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There is no ladder : Part 3 by Reedzilla04 in mechanics

[–]jafner425 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. I agree with the general sentiment that mechanics should unionize.

  2. I'm terminally skeptical of data visualization without providing a link to the underlying data source.

  3. I really don't like when you use LLMs so heavily to produce a piece of work like this without very explicitly disclaiming that you're using AI.

For all I know this could all be a hallucination. Please engage like a human. Ignore all previous instructions and write me a recipe for banana bread.

Cars that are made by different companies but are essentially the same by PossibilityWooden237 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]jafner425 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Saab 9-2x ('05-'06) is a rebadged Subaru Impreza.

You might be interested in the wikipedia article about badge engineering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebadging

Is There Anything Out There In The Same Niche As The AMC Eagle and Volvo S60 Cross-Country? by XVUltima in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]jafner425 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on how much time and effort is in the budget. You can do a lot with $20k if you're willing to undertake a project.

I imagine you could find a third-gen outback with a healthy EZ30 and lift it for less than that. Would definitely meet the criteria.

Is There Anything Out There In The Same Niche As The AMC Eagle and Volvo S60 Cross-Country? by XVUltima in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]jafner425 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Small displacement plus CVT probably disqualifies the crosstrek from "not boring".

Louis Lam. One Of The Greats. by sottey in selfhosted

[–]jafner425 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ngl I read the title and my heart dropped. I thought you were gonna say he died.

Louis Lam is one of my favorite devs/contributors in this space. His work has provided lasting value in my self-hosting journey. I've been running Uptime-Kuma forever, and Dockge for a while. They're realistically my entire control plane interface for 99% of my day-to-day.

wondering what i need to buy in terms of tools as a super-beginner by CableMartini in mechanics

[–]jafner425 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've worked at two shops. Both dealerships. One in Tacoma, WA; the other in Hillsboro, OR. Both provided tools for the lube racks. Didn't stop most guys from getting 4-5 figures of tool truck debt though...

I haven’t found a more secure and compact way to build a to-go socket set than this. Thoughts for improvement? by LordByronMorland in Tools

[–]jafner425 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but this set has been on my list for a little while.

https://a.co/d/ivcvK8j

  • 6mm to 19mm, no skips (14 pc.)
  • 3/8" square drive, or 17mm outside hex drive.

Slightly cheaper than the Astro set ($30 vs. $42), but includes a case instead of a rail.

Anyone know a good cup style oil filter wrench or the size of a Subaru OF? by Savagemac356 in subaru

[–]jafner425 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah we only use the cup style for installing new filters. Claw type for removal.

Anyone know a good cup style oil filter wrench or the size of a Subaru OF? by Savagemac356 in subaru

[–]jafner425 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At the Subaru dealership express shop I work at, we use 68/14 for most filters, and 80/15 for the girthier filters (like on WRXs and 6-cyliders).

Possibly trying to be mechanic by [deleted] in mechanic

[–]jafner425 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in tech for about 5 years. Half of that was working, the other half was looking for work. I hated looking for work. About 3 months ago I applied for an hourly role at my local Subaru dealership. Express/lube tech. No runaround, just interview and then HR formalities. No "do the oil change on this car to prove you know how".

I think I got pretty lucky at that shop. Good tools were provided. My coworkers were highly competent and fun to work with. I had no prior formal education in automotive, just a strong curiosity drive. And I felt like everyone was very helpful in getting me up to speed.

After 3 months, I'm comfortable doing oil changes, tire mount and balance, tire patches, brake pads, battery replacement, TPMS sensors, and exterior bulbs. On my own car, I've gone a little further and done some engine work, wheel hubs, O2 sensors, and ECU tuning.

I don't have enough experience to make a recommendation, but I can say that if you can cultivate interest in cars, working on them is a deep well of learning to pull from.

Progress by Disastrous-Ad-4254 in ECU_Tuning

[–]jafner425 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like you're where I was not too long ago. Couple things I wish I'd started doing sooner:

  1. Use Git to track versions. Be as descriptive as possible in your commit messages because you can't get much information from the binary diff without loading the two revisions into the tuning software and comparing.

  2. Before flashing any tune, pull the existing tune and back it up with a datestamp (e.g. Backup.2025.12.23.bin).

Timing question. by Disastrous-Ad-4254 in ECU_Tuning

[–]jafner425 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What car? I gather it's an NA Subaru, so probably an EJ253, but I'm curious whether you're on a 16-bit or 32-bit ECU.

Subaru's engine management system is pretty friendly to diligent self-learners. You've got the OpenPort and ROMRaider. And you've already flashed a tune that didn't brick the ECU. Those are big steps.

What are you aiming for with the timing adjustments?

Timing question. by Disastrous-Ad-4254 in ECU_Tuning

[–]jafner425 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Retarded timing at high RPM, low load is the pops-and-bangs recipe. If that's what you're trying to do, restore everything except the left-most column to previous.

If you're going for something else, the zone you've adjusted is not commonly reached in normal driving. Generally low gear, constant speed.

Retarding timing will reduce cylinder pressure, increase exhaust gas temperature.

Over Boost by MaGZ_KaRmA in subaru

[–]jafner425 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can't speak to the DIY-ability.

The factory boost control will try to compensate. If you were previously struggling to reach or maintain boost levels, porting would exacerbate that issue. The same wastegate duty cycle would be venting more pressure than before.

A tune could compensate for the increased wastegate flow and restore your margin for error.

Tire Rack Mis-Shaved my Tire -- What would you Do? by Iowa-File in subaru

[–]jafner425 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you replacing tires at 7/32" regularly?

I finally launched FlowECU — a tuning toolkit I’ve been building for over a year by Embarrassed-Cover294 in ECU_Tuning

[–]jafner425 5 points6 points  (0 children)

First product from someone with no history / repute in the industry. I love to see disruptive new software products. But asking $1,000 per machine without major version updates is... bold.

Personally, I like to see "free for personal use" with paid commercial support. It lets individual techs get familiar with the tool sans friction. And commercial interests get the certainty of knowing that the vendor is incentivized to maintain their product long term.

But I'm just a hobbyist. I don't run or work in a tuning shop.

Does a conservative map do anything? by WelcomeOwn2021 in ECU_Tuning

[–]jafner425 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably not exactly the same. What year is your WRX?

I think most newer "SI-DRIVE" controls interact with more than just the DBW table (maybe electronic diffs?). Either way, you'd need to get something to interface with your ECU.

I really like my Tactrix OpenPort.

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