I'm with Wood on this (not like THAT! :eek:) - the idea that you can't mod the living shiit out of a modern car is absurd, and it doesn't have to be a Subaru. Plenty of folks with deep enough pockets replace the turbochargers, intercoolers ect. that come on modern 911 Turbos with units that are better performing (or perform in a manner that the owner wants), for one example.

You can add a turbocharger(s) or supercharger to a modern car, and if you don't have the capability to re-tune for increased fuel demands there will be a speed shop within reach that can do that part of it.

Is that supposed to be ironic? If it is, it’s very funny. I’m just no sure you intended it to be clever.

But what is a car guy/gal? Does someone who buys a brand new GT3RS, pays big money to shops for upgrades and maintenance, and runs track days count as one? I bet if you asked them, they are the definition of a car person. Is it just a state of mind? Are there actual requirements? Do you need to know how to wrench? And who's deciding all this??

My apologies if I turned this into a millennial bashing thread. That wasn't my intention. I'm sure every generation has their stereotype and those who feel unfairly grouped into that. Boomers and GenXers, feel free to comment!

Thanks Jim, perhaps I'll take it to a new thread. It would be cool to see what other people have too!

What a depressing thread .... better go turn on the TV and get an update on CV to brighten my day

Cars are like music preferences. I prefer old V8's with carbs on top. I don't get into 'tuning' or 'boost' and I don't care if the guy online says he's got more HP. For me, it's about 1) working on 'em, then 2) driving them.

As for the Subaru crowd- one reason I left ownership was the absolute idiocy of the average enthusiast. Parrots, all of 'em- they just follow what everyone else online does. Compared to other marques the Subaru has a very small aftermarket footprint- Porsche included. Coilovers, turbos and exhaust. About it.

I consider a car guy anyone who considers a car more than an appliance. There are about a million different flavors of car guy or gal. People who throw out “not a real car guy” statements are a ridiculous form of snobbery.

Checkbook enthusiasts could technically be the Barrett Jackson crowd as well. Ruins it for the average Moe.

Reliving their childhood youth, it's the fashionable investment, whatever. If you're owning it at an inflated price simply because it's hot and now- and you want to be seen on TV paying $150K for a Chevelle (LOL) well, you're not really a car guy.

rjp

That would be my dad. He talked about working on his car when when he was first married and just in pilot training making very little money in the Air Force. I don't ever remember seeing him work on any car, lawn mower, or bicycle. And he for sure never helped me at all to work on a car. He had even worked in an auto parts store in the early 50s before he was commissioned into the Air Force.

I have had many co-workers over the years that only knew how to put gas in the tank and twist the key, and did not even know how to open the hood. Then when they asked me for some sort of diagnosis of an issue, and they would say something like "You are lucky, you know how to work on things". I always replied I was not born with an innate knowledge of how to fix things, but a simple thirst to learn how things work and I was too broke to pay someone else to fix simple things. Anyone can learn this, but you have to want to do it.

One co-worker was a chick that had a 1974 VW bug. She pulled into the parking lot at work and it sounded like a diesel. There was no oil in the engine. I found a short block back then that was fresh re-man for just a few hundred bucks, and I did the engine swap overt the weekend by myself. It was easy. She ended up with a fresh engine for way under a grand.

Or, everyone gets a participation trophy.

Sorry I just don't buy in on using this as a form of judgement. Not everybody can afford an air cooled 911. The dude with a WRX slammed on coilovers with a fart can and a blow off valve isn't my particular flavor, but I still consider him a car guy. And you know what, normally if you give them a chance you realize that they are just as passionate about cars as you are. I probably had more 20 somethings with flat brimmed Monster Energy caps compliment me on my 911SC than I did grey haired retired guys.

Judgment? Either you are a car guy or you aren't. There's no judgment in that. Your examples are comical Matt. EVERYONE considers the dude with a slammed WRX a car guy. EVERYONE. The guy who sortof likes cars, not so much. Anyway, not everyone gets a trophy just for liking cars.

Trophy? What's the trophy Shaun? The incredible honor of having your respect as an official car guy?:rolleyes: It's not some form of official title that you can bestow upon people.

