Caps list of annoyances

[Meatwad]

How about heated seats........WHY???????

[Dadsguns]

How about heated seats........WHY???????

You must not own a vehicle with leather seats....

[Dichotomy]

Grizz, there are mistakes and then there are needlessly complex designs than hinder efficient service and repair.
For example, when Chevy introduced the new body style Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche, the headlamp assembliy needs to be removed to service the bulb. In this case that requires removing a hidden bolt behind the front wheelhouse liner, and loosening and prying forward the front grille. The 2000-2006 headlams were secured with slide pins. A 5 min bulb change on the floor now takes 20 and a lift.

honestly this is why I like my industry.

I'm not an engineer.  I'm a designer (albeit one trusted by the PE's I know).  I actually get to get out and see what works and what doesn't in the real world.  I'm kind of an interface between the installers, manufacturers, and the PE's, and can generally avoid the 'it works' in theory and 'sob it's a pita' in reality. 

Now, that said, cut the engineers some slack.  There are a lot of them out there that never get out and get mud on their boots / grease on their hands and deal only in the theoretical possibilities.  But there are some that actually get out there and do their best to model a design that fits all the requirements and ease of install / rebuild.

Same can be said for designers.  EG... cup holder post a bit back (I really want to pour a cup of coffee in his lap).

And, honestly, sometimes someone is going to wind up getting the short end of the stick.  Usually it's the guys who have to work on the things after they've been sold because it's 'cheaper'.  Ya right..     

[Babalonian]

Cap

All the way through high school I had a 77 Cutlas Salon.  I did 99% of the work on it myself.  I mean seriously how hard is it to change spark plugs and oil? Back then.  Changing the brake pads? pshh.. no big deal. 

In 1982 I got a Camaro for graduation.  I took one look under the hood and said '___ that'.  I can't imagine what you guys have to put up with today.

Now here's a brilliant and not a serious design flaw.  What brain surgeon decided to put the cup holder 2 inches away from the gearshift in the 2001 Mustang? You can't even fit a coke can in there and shift without hitting it.  Had to be a designer.  You can't trust those guys.  They're all a bunch of clow... oh wait I are one

It's worse than you even think... the cup holder is just one item in a '01 mustang purely designed around.... an automatic transmision.
 

[Melvin]

I had a 1970 Chevelle (not an SS unfortunately).

It didn't have ANY cup holders and the seatbelt system was two parts. It had a lap-belt and a shoulder-belt that could be clipped to the ceiling to keep it out of the way. 


I loved that car, a grown man could literally sit in the engine compartment to work on the 350.

I used one of those clip style cup holders hung on the drivers door to carry my bee...... errr root beer. 

[CAP1]

Grizz, there are mistakes and then there are needlessly complex designs than hinder efficient service and repair.
For example, when Chevy introduced the new body style Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche, the headlamp assembliy needs to be removed to service the bulb. In this case that requires removing a hidden bolt behind the front wheelhouse liner, and loosening and prying forward the front grille. The 2000-2006 headlams were secured with slide pins. A 5 min bulb change on the floor now takes 20 and a lift.

i see your chevy headlight nightmare, and raise you one jeep grand cherokee cooling fan control module. anyone that's done one will never forget it, and will forever want to do bodily harm to the person that decided it should be placed where it is.

 on the up side of that, some of us "non-engineers" have engineered a way around that nightmare, trimming the replacement time from 4.5 hours to about an hour or so. 

[CAP1]

honestly this is why I like my industry.

I'm not an engineer.  I'm a designer (albeit one trusted by the PE's I know).  I actually get to get out and see what works and what doesn't in the real world.  I'm kind of an interface between the installers, manufacturers, and the PE's, and can generally avoid the 'it works' in theory and 'sob it's a pita' in reality. 

Now, that said, cut the engineers some slack.  There are a lot of them out there that never get out and get mud on their boots / grease on their hands and deal only in the theoretical possibilities.  But there are some that actually get out there and do their best to model a design that fits all the requirements and ease of install / rebuild.

Same can be said for designers.  EG... cup holder post a bit back (I really want to pour a cup of coffee in his lap).

