jrh0341
08-25-16, 11:41 am
Gear head as in I'm into cars, not the other "using gear" though that's up to the individual too. Just not the topic of this post.
Posting this might not make sense in the beginning, but I promise, if you read to the end, it will make a TON of sense.
.
.
.
So, I'm a huge gear head. I love working on my car. It's part hobby, part project, part labor of love.
There are many others like me, the same, yet different.
Some of us are building straight line speed machines, and enjoy throwing down in quarter mile tests of dominance.
Some of us build oversized monsters, obsessed with towing capacity.
You've got rally guys, the twisty, agile, track carving types.
And, then, oh man, then you've got the crazies, the trail warriors. Dragging their cars through mud, dirt, rocks and forest trails meant to destroy the average car. These guys get off on pushing their cars courses where the question isn't finishing well, its surviving to the finish at all.
We're all different, yet, gearheads are still all the same. Constantly fiddling with our machines, learning ways to make it a little faster, squeeze a little more power out of it. We recognize each other from sundays at the same facility, or from the little things, like The racing shoes or shirts or windshield sticker I'd notice in a crowd, as "one of us". Maybe I stop and talk gear head chat for a bit. Maybe we just exchange a nod.
My friends don't get it of course. Sure, some of them can appreciate a nice car. Others just don't see the point.
They think, "Its a waste though. What need will you ever have for that power? It's just a random number to brag about."
Most of them have plain, regular cars. It's just something to get from A to B. As long as its not actually breaking down, they're satisfied.
I don't judge them for their cars, I just... couldn't be satisfied with something so under powered, slow and uninteresting. Not for me.
I try explaining the benefits of old school manual control. They think "why? There's an automatic computer thingy for that now. All that pulling of levers seems like a lot of work"
I talk about control and performance. They look over with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on a big-mac, take a big theatrical bite and say "but you can't do THIS".
Oh well. To each their own.
But some are actually critical. (Jealous?)
They say putting all that work into my car is stupid. An expression of vanity. A compensation for some other insecurity.
Whatever. I don't care if they like my car. This is my thing, my interest for me.
It's about my natural interest in what awesome machines cars can be.
It's a project, and a science lab.
My car is a reflection of my personality, and an outlet for my creativity.
A means for friendly competition between my peers and against myself.
Something to constantly tinker with in the hopes of shaving a few more seconds or a little more output, and the chance to stand back and say
Yep. That's mine. Built and maintained it myself.
.
.
.
So why the hell am I talking about all this here?
Because, only AFTER you've showed someone all of the above, can you go back, and tell them to replace "gear head" with "meat head"; replace each "car" with "body" and have them begin to understand the idea behind this other thing we're into here.
Posting this might not make sense in the beginning, but I promise, if you read to the end, it will make a TON of sense.
.
.
.
So, I'm a huge gear head. I love working on my car. It's part hobby, part project, part labor of love.
There are many others like me, the same, yet different.
Some of us are building straight line speed machines, and enjoy throwing down in quarter mile tests of dominance.
Some of us build oversized monsters, obsessed with towing capacity.
You've got rally guys, the twisty, agile, track carving types.
And, then, oh man, then you've got the crazies, the trail warriors. Dragging their cars through mud, dirt, rocks and forest trails meant to destroy the average car. These guys get off on pushing their cars courses where the question isn't finishing well, its surviving to the finish at all.
We're all different, yet, gearheads are still all the same. Constantly fiddling with our machines, learning ways to make it a little faster, squeeze a little more power out of it. We recognize each other from sundays at the same facility, or from the little things, like The racing shoes or shirts or windshield sticker I'd notice in a crowd, as "one of us". Maybe I stop and talk gear head chat for a bit. Maybe we just exchange a nod.
My friends don't get it of course. Sure, some of them can appreciate a nice car. Others just don't see the point.
They think, "Its a waste though. What need will you ever have for that power? It's just a random number to brag about."
Most of them have plain, regular cars. It's just something to get from A to B. As long as its not actually breaking down, they're satisfied.
I don't judge them for their cars, I just... couldn't be satisfied with something so under powered, slow and uninteresting. Not for me.
I try explaining the benefits of old school manual control. They think "why? There's an automatic computer thingy for that now. All that pulling of levers seems like a lot of work"
I talk about control and performance. They look over with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on a big-mac, take a big theatrical bite and say "but you can't do THIS".
Oh well. To each their own.
But some are actually critical. (Jealous?)
They say putting all that work into my car is stupid. An expression of vanity. A compensation for some other insecurity.
Whatever. I don't care if they like my car. This is my thing, my interest for me.
It's about my natural interest in what awesome machines cars can be.
It's a project, and a science lab.
My car is a reflection of my personality, and an outlet for my creativity.
A means for friendly competition between my peers and against myself.
Something to constantly tinker with in the hopes of shaving a few more seconds or a little more output, and the chance to stand back and say
Yep. That's mine. Built and maintained it myself.
.
.
.
So why the hell am I talking about all this here?
Because, only AFTER you've showed someone all of the above, can you go back, and tell them to replace "gear head" with "meat head"; replace each "car" with "body" and have them begin to understand the idea behind this other thing we're into here.