You did get lucky but can't see it. You had someone to get you started. A friend, a relative, whatever. No one who works on cars started in a vacuum. Not one person. Zero chance in hell you just picked up a Clymer or Haynes book and started buying tools. You wouldn't even know what you were reading or looking at. You wouldn't even know what tools to buy, or where to even get them. Most people don't have the faintest idea that cars can even be repaired at home. So, yea, you were also lucky. Most people don't have anyone to show them its even possible. This is why apprenticeship is still a thing after 2000 years.

Probably one of the most ignorant things I've ever read on this board.

A curious mind requires a mentor?

Never turned a wrench (didn't have one ;)), before discovering Pelican, it inspired me....I CAN own, and maintain a 911....

The journey began :D

Everything is learned in life, but there a the few that are gifted and those things come to them naturally.

Actually, it's one of the most truthful things ever posted here.
People are totally full of ****. Car guys especially.

I'm curious about space travel.
I guess I'll just build a space ship out back.

There is not one car guy on the planet who didn't see someone else car fixin'.
People aren't always that lucky to have farmer neighbors or friends or relatives who own tools.

So, yea, most people have no idea that fixing cars is even a thing. It literally is not even in their imagination of realm of possibility.
They literally have never seen anyone turn a wrench (even dealerships now do not let you view the service bays)
why on earth would they think to start fixing cars? Have you ever decided to undertake space travel? Why not, you're curious.

I call bull****.

When did you buy a 911?
You were a checkbook mechanic until you got a $30k sports car?
You're telling us that you never changed an air filter and you bought a used 911?

You didn't have even ONE friend who was working on cars and gave you the idea that you could also?
How did you even find this forum? What made you even think there was a forum for fixing cars?
And why on earth would you go to a DIY forum when you don't even know what DIY is?
Did you accidentally type for random letters p-e-l-i-c-a-n-p-a-r-t-s and stumble onto a DIY forum of a car you miraculously happened to own?

Did someone take an extra dose of belligerent this morning?

Well, maybe I'm still a little bit of a car guy? Had a project requiring the floor space of the garage for a couple of days. So, batteries of both cars down a bit from starting & parking elsewhere in the property...each car doing this 6-8 times, in and out of the garage, travelling feet not miles after each start.

So, checked voltage with the multimeter...Mustang battery 11.9 V...currently on a 2 amp auto charge. Camry battery at 12.3. plan on hooking it up after the Mustang is done.

At age 76, I don't care to do much more than that...wrenching hurts now and offers none of the joy of years past. I'd rather be driving, but with the lockdown nowhere I can go. My favorite pool hall is closed.

On the learning curve? Those of you who cut your teeth on a computer are lucky, Back before then, word of mouth, various manuals, how to articles in Pano and other magazines, and snail mail letters were all we had. No youtube "how to" videos at the click of a mouse.

Put a 48' rototiller on the back of one of my 2300 MF small tractors today. Not a cheap piece of gear.

My son did all the install quirks (3 point hitch fit, disc loading on the PTO clutch on the RT before and after install, length of the drive shaft, etc.). He had it wired.

Not a hard job, but an important one.

What a beast. We did a 1/4 acre of cover crop prep in just over an hour.

Cars are cute and I loved the many really neat cars I have owned. I have jacked around this country in all sorts of livery...no one is luckier than I am.

That said, self proclaimed, "Car Guys" annoy the f out of me.

That's exactly what I'm telling you...the history of my ownership and car is all in the tech section btw.

Found Pelican in 2001...joined a month after I purchased my 911 and had a question...

Yer the one that's FOS :D

At 76, opening the hood must be a workout. I have a few more projects in me before I age out of this half-assed attempt at trying to learn cars from the internet.

Again, let's probe and see who is FOS.

How did you find Pelican? How did you know it even existed?
What exact question did you have?
Did the car break down?
Why didn't you just tow the car to the mechanic like a normal person?

My car ownership history is well documented in the tech section. Use the search function and my ID.

You lose :)

Ok, let's see KC's posting history.
First post he's asking about oil.

Guy who never touched a car knows "synth vs. dino"? How the F did he learn those words? Again, how did he even know a forum existed?
He already knows the word "DE"? How on earth did he ever know about DE?
Was he lost and stumbled upon a track? 99.9999% of people have never seen a track, or know that its a thing. How did he? Magic?
You're telling me this guy doesn't know ONE person who is a car guy?
He's operating a in total vacuum? He just magically figured out he can work on cars?
BS!

