i noticed a lot of you guys do things yourself when it comes to tuning your cars. Man i dont know ****! Everything i get done i'm gonna have to take it somewhere to do. How do you all know what your'e doing? do you just get in there and try it? or have someone show you or what? mann i wish i could do my own work.

 

u have to do it your self .. get a book findout how it's done .. and when your about to do it get some one who has done it before to help u.. just remember take your time, make sure u know where it came from

 

I always say to learn the car before you begin modifying it, that way you know what you are doing and what the modification is doing for you. I also own the helms shop and electronics manual and have worked on engines and done welding, cutting, brazing etc. for a long time now.

 

You just need a good set of tools, a floor jack, and maybe jack stands. Oh and a Helms manual helps.
For the most part, cars are really pretty simple. Just like a model or R/C car, except the parts are a whole lot bigger. Just big-***, heavy parts and nuts and bolts. It's surprisingly easy to disassemble and reassemble a suspension. Header? Exhaust? Just bolt-off, bolt-on. Well, you almost always run into little glitches that cause a lot of cursing and wasted time. But for the most part, it's all common sense.
Of course once you start messing with the motor, then it becomes more complex.

 

I can vouch for what 4door said. This was a guy who used to take his car in for everything - like the spring debacle of '94 (or whenever that was). Now, with no more training, no better manual, and a few more tools - he does **** to his car that scares even veteran shade tree mechanics.

I guess the bottom line is anyone can do the nuts and bolts stuff - you've just got to be willing to. BTW: Dave is my auto improvement hero

 

Awww, thanks Mark
You should see the radiator fan I fabricated out of the part of the stock fan mount and Fluidyne fan motor and blades.

 

ah yes, the classic issue of seized bolts and bolts (and other things) in places where my hands don't fit...

 

I'd also like to add that making sure you can see what you're doing is very important. I know it sounds silly, but once you start doing it, you'll see what I mean.

 

Oh yes, that is importante. My father used to be a mechanic so I pretty much learned everything from him, well for the domestics anyways. I've taught him everything he knows on imports

 

Well, even before I got my first car, I started reading magazines like car and driving and road and track. These might give a base knowledge of the workings of a car. Then, after I got my car, I did research on it. One of the steps was coming to H-T. 95% of the members are very helpfull and will walk you through everything. Get yourself a chiltons or haynes repair manual and start reading. Start with little things like oil and break changes, and move up. I'm still on oil and break changes.

 

Modified by CardDealer at 3:29 PM 11/16/2006

 

I had to get my girlfriend to drive me to college after I shorted the ECU.

 

working on complex things of the car takes alot of hand eye coordination, simple things take common sense

i always remember three things when starting on a new project:
1) time- do I have enough even with unforseen problems
2) tools- do I have what it takes mentally and physically to do the project ( yes I consider the mind a tool)
3) knowledge- i always tell myself that the more i know the more valueable I am to myself and others, this makes the project worth it

one of the hardest things i have doen to my car is change front rotors, first time it took me 7-8 hours with a lot of cursing and hurt fingers/pride
second time I did it it took 1 3/4 hours and no problems except getting the car up on jackstands
i have been able to help many others do the same thing now because I know how to do what use to be considered something only a mechanic can do

there is no point in modifying a car if you do not know what the modifications have done for you, and people don't tend to respect these modifications if they didn't perform them themselves



[Modified by urbanlegend21, 9:42 PM 1/10/2002]

 

well thanx for all the advice guys. thats pretty encouraging actually. I think my car's about ready for an oil change. i should try it. BTW, where can i get any of those repair manuals you guys were talking about? any car store?

 

Nope, http://www.helminc.com.

 

the helms manual is about $70, and is actually the Honda published shop manual

the Haynes is about $20

to learn I would buy the Haynes and get the basics down because if you don't have those you will be overwhelmed by the Helms

Haynes can be purchased at any chain auto parts store like Advance or Trak Auto

 

thanks!

 

Lord of the Accord I am in the exact same place as you. Plus I dont trust myself to do anything to my car, I dont wanna **** anything up lol/

 

its the only way to learn is to do it yourself, you dont know anyone who could watch u as u tried to do something yourself to guide you?

 

i broke many clips, lost many screws, but it was all well worth it. i just experiement and if something goes wrong i try to figure out what's wrong...that's how you learn...from your mistakes. i changed everything..from exhaust, to my intake to my suspension...etc etc.. the only time my car was in the shop was when they had to paint it.

 

I work on my own car. However, there are just some things I hate doing. I will not change my own oil. I hate doing it. I would rather just pay the shop to do it. Besides doing it myself only saves 4 dollars.

 

you know your right James but for a new car enthusiast changing the oil can be a big deal and have them want to do more

I generally change my oil on my own while preparing for the track so it is one big tune up basically

 

i do the same thing... plus it's hard to fine places around this area that accept oil... definitely not worth the $4...

 

exactly, at VIR they have giant 1000 gallon tanks just for used oil and other fluids, there are also other places in my hometown that recycle old oil so we are better off