Moderator's, we have the How to which is very helpful but it mainly address's installs of vendor manufactured products. As you know several members on here are interested in making their own parts and sharing their results. This information is posted usually on the performance and modification forum. Problem is it all ends up buried under all the same old same old questions or vendor post's about some great new but not yet available product. < maybe that wasn't nice >
What I purpose is a dedicated forum for DIY (Do it yourselfer's) or some such means of keeping these type of posts alive and open to inquiring minds.
I think most of the DIY posters would support (help) others of like mind set in developing their own parts.
Is this possible or under consideration. Thanks, norm


:smile:

 

Interesting idea.

Just to try to flesh this out a little more: (I'm not endorsing the idea just yet)

what about if this DIY forum required a Moderator to Move the thread INTO the forum from one of the other forums. This controlled entry of threads into the DIY forum would ensure that only true DIY how-to(ish) threads wound up in a DIY forum.

This would mean that threads would need to be "nominated" to get in, therefore placing an emphasis on more signal and less noise.

 

norm03S does have a great idea. By saying that it will be more of a problem, sounds like it will be a problem for the maintainers of this web page. Wasn't this web page opened for the purpose of all Mini Cooper enthusiasts? Shouldn't we let the enthusiasts determine what we want in the way of forums?

If not, you will find Mini enthusiasts will have to post their information elsewhere. Why not here. I really enjoy all the posts here, it's easy to get around on the site, and really, let's make it easy for the user.

I agree! :smile:

 

I'm just kicking out an idea (since there was a concern about good DIY info getting lost). Comments appreciated. :smile:

 

Interesting idea but I have a question whcih also applies to the " official " vendors as well. In this great land of ours it seems like lawyers are making a killing suing EVERYONE. What if one of the how toos take the one for the sway bar links that was recently posted for example happens to break and someone decides to sue over it? Who will be libel ?The person with the idea, NAM itself or ???BTW the item i picked for this example looks great and well done but what about some of the other home builts that may come along in the near future.I am not saying the home built forum is a bad idea but there should there be some thought to the consequences of future litigation.I think that most of the vendors are covered in some way by insurance but the " privateers " may be leaving themselves open for possible problems. If this country wasn't so " sue " happy this would not be a issue but stories like the famous " hot cup of coffe " law suit prove it is unfortunatly true. Any ideas? Randy

 

I am all for this. I made my own air intake (ali Dan Pilo) because I like to DIY when I can. So far all installs of aftermarket parts I have done myself or with another DIY's help. I would be happy to post the dimensions and drawing of the template I developed to make the air intake shield for anyone who would like to duplicate it. The only tools required are a jig saw, drill and a vise. The hard part was designing the template (trial and error with cardboard). You have my vote.
Dan

 

Guys, I can't elaborate at this moment as I'm quite busy at work, but this is a novel idea. I think it would be most helpful, and add to the community. I also hear Randy as well. We are unfortunately a litigious society, but a disclaimer (not my area of the law) properly written and positioned can protect those who participate.

A place to put my fabricated aluminum deck and my soon to be complete straight MCS catback would be nice:

http://66.220.28.159/forum/showthrea...hatchback+deck

http://66.220.28.159/forum/showthread.php?t=45605

 

I agree with Norm about a new forum. We should be able to display and discuss our achievements. We measure, cut, weld, etc... to make some great custom one-off parts. We put a lot of work into these parts that we want to not only show-off, but maybe also help another fellow DIYer achieve his/her goal. Sure people can try to copy our parts (which is fine by me) and if they get hurt I don't see any way possible for us to be held accountable. Remember I didn't sell it to you, you made it youself so it is your responsibility to know the risks you are taking by attempting to duplicate the part. I also believe that this helps the Mini industry. What about if I make a part for my car that no one has made yet and everyone sees it and wants one. What happens? If enough interest is expressed someone will make a better part with a lot of R&D time and then it would be even safer. I think that nothing bad can come out of making a new forum for the DIY people. It's not like you guys stop us from posting our custom parts on other forums, this way it can all be controlled and if anyone is thinking about attempting something the know were to look first.

The only reason I could see for not allowing a DIY forum is maybe some vendors are affraid that we may eliminate some of their business. I still don't see anything wrong with that. If that happens then some of these parts that they are selling would maybe have real world prices, and they could still learn a little thing or two from a poor shmoe.

Just think about it, if you want come over to my house and we'll discuss it over some cafe con leche on calle ocho.

