Over the years on different car forums, I have noticed (and this is generalized) that there are two extremes to car enthusiasts. There are the mechanic/tuner types on one end of the spectrum and the pure racer types on the other end of the spectrum. Then there is a nearly infinite gray area in between.

The extreme mechanic/tuner type would be someone who could care less about actually racing the car just as long as he can get it to run optimally in race-type or street-type conditions. He's happy as long as he can tune the perfect dyno run out of the engine that he is currently working on or he can tune the suspension/chassis to turn-in, rotate, and exit every corner perfectly. Someone like that skinny sickly-lookin dude from the first F&F. (I know...F&F , but it was the best, easily recognizeable example that I could think of.)

The pure racer type may not even know what a piston or con-rod looks like and doesn't care. He does little to no work on the car himself. All he knows is that he is more comfortable behind the wheel of a car than anywhere else in the universe. He's not happy until he can prove to the extreme tuner that he can break the laws of physics and make the car do things which it shouldn't be able. Someone like Cole Trickle from Days of Thunder for example (I know NASCAR , but again, it was the best example I could think of).

Then there is the infinite gray are in between. A perfect compromise between the two, aka a 5, IMO would be someone like...Marty (RacerX11). (Hope you don't mind me using you as an example, buddy) From what I've seen he like's to work on, build up, and tune stuff, like his Citation or the Pike's Peak climber semi-truck. But he's also all about racing in auto-x events or at the drag strip.

1 being the mechanic/tuner type and 9 being the pure racer type, where would you classify yourself?

I put myself at a 3 because while I really enjoy racing my cars, I enjoy tuning more performance out of them even more.

Disclaimer:
The basic purpose of this post is to give the people who lean more toward pure racing and the people who lean more toward pure tuning to have some common ground to work off of. I see a lot of strange looks get passed between the two when a racer-type says something like,"Don't put that on your car, it'll bump you to a higher auto-x class." to a tuner-type. Or when a tuner-type who just got done uprading his suspension says,"Auto-x? What's that?" to a racer-type. Some of you may not like my generalizations and that's fine. These are based on my personal observations and opinions. But any attempt at keeping the flammage and off-topic banter to a minimum would be much appreciated.

I'm posting the same poll on CII to compare the two forums just out of curiosity's sake. If you post in both forums feel free to vote in both polls.

Does anybody else think DSMCentral is more tuner orinated of most boards out there? I do, but I ma not on a lot of forums.

Yeah. That was kinda another reason for posting this. I expect to see a fuller tuner side of the spectrum on here and a fuller racer side of the spectrum on CII. But don't let my theories influence your decision. Vote honestly and let's see how it pans out.

I'm impressed with the diplomatic and flattering way that 'Racer' discribes the majority of sport compact car owners. Very interesting....I personaly think 'Racer' describes someone more like Spy, who actually senses a car as an extension of himself. (Don't go there Spy ).

I also think there is a further end to this spectrum beyond racer and away from tuner. Hence 'Over the Top'. My personal definition would read something like: Wants to be a racer, have fame, fortune and respect for his/her skills on the street while at the same time having no mechanichal inclination or the patience to learn. Not to mention a kean sense of color clashing and a taste for cheap add on parts.

Hey Marcus, you makin' fun of us stupid peole? LOL J/K man. Where do those of us who had never seen under a hood a day in their life until they had to fall?

Hahaha...no Eugene. I think the key phrase there is 'patience to learn'. If I remember correctly, you and I did a brake job on your GVR4 that you had never seen done before. I'd say that's taking the initiative to learn.

Yuppers, How could I forget? LOL. I would say the biggest learning experience would've had to have been the clutch though. Up until that point, I never knew a car had so many pieces that could've been put back in the wrong spot. LOL. I think after those couple of nights, the thing I remember most is hearing me say, "Hey Marcus, where the hell does this go?"LOL

Haha! Good stuff. I'll have to see if I can add that to the poll.

EDIT: Guess not.

228 registered members and only 15 votes?

I won't vote because I really don't know which side I belong to. They both seem equally appealing.

I love the feeling of getting a part in the mail, or even better, fabricating it myself, and all the anticipation of getting to bolt it on while imagining how much better it will make the car perform. The act of working on a car is exhausting and intensely rewarding at the same time. I have a true appreciation for the engineering aspects as well. There is something special about a complex, precise machine comprised of so many inter-dependent parts whose function is so well defined and integral.

At the same time, no one would work on a car if it didn't have a use, and long before I knew what a turbo was, I loved to drive fast and turn hard. The best thing about being behind the wheel of a car while driving at the limits is that I'm not thinking about anything but driving. There's a feeling you get, like a balanced scale, when the car behaves as it should in a corner and you're at the sheer edge of traction and then maybe you pitch it a little sideways just to feel out of control a bit. Likewise, I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster beginning it's descent from the initial peak when I step on the gas and feel the weight transfer to the rear as the acceleration begins and my bladder lets loose a torrent of golden rain into my sparco seats.

If I had to choose, I guess I'd go back to the beginning when I didn't know a piston from a penis and just loved to drive fast. But that may be just because it's cold and in this weather my fingers freeze to the wrenches (really they do).

And here I thought I was the only one out there wrenching in the subzero weather.

no trav, there's three of us now, only I am about to discover the wonderful world of a salamander. no more frost bite on the knuckles, just blood

I don't know that there has ever been a time that I have worked on my car and not cracked a knuckle or elbow or burned myself on the turbocharger-superheated exhaust.

Make that 5. Justin and I have been wrenching in this cold weather for the past 3 weeks.

Golden rain...hahaha!

a friend and I were out yesterday, will be out tonight, and tomorrow before the super bowl turning wrenches. But....... we've got the heated shop to our advantage

I wish I could be the racer guy that doesn't do any of his own work. Must be nice.
I agree with awd4kicks. The people that got into cars to be cool or to aid in their bleak sex life. To a point it doesn't matter what kind of car you have or how much cash you have. A loser is a loser. Money can not change how a person is.