research... do it

do your research. and not just the search button at the top of the 4acpowered page. there are a lot of web sites and literature on our vehicles. toyotanation, club 4ag, 4ac powered, and way to many AE86 sites to list. search the web, buy a repair manual. use common sense. you will be surprised on how much info there is on our cars. esp AE86 its 25yrs old there isnt too much that hasnt been done to it. i guess what im trying to say is that if your new to the whole owning a rust bucket scene and have a question do some research, disearn the truth from the BS and when it doesnt make sense or you need clarification ask those more experienced. and those more experienced are always answering questions sometimes the same question over and over again, its annoying. but at the same time where were you three, five, ten, twenty years ago asking the same stupid questions.

Agreed.

I've been careful about only dispatching info on my own experiences owning this car and the trial and tribulations that come with it. I come from Hondaland and bought this car as a learning tool to become a better driver. I've soaked up so much knowledge on this car in the last year I'm currently on hiatus!
Personally I hate asking a question and getting a BS answer or hating on the car because it doesn't have 200+hp or the most bonkers cambered out wheels on it. You get a lot of that in forums even if you ask an appropriate question, so I tried to save myself as much noob grief as possible. Building a car is supposed to be fun right?!
First thing I did was read the entire owners manual, then most of my Haynes manual, then scoured a few decent forums for common problems, build/project logs, and any technical articles I could find. If I STILL after all that couldn't find an answer I'd ask on here...which hasn't happened that much. I think I PM'd Eric about the Weber he sold me more than anything else!

Also agreed. I think the Factory Service Manual is the most important tool I have and everyone should have one. That being said, this site needs DIY stickies to help new people.

I don't rely on DIY so much only because you're never quite sure how much knowledge the person doing it has. I've seen 3 or 4 different ways to remove the emissions stuff and 3 or 4 ways to do a vac delete and there's always questions on what they did with this or that and what if I have this part or that part then what?

Mostly I like the Build/Project Log threads with tons of pics because a good one will chronicle the evolution of the vehicle and what works for how long and what changes were made if any to the original concept. Espescially any motorsport builds because those owners tend to strip the car down to the bare chasis and build up from there, and take numerous pics of EVERYTHING going on or in the car.

overdrive418 wrote:

I think I PM'd Eric about the Weber he sold me more than anything else!

Yeah you did! And you're not the only one. I figure, what's the point if me knowing all this useless information if I can't pass it on to someone else? But a majority of my info has come from research and experience. But there are some things that all the research and looking won't answer. That's when I have to ask a question lol.

heeroborn wrote:

do your research. and not just the search button at the top of the 4acpowered page. there are a lot of web sites and literature on our vehicles. toyotanation, club 4ag, 4ac powered, and way to many AE86 sites to list. search the web, buy a repair manual. use common sense. you will be surprised on how much info there is on our cars. esp AE86 its 25yrs old there isnt too much that hasnt been done to it. i guess what im trying to say is that if your new to the whole owning a rust bucket scene and have a question do some research, disearn the truth from the BS and when it doesnt make sense or you need clarification ask those more experienced. and those more experienced are always answering questions sometimes the same question over and over again, its annoying. but at the same time where were you three, five, ten, twenty years ago asking the same stupid questions.

I agree with this all the way. Even more so, the idea of taking something apart and learning for your self. All the heavy tuners and builders had to start from somewhere, and the best place TO start is the bottom. Grab a book and read it ! 90% of my internet life has just been lurking, reading and learning. Over time the answers would flow and my searches would get shorter and shorter, "because I knew WHERE and HOW to look". If you learn where and how to look, you may never have to ask another question again.

If you've only worked on three or four cars in your life, let alone your 1st, and you've taken something apart and said, "Hold the phone...is this SUPPOSED to look like this? is this normal?" as I have, then sometimes its good to ask.
Knowledge is built up over time. Not everyone has experience with the same things. I'm not new to cars, just this particular car. Some knowledge carries over, but every model has its own special parts and quirks and tweaks to make it look good and run like a train. I like learning new shit so I look up as much as I can and actually read it.
Try to find out as much as you can on your own, then ask an INTELLIGENT question. Those are more likely to get an intelligent response.