eBay - Plastic turbo

[phantomrt]

I bought my '91 Daytona when I was 17 years old as my 2nd car. I still have it 8 years later. I bought it as a beater/fart-around car. It was in very poor shape. I gave my dad a ride in it to the gas station to fill it up. He asked me what I was thinking when I put a FULL tank of gas in it. Reason being, he didn't think the car would last long enough to burn up that tank of gas! A 5spd swap and 50,000 miles later, it still runs and drives quite well all things considered. I have about $1300 TOTAL into the car, including all necessary maintenance. People think that because I have five cars, all which are in fair shape or better, I am loaded $$$$-wise. Of course this person who has just one car, and makes $300+/mo payments and trades it in just because it needs new tires, is the one struggling to get by! Lets see. 300x12 months=$3600 a year, times two years $7200 and trade it in again. Hmmm.

Its not just the younger generation that has these issues. The older ones are or were just as bad. I have a neighbor, probably in his late 30's, who brings his kids' bicycles to me to get the seat adjusted, to put the chain back on, etc. They're nice people and great neighbors, but dang. Also, when the phone guy came to my house to hook up my DSL internet, I had to show him how to do it. The service technician who came to fix my refrigerator just called a GE Helpline to figure out what was wrong. He did no diagnosis by himself. A burnt resistor--I can't believe -I- didn't see that. I wasn't about to just throw new parts at it without proper diagnosis, which is why I had someone come in and do it.
I was showing one of the "managers" at the campground I worked at in my earlier days how to shut the water down for the winter. Much of it was set up so simple--faucets at the end of the pipes that you just open and the water drains out. Yes, THAT simple. He had to ask me which way to turn the faucet handle, and then drew a curved arrow on the wall the direction to turn it for reference the next year!

Want to make $$$$? Just go to college and get a 4-year degree of any sorts. Thats all you need. I know so many people who are complete morons who cannot wipe their own hind end that make double the $$$$ that I do because of that piece of paper. Well, I guess I'm the moron actually for not getting my own. Other than burger joints, you can't get hired for squat without that degree. And I've worked with people past and present at my current job who have 25+ years of experience, and they still suck. I bought my '95 Grand Prix from a guy a couple blocks away who supposedly wrenched on GM's for 20 years. The car needed a replacement engine so I picked it up for really cheap. It should have been NOTHING for a person with this kind of experience to do it. You should have seen his attempt to get the transmission out of his daughter's Ford Probe. That was disaster ever since the first bolt loosened.
I knew people who don't know how to use a rake, a shovel, how to reel up an extension cord, disconnect the garden hose before the freezing weather comes, how to reset a circuit breaker, back up a trailer, unhook the trailer, etc.

Oh, and there's never enough money for this or that, etc, but no matter what happens, no matter how tough times are, somehow there is always PLENTY of money left for cigarettes and beer. Of course, to them, me spending $120 on an adjustable cam gear is really pointless. Okay, I can see where they are coming from. If you think about it, cars are also a waste of money.

I like clueless people. Although they're annoying. They give smarter people a chance to utilize their potential. We all do stupid stuff, but you just have to learn from your mistakes. Some people cannot and do the same thing over and over again. Its like slamming a car door shut, and it doesn't latch and bounces right back open. Hmm, maybe we should slam it harder. Woah that crunching noise didn't sound good, but I think I should try again, just HARDER. Whats this? now the sheet metal looks bent right around the latch!?! PIECE OF JUNK! Slam even harder. Window glass shatters. Oh, the seat belt belt is in the door jamb.

[EvilcowRoland]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phantomrt Its like slamming a car door shut, and it doesn't latch and bounces right back open. Hmm, maybe we should slam it harder. Woah that crunching noise didn't sound good, but I think I should try again, just HARDER. Whats this? now the sheet metal looks bent right around the latch!?! PIECE OF JUNK! Slam even harder. Window glass shatters. Oh, the seat belt belt is in the door jamb.

I've actually seen this happen. Not the breaking glass part, but they kept trying to slam the door shut with the seatbelt in the way. Insanity can be recognized by someone doing the same thing over and over expecting different results each time. It must be from too many brain cells lost through drug-induced euphoria.

And I will attest to the college degree not being a sure thing for getting a job. I have a Computer Science degree and I couldn't even beg my way into a computer job. The issue was location. There just isn't anything good around Richmond. I did finally land a computer job, but the company is small and can't afford to pay me a lot. I'm thankful for being able to use the degree though. Beats the hell out of construction (which I did for a few years and enjoyed parts of, I just don't like being out in the weather anymore). People I talk to are always amazed when I tell them I've worked construction and roofing job, I repair computers and can write software, work on my own cars, etc. etc. And of course I look at them like they're crazy because I don't understand why if I can do it then others can't. But The Pope is right, it's a lot of the parents' fault. I was raised to be self-sufficient, so I am. Kids these days have parents that sit them in front of the tv and ignore them, or worse just don't pay any attention to what their kids are doing. It's very sad.

