Building a Strong Street Machine – Part 17: Interpreting Technical Articles
- March 16th, 2010
- Posted in Jim Hand: Building A Strong Street Machine . Technical Articles
- By D.A.P.A
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A Club member suggested I write a few lines about the “Technical Articles” that we see in the various magazines. Are they all true, and if not, how do we know? Unfortunately, there is/are not enough new technical material/technical writers to fill the demand of the large number of trade magazines. What do the Editors do for filler? One method is to allow a manufacturer to prepare a “technical” story. This can be a great source of information if the article is unbiased and covers other brands of products in addition to the writer’s. However, this type of article usually praises the manufacturer’s product and bad mouths others.
How can we weed out the advertising nonsense from real information? Following are several categories of articles:
- A definitive article that does not mention any product brands, and does not differentiate between OE and Aftermarket products. This type is usually a good source of information and an example would be the Harmonic Balancer story I wrote.
- A comparison article between brands of products of the same type written by someone not associated with any of the brands. This also will provide meaningful data. My recent article on intake manifolds is an example of this type.
- A listing or review of most available brands of a product type, but with no recommendation towards any, such as the listing of restoration suppliers in the recent “High Performance Pontiac” magazine. This type of presentation is usually worthwhile.
- A “technical” discussion that explains why a perfectly good product, such as an HEI ignition system, is totally worthless unless the writer’s products are procured and installed in, on, or rather than the HEI. BE ALERT because you are about to be had if you believe this type of story.
- An engine or other build-up written by a small group of Suppliers could be accurate, but be aware of the inherent bias toward their products/services.
Always determine who prepared, wrote, or assisted in the story, and try to determine what makes the writer(s) credible. Even the really bad articles may provide a few grains of truth, but stay alert, particularly if you plan to spend some hard earned green on your pride and joy!
Meanwhile, happy reading from your skeptical advisor.
