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Want to learn about cars

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  • Engine
  • Cars
Last response: in Cars
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December 21, 2013 1:33:56 PM

Hello, I have always been interested in cars but just now realised that I know nearly nothing. What do you think is the best way to start learning about cars. I am not interested in desing and such things, just how everything in the car works(engine, suspension, etc). Any recommendations are welcome!

More about : learn cars

December 21, 2013 1:37:02 PM

Elendrill said:
Hello, I have always been interested in cars but just now realised that I know nearly nothing. What do you think is the best way to start learning about cars. I am not interested in desing and such things, just how everything in the car works(engine, suspension, etc). Any recommendations are welcome!


Buy something really, really cheap. $300. Make it run better.
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December 21, 2013 1:39:01 PM

USAFRet has a good idea. Also watching a lot of shows will help as well. I don't know where you live, but in America, the channel Velocity has lots of shows where they do various work on cars. A great show also is Wheeler Dealers, it's a British show where they fix up old cars. Also just watching various videos and reading books about how to work on cars will help as well.
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December 21, 2013 5:53:54 PM

It's really too bad Shade Tree Mechanic and Horse Power TV are no longer running. Those shows and taking auto-shop in high school really gave me a good grounding. If you can find torrents of those shows or something (youtube?) they were great and dealt with 70's,80's and 90's (I think HP TV went into 2000's) which at times (especially the 70-80's veHicles) were simpler and easier to understand for beginners.
USAFRet is absolutely right, an old 300-500 car and some basic tools (one of those 200+ piece ratchet and wrench sets that go on sale frequently plus or minus a couple things like screw drivers, universal joint etc...) and a Haynes manual for the vehicle and have at her!
Remember, if you start something and get stuck you can always come back here for help/tips/advice. The best way to learn something (or about something) is to do it.
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December 28, 2013 11:57:09 AM

I loved shade tree mechanic. They were really good at explaining how to do many different repairs. I also agree that a cheap car and some basic tools are a great start. I'd look at an older car with no ECM as then it's just more of the mechanical aspect to learn before you get involved with the electronics side. One thing I'd recommend is to look to see what sort of clubs are in your area and purchase the type of vehicle based on what a good club is. A rally club is a really good one because all you need is a cheap little car to start, you'll always be fixing things, and it's a heck of a lot of fun.
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January 13, 2014 3:36:45 PM

You could buy one of those build your own model engine set designed for kids that will spin around all the moving parts once you have finished, that's how i learned a lot about them.
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February 21, 2014 9:26:02 PM

howstuffworks.com or i can sell you my old tech school books from when I got my degree...seriously though just look online but focus on one part at a time like the engine then go to the sub systems when you have a basic grasp like fuel delivery ignition and so on or just ask i like to teach when i can
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February 24, 2014 1:10:50 PM

reading watching is just theory u have to discus with buddy's about future ,car ,performance.best deal is get occupation as mechanic start from oil changing ,washing car parts and remounting tires.you have not much time bro cause next day your wake-up its gonna be nothing to fix.like i mention before about oil change.we all gonna face that :D riverless cars.
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