How to improve this site

[SappySE107]

Brad needs more things to do. J/K!

1. We need people to submit articles and updates to what is on the site. There is no way that with the people on this site, we can't have some awesome information (and current). The only incentive anyone has had was to make this site better. I don't think we have that drive anymore so what is it going to take?

2. Did I waste money on our photo gallery? We have HD space and we have Bandwidth. Please use our gallery? Damn, i don't wanna beg.

3. Site design. Site layout/design shouldn't impact the updates. Right? Brad will know for sure but I think something a little more custom than default would be nice. I like the color scheme though.

4. VB addons. vbulletin.org has mods and stuff for our software. I am thinking that a marketplace of sorts would be cool again. Still waiting on a good donation package to keep track and give privileges to members. Maybe more space in the gallery and PMs. Still waiting on a new garage setup...

5. Moderators? Admins? Heck if I know. I think we could make more happen with more people involved. I also know that having too many people can cluster fuck the process as well. I think its just Brad doing stuff these days.

Discuss

[Darin]

Dont change the site, It is very well organized, and the scheme/theme is fine.

[robby1870]

This maybe a bit specific, but something I've always wanted was in the In-Depth section under Engine Internals, was not only a basic discussion of each internal (crank, rods, bearings, cams, etc) but also pictures, specs, differences of these in the 660s. For instance, under cranks, show a picture(s) of the basic 981 crank, describe it, list its applications, weaknesses and strengths. I know I'm not really the guy to start such a thing as others on here know a lot more about the 660 internals than I do.

Also, more write ups of DIY repairs of upgrades. This is a large undertaking as well. I think looking through the forum posts and identifying what topics need a DIY explanation is a good place to start.

[sharkey]

i thnk we should split up the family tree into 3 seperate sections and go farther in depth. have as many specs as we can (bore, stroke, comression, cc, ect) an idea for layout:

gen 1
engine vin codes-
ways to tell
yearly changes

2.8l
bore
stroke
piston style, cc
combustion chamber volume
ect

gen 1 3.1l

3.4l f-body

gen 1 induction
80-84 (or whatever year it was) carb, xxx cfm, ect
throttlle body injection, xxx year, yy vehicles
mpfi

well, you get the picture. have a seperate page for each generation with pictures. also having some good writeups on engine swaps and hybrid build ups, get an up to date list on aftermarket parts and what motors they fit.

i think the best way to get the most info possible would be to add another section to the forum just for adding info. have threads for each section (gen 1, 2, 3, dohc, hybrid buildups, engine swaps, ect) and have it so we can only add info, keep a rule of no discussing things unless we beleive some info provided is incorrect. and if info is added when it comes about and we keep it current, the site will look a lot better and i think become more popular.

[RacerX11]

I didn't realize we had lots of HD space to burn. I will try to get a bunch more pics posted.

[Guest]

Good idea, but would probably make the site seem very cluttered.

Now I haven't used this myself, but I got the jist of the way it works where you can add info.

Anyway We have a Wiki started on DC, that something like that might be able to be used here to keep the forum from being clutered.

[onefastV6]

I am not sure how far you want to go with this, but I feel the tuning section needs to be split between OBD1 and OBD2.

Also what are your thoughs about having platform specific areas such as N body, Wbody, Jbody, ect?

Lastly, possibly separating the engines in to different areas, for example 3400,3500,3900, 3.4 DOHC, 3.6L VVT, ect?

[bszopi]

I can pretty much tell you guys a couple things that WON'T happen. We most likely will not add more sections to the site, and definately not add platform specific areas. There are enough platform specific sites out there, and we are engine based. With just a couple exceptions, there was never a platform specific engine, so no need for the sections. Remember, this is an engine-specific forum.