 

>>Interesting idea but I have a question whcih also applies to the " official " vendors as well. In this great land of ours it seems like lawyers are making a killing suing EVERYONE. What if one of the how toos take the one for the sway bar links that was recently posted for example happens to break and someone decides to sue over it? Who will be libel ?The person with the idea, NAM itself or ???BTW the item i picked for this example looks great and well done but what about some of the other home builts that may come along in the near future.I am not saying the home built forum is a bad idea but there should there be some thought to the consequences of future litigation.I think that most of the vendors are covered in some way by insurance but the " privateers " may be leaving themselves open for possible problems. If this country wasn't so " sue " happy this would not be a issue but stories like the famous " hot cup of coffe " law suit prove it is unfortunatly true. Any ideas? Randy

I hear ya Randy, it's a shame. What about this " The information provided here is free of charge with no implied Warranty or warrant of suitability. Use of this information is the sole responsibility of the user." I'm no lawyer but that's pretty clear to me. It seems allot of people have just gone and lost their common sense these days and can't seem to find it anymore.
Or list it as DIY Technical Discussions (don't try this at home)

 

As for the point about vendors not liking it because of it eating away at their business from the edges, that point was already made to me by one person in a PM.

My personal view is that a DIY MINI forum would be a useful way to help organize NAM to aid those members who are so inclined to tackle this kind of project. It is an open marketplace. There is a place for everyone, be that DIY, aftermarket tuners, or factory authorized JCW modifications.

My $0.02 anyway (not my decision mind you).

Dave

 

I support the idea. There are a lot of great DIY projects that you can find here (if you are willing to sift thru all the threads) It would be great to have them organized in one forum instead. I'll even ante up with my own DIY project.

keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Personnally I really like the idea of a DIY forum. It would be alot easier for us to search out what has already been posted for example. As far as the forums eating away at their business there is already posts about how to do this or how to do that out there already. The only thing is it would make it easier for us to find it instead of starting a post on "how should I do this" and someone else replying with a redirection to a post that was previously made on how to do it. I think it would clear up alot of mess in here. I for one give the idea a thumbs up! Great idea!

 

With the type of DIYs I'm thinking of, I don't see where this will hurt vendors. I would have bought from a vendor if they had what I wanted, but it was/is pretty extreme, not for the masses - so no business lost the way I see it...

These are also great for "idea-hopping" as we call it. Even though some will not want to do the fabricated deck as I did in place of the rear seats, I know of people who took some of those basic ideas to create something a little different to fit their needs. Pretty cool how that works...

If there is stong interest in someone's DIY, then the way I see it, that is great info for a vendor who might want to run with that valuable mkt input! Now, if someone wants to replicate another popularly sold item, but for less $, then I can see some vendor concern. I'm talking new, and creative stuff for which there is no real alternative in vendor stock...

 

I'm all for a DIY forum. I like to do things on my own all the time, and even if i don't complete my idea, i'd like to be able to share it with everybody on here without it getting lost in the mumble gumble that we see everyday.

About the legal issues, maybe something like "' The information provided here is free of charge with no implied Warranty or warrant of suitability. Use of this information is the sole responsibility of the user."' in the description of the entire forum will solve the problem.

If the forum is made i believe that we will see an increase in the number of diy projects on this board. Either way its up to the moderators to make the forum, so i'll just be patient and will agree with whatever the mods want to do.

 

I'm in for this (thanks norm for bringing my attention to this post), the How-to sticky is good at the top of the perf-mods forum, but I'm finding lots of valuable information in search that IMHO gets swept off the main "perf mod" or "beneath the bonnet" forums too soon. The thing with the DIY forum is that it's going to be slow at first, but once the volume of DIY stuff starts to build it'll take off.

I actually have a DIY that I'm testing on my own, its a modification to the Alta intake in order to seal it to the cowl from the backside, I'll probably end up doing a write-up with pics but the gallery being closed is making me procrastinate :smile:

As for legal issues, I suppose there should be a pretty simple clause that "try at your own risk, nobody here can be held accountable for what you do with the information you take from contributors to this forum" type of deal???

 

I think the idea of a DIY forum makes sense for:

Showing creative solutions to problems recognized by MINI owners.
Doing an upgrade or mod with less materials cost and a little elbow grease.
Be a "sounding board" to voice an idea and to sort out how to best bring the working modification to fruition.
Letting vendors know what sort of ideas we are coming up with that could be solved with a commercial product.

However we do need to keep in mind.
DIY means at your own risk.
Some of these are not for the average person as mistakes could be rather costly- especially to the electrical system.
Many of the mods are not based on a lot of research and development- don't expect serious power gains that are backed up on dyno testing.

