Long version....
Several years ago some friends (whose cars I had done a significant amount of work on over the years) suggested I write a book on how to tune & modify vehicles. I replied that there were a lot of books available and I probably wouldn't have anything to add that wasn't already covered. My one friend laughed and asked if I had actually read any of them recently - I hadn't. Well, he had and he was of the opinion they weren't very useful at all and left the reader with just as many questions as they had before they read the book. When he wanted an answer to something he would call me as he thought I was able to explain things much better than what he could find in any book.
So he gave me his books to read (I won't name them since I don't want to slander any company on RS) and I discovered he was right - they were terrible. I thought he might have simply purchased a poorly written book and so I searched for reviews on similar books and ordered two more "top-rated" ones from Amazon. They weren't much better. I'm sure to a person who didn't know much they would seem as if they provided a wealth of information. They might even appear "daunting". The reality is they have huge gaps in their information to the point you'd have to purchase half-a-dozen just to make sure every topic is covered properly.
It occurred to me that there could be a market for a "fuel injection bible" that had all the information you could possibly want in a single book. I then started writing and compiling information with the intention of turning it into a book. And writing and writing and writing. I then did some research on getting published and came to the unfortunate conclusion it would be difficult (read expensive) to get published. And with a book like this which has a very limited target audience, the expenses to get published could outweigh any possible money I might make. Too risky for my blood. I then looked at other possible ways to get this information out there from PDF files to e-books to iBooks or even a web site. After weighing all the options I decided to do something really simple and create a blog.
So my plan is to create a new blog post every week (or so) and this blog post would basically be a "lesson". The initial "lessons" would discuss the most basic of topics as I'm going to assume the reader knows nothing at all about automotive technology. However, the lessons will progress to cover more complex topics such that by the time I'm finished the reader should (I hope) have an excellent understanding of fuel injection systems and engine tuning.
Now to the people who PM'd me while I was composing this, there is no actual "challenge" nor am I going to "pick" who will get access to this information. I only used Timpo as an example to get people's attention. This blog will be available 100% free to anyone who wants to read it. The only requirement is patience - if I break down everything I've written over the years and divided it up into manageable pieces it will take a year (or more) at one lesson per week to cover it all. I'm hoping that each lesson will be interesting (and engaging enough) to make people want to keep coming back wee after week to learn more.
I also expect this blog to be polarizing. I can see a lot of people getting pissed with me publishing this information online - people who sell books on tuning, people who charge money for tuning courses or even tuners themselves who might see me the same as magicians see people who publish their "secrets". On the other side there will be people who are learning something useful and will be happy I've provided this information to them. As I've posted on RS many times before, I've always been one to share information with customers which is something that's not common in the automotive field. People who have their little "bag of tricks" always seem to want to keep them to themselves for fear they'll lose a competitive advantage over the next guy. To me this blog will be the ultimate extension to the idea of sharing with your customers.
So what are some of the things you'll learn?
- Basic Electricity & Understanding Circuits
- Basic Electronics
- Advanced Electronics & Circuits Related To Fuel Injection
- Printed Circuit Board Design
- Microcontrollers & Programming Examples
- Wiring Harness Design & Construction
- ECU Construction & Operation
- Sensors Used in Fuel Injection Systems
- Physics of Engine Operation
- Chemistry of Combustion
- Data Acquisition
- Dyno Tuning Methods
- Math, Math & more Math
Don't let some of the titles scare you. Remember that even the world's best tuners started out knowing nothing at all about tuning. They had to start from scratch, which is what we'll also be doing.
My daughter (who is 9) is learning to program microcontrollers and is already building simple circuits. My wife (who is my first "student") is knowledgeable enough about tuning to embarass a lot of mechanics. If she can learn this stuff, so can Timpo and so can you.
My blog (with the first lesson) should be up in a few days as I'm just putting on the finishing touches. When it goes live, I'll post up the address and will welcome your feedback.