Also, we don't want to really split up the various engines because, as we have them set up right now, there are enough similarities between them that it just makes sense to keep them as is. I can see adding a VVT section for the 3.6, 3500 and 3900 VVT engines. Problem is, the 3.6 is a DOHC and the 3500/3900 are pushrods, yet none of them share enough with the current sections to keep them there. Might create a VVT section, and then a DOHC and Pushrod subsection. Don't break it down as General/Perf/Maint yet though.

As far as the tuning section, I could MAYBE see a OBD1, OBD2 and then aftermarket (ie, Megasquirt, Haltech) sections. Its becoming more popular now than when we first added the section, so expanding it does make some sense.

As far as the Family Tree, I agree it could be split up with more information. Geoff, who made it, did make a good point as to the way he did it, and that was to be able to see everything on one page and across all types to see how different things changes across all the engines. Makes sense, but I'm not sure most people use it that way (if at all ). It could be set up differently, for each engine/year on a seperate page, but it would just require alot of work.

I agree with Raven that we can add alot of information, but it needs to be organized and not cluttered, or it will be worthless. Articles are actually easy to add, but I'm sure most people don't know how, so I'll create a sticky post later today to outline how to do it. Hopefully once people know how to do it, they will start doing it. If anything, we just need to get what we currently have on the site up to date with revelant information.

[onefastV6]

Brad, that's cool again I didn't know haw far you wanted to go with it.

Sounds like a plan on the tuning section, as far as I know Ben currently has most of the BIN files for the grand ams and I can get a few 3100 and a 3400 van BIN.

As far as getting up to date info, let me know if there is a specific engine or transmission that you would like researched and I can write something up.

[Superdave]

I could probably add a ton of pictures and specs. I'll work on that a bit later this month after a few of my other projects are done...

[StudlyCamaro]

5. Moderators? Admins? Heck if I know. I think we could make more happen with more people involved. I also know that having too many people can cluster fuck the process as well. I think its just Brad doing stuff these days.

leave that the way it is , ive seen too many boards take a nose dive after adding more mods and admins

I like the idea about splitting up the faimly tree, it would make it easier to read/use

this is by far the best board for these motors (or cars with these motors) IMO

the only thing that i would like is some more RWD stuff, however i realize that most people around here are FWD

[sharkey]

i think the rwd stuff is a bit lacking right now aswell. keep in mind though, there will always be a ton more fwd stuff as there was only 1 generation of rwd motors, were there is now 4 generations of fwd.

[bszopi]

Ok, I've added 3 sub-sections to the Computer Tuning Section. I started moving threads over, but it got boring pretty quick. I'll let Ben do it, cause I don't think he can screw it up... :P I think we need to keep the general questions in the main section, and only threads specific to the sub-sections get moved. There are many threads that can apply to all 3 types.

I also created a short HOW-TO for article creation. Hopefully it will give people an idea of how and where to start. I'm pretty sure I have the areas set up so that any registered user can create an article. They may be moderated areas (ie, the Admins have to approve the article before it is available to everyone else), so don't freak out if you spent an hour creating an article, hit submit, and nothing shows up.

[SappySE107]

The key to all of this in the help we get. I am busy, Brad is busy and has a family. Thats the only reason I mentioned admin/mod. What if I just said "people with access to move and approve articles". We don't need more moderation unless people start getting out of line for some reason. We need more input and organization.

Tuning section sounds good. Family tree sounds good. We need more specs. Platform specific...I was thinking about it but it would most likely split good info between section and just cluster the forums more. If it was site topics only for articles though, I can see that working out well for platforms.

RWD. Well, FWD owners own/run the site right now so thats why it sucks. Id love to have more RWD but I dunno how to go about it right now.

Back to moderators. They would be more like the leaders of a section in my eyes, not "moderating posts". Maybe moving them when it happens and what not but that would be it. We had mods before that knew what was up but then they stopped doing anything so there was no need for them anymore.

[SappySE107]

I have posted a new thread asking for "moderators". If you are interested please contact me.

Im working on merging the bolts ons, services, and internals section in a section called Engine Tech. Need some help on the menu bar