armchair engineering

[Mike Arman]

(weird - this was sent at 9:30 AM and didn't show up by 3 PM - six hours 
is a long distance at the speed of light . . . )


> I know the temptation to armchair engineer is strong with many of  
> you ;-) but give thought to the fact that Audi didn't see fit to  
> install (part or modification X)  
> and I have NEVER seen a vehicle with a heat shield around the master  
> cylinder, even in an insanely packed engine compartment like the TT.   
> Maybe it'll work and there will not be any downsides, but I would be  
> concerned that there is -some- reason Audi didn't do it, other than  
> "hee hee, let's make them buy new master cylinders every few  
> years" :-)  I would also say that if you are going through MCs every  
> few years- something's wrong.


I could suggest a number of very good reasons why part or modification X
was never installed at the factory, and is a very good candidate for
armchair engineering.

1) they didn't know it would later develop into a problem

2) pre-production testing didn't show a problem

3) accounting said no, you gear-heads are over budget on this car already

4) the car has to go into production by date X, we're out of time.

5) Oh s**t, we forgot . . .

6) actual use of the device by the customer turns out to be different
than anticipated use ("sorry, abuse, therefore no warranty coverage")

7) aging parts in the real world, such as loss of efficiency of cooling
fins because they are covered in dirt/dead bugs/grease/oxidized paint or
whatever

8) part delivered by supplier for actual production was different (or
inferior) to parts supplied for prototype and testing.

9) part vendor just went out of business, this is the ONLY replacement
we can get and still keep the assembly line moving

10) "Don't sweat it, that will never be a problem . . . "

11) The standard lie from the warranty department to each of the
4,000,000 owners standing there with greasy, identically broken parts in
their hands "We've never seen that before!"


I am sure there are more.


The real world is very unkind to assumptions made by engineers,
professional or otherwise. If the factories "got it right" the first
time, every time, there would be no aftermarket at all. These people are
good, often very good, but they are not perfect and cannot cover every
possibility. Sometimes they even make mistakes. In our case, the
mistakes they made in 1986 can be remedied easily (louvers in the
plastic wheel wells, for instance), and if they can't be remedied, we
can sell or junk the car. Other mistakes are significantly more
consequential - Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the Titanic and Challenger come
to mind.

I have no problem at all improving vehicles I own, and I am not talking
about candy apple paint on the air cleaner. Part of the fun of owning
stuff is improving it, going the last mile to make the improvements the
factory forgot, couldn't justify, or (dare I say it) just screwed up.

Best Regards,

Mike Arman

1990 V8Q - Not just a car, it's an ADVENTURE!