[The Pope]

computer job hmm. My grand father has a NASA Apollo 8 engineers coin, if that doesn't say enough about him. When in School I had a learning problem with reading and writing. Schools are so lame they brought in a guy to have me tested, thought I was a retard and needed proof to put me in spiecal ED. The old man tested me, highest IQ and math he tested in 32 years in the NW. Thought he was going to take a bat to my math teacher and screamed at him in front of 4 class rooms. Then in high school I showed up and so on and slipped through english. Math was straight As and nap time. I got 2 Bs in engineering and aced the rest of the classes. I finished Acritechure in 2 weeks, then went on to rewrite the tests and so on for the teacher. I was nominated by my engineering teacher for JETS testing, then in 88 WA won the JETS comp with me on the team. No one had ever heard of JETS in this hick town, I had to go to the school board and explain what I won, that really was sad. Then I went to north Idaho college for engineering, 2 years and a waste. Then I went to ITT and got the Degree. I was lucky to land a 8.50 hr job, I was told the 4.00 kid from ITT they fired couldn't handle it. Well they were a year and a half behind for a month and a half, I do 85 revisions before the 10:00 break every morning. 6 months later the boss got fired and demoted to my position. Bad part is by then they went from 5 people in my department to me as I wiped out Calkins work load. So my boss had to do the work of 5 when demoted lol. That lasted a few months and they were calling, I told them $10 hr and they freaked, too much. Now I have my own contractors license and work for my self. When I got out of high school morons with a record on dope were getting 9 hr with over time up to 70 hrs total a week and full benifits. Computer job? try 6 hr and no over time. We live in a world that can't do anything with there hands. Any one with brains has a non construction job and that leaves no one to carry on building. Smart kids willing to get dirty make huge money, I know 23 year old kids making over 60g a year. construction has already hit a point where a large company hires a few smart kids, pays them huge and then they control mexicans on the job. Americans are not willing to work hard, even if it pays well. Guys that just trowel cement around here, and we pay horrid low, get paid $22-$26 an hr. Then they get overtime and over $400 a week in unemployment in the winter. I pay Jack, a serious meth head that lives at home over 30 $300 to help me trowel a deck. The going rate. He actually works barely 2 hours for $300. College with where I live was the worst mistake of my life, and a waste of time I am still paying for. My kids have my learning "gift" ugh and will be in resorce room for the duration of school. That means they will never have any fun electives of any kind. One son Derek is so good he painted the murals at his last school, the drawing for the year book and the Tee shirt lol. The boys at 3 drew the bottom half of a T rex on the bottom bunk of there bed. Lines went up and just stopped everywhere on the upper bunk, then they jumped up top and completed the upper half without seeing the lower half. Pulled the bed back and the T rex is perfectly done. My boys will never have another art class unless they go to college and they are in the 7th grade now. School in this country is a sad depressing joke.

[Reaper1]

Saying the education system is a joke is very correct. However, claiming that a college degree will get you nowhere is 100% flase. It may be that in your area it is not needed to make good money. However, in a LOT of places, that is the ONLY way to mkae money.

I heard the same lines coming from my drafting teacher(whom I respected and very much liked). "Soon it will be the tradesman making the real money..." and so on. I was even a member of VICA. Yes, you do see these people making money, but the ones that do either own their own company(like you), or are VERY high up in the food chain of a large company and only get dirty when that's the only way to get the job done correctly.

I'm sorry, but construction in this country is pretty much crap too! They build houses out of 1.5x2's and psuedo plywood, then charge a few hundred grand for them. Then, in a few years, the houses start falling apart! Umm...THAT sucks!! My grandfather was a mason(both the kind that layed bricks and such as well as in the organization). My Aunt STILL lives in a house he helped build! There are very few companies that build quality products anymore...all they want is to land the big jobs so they can make huge amounts of money.

I am personally going for my BS in Aerospace Engineering. I'd love to go for my masters. I'm attending Embry Riddle, which is the top rated school in the country for this program. Graduates from here get picked over MIT people. To say that getting a degree is a waste to me...well, I just don't see it. Companies don't just hold a meet-and-greet here, they hold a hiring expo! They KNOW they'll get quality from here and they pay to get it!

After a few years in the job, well, then where you got your degree means very little, but to get started it's everything!

