RennTech v3 on it's way - update 2

Posted by Loren, Jan 31, 2010 - 04:25 PM

New Integrated Menus
A completely new menu layout that ties into the new forum software. Perhaps a little more intuitive as it highlights (with the green tab) where you are at all times.

Completely New DIY Tutorial Section
We have completely separated out the "original" DIY Articles into a special tab called "DIY Tutorials'. The reason for doing this is to keep the original article (and any updates to the original) pristine and uncluttered by replies thanking or asking questions. This will also help those that want to follow a DIY article exactly but don't want to print 11 pages of replies and responses.


So the original DIY Tutorial will go in the new section with a link back to replies and questions (red arrow).


And, the replies topic also reverse links back to the DIY Tutorial (red arrowt).


I'll add more here as we get closer to launch day...

RennTech v3 on it's way

Posted by Loren, Jan 22, 2010 - 02:42 PM in Site Related

Well, after 6.5 plus years operation and the first major upgrade since fall 2005 - it is time update the forum software.
It will be different in some respects but will hopefully be even easier to use and have some great new features.
Besides, change is good!

As part of the upgrade the whole back end code for the site is being replaced with "shiny new code" which should mean less hamsters die trying to power the server. We are very excited about the upgrade and hope you'll enjoy the new features.

Here are just few changes (and some screen shots):

Complete new page/style layout

Easier to read embedding of previously quoted posts


Personal Conversations replaces PMs (personal messages)
Personal conversations allow members to send messages directly to other members, out of public view, in a topic format. Other members can be invited to existing conversations - or remove themselves, if they so desire.


A few other notable updates:

DIY Tutorials Section
This new mod allows folks that write DIY Tutorials to post them in a special section by Porsche model.
It keeps comments and additions (to the original DIY) separate - but links between the two. So, printing a DIY will be cleaner, faster and won't include 10 pages of comments (unless you want to go print those too.

Blogs (for our Contributing Members)
Content blocks
Customize blogs further by install content blocks for users to choose from. News feeds, gamer cards, tag clouds and more in an easy-to-use drag and drop interface.

Group blogging
Multiple editors can be assigned to a single blog - great for company/group blogging and much more besides!

Private Blogs
Blog members can create private blogs visible only to them or Private Club blogs through which the member is able to specify other members of your community who are able to see their blog.

I'll add more here as we get closer to the final product - but look for the upgrade during February!

New Reviews Section

Posted by Loren, Jul 10, 2008 - 12:39 PM in Site Related

I've never been happy with the 3rd party solution we had for products and service reviews.
So, we have taken a Reviews script made for this forum software and modified it meet our needs.

The new Reviews section should be much easier to use - since it works just like the forum posting section.
It allows any member to write an initial review and/or comment on any existing reviews.
You can mark Favorite reviews, quickly see a list of your reviews search the reviews or see the Top 5 Reviews by Hits, Top 5 Reviews by Rating, or Last 5 Reviews Submitted.

All reviews with be moderated and new reviews will be approved by an admin (so we don't have folks reviewing their own product - and yes, that did happen with the old system).
Review authors will be notified of approval or of any problems with their review(s).

I have added in all of the product/services that were in the old Reviews system but have yet to the 80 or so comments on those reviews. I will try to add those back in as soon as I can - but please be patient.

Any member is welcome to add new reviews or comment on existing ones starting today.
Enjoy...

Server move and maintenance

Posted by Loren, Apr 9, 2008 - 11:52 AM in Site Related

Well, RennTech.org has certainly grown... now with more than 25,000 members!
After almost 5 years on the same server our hosting company has notified us that our server hardware is due to be retired and replaced with newer more up-to-date equipment.

So, the good news is that we will be on a new server with increased performance, quality and stability. The bad news is that the hosting costs will go up too.
I guess we can not complain as during the 4 plus years we have been on this server the hosting company has never increased our yearly hosting fee.
Still, this is an increased expense that we hope to cover through the donations here on the site.

Once again we have looked at the contribution model and we have (once again) considered a subscription model (like Rennlist). We still prefer not to do that though as we still feel it might drive away some of the more casual members. But, we still need to cover our costs. If the donations keep coming we won't need to look at a subscription based site.

There are many great resources on the site -- both people and information. Most of the information is free today - without voluntary contributions that could change. Our hope is that folks will continue to see the value and will continue to contribute so we can keep RennTech.org going. So, if this site provides you with valuable information - please keep the donations coming.

The move is planned to take 3-4 hours (at most - assuming we have no problems). The site will be down for this short time.
The date and time that we will be making the server move is:
Tuesday April 15th, 2008
Starting at 8:00 am EDT.

Thanks again for all your support!

Product claims and dynos -- and reality

Posted by Loren, Jun 11, 2007 - 12:21 PM in Other Ramblings

There has been a lot of discussion on several Porsche boards recently about new products that give "10-15 more horsepower" or "20-30 more horsepower" or whatever.

I just wanted to give my two cents here (in my Blog, rather than elsewhere).
Not that these things should not be discussed - by all means they should. But because some of us old guys have been there and done that before (and still have some of the scars).

