefully by the time you're done messing with the old american car, you wont want a ricemobile 😉
 
and similar to computers, six months later you realize how little the gains are in comparison to all the time spent reading and the effort put forth into tweaking and you find a new hobby 😀
 
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
hold up!!!

an RSX as a first car????? you payin for it, or your parents? i mean DAMN dude, slow down, get one that will be not worth much, if you crash, who cares much (and i bet you would crash the RSX)!!! and insurance is gunna luv you forever if you get an RSX as a first car.

im only 17, but remember those rules!!! you pay for it, you get what you want. your parents pay for it, you get what they want you to have. You pay for a sports car, inusrance will rape you in all of your orifaces. you will be a cop target, and if anyone doesnt like you, something will happen to your new car.

just get a beater, cars dont like being driven to and from school everyday. short drives are bad for them. get something cheap, the might need a little fixing, and learn on their. i can now replace brakes, change the oil, and do most things to my car, i learned from my dad though.

JUST GET A KID CAR, NOT A FREAKING SPORTS CAR!!!

MIKE
Click to expand...

You need to chill.
 
Originally posted by: Moralpanic
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
hold up!!!

an RSX as a first car????? you payin for it, or your parents? i mean DAMN dude, slow down, get one that will be not worth much, if you crash, who cares much (and i bet you would crash the RSX)!!! and insurance is gunna luv you forever if you get an RSX as a first car.

im only 17, but remember those rules!!! you pay for it, you get what you want. your parents pay for it, you get what they want you to have. You pay for a sports car, inusrance will rape you in all of your orifaces. you will be a cop target, and if anyone doesnt like you, something will happen to your new car.

just get a beater, cars dont like being driven to and from school everyday. short drives are bad for them. get something cheap, the might need a little fixing, and learn on their. i can now replace brakes, change the oil, and do most things to my car, i learned from my dad though.

JUST GET A KID CAR, NOT A FREAKING SPORTS CAR!!!

MIKE
Click to expand...

You need to chill.
Click to expand...

you need to read the whole post! (i say its my fault, i assumed wrong, just dont want to edit that, and i will leave it there for everyone to see that i made a mistake)

MIKE
 
Originally posted by: Colt45
I'd say buy whatever you want for a daily driver, but dont fvck with it - yet.

also pick up an old american muscle car (find something nice and cheap), and mess around with it.. lots of room under the hood, a lot more simple.. minimal electronics involved, mostly mechanical.


hopefully by the time you're done messing with the old american car, you wont want a ricemobile 😉
Click to expand...


Listen to this man. 😉
 
Originally posted by: Colt45
I'd say buy whatever you want for a daily driver, but dont fvck with it - yet.

also pick up an old american muscle car (find something nice and cheap), and mess around with it.. lots of room under the hood, a lot more simple.. minimal electronics involved, mostly mechanical.


hopefully by the time you're done messing with the old american car, you wont want a ricemobile 😉
Click to expand...

Basically my thoughts. You can get an old muscle car to fix up and learn a lot on.
 
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