I'm not trying to say that skilled workers aren't needed. That is far from the truth. However, I DO want to say that a degree WILL make you money IF you know where to get it and how to use it....

[EvilcowRoland]

I wouldn't trade my degree in for the money and time back. I'm glad for the experience. I was just saying it doesn't always guarantee you a job. At least not necessarily in the field you wanted. I went to college to be a software designer. That's what I enjoy doing and what I've wanted to do since I was old enough to know what a computer is (at about 6). I did roofing and general contracting for 2 years and then utility locating for 3 years. I made good money in both trades, I just got tired of being outdoors all the time. Those jobs paid my way through college and helped me afford to buy a house. My "computer" job now barely pays the bills, but I enjoy what I'm doing a lot more. To me, that was a fair trade. To other's, maybe not. In addition to parental irresponsibility and a lack of proper education, kids today don't have the ability to step back and look at the grand scheme of things. It's a very "must have" society and it all has to be right now. They'll take a job working 60 hours a week doing menial labor because they see the short-term money potential. Which brings us back to the original point of this thread. They'll buy an electric "turbo" because they want it now and it's convenient. I have a great deal of respect for people that work in contracting because they like it and/or are good at it. I can't stand people that get into it thinking it's a no-brain job where they can make lots of overtime money and they do the bare minimum to get by. Take some pride in what you do. Do it right the first time and be satisfied you've done your best.

Edit: Uh, Tranquillity I didn't mean for that sound like you bought the electric fan for a cheap power fix. You made it clear you were just trying it out to see what would happen. I was referring to the average person that buys one thinking it's the same as a real turbo. Just wanted to clarify.

[Ondonti]

I dont really want to read all this but.

A psych degree doesnt prepare you for the LSAT no matter how good your school is

Im ready for Psych Grad school but I guess I will have to wait a year so I can study for the LSAT and apply to law school.

College IS VERY HELPFUL if you know what you want to do and where you want to go. If you are shooting for graduate school, then college is obviously ALL THAT MATTERS.

If you are going to school to get a random degree and hope you make money.......probably not going to happen. Jobs that dont require you jumping through lots of educational loops will care less about your degrees. Some jobs will want you more, some jobs will want you less because your education means they have to pay you more.

Thats why when you want to be a teacher, you start working BEFORE you get your higher degrees. That way you can get a job in a good paying school district and then jack up your income later with more education. They wouldn't hire you if you had your grad school done first because school districts want to save money.

[lookin]

Ondonti

If it's really true that you want to become a DEA Agent, then you have got to watch the video, The Secret Heartbeat Of America: The CIA and Drugs.

[reliantwagon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phantomrt I knew people who don't know how to use a rake, a shovel, how to reel up an extension cord, disconnect the garden hose before the freezing weather comes, how to reset a circuit breaker, back up a trailer, unhook the trailer, etc. I like clueless people. Although they're annoying. They give smarter people a chance to utilize their potential. We all do stupid stuff, but you just have to learn from your mistakes. Some people cannot and do the same thing over and over again. Its like slamming a car door shut, and it doesn't latch and bounces right back open. Hmm, maybe we should slam it harder. Woah that crunching noise didn't sound good, but I think I should try again, just HARDER. Whats this? now the sheet metal looks bent right around the latch!?! PIECE OF JUNK! Slam even harder. Window glass shatters. Oh, the seat belt belt is in the door jamb.

hey man cut me some slack... backing up a 20 ft trailer is a bitch... specially the first time i mean i knew that you gotta turn the truck opposite to get the trailer to go the direction you want... but then what do you do with the nose of the truck 3 ft out into the street?? lol i teach myself... and trailer tabs are a bastard seems like every one is different kinda... ya kno?

and btw i like to act stupid alotta the time just so people dont come to me bugigng me all the time how do i do this? is this right? worked for a while in plumbing class.... till they saw i was the first one done in the project center lol and had an a..... then i kinda became the class pre grade inspection lol

[Ondonti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lookin Ondonti If it's really true that you want to become a DEA Agent, then you have got to watch the video, The Secret Heartbeat Of America: The CIA and Drugs.

I cant be a Field Agent right now because my thin corneas make me a non candidate for laser eye surgery and my vision doesn't meet uncorrected requirements. Not even close.

Law school >>> Lawyerness ..usually

Anyways I'm pretty sure i wont watch a video about something I already know.
I also cant stand opinion based documentaries. (aka not a real documentary).

But, being in Federal Law enforcement doesn't always mean you are knocking off bad guys...sometimes you have to deal with the "good guys."
Thats one thing I like about having seperate military institutions and seperate law enforcement agencies. It provides checks to some corruption.
You wont find many states with a military design like ours where military coups take over governments etc.

