New Opportunity - Continued

Hello Everyone,

About 2 months has passed since my last post, and I wanted to give everyone an update on what has happened with this opportunity I was present with.

A little over 2 months ago I saw an add on the Donut Media YouTube channel that they were looking for a new Writing and Host. Donut is an automotive channel that specialized in edutainment. They present a topic in a very fun and engaging way and make the subjects very easy to understand and give just enough nuanced information to make you feel like you learned something really technical. They do have a couple series where they get very technical and all the shows have very good and well researched subjects and facts. Most of the shows are for the laymen and are very entertaining.

In June I submitted a few writings on subjects they had requested. It took about a week and I heard back that I had made it to the next round. After the first round there was a Video portion for presenting pre written sketch’s and a couple that I had to write about from a few selected subjects they wanted. They gave a deadline of 1 week and I wanted to be one of the first seen. So I completed the writing, filmed my audition, and turned in everything within 24 hours of getting the material.

I ultimately did not make it to the next round. I did not get any feed back which is common from my understanding. But that is ok. If I find more opportunities I will definitely throw my hat in the ring for those as well. Below are what I wrote for my submissions.

Please let me know what you think in the comments Below!

VTEC, How It Works

You may have heard the term VTEC. What does it mean? What does it do? Why do I want to learn about some Medical procedures? Well it's not a procedure, VTEC stands for Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control. Basically VTEC is a type of valve control system that allows your car at low RPM’s to get great full mileage and at high RPM’s to get the most power it can. 

VTEC allows the engine to adjust which lobes on the camshaft are being used based on the RPM the engine is running at. The ECU (Engine Control Unit) reads what RPM and load and other bits of data the engine is at/doing and once certain parameters are reached it will send a signal that will tell the lifters to “lock” allowing all the lifters to ride on the bigger lobe elongating the amount of time and depth the intake and exhaust valves are open, thus more air/fuel in and out of the cylinder creating mo’ power baby. 

Now you're probably wondering what a valve is, right? Well there are 2 types of valves. One set of valves are called intake valves. They are responsible for letting in air and fuel so the engine can go through the combustion process to turn that air/fuel mixture into power. The other set of valves are Exhaust valves. The exhaust valves are responsible for letting out the used air/fuel so the engine can go through the process again. You know Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow. Suck is the intake of Air and fuel, squeeze is the process of taking that air/fuel mixture and compressing it, Bang is the igniting of that compressed fuel and air, and Blow is the exhausting of the spent air/fuel.

The Camshafts in a VTEC engine have 3 lobes. 2 smaller economical lobes for drivin around town and schools zones, and one big boi lobe that makes the engine go from a little gas sipper, to a full blown gas sniffing maniac. The valves are what the lifters are connected to and the Camshafts are what controls how long and how open those valves should be. So having VTEC is basically like having 2 engines for the price of one.

VTEC was a great way that Honda was able to meet the car demand for people who wanted a small economical car but also for those that wanted to have some fun in the twisties or passing them big boi semi trucks blockin the left lane, when they know they should be in the right lane! 

That is the basics of VTEC and how it works. If you have more questions on how VTEC works or you want to learn about something else, leave a comment in the description below and don't forget to subscribe and leave a like!

Why I Like Cars?

Why do I like cars and trucks and anything with an engine? Well it started at a young age. I was a wee lad, maybe 5 or 6 years old. I remember being in a sandbox playing with some Tonka trucks and a monster truck toy. I heard my mom come up the driveway and she had a new car. It was a blue 1996 Trans-am, I remember it had chrome rims and T-tops. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. Hearing it come up the driveway with the v-8 burble was the coolest thing ever.

When I was around 8 or 10 years old my dad got me my first dirt bike. It was like total freedom. That Honda 80cc was the first thing that gave me a sense of purpose, my first real responsibility. I had to clean it and maintain it if I wanted to ride. I had to do any and all chores my dad asked so I could get gas to ride. That bike meant the world to me, even if it was the slowest bike in my friend group back then. It was something I had earned and took care of. Even when I crashed it and cracked a couple ribs, I didn't care. It was something that ingrained in my DNA at that point and nothing could replace that. 

I was around 15 when my dad decided he wanted to start a small used car dealership in my hometown. He wanted to bring in cars from the Southwest from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, anywhere there that wasn't in the Rust belt or near an ocean. That is when I got to start to get my hands dirty working on something with 4 wheels. I got to help my dad work on over 40 different cars to get them either running, or at least road worthy for low income families and kids my age looking for a first car. They were meant to be cheap affordable non rust buckets that kids could work on a little and get a sense of ownership and responsibility. This was a venture to make money of course but it was more to help the community. 

That is when I really got into cars and I have been ever since. I have worked on many cars doing anything from oil changes and brakes, to changing out stereo systems, to putting together full interiors, to aligning body panels to full engine tune ups. I have had several jobs working as a tire tech changing and replacing tires and helping the mechanics with their jobs, to working for the big automotive manufactures like ford as an intern to source engine parts. 

Cars and trucks and motorcycles are in my blood. I am from Flint Michigan, most of my family has worked  for GM or Ford or Chrysler or one of their suppliers. I am truly passionate about cars and I want to keep working on them for the rest of my life. Be it restoring them, making them faster, or just getting them back on the road. I am a gear head through and through. As for a dream car...all of them.