clokker

iTrader: (2)

I'll sweeten the deal(s) with the Gigabyte i-RAM...populated with 2 x 1gb DDR sticks.
Room for two more as your needs expand.

I also have a box of fans, all with great patina (read: filthy) and most with distinctive buzzing/whirring/clicking noises that will eventually drive you insane.

Make great stocking stuffers.

jjwalker

haha, I wouldn't call it "exotic".

I have been using the monster for years. It's an off the shelf unit that I disassembled and upgraded with a server fan and a much higher rated pelt. The bitch can cool but can easily heat a 500 sq. foot room at the same time. I live in an apartment and my rig sits in the living area. When I leave my rig on, my living room generally sits 10* warmer than the bedroom.

As far as taking up space, the heatsink on my pelt covers up 1/4 of my full size ATX motherboard.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

See, nowadays that is completely backwards- CPUs are pretty cool and vid cards need all the help.

I'm running a Q9550, overclocked from 2.8 to 3.6GHz (but undervolted!) with a giant Zalman style "flower" sink, from which the fan has been removed (it clicked).
Even with very little direct airflow, it keeps the processor idling below 20°c and full load @55°c.

The vid card on the other hand, climbs up to 60° before the fan spins up off it's default 27% cycle and wants to sit at the low sixties all the time.
Right now my processor is at 18° and the GPU diode is 63°...and I have two 140mm fans blowing directly on it in addition to the stock 92mm fan on the sink.

Part of the problem (the biggest part, actually) is the stupid motherboard.
It's an early nVidia SLI board and it insists that if only one vid card is installed, it MUST go in PCI-e slot #1.
I'm told that later boards don't care, but this one does.

The result is that the sound card is above the vid card (this has been reconfigured to BTX) and creates an intractable heat trap above the vid card.
If I pull the sound card, the vid card is unshrouded, has an unobstructed flow path to the roof vent and drops temp by 10°.

This of course is where watercooling is advantageous- it allows you to move the heat from the source and get it to an area where it can be dissipated efficiently, but I'm not willing to make the investment in this crappy card and don't feel like dealing with the complexity anyway.

I have a few more configs to try but hold scant hope of a big improvement and have decided I'll do the best I can, then turn off the temp monitor (Aida 64) and ignore it.
If it melts, so be it.

Through the last few weeks of experimenting, a few parallels to automotive applications have become clear.
This is basic, low level info but it's useful because it's removed vehicle speed (and thus "passive" airflow) from the equation.

-The bigger the radiator (or heatsink), the better. This probably a function of sheer thermal mass; the larger the sink, the longer it takes to heat up and stabilize.

-Conversely, the larger the sink (or rad) the less dense the finnage must be.
Pack the fins too close and air cannot get down (or through) them. Although not an issue in cars, noise IS a problem in computers and trying to force air into a finely finned sink creates a lot of turbulance and thus, noise.
The noise level increases a lot more than the temp level drops...basically, the extra air is doing no extra cooling.

Make of this what you will.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

With odd synchronicity, both meercat and archphil recently popped up like groundhogs to declare that weather, real life and the usual trivialities have kept their cars dormant since fall.

Thought I'd chime in with a glimpse into the life of a daily driver.

Basically, my car is in a constant state of controlled deterioration.
Nothing major mind you, she runs fine, but that damn list of nagging irritations grows with every mile.
Since I'm housesitting at Sigfrid's and have the garage, I forced myself to iterate the worst tasks and get off my *** to fix them.

Warning: it's all boring ****.

Given our normally bizarre weather, I tried to plan around outside access and a couple of 65° days saw her washed, vacuumed and glass cleaned.
Weather holding, the next day she was wheels up/off and I availed myself of the power washer and did a (semi) decent undercarriage blast.
Then flushed the brakes. Pads and rotors all look great, fluid was clean and air-free...so far, so good.
Adjusted the parking brake cable a little.

On to the most dreaded job, a multipart door project.

This all started about 8 months ago when I dropped a wooden yardstick into the door cavity (don't ask). It doesn't rattle, so I just grinned and bore it.
Lately I've noticed that my d/s doorhandle seems loose and the lock cylinder is sloppier than before.
And I've always hated the crap window tint in the doors.

So, pull both doorpanels and handles.
Swap the p/s lock into the drivers handle. Passenger side locks get but a fraction of the use and are usually near perfect- I didn't "solve" the problem, just moved it further away.

Both handles installed and tight with white lithium liberally slobbed (probably ineffectively) on the mechanism.
Yardstick retrieved (thanks for not asking).

Used the heatgun to remove the tint.
Took a while to get moderately adept and it took about an hour per side.
Tip: bug and tar remover gets the remaining adhesive off pretty well.

Vaselined the door/hatch seals. Really helps prevention of freezing shut.