Hard to make everyone crooked in law enforcement when you have agencies that slightly overlap in duties and usually DONT LIKE your agency.

The way its set up promotes competition and industry which is the heart of American prosperity. Anything else in my eyes is moving away from that idea and into Totalitarianism.
Thats what makes me laugh about politicians who want to get rid of most law enforcement.
You will either have anarchy or totalitarianism. Neither is okay with me.

[jimduchek]

No offense guys... but could you move this discussion to a thread in one of the OT categories? Thx.

[lookin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ondonti I cant be a Field Agent right now because my thin corneas make me a non candidate for laser eye surgery and my vision doesn't meet uncorrected requirements. Not even close. Law school >>> Lawyerness ..usually Anyways I'm pretty sure i wont watch a video about something I already know. I also cant stand opinion based documentaries. (aka not a real documentary). But, being in Federal Law enforcement doesn't always mean you are knocking off bad guys...sometimes you have to deal with the "good guys." Thats one thing I like about having seperate military institutions and seperate law enforcement agencies. It provides checks to some corruption. You wont find many states with a military design like ours where military coups take over governments etc. Hard to make everyone crooked in law enforcement when you have agencies that slightly overlap in duties and usually DONT LIKE your agency. The way its set up promotes competition and industry which is the heart of American prosperity. Anything else in my eyes is moving away from that idea and into Totalitarianism. Thats what makes me laugh about politicians who want to get rid of most law enforcement. You will either have anarchy or totalitarianism. Neither is okay with me.

Very sorry about your eyes. I had no idea.

As for law school equals "lawyerness", well really there has been a huge glut of law school grads for some time now, and so it is not at all unusual to find them working in other fields which do not even require them. Having a law degree is, more often than not, like having a degree in psychology or feminist studies, or early American history. Unless the law is your undying passion ....

I know what you mean about opinion based documentaries. The one I recommended is an exception however, and that is why I recommended it. You just may find that you do not "know all about it" after all.

Your comments about law enforcement, while apparently insightful, are a bit behind the times really. Things have changed a great deal during the last decade. A prime example is FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally), which really goes quite a bit further, than all the soft-pedal main stream media PR about it would have us believe.

Once again, sorry about your eyes.

[Putter]

Knew a guy who hooked a gas powered 300cfm leaf blower up to a .993L geo metro engine. I'm not sure what the maximum pressure ratio for a leaf blower is, but it definetly moved enough air unrestricted to double what the poor little engine could suck. Never got to see this first hand, he claimed you could 'feel' a difference, who knows?

[ShelbyDodgeImp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phantomrt at full throttle, the engine is going to speed up that electric motor.. ever hear the phrase "suck start a leaf blower?" Thats what will happen sorta.

Close, what it would do is cause the motor to act as a generator being powered off of the airflow the engine is sucking in. If you take an electric motor and hand turn it fast enough, the effect is producing electricity.

It would decrease the performance of the engine at higher throttle positions- there is a reason why alternators are belt driven and not intake driven on cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by m90daytona the only electric supercharger i have seen work is this guy who takes actuall superchargers (roots or screw style) and connects them to an electric motor and runs it off of car battery or two. the benefits are you can put the s/c where ever you want. it doesnt have to be driven off of the engine serp belt. it doesnt absorb the heat of the engine. it can be turned off and on. it doesnt have any parasitic draw which is a huge bonus. the negatives are it takes up a decent amount of space. it adds alot of weight w/ 1 - 2 more batteries in the car. and i dont think the cars alternator can keep up the the electric motor so you cant run it all the time. if you google it you can probably find him and others too.

I'm fimilar with those setups, they actually work better than you'd think. Its a similar concept to those "electric drive kits" for waterpumps. The hard part is updating your electrical to support the drain required to spin a roots style blower... you could do it with one battery if its decent enough, you'd need better than a stock 120amp alternator however.

The rpm of the blower would be constant so the way you'd want to control how much boost is going to the engine is by having a throttle body on the intake of the blower. Now if you had an electric motor with the ability to adjust the rpm you'd be open to more possibilities- but we're starting to talk some significant size & weights on the motor employed, especially if you want more than say, a 15 second "boost" duration once in a blue moon. I also think that too weak of a motor would have longevity problems.

[Putter]

Don't forget, a supercharger may use up to 50hp in a lot of applications.... or up to 37,000 or watts, so your typical electric motor is going to have to match it power wise, which could easily surpass 3,000amps@12volts. So maybe if you had 6 good car batteries back there you could supply 3,000amps to your 1,000lb electric motor through some 2" cables for 15-30 seconds... But by this point you're carrying a little extra weight... You know, just some super rough numbers.