Naturally not all of us are so handy to DIY. Others might like that parts are backed by companies and installation is done professionally.

 

Well, from my experience, I really don't think there is any real kind of liability issue. The type of person that would be interested in DIY type stuff usually isn't the same type of person that will start pointing fingers when something they try goes wrong.

Maybe if you just called it a technical forum, and not a DIY forum, you would eliminate any extra liability out from the get go.

 

Look at this we are getting some great feed backand ideas. Please post your thoughts don't hang back. Thanks, norm

 

I am all for a DIY forum...I think it's a fantastic idea, and a place for DIY geeks to hang out. I agree though, there should be a sticky liability thread, just in case. As for impacting vendors who sell the same parts we're giving directions for- I wonder if people coming across this forum might see some of the stuff, think it's a great idea, but don't have the inclination to build it themselves. The opinions (how well a certain mod works, etc) they see here might direct them to go out and buy an equivalent part.

I've been working on a strut brace for some time (too long) now, and I'm going to build up a set of end links shortly...I actually got into THIS thread after looking around, just for opinions on how well the end links work (since I was thinking about doing my own set), and was quite excited to find there was already a thread about building your own.

After all the rambling...bottom line...sign me up!

Steve

 

I think this is a great idea.

I also like the idea of a moderator or moderators controlling thread admission, requiring some minimal amount of detail and completeness, and preventing the forum from filling up with noise which would only mask the truly valuable input.

Finally, vendor concerns should not be an issue. Consumate do-it-yourselfers are not going to a vendor anyway and would find this helpful and time-saving. Those that never do-it-themselves are not going to change their ways because this info is more accessible. And those that are on the fence may just as easily decide to go to a vendor after seeing the tools/effort/time involved in a DIY project.

A perfect example here is the fact that the boom in home improvement television shows created an increase in home DIY, but at the same time created an even greater boom in demand for home renovation contractors. Any vendor in the business of aftermarket modifications would be foolish not to see the direct benefit of increased visibility for such modifications, be it in the form of a DIY How-To or otherwise.

Again, great idea; make it happen!

Cheers,

James

 

I think Norm has a great idea and being a DYI myself it would be cool to be able to talk with fellow DYI's for any help or ideas. I am in favor of having a DYI forum. Lets go MODs set it up!!!!

 

DIY stuff is great. A DIY forum would be a nice addition for those of us who dont visit all the forums but i also see it creating a lot of threads that fit into more than one category. I still cant figure out all the racing forums and the tire threads in the racing forums that arent in the tire forum !? That said, I seldom look at some forums that probably have some fun projects like the brake light doubler thing. DIY would be nice, even if it was just mirroring threads in other forums :smile:


--
Cheese

 

I agree. It would be great to have one place to see what everyone else has come up with. It may spur ideas that you've already contemplated and may save some time and trouble in figuring out what works and what doesn't.

Personally, I go the DIY route for 2 reasons. One, there is no products like I want on the market. Or two, the products on the market aren't worth the price being asked for them. I'll gladly contribute anything I can to such a forum.

 

Everyone,
Sorry for the delay in throwing my 2 cents into this discussion.

In my opinion what is really being requested here is a How-to area. I don't think this means how-to make your own products necessarily but how to DIY. In my past life as a S2000 owner the S2Ki.com site had some very useful how-tos that I used on my car...how to build a track trailer, how to install a Dalan hitch to pull the trailer, etc. I found these to be highly valuable. With that in mind I would like to implement something (in the new version of the site) that is much more flexible than How-tos in a forum. Here are somethings to consider:

- standard look and feel to the how-tos (layout, content, organization)
- standard image sizes
- approval process for submitted how-tos
- comments by members using a specific how-to (ie - I had to use a cheater bar to remove the bolt holding the ...)
- ability to print in a format that can be taken with you when working on your car

Given the above there is some groundwork to be done. What I would like to propose is that we as a group make an effort to put together a list of how we want a how-to system to work, what should be included, requirements for submission, etc. I can then take this and determine how best to implement this in the upcoming site revision. In saying that I want to get the new site in place and then begin implementation. In the meantime if we can come up with a list of what a how-to really needs, how to lay it out, etc. we could put both a submission forum in place as a stop-gap until the new system is ready.

With this in mind I've started a "Request for How-to Feedback" thread here in Site Feedback. Feel free to post your requirements and ideas...just keep it constructive!

Mark