leftlane

Look through all the threads and all the posts - there are like 15 of us on these forums. The overwhelming majority of owners have no idea this forum even exists - and most of them are probably happier with their cars because they don't think they have every single problem that someone else posts.

I have zero idea how my car works. I also have zero interest in learning how it does. I just want to drive it.

By the way - there are a ton of idiots who drive a Porsche just because it says Porsche - don't kid yourself. Don't you remember the joke about the difference between a Porsche and a porcupine?

"02996ttx50

I learned ( and continue to ) out of sheer necessity! believe me when I say that my first 2nd gear ( of two! ) popout taught me one thing. that is, if you DO NOT educate yourelf about any and all aspects of this car that you can you will be bent over more often than a bunny ranch denizen.

add to that, when you DO know what you are genuinely talking about? mechanics and shop owners PRICES /ESTIMATES and BS go instantly down much closer to where they *should* be.

that is an unidisputable and identifiable fact. go ahead and pay 600 labor to replace an accumulator which takes a skilled pro 15 minutes to r&r lol with a 140$ part, and then tell me whats what

Blswan

I've worked on cars since I was a teenager. I have built two classics with a full rotisserie restoration in the past (6) years. I have also have a lot of experience with LS1s. I don't know the 'ins and outs' of my 996tt but I bet I know more than most. I find that most people on the forums, even this one, just regurgitate what others have said. They become pseudo experts without having experienced building anything first hand. In summary, nah I wouldn't agree. We are from all walks of life.

rmc1148

As leftlane has said there are probably under 20 people on here and 6spd that really are involved the rest just read and only get involved when they have a question/problem. Also agree most people just ape what they hear and that's not all bad if its from a good source, I personally get involved and use the info as help/insight. I have never and probably will never ask for help as I do searches/read and then either repair myself or have it done depending on how busy/lazy I am. I enjoy the socializing as much as the car lol.

DrainsWalletsFast

The percentage of owners who frequent the forums is going to be pretty low. Sure, it may be higher for an older performance car than when the things were new, but I'd say this is still a pretty small subset of the population of owners. There's probably more of us in these places though compared to say Toyota Corolla owners as a percentage.

jdjones2010

Toyota Corolla Owners! REALLY!

"02996ttx50

i agree also with the comment about parroting info as if it is actually "known", as I've done it many times as well. another way to look at that when the info you share tends to be accurate, however, is helpful to many.

i stand at my car and fumble around for tools on about 95% of the work that ever gets done on my car, whether thats clutch jobs rad replacement or any other stupid sh*t.

so i beg to differ that not actually turning the wrench disqualifies one from being able to genuinely share valuable AND accurate info.

i'm fairly certain that werner von braun didn't BUILD the freakin rockets, so that tends to mitigate the above comment somewhat, imo.

rmc1148

werner von braun you never cease to amaze me with the analogies= I enjoy it.

autobonrun

Like minded in the sense all are Porsche enthusiasts, although some of the things said on this board over the last few years about various car models makes me question the present owners. What was good natured ribbing in the 80's and 90's is downright cruel and unnecessary now.

I agree you don't have to work on cars to provide valuable input and contribute to overall internet board knowledge. However, I do wish the company engineers that actually design the mechanicals and electric circuits had to spend 1 or 2 years working in a service shop before someone puts them in charge of laying out the design. Then they wouldn't put the %$#*^% fuse box 2" behind the glove compartment like some BMW engineer did with my X3. They did leave a 1" square opening in the back though. I guess just so that I can see that the fuses are there; because I can't even get two fingers through it to change a simple fuse. You have to drop the entire glove box just to change a 5 amp fuse. What really pizes me off is there is space everywhere in a big SUV that the fuse box(s) could be placed other than up against the firewall. If these engineers actually had to work on the car first, they would consider maintainability and accessibility in their design. Same applies to Porsche engineers, they aren't immune. Rant off.

"02996ttx50

lol. thx but i was actually a bit offended but the notion that although many of us repeat the same stuff over and over about spoilers and accumulators, that doesn't mean we don't or haven't learned more than just the most basic aspects of these cars. in my case the impetus was correlated to my very real obsession with these cars.

so unlike our friend leftalne here who claims not to particularly care about how and why they work, i have become more fascinated with my expanding knowledge of them both out of necessity, as well as a genuine rabid interest.

the fact that i don't actually CHANGE my accumulator myself while standing there helping watching ;learning whatever, doesn't mitigate or diminish sh*t about what I may or may not know

i agree also with autobahn run there is a distinct pecking order/hiearchy and disdain that many of the wrenchers have for the normal guys like us that may only know a bit here and there. in many ways, it's elitist but about oil and turbos and other more complicated aspects of actually building them.

we're all here to learn so someone can wrench thinks they are "wiser" or more knowledgeable than I am? by way of example? elitist car snobbery is all it is. B F D lol

rmc1148

Plenty of people fully understand how things work without actually getting their hands dirty. Being out there working with your mechanic will rub off and nothing beats hands on to really get the big picture.

"02996ttx50

hah! id RATHER stay hands off. my hands are too friggin clean and i like em that way LOL. i "talk for mines", as we say in tha hood

rmc1148

I have owned homes as old as 260 years old and the house I'm in now 200+ with 150 year old addition. My point is that if I didn't watch contractors and know the basics they would rob me blind and the work would be iffy also I do a lot myself. Its the same with cars and yes I know some people feel their indy treats them well and a lot do= but you know what they say about familiarity.

autobonrun

That's why I feel with respect to board members, everyone does not have to have a desire to physically work on these cars. My comment above was definitely limited to the actual automotive designers.

What we pay for when we take a car to a mechanic is 80% (or so) his knowledge and 20% the actual physical labor. That 80% involves clean hands because it's purely brains and experience to diagnose the problem. Likewise, many of the posts on this board have nothing to do with physical labor like changing an alternator or brakes; it's insurance, bluetooth connectivity, lease vs buy decisions, electrical diagnosis, and lots of other things that go into the overall car ownership experience. It's that 80% knowledge that can be passed around by people knowledgable in those fields without ever touching a wrench.

With that said, I personally enjoy diagnosing and wrenching. 35 years as an engineer designing oil refineries probably put that in me. Once, I spent the entire weekend after Thanksgiving under a car rebuilding a transmission valve body in a 7 series BMW with a cell phone in one hand and a wrench in the other. I didn't even know which bolt to loosen first but a guy talked me through it on the phone. The dealer wanted $2300, I did it for $150 in parts. I ended up writing a DIY procedure with photos on how to do it. But everyone doesn't have a desire to do something like that.

I do respect those that don't feel the same way, but instead just enjoy driving their car.

Atrox

Yeah the contractors see you're Porsche and say "this fools got money lets add a Porsche tax. When I used to be in the coast guard they would train in the classroom and out in the field and hands down once I got on the water all that classroom learning went out to sea so to speak. I think reading and absorbing is absolutely paramount, but it will never replace actually getting you're hands dirty.