So an after market manufacturer says "my sport exhaust will give you 10-15 more horsepower". Or, "my cold air induction system will give you 15-20 more horsepower". Or, "my plenum will give you 20-25 more horse power".
Well, all of these claims may be true -- but they could also be just hype to take your money.

My first problem is that in very few cases (if any) do these folks provide some technical proof of their claims. I am not asking for them to tell me how they made their product - I am talking about viable 3rd party testing with engineering documentation of their claims.

For instance, if you want to convince me that your product produces more horsepower (usable or not) then why not hire an independent, bonded, third party to test it. My idea of the testing process (from over 18 years in new product development, owning and racing Porsches) is to start with the target market.

So, in this case, at least three cars in good running order. Put them on the dyno (again remember this is a reliable 3rd party that knows how to run proper dyno testing) -- and make 5 dyno runs on each car. Take the results - toss out the best result and the worst result for each car, and then average the remaining 3 dyno runs together to get a more normalized result.

Next, install the after market part. No other tuning or tweaking.
Do the same 5 dyno runs again on each car. Toss out the best and worst again, average the three remaining runs for each car.

Then on a chart plot and overlay the results for each car. Now we should be able to see the real difference the after market part made.
If we want to validate the data - guess what? You need to remove the part and return the cars to their original stock condition. Then do the 5 dyno runs again. If the cars return to the output they had during the original dyno runs -- then case is proven.

Sure this would take a little time and money - but for the prices these folks are getting for their products I think it is worth it -- at least to me it is.

Maybe it is time for us to just say -- Prove it!

Move completed and network problems

Posted by Loren, Mar 20, 2007 - 12:42 PM in Site Related

Well, I have completed my move (to Roseville, CA).
My new (fiber) Internet connection is 10 MB download and 10 MB upload - Sweet!!

At about the same time as my move the server started having some trouble with traffic and uploading. My hosting company (and I) have spent the better part of 3 days troubleshooting the problem and I am happy to say it is now fixed. We had a network interface card that was failing. Once it was replaced we are now back up to full speed again. Sorry, for any trouble this may have caused but the good news is that it is fixed now!

With those issues out of the way we should be doing more updating soon.

Thanks for all the continued support!
Loren

Moving (not the site - just me)

Posted by Loren, Mar 1, 2007 - 10:34 AM in Site Related

My wife and I are moving so I will have limited access to the Internet from March 5th until at least March 15th.
Our current home closes on March 6th and our new home does not close until March 13th - so we will be staying in hotels (hence the limited access).

I will try to keep up with donations and the many great discussions here but - it may take a day or two to get back to folks. Please be patient and see if one of the moderators can help you in the meantime.

Thanks again to all of you for your support - now and past.

Server backend updates... oh my....

Posted by Loren, Dec 19, 2006 - 04:17 PM in Site Related

Well.... my advice is don't put off computer updates -- it will be much more painful later than sooner.

I put off several server updates for almost 2 years. Problem is some of the backend software was so old that the support had or was soon to end. So I thought it would be simple just to do updates for the affected software packages. Sounds simple enough - right?
Well, as it turns out one upgrade required another upgrade, which required another update, which required another upgrade, which required.... (on, and on you get it).

So, my little 1 hour of downtime today turned into 2 hours then almost 4 hours. Lesson learned!
So, going forward we will likely have some downtime a little more often - but hopefully for a much shorter period of time.

The good news is the server has the latest and greatest software now - which means short term - better memory utilization and less CPU load. In the longer term it means that we will be able to add some newer technologies/software applications going forward.



Happy Holidays to All!

Option Codes Lookup gets Search

Posted by Loren, Sep 21, 2006 - 06:00 AM in Site Related

We have added a search feature to the Option Codes Lookup section.
You can now search for a string of option codes (i.e. M030 IXAA M601).
As the note at the top of the page says - you must search using proper precodes.
"All option searches must begin with the proper precode i.e. the sport suspension option 030 must be searched by M030.
On 987, 997 and newer cars the M has been replaced with I so on those models you would search for I030.
Likewise all X options must be begin with I (i.e. IXAA). Multiple codes may searched at the same time (i.e M030 IXAA M601)."

Option Codes Lookup Search

Search results look like this


You can always return to the model level (after a search) using the breadcrumb link


Let me know if you see any problems...

Changes to the TSB search

Posted by Loren, Sep 18, 2006 - 03:28 PM in Site Related

Well, I was not happy with the search that I wrote for the TSB section -- so I rewrote the whole thing today.
Hopefully it is much better and easier to use.
You can search each individual model or you can search all the TSBs. When you search All the TSBs one of the default sorts goes to sort by model - just to make more sense of the results. You can still sort by Number, Subject, or Date too.
Pagination has also been added so that if your search is multiple pages it will now paginate.

Search All TSBs is now available from the TSB menu.

Search All TSBs results look like this.


Searching by model is now at the bottom of the page with the rest of the sort functions.


Search by model results look like this.


And you can now return to "normal" model view by clicking on the breadcrumb to the top of the model page.



Please let me know if you see any problems.

I am also going to look at adding a search feature to the OBD II P-Codes, and Options Codes Lookup pages. I think they will look/function similar but will need to work a bit differently (since most will want to search for more than one P-Code or complete list of option numbers.