Next, he's asking about tires.
How the hell did he even know there was a choice?
Why did he not take it to local Firestone, like a normal human?
You're telling me this guy doesn't know ONE person who is a tire nerd?
How the hell did he end up on a forum asking about tires?
He just magically figured out tires have choices?

And his third post. BOOM.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a "buddy who is a good mechanic"
Check-F'ing-mate.

LMAO at how totally full of **** people are
He just magically figured out he can work on cars? NOT.
He had an external influence that led him to the path.
Your typical clueless office worker is not as LUCKY as you.
(You didn't build that)

The most ignorant thing on this board leads to one of the rudest things I've ever seen here.

Kid, that guy with the Mustang has forgotten more about cars than you'll ever know.

You better take a good look at yourself because one of these days, you might need someone to change a flat tire for youi on the side of the road and you'll be looking for someone that can lend a hand....and one of us might just be the only one you can turn to.....

Nothing rude about it, my snowflake.
I was agreeing with him that wrenching hurts at age 76.
It hurts if you're decades younger than that.
Stop looking for a fight, and learn to read.
And I never claimed he was ignorant of cars.
Total garbage

Sugarwood, you are not only ignorant, but insulting...

It's a bad combination man :(

I could answer every single one of you questions with a simple, truthful, answer, but you would have to open your mind to what you don't know.

Ignorance is....ignorant ;).

Look, you were called out, so spare me your BS.
"You lose".

LOL...do you want me to rub your nose in the BS :).

I speak the truth...my "buddy" lives in Fl btw...no help with my car other than Rennlist, Pelican, and Wayne's books, etc.

Quit being a dickhead :)

You continue to miss the point.
How were you "lucky" enough to know about Rennlist, Pelican, and Wayne's books, etc.?
An illiterate monkey can work on cars.
The trick is HOW did they figure out they they too can work on cars?
How did they even know that cars get repaired?
Many people don't even know that mechanics exist in this world.
Most people have literally never spoken to a mechanic or know one.
They lease and turn it in after 3 years with zero repairs.
They only see the coffee room at the dealership

This was your original argument.

No one needs a person to get you started.

You are curious or you are not. Your learning sources are secondary.

I'll disagree.

How does one even get curious in the first place?
Why it is even in the realm of possibility?
How did you even know that cars can be repaired in the first place?
How did you ever know that "tools" exist on this planet?
Because you saw someone else doing it.

Not everyone is so lucky.
Like those stupid lazy clueless office workers

That smug attitude is maddening.
Again, not everyone is lucky enough to have a friend, mentor, or relative to expose you to new possibilities

Why am I not a professional archer?
Why am I not curious about archery?
Maybe I never figured out that I am an Olympic archer?
That's right, it never occurred to me, because I never saw it.
Unlucky that I missed out on being a gold medalist archer.

I don't really know.

I do remember seeing lathes in the high school machine shop. I thought they were awesome. The structure, the alignment of the ways, the precision.

Maybe it's a control thing?

I'm going to humor you...

I had always liked 928s....guy down the street had one, and so one day I began searching on the Internet. I discovered Rennlist, then Pelican Tech and found a world I did not even know existed. I have always been a "self learner". I truly didn't have a wrench, nor had I touched a car mechanically at the time. I was 41 when I realized I could DIY a 911 with the help of Rennlist and Pelican, so I began my search....

The rest is well documented history on these boards btw.

You can do it too if you are so inclined, and have the apptitude...seriously.

Peace brother...I'm done here.

Not everyone is lucky enough to be exposed to a lathe.
Most people literally have never seen one.
Hard to get curious about **** you don't know even exists.

The getting curios part was pretty simple for me - I saw fast/powerful machines and wanted them. I knew that my Dad was not going to pay to have any machine I had worked on, and that I would not be able to pay others to work on it (have never been motivated by money, even though my machine tastes have always greatly exceeded my financial means), so therefore it was a "necessity" for me to learn. Most of that learning began from reading repair manuals.

Later, I wanted to race and could not afford to race what I wanted to unless I was willing and able to do all the mechanical work, so my learning took a huge leap then,

^^^^ rtfm, rtfb, stfi :)

That last one makes it easy peasy these daze :D

I hear you but most are also not stuffed into a closet dosed up with Benadryl until they are 37.

If you never see a lathe and you are a curious person, you will still find something that interests you.