See how this is going?
While garage queens dream of powdercoat and coil overs, the daily wants doors that open.
It's a whole different world.

I folded the outer seal flanges in to get better contact between the wiper lip and the door glass (OK...yes, that's how the yardstick fell in to begin with), the gap always bothered me.
Baby steps.

Snow and cold move back today so we move into garage/inside stuff.
Start with the damn clock again, little **** is the bane of my existence.

All of this has been mundane, non-critical stuff, the real work begins next week or so as she preps for emissions. New plugs,filters,wires, etc.

Then we shall see.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

driftxsequence

iTrader: (8)

I think my biggest pet peeve is when I fix something and then it re-breaks. I re-soldered my clock and it worked great for a few months, then the dimmer circuit went wacky. For no rhyme or reason it'll switch between daytime/night-time lighting which can be distracting given its placement.

That is a really smart move on the door lock swap. The driver side plastic cover managed to break and find its way INTO the lock hole...I eventually managed to mash it down far enough for it to still work.

Gotta fix my keyless entry though. I'm surprised with all your electrical knowledge and junkyard trips you haven't decided to install some solenoids??? The doors already have holes to drop some right in at the proper angle!

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I have intentionally and rigorously "de-electronic-ed" my car...no power windows/locks/sunroof/PS or AC. No radio. No cruise.
I have thoroughly explored replacement switchgear and gauges.

The point of this willful self abnegation is longevity + reliability.
If it ain't there, it can't fail.

I'm certain that most cars of this modern era will be junked due to electronic failures, not mechanical. The multitude of interconnected electronic subsystems and cost to replace them (because in the computer era there ain't no such thing as "repair") will easily exceed the value of the car, especially as these fripperies migrate into the lower end of the market.

I think it's ironic that as modern silicon tech makes cars more capable in every way, the operating environment/infrastructure is going to hell.

jjwalker

A bad BCM will essentially total a car. Guy at work fried a BCM in a kia and the cost was $2700.

Chrysler and GM have the most interconnected electrical systems I have ever seen. Everything runs off of the CAN bus and if one thing starts acting up practically everything starts to go haywire.

Ford and Toyota tend to have the best built electrical systems in my experience although Ford has recently started to go the way of GM and Chrysler since 2012.

Basically, the harder it is for me to install a remote start into a vehicle, the better the electrical system. Sounds backwards but the reason that is, the more sophisticated the CAN bus network, the more I can make the CAN bus do the work for me.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

it is this reason I am reluctant to buy a newer car. my mk iv 2.slow jetta (while having its fair share of gremlins) is a simple simple car and reliability of the AZG engine with 02J Transmission is tank /bullet proof.

Granted I have been eying up 2011ish Subaru Wrx (non STI, unless screaming deal) and I have just started researching common issues with that platform.

jjwalker

Subaru is pretty solid electrically. The bodywork is very thin though and if you look at it funny you'll dent it.

As far as CAN bus goes, you can blame GM and the US gov. for that. GM started using CAN bus in 1999 on Cadillacs and on everything else starting 2003 (they call it GMLAN). OBDII laws changed in 2006 so anything 2007 and up has SOME form of CAN bus now, it's just a matter of how interconnected it is on the vehicle. On a Toyota, it has CAN bus only for the OBDII port, which complies with the law. On a GM Vehicle circa 1999-2003+ the ******* radio works off the CAN bus!

rx7racerca

iTrader: (1)

I cringe at the thought of servicing (or modding) contemporary cars once they start to age out. I haven't tried first hand, but I recall being introduced to the issues when Car and Driver tried to create the MazdaSpeed 5 that Mazda should have built - Mazda supplied them with both a 5, and a Speed3 that was wrecked while being delivered, to donate its drivetrain. A swap from cars from the same manufacturer, and based on the same Mazda 3/1st gen Ford Focus platform. But they used different BCMs, or some such. After many months and nearly abandoning the project, they finally got the Franken-wagon running, by installing the complete Speed3 harness, connected to an aftermarket LCD display, while the 5's harness and BCM remained in place, connected to its cluster, residing in the glove box (or maybe the Speed 3 cluster was in the glove box, not working but needed -I found the original article online, but not the follow-up or sidebar that had more info http://www.caranddriver.com/features...n-mazdaspeed-5) . And that was a swap between platform mates, same year, same manufacturer.

