FuddyMuckers - tech:rants

On AutoSAR

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-02T13:00:07+00:00

On AutoSAR A famous reddit rant so good I had to save it: What did AUTOSAR solve? It's a job creator for application engineers. Did software become less complex and easier to develop/configure? Jesus fucking christ fuck no. Did the software become smaller or faster with AUTOSAR?

Use Boring Technology

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-09-22T11:13:40+00:00

Use Boring Technology Inspired by this rant from Dan McKinley it's worth saying this approach can and should be applied to vehicles - especially overlanders. It goes hand in hand with Unpacking and the Coffee Beans Procedure and considering whether your vehicle was "Engineered by blind morons who hate free power". Now - people don't always get as far as unpacking or thinking seriously about what they want from their vehicle/build, however even the oblivious gear collectors would likely agree …

"Engineered by blind morons who hate free power"

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-11-12T14:46:11+00:00

"Engineered by blind morons who hate free power" I spotted this exchange over on The Autopian and had to preserve it for posterity: Hi! I design intake systems for OEMs. Unless your son’s cold air intake is the result of a dozen iterations of CFD and design which is then validated by a-b-a testing on a calibrated flow rig, it’s is wildly unlikely to be as effective as the OEM intake (which is also already a cold air intake).

Over-OverLanding

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-09-01T17:36:01+00:00

Over-OverLanding Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Leonardo da Vinci The cheapest, fastest, and most reliable components are those that aren’t there. Gordon Bell It takes more thought to remove something than to add something Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

Fix slow land Rover 200TDi / 300TDi

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-11-01T16:01:28+00:00

Fix slow land Rover 200TDi / 300TDi Not my rant but summed up very well by Mr Lovejoy over on LR4x4.com: My Engine is 30 years old, as is the vehicle. It's 2.3tonnes at the roadside, including all the kit you have hung on and in yours, apart from the bash plate. Added to which I carry extra recovery stuff.

The Revolutionary Battery Technology Checklist

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-08-14T09:30:40+00:00

The Revolutionary Battery Technology Checklist Found on Hackernews, I thought it was pretty good: Dear battery technology claimant, Thank you for your submission of proposed new revolutionary battery technology. Your new technology claims to be superior to existing lithium-ion technology and is just around the corner from taking over the world. Unfortunately your technology will likely fail, because:

Rants

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-02T12:58:32+00:00

Rants * Unpacking and the Coffee Beans Procedure * Use Boring Technology * A Word On Engine Conversions * Stop using stainless fasteners on your Land Rover! * Over-OverLanding * How To Build An Unsuitable Overlander * Carroll Smith on the myth of warped brake discs * Why touchscreens in cars don't work: Article / Hacker News Comments * Someone wrote it for me so I don't need to rant about it :tongue: * Voice control sucks too. * The Revolutionary Battery Technology Chec…

Stop using stainless fasteners on your Land Rover!

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-01-08T09:37:25+00:00

Stop using stainless fasteners on your Land Rover! tl;dr: “Stainless makes corrosion worse and is brittle” Reason #1 - Galvanic Corrosion Wikipedia explains why it's a bad idea, I put this page here basically just to try and help any passers-by. Northern Precision have a good explainer and a better chart too. Ay oop.

How To Build An Unsuitable Overlander

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-06-20T08:38:14+00:00

How To Build An Unsuitable Overlander * Custom parts that can't be directly replaced with standard ones * Alloy radiators and header tanks, or radiators with plastic ends / plastic header tanks * Copper/brass can be easily repaired with a heat source and some solder

Unpacking and the Coffee Beans Procedure

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-08-11T10:57:44+00:00

Unpacking and the Coffee Beans Procedure Or: How to avoid wasting huge amounts of time and money and ending up with a vehicle that doesn't actually work. Crazy Beans This article about “unpacking” covers the approach to really thinking about a problem

Carroll Smith on Warped Discs

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-08-29T23:32:05+00:00

Carroll Smith on Warped Discs By Carroll Smith - and if you don't know who he is, now you do. Found at: MYTH # 1 – BRAKE JUDDER AND VIBRATION IS CAUSED BY DISCS THAT HAVE BEEN WARPED FROM EXESSIVE HEAT. The term “warped brake disc” has been in common use in motor racing for decades. When a driver reports a vibration under hard braking, inexperienced crews, after checking for (and not finding) cracks often attribute …

A Word On Engine Conversions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-05-16T20:21:27+00:00

A Word On Engine Conversions Engine conversions are very popular in the Land Rover world, most popular is the anything-to-200TDi conversion on the grounds that the 200TDi is a very good engine and has gained many fans over the years, and that everything else