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This is more of a forum announcement: The site has seen steady growth and I really appreciate any contributions by the users. The FAQ and "how to" cover a lot but there's a lot of stuff that I can't do or don't have access to do. To encourage lurkers to sign up and contribute here and document the stuff that they already do, I am starting a bimonthly contest for excellent writeups. There is lots of good work going on but most don't document it because it does take some effort and time. This website is regularly updated and your contribution will be recognized, get a lot of visibility, and help others.
As a thank you from myturbodiesel.com and kermatdi, the reward for winning the contest is 1 $20 gift certficate awarded about bimonthly to 1 writeup according to writeup quality, difficulty, thoroughness, and impact. It's an electronic gift certificate, no cash value, 6 month expiration date, and terms set by kermatdi.com. Edit: It's currently $25 and a $25 donation to St Jude / or MD Anderson cancer research thanks to kermatdi.com!
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Here are some guidelines to be considered for the bimonthly contest:
As a thank you from myturbodiesel.com and kermatdi, the reward for winning the contest is 1 $20 gift certficate awarded about bimonthly to 1 writeup according to writeup quality, difficulty, thoroughness, and impact. It's an electronic gift certificate, no cash value, 6 month expiration date, and terms set by kermatdi.com. Edit: It's currently $25 and a $25 donation to St Jude / or MD Anderson cancer research thanks to kermatdi.com!
Here are some guidelines to be considered for the bimonthly contest:
- The writeup should include notes on bolt/nut sizes, pictures of each step, and possible pitfalls/costly mistakes. These are things that usually aren't in the service manual.
- Be prepared to spend significantly more time taking notes on each bolt size and taking pictures. It takes effort but your work will help many and have excellent visibility through the FAQ.
- It should be original content and and not a mirror of someone else's existing work. If you find really good misc. information somewhere, free to post it anyways. It should cover something that doesn't have an exisiting writeup. Even if there's an existing writeup feel free to document your work if you can signficantly improve it.
- Don't take it personally if your writeup doesn't win the bimonthly contest because all contributions are valued and will help others for a long time. Don't be offended (it's the internet) by minor edits when it goes into the FAQ. I try to keep the FAQ in a consistent format (introduction, parts, procedure).
- If you want to be considered for a certificate, please include this comment when you post your writeup. This will let others who do want it, take it.
- The more impact and difficulty a writeup has, the more weight it will be given. A really good writeup on how to change a headlight bulb will be helpful and will make it into the FAQ but a writeup on how to do something that many people will need to do and is more complex, like changing the brake rotors and pads or DSG transmission and DSG flywheel removal will be given more consideration.
- Pictures should be in focus and well lit. This sounds simple but if you see enough writeups on misc. sites and take enough pictures you'll see that it's not.
- Take multiple pictures of each step. I usually take 3 pictures of each step from slightly different angles and frame. This results in almost always having a usable picture. Too many pictures are better than too few pictures and you can always delete extras later.
- A camera flash can wash out detail because you're so close up when working on a car. Try to avoid taking pictures head-on or too close. If the object is reflective like smooth metal, all you'll see is a shiny object. When using a flash, take the picture from a slightly off axis angle and try to back up a little. It will light the whole picture better and avoid reflections.
- When possible, pictures in the article should be from about the same orientation to reduce confusion.
- The goal of composing pictures for a writeup isn't artistic appeal, it's to describe an element of a technical article. Sepia tone and funny angles are not encouraged because it makes it harder to orient the object and see detail. Frame each photo so that the target is in context. For example, a closeup of a bolt means nothing. Somethings you need to have a closeup of the target but try to have an earlier picture which references it against a landmark like the oil pan or wheel well. It's best to have it all in 1 picture vs. 2.
- Bigger frame is normally better since you can always crop it. Most digital cameras also take big images which will let you crop without too much loss in quality.
), and detailed instructions with VCDS software screenshots of how to check and adjust injection pump timing on his VW Jetta TDI.