Which got me thinking about the 6 cluster in an FC first mentioned a few month/pages back, which I had pondered too, without having considered how it spun its dials and got its digital odo. I have an '05 6, and love the display - crisp, attractive, and easily readable day and night, just like the FC cluster isn't. But I'd been thinking maybe all that would be needed would be to replace the speedo drive with a VSS (I think I read the RX-8 or FD one is a drop-in), and make some connections. Apparently not... The 6 cluster, nice as it is, only has up to 8000 on the tach, and I routinely run mine to over 8500, so I'd guess that might be another data problem anyway.

pfsantos

iTrader: (1)

Reminds me of Mercedes (family has a B-Class) and learning that it has power window modules in the door. The switch talks to the bus, and I guess it then talks to the p/w module. Actually, IIRC, the whole CAN bus thing supposedly needs less wiring between different areas of the car. Not sure.

But once you mod, add or remove something, you need to program the CAN bus to know you did something. Well, not sure if always, but at least in a lot of cases.

Add an HID or LED's, they need a resistor. Change to an upgraded radio from the same year and model, program CANBUS using Star computer, or something. It goes on and on...

TonyD89

iTrader: (10)

This sucks.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Indeed, and in a variety of ways.

The basic business model of the computer industry is enforced, accelerated obsolescence...incremental performance gains delivered by all new hardware that is not reverse compatible.
That processor/ram/motherboard you bought two years ago is now considered obsolete and you cannot buy it any longer. They've moved on and you have no choice but to follow.

Now, apply this behavior to the ever growing auto market and we see a problem.
What happens when some obscure silicon based widget in your 2 year old Camry (like the Door Lock Monitor Module, for instance) craps out and you find it cannot be replaced?

Hell, look at car ads on TV...nobody talks about power or handling (unless it's to convince you that 4/all wheel drive is the only thing saving you from FIERY!DEATH!!), all they tout is bluetooth connectivity and how many DVD screens it has.
******* DVD is already dead and your stupid phone will be replaced in 6 months (with no guarantee the new one will work with your ancient system) but that's how you're supposed to choose your new car?

Just, no.

TonyD89

iTrader: (10)

In all reality, I think it's a fool's game. We will all be in autonomous driven electric cars in no time.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

No we won't.
Where does the infrastructure money come from?

sft3303

If I can put my 2 cents in (wearing flame suit, so bring it on)

I think the modern progression of tech has been pretty sweet. CANBUS does allow for simplification of wiring, at the expense of the hardware itself.

If I told you I only needed two wires to talk to all of the modules on the car (Power Distribution Module, ECU, Datalogger, Dashboard Control Unit, etc...), would that not be sweet? Digital communications is really a good thing, it just requires a different set of tools to work with. Not to mention, automotive electronics have been taking leaps and bounds forwards in terms of robustness and longevity. If the fledgling quality of the 80's Denso ECUs was good enough for a bunch of FC's to still be putting around on them here 30 years later, think of the longevity of the parts being made today with the advances in materials science and component packaging.

I agree, these newer cars will be challenging to diagnose and work on with your traditional backyard toolbox. But I think its time for the backyard mechanic to expand that toolbox, and prepare to deal with the digital age of CANBUS and electronic-heavy designs.

driftxsequence

iTrader: (8)

To add to whats been said above, some standalone ECUs have some CANbus support, It's only a matter of time before it can be fully integrated and programmable.

The way I see it, the FC was at the "begginning" of the analog electronics age for cars. it looked like the end of the world for carb lovers, and we are seeing that now with the change to digital electronics. It makes sense in my head, sorry if it didnt make sense the way I typed it out..

jjwalker

Don't get me wrong, I do not dislike CAN, I dislike the way some automakers choose to use it.

GM - Why do you need a door lock control module? Is it really necessary to have a computer controlling door locks?! Same with the radio. Why do you turn it on using CAN? You are using 2 wires in place of a single accessory wire. CAN is expensive!

Chrysler - You use MUX to control ignition and headlights. You use CAN to control everything else and just like GM, radio turn on. You use CAN to tell the BCM to switch a relay on or off. Sounds complicated, unnecessary and expensive. Why not use say...I dunno, a ground signal to do that?

I love can when it is implemented in a way to provide information to the driver, such as feeding the instrument cluster with data. I also like CAN when used with various sensors to actually control the engine as 0-5v analog isn't nearly as precise. What gets me is what I typed above about two auto makers. CAN is NOT cheap, and auto makers are using it to control things that in reality, the old way is inexpensive, proven and just plain simpler. Door lock control module, the ****? Was 5 wire door locks not good enough?

I did a remote start in a Kia the other day. I had to use a module to talk to the can bus so that the freaking keyless portion would work. The car didn't have an immobilizer (what we use modules for the most) so you could just hotwire the thing and drive away with it, but they needed a computer to control the freaking door locks! If it was a Ford, I'd just need to pulse ground to one wire for unlock and pulse another wire ground for lock.

If anyone hasn't guessed yet, I am installer for a living.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I'd separate my electronic-phobia into two categories- stuff that runs the car and disables it if non-functional and all the glitzy stuff.

