A Reason

I had a nice chat with a couple of guys this week. They are from the area and are avid hobbyists and do car shows as often as they can. One Chat was on their turf, one was on mine. But it was good to talk with them, as they represent a portion of the hobby we don't really understand.

TUNING.

They and I have a great respect for each other and a mutual respect for our rides. With my Automotive background I probably have a better understanding of what it takes to Tune a newer car and can talk turboese if I need to. I can also understand piggy backing an ECU to hack into a management system to tweak a motor above the preset parameters from the manufacturer. Yes, sometimes I awaken in the middle of the night screaming.

After the first chat with a JDM proponent (Japanese Domestic Market) we found that his slight engineering problem was easily cured with some welding and relocating. Then as the discussion went on we discovered that what he does with composite materials and plastic we do with metal and fudge. Imagine that, common ground. What they do with electronics we do with a screwdriver and once you understand that when we fight to get 400hp out of a V-8 with carbs and cams they almost get 400hp out of half as many cylinders with a lap top and a turbo.

The conversations were good and the end result was better as now I know one reason that some of the younger crowd looks at our vehicles with disdain. Its not that they don't like them, they actually do. They just didn't grow up with the Old Cars like we did. I have a photo of my father driving a 53 Studebaker, their dads were driving 89 Honda CRX's and Ford Tempos. But we all have this hobby in common.

We can all learn something from someone every day. I learned that these young guys are as good a friend as anybody else. They learned that Old Guys aren't all stuck in the 50's & 60's. They look at our music much like we looked at our parents music. I remember many clashes of Elvis verses Led Zeppelin in my household. We all learned that when respect is given and earned mutually it makes life just that much easier.

So if a Tuner puts out his hand to shake, make sure you do, they could be your next best friend. They definitely are the future of the hobby.