(now with the YT link!) Computers made engines so much better

As a suggestion to your T-shirt: after discussing the internal combustion engine, it might be interesting to take a look at the development and features of different electromotors, you'll probably find a lot more there looking at trains than cars, as they have been using that technology for over 130 years now (and even in the early days, there were some promising electric car designs out there!). There is also a movement from simple, robust mechanical switching on AC and DC motors to modern computer-controlled 3-phase motors.

34:57 “This is an objectively useless piece of information. But that's not gonna stop me from explaining it!” Obi-Wan voice: “That's ... why I'm here.”

Whoa... I finally understand what the term "new points" means WRT to fixing a car!

Off topic but: I really miss it when the throttle pedal would move with the cruise control. I loved resting my foot on the pedal to understand what the car was doing, and it made canceling the cruise so much more smooth.

I drove 3 old VWs and an International Scout from the mid 70s until the late 80s. Tuning the VWs was a two day process. Change the oil the night before while the engine was still warm, then let it sit overnight to adjust the valve lash and reset the timing with the engine off and dead cold. Also had to manually adjust the brakes and remember hit all the zerks fittings with a grease gun. This was every 1500 miles. I also would tear into the wheel bearings and CV joints every 20,000 miles to regrease them. The Scout was the last car I owned that required a timing light, so I left it in the car when I sold it. The computers on my next car, a 91 Ford Ranger haven't given any trouble after 325,000 miles, so I don't get too excited about "all those computers" in the car. My EV has had some computer glitches, but none that affected the ability to drive the car and all have been corrected with over the air updates.

God damn computers

~ 38:30 "So when you let your foot off the brake, it already knows which cylinder is about to ingest air and fuel, and thus the starter motor barely has to crank at all, ..." Auto stop / start wasn't the topic but maybe this was borrowed?

Aw, he skipped over vacuum tube based ignition systems. Chrysler's 1958 Electrojector Used a Real Computer - Vacuum Tubes Revers... https://youtube.com/watch?v=iJWghByjlMU

The purpose of the capacitor is to minimize the spark across the terminals that break on the low voltage side... not sure if thats worth mentioning lol, it will work without it.

You should see the convoluted ways we did quick startup of the In car entertainment system when I worked at Microsoft. It started with backup batteries (two of them), and then we moved to saving a snapshot of the system in SRAM, then quickly dumping it on startup. Or just starting things up when the doors are unlocked, because that gives you a few seconds before turning the car on.

Thanks for the video! 🤓 great content and happy to also have an Ioniq 5 over this madness 😂

Love how the T shirts change through out the video. Always a pleasure to watch your work. Thank you for sharing.

Have you considered doing a Connextras episode on K-Jetronic (electronically-controlled mechanical multiport continuous fuel injection, complete with temperature-compensated MAF sensor - it's as close as you can get to EFI without electronics (you can remove it's computer and it reverts into full-mechanical mode)).

With Subaru's symmetric combustion engines, that means that the start up CAM cycle and thus startup cranking should be shorter right? only 2 for 4 cylinders and 3 for 6 cylinders...

Thinking is good? Grok is this true?

I learned to drive and work on cars in the era of mechanical engine controls and didn't give much thought to exactly how the various electronic controls (or the "digicals" as Vise Grip Garage's Derek calls them) did their work as more and more control features were computerized, but this tutorial has really made it understandable. Also love the imagery of the empty boot on the gas pedal moving when the cruise control operates--unless it was actually a ghost wearing a boot pushing the pedal down!🤔😀

Your shirts brought back so much 1990’s Chicago nostalgia from my time growing up there. I can still hear the Metra jingle (“Metra: the way to really fly!”) in my head, so thanks for that!

Props for the rotating wardrobe of mass transit system T-shirts in the IC car video. 😁 (also to the flashbacks to doing tuneups on my first car, a ‘68 Plymouth valiant that predated all the electronics, and now I appreciate my EV even more…)

My car computer has decided not to work just as I'm trying to play this

I haven't watched yet, but I have a 75 MG Midget, and coming from a computer engineering background I often look at how they had something operate, like the choke and thought, why didn't they just use a little microcontroller to monitor... oh right, it was 1974.

I really hope for a collab with Pine Hollow or Eric O.

My old '72 Beetle had an advance controlled both centrifugally (engine speed) and by vacuum (engine load). FANCY. I carried a spare set of points under the back seat. Along with about 4qt of oil.

(link)

Everything’s computer!