Most of the glitzy stuff I find absurd and useless but realize this is down to personal preference, so live and let live.

It's the car control stuff I don't like and here's why...

Evaluate your driving experience today compared to ten years ago (assuming you're old enough to do so)- have speeds increased? Do you actually drive further now than before?

The performance envelope of the modern "normal" car far exceeds the demands of the environment it lives in. Who cares about top speed or 0-100-0 distances when eighty percent of the driving population rarely exceeds 65 mph?
Cheap air travel means hardly anyone drives long distance anymore, people on this forum act like a couple hundred miles in a weekend is a big deal.
So why do cars have to get better?

Because people are crap drivers.
If we revoked every license and made people qualify under stricter physical/skill restrictions (like Japan, say), we could all drive around in 1974 Honda Civics and the accident/death rate would still go down.

Stop using technology to compensate for braindead drivers.
If Mommy and Dad could no longer insulate little Jayden/Mellisandre from the consequences of their distraction/ineptitude by armoring them in giant SUVs, you can be damn sure that things would change fast.

And all that 4/all wheel drive bullshit, with all the extra weight/complexity/power loss?
Sell cars with two sets of wheels, one with summer tires, the other with real winter tires.
For 99% of the public, that solves the traction issue at a fraction of the initial and eventual cost.

Sorry, kinda wandering here.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

the suv phenomena is rampant up here in MN, and what is funny is I **** all over them in my non traction control non LSD FWD MANUAL transmission Econobox with a set of blizzax for winter. 100hp baby, get some!!!

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i drive much much less, and at an average speed that is about 12mph. my DD for the past 2 years has been an Rx8, and i like the car, but i do feel like i use about 2% of its capabilities.

it does have traction control, and abs, and i see the tcs light occasionally; it is essentially connected with my right foot
can't recall the abs coming on. i've never used an airbag, yet it has like 12.

actually the Rx8 is at a nice spot in the technology scheme of things, it has lots of nice features, like it knows the outside temp, and an auto dimming mirror, without having all the distracting stuff, and its not hooked to the internet. as an aside i don't really understand why your washing machine, or thermostat needs to be on the internet either...

anyways, the best driving experience i've had is the triumph Tr3, it has all the mechanical directness that the Rx7's have, but even fewer things in the way of a good drive. like a radio, and windows, yet it isn't uncomfortable.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

The auto-dim mirror seems useful but of what possible value is the outside temp?
Can you give me one example where that tidbit did you any good at all?
("Oh my gosh! I didn't realize it was cold till I saw it was 10°, thanks for saving me from frostbite, Mazda!")

Anyway, to digress...
Preparing for emissions, which for me, is basically just a tune up smothered in denatured alcohol.
This biannual state sponsored torture is when I typically replace the O2 sensor, so naturally I turn to Rock Auto (which is where all the other parts come from) and see this wide disparity in prices.
$20>$100 is the range and I'm wondering if there's a compelling argument for any particular brand. I gravitate towards Bosch and Delphi but that's more name recognition than any real reason based on data.

I have only my car as a data pool and this will be the fourth sensor I've installed.
Can't honestly say I've noticed any difference in the past with whatever unit I've used (probably Bosch), so any recommendations appreciated.

cluosborne

I doubt you could go wrong with the parts that Rockauto offers, but I did once buy four cheap--$25/each--O2 sensors for my mom's '97 Chevy Tahoe from another vendor (not Rockauto). I only ended up receiving three and one or more of them didn't work properly --I ended up replacing them with Bosch (a name that I equate with quality, but even then I do my best to shop around for the best price).

As to why you'd want to know the outside temperature gauge. Well, there are times when that would've been handy. Such as when I found myself in the middle of a heatwave In Ontario of all places back in Aygust of 2001. Then again, I could've known by turning on the radio (which I did later) or checking the weather reports beforehand. Of course, I still remember the feeling of being in a convection oven and dehydration--a glass of water and a dip in a swimming pool never felt so good, But I started out at 3 in the morning to reach a ferry by 7:30 and you don't equate Canada with heatwaves, it snuck up on me. 90-100 degrees F, blazing sun, everything was dry (I mean dry, no green, in a black car with no working AC).

If you're running all-season tires and reagularly monitor the weather, it's not really that big a deal. I put thermometers in my cars because the RX7 has summer tires (and temperatures can drop to below 40 degrees even during the summer and I drive the car until the end of October, and it's useful to me to know what the temperature is where the car physically is. Or to have redundancy if you can't access weather data (there are still areas where cellphone reception is non-existent).

It ultimately boils down to preference; if you don't want it, then don't get it.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

lol, i swapped cars with my friend, and the dimming mirror was missed immediately, and the temp thing was more subtle, but i found myself missing it.

the ntk sensor that came with the car lasts much longer than 12 months...