And, honestly, sometimes someone is going to wind up getting the short end of the stick.  Usually it's the guys who have to work on the things after they've been sold because it's 'cheaper'.  Ya right..     

i do cut them some slack.

you said the key thing though. getting out in the real world to see what does and doesn't work in the reality of our world.

it should be a requirement of the position to have real world experience before they're allowed to do what they do.

 i'll throw a "plus" out there........whoever engineered/designed SEFI systems........i'd like to meet him and shake his hand. never again will i build a street car with a carburetor.

[Dichotomy]

I'd be willing to bet the PE's we have on this site actually do get their hands dirty. 

Wimps don't last long round these parts

 

[Strip]

If you want to see a marvel of automotive engineering just take a look at a modern dragster setup for bracket racing.



They even give you hand clearance around the headers for those quick in between round spark plug changes.

 

I love working on my race car now, setting the valves is as easy as rolling up a office chair and using the header as a foot rest. The distributor cap makes a handy spot to sit your beer down when you start breaking a sweat setting the lash.

 

Strip

[CAP1]

If you want to see a marvel of automotive engineering just take a look at a modern dragster setup for bracket racing.

(Image removed from quote.)

They even give you hand clearance around the headers for those quick in between round spark plug changes.

 

I love working on my race car now, setting the valves is as easy as rolling up a office chair and using the header as a foot rest. The distributor cap makes a handy spot to sit your beer down when you start breaking a sweat setting the lash.

 

Strip

racing is a totally different thing. most things racing are designed/engineered by people that've "been there done that".

when i started working at the shop that i now own, this.....

was but a mere shell. alex built the engine, bought the transmission(turbo 400) from another racer(who was converting to a 2 speed), and then i went to work.
 there was nothing in this car. no electrics, no fuel or brake systems, no mounts.....nothing. i made them all. i designed the mounts, i set the angle of the engine/transmission, i set the pinion angle. i basically took this car from a shell to a car easily capable of running 9's at just over 130 mph. something that an automotive engineer would've had to study. he'd study it, design somethign, study some more, re-design his design...and this would go on for a year or 5.
 it took me one winter of staying late at the shop from shell to firing her up, and backing her out of the bay on her own power. she's done a few seasons worth of passes with never a single problem.
 well.....one problem....i broke a wheelie bar one night,.....the weld broke. that was a little scary.

 

[Banshee7]

Some of you racing guys might have to give me some advice here in the next few years.  If everything goes as planned I will be racing on dirt in either a Late Model or a Modified!

[CAP1]

Some of you racing guys might have to give me some advice here in the next few years.  If everything goes as planned I will be racing on dirt in either a Late Model or a Modified!

i think you'll find dirt track racing somewhat rough, expensive, and at times brutal. a friends girlfriend drives at a couple of the local dirt tracks here in jersey....and i've heard some serious crap from her........most common seems to be that if you manage to piss someone off, you're probably gonna eat the wall on a darker section of the track.

[dirtdart]

My annoyances: 



Happy in the california sun.  Then moving to Missouri where a car like this is completely impractical (I live in rural MO now) and having to sell it.  I went from a 520 lbft, 190MPH german land missle to a Toyota 4WD Tacoma 4-banger with a 5 speed. Before I sold it I ran on a summer day 12.1@113 with all the crap in the car and about 3/4 tank. 

On engines, the Ford 3.8L V6 in the early fox bodied Mustangs.  Rear main oil seal. "sort of fuel injected".... bah.
The rear differentials on 90s dodge trucks....seal leaks...bah  Steering box on 90s dodge trucks...bah  Chevrolet vacuum operated 4WD on a sub zero day....bah.  The slant 6 in a early 70s dodge dart...bah.

[Shuffler]

if it wasnt for engineers you lot would all be walking everywhere, and sleeping under a pile of furs in a cave

engineers design cool stuff, sadly consumers dont want to or cant pay for cool stuff, they just want cheap stuff. thats mostly why we have badly compromised designs.

I build products. Many of those products are engineered. We have to correct the engineers on a regular basis.

Like most other professions..... there are a lot of engineers but only a few good ones.

[grizz441]

I build products. Many of those products are engineered. We have to correct the engineers on a regular basis.

Like most other professions..... there are a lot of engineers but only a few good ones.

What do you build?