Bad Obsession Motorsport - Binky

[junkyarddog]

I honestly think they are trying too hard.

It was hugely ambitious,but it was enjoyable to see the challenges of squeezing that running gear in the Mini shell overcome.

I just have this feeling that it really will end up being a fragile unusable garage ornament.

Looks to have the turning circle of a super tanker too!

[St.Jude]

32 minutes ago, DirtyDaily said:

Very bad episode for them to come back with. They need to finish it, show what it's capable of and do some other mad shit. Talk about how to kill enthusiasm for a project.
Escargot I was really enjoying.
The cheap race series was great.
Binky was great.
That last episode was anything but.

Escargot is really enjoyable. I like that.

They have the shell of an MG X Power SV. But that’s gone nowhere.

There is so much more to this than Binky.

[DirtyDaily]

Escargot is really enjoyable. I like that.
They have the shell of an MG X Power SV. But that’s gone nowhere.
There is so much more to this than Binky.

I feel like by the time they're going to be done with binky they'll be retiring. On a side note for them it must scare them a bit that binky has provided an income for them to live on for the last 7/8 years and the thought that will people still be interested when it's done?

Of course people will be if you do good stuff but I can imagine it'd play on your mind.

[UltraWomble]

12 hours ago, DirtyDaily said:

Very bad episode for them to come back with. They need to finish it, show what it's capable of and do some other mad shit. Talk about how to kill enthusiasm for a project.
Escargot I was really enjoying.
The cheap race series was great.
Binky was great.
That last episode was anything but.

Very much this.

Bolt it together, get it on the road and then make the occasional update / tinkering video. Its NEVER going to be 100% finished.

Go back to Escargot & get that on the road. I was enjoying that.
Richard mentions other cars they have on Twitter (formerly X) including a Mk2 Ezzzy. So produce content about those. The MG would make a very good video series but I wonder if perhaps they have bitten off rather a lot there in terms of availability (or lack of) of pars for the vehicle - that said, using a 75 as a donor Im sure they could build something unique (look for example at Binky).

In terms of this  video, sadly 5/10

 

[cort16]

I stopped watching when I realised most of it was  about dash light. They worked fine, who cares just finish it!

[Sham]

37 minutes ago, cort16 said:

I stopped watching when I realised most of it was  about dash light. They worked fine, who cares just finish it!

Personally, I admire that they're doing it exactly the way that they want to do it and making a good job of it when they come to a hurdle. Could they have just had someone make a circuit board for them, or used a programmable TFT? Sure, but where's the skill in that? Them spending months learning a new skill and then showing the results on YouTube is fine by me.

There are plenty of channels to watch if you want to see someone just throwing stuff together to get it finished. I watch them too. I'm finding the level of detail problem solving here to be refreshing.

[DirtyDaily]

Personally, I admire that they're doing it exactly the way that they want to do it and making a good job of it when they come to a hurdle. Could they have just had someone make a circuit board for them, or used a programmable TFT? Sure, but where's the skill in that? Them spending months learning a new skill and then showing the results on YouTube is fine by me.
There are plenty of channels to watch if you want to see someone just throwing stuff together to get it finished. I watch them too. I'm finding the level of detail problem solving here to be refreshing.

I like it when it's about finding room for a turbo, aircon, 4wd, the alternator issue etc. not 2 years for dashboard lights.

[Sham]

Just now, DirtyDaily said:

2 minutes ago, Sham said:

Personally, I admire that they're doing it exactly the way that they want to do it and making a good job of it when they come to a hurdle. Could they have just had someone make a circuit board for them, or used a programmable TFT? Sure, but where's the skill in that? Them spending months learning a new skill and then showing the results on YouTube is fine by me.
There are plenty of channels to watch if you want to see someone just throwing stuff together to get it finished. I watch them too. I'm finding the level of detail problem solving here to be refreshing.

I like it when it's about finding room for a turbo, aircon, 4wd, the alternator issue etc. not 2 years for dashboard lights.

I'm just as interested in troubleshooting to make electronics fit and function as I am the mechanical bits - it's no different as far as the end result is concerned. Make it as good as it can be.

[DirtyDaily]

I'm just as interested in troubleshooting to make electronics fit and function as I am the mechanical bits - it's no different as far as the end result is concerned. Make it as good as it can be.

Have to agree to disagree unfortunately. Just lost enthusiasm for it. If this took them 1 month then that's fine. We've waited nearly 2 years and they haven't even finished it. I don't care about dashboard lights.

[cort16]

12 minutes ago, Sham said:

Personally, I admire that they're doing it exactly the way that they want to do it and making a good job of it when they come to a hurdle. Could they have just had someone make a circuit board for them, or used a programmable TFT? Sure, but where's the skill in that? Them spending months learning a new skill and then showing the results on YouTube is fine by me.

There are plenty of channels to watch if you want to see someone just throwing stuff together to get it finished. I watch them too. I'm finding the level of detail problem solving here to be refreshing.

It was interesting when it was an engineering or mechanical challenge but so much effort on dash lights is getting faintly ridiculous . It almost seems like they’re trying to find issues to over engineer when other more practical solutions are available .

[Sham]

5 minutes ago, cort16 said:

It was interesting when it was an engineering or mechanical challenge but so much effort on dash lights is getting faintly ridiculous . It almost seems like they’re trying to find issues to over engineer when other more practical solutions are available .

Buying an off the shelf programmable dashboard would've taken 5 minutes, looked awful and been the polar opposite of the whole point of the project so far.

I understand that people interested in old cars maybe don't like the time spent on electronics, or understand why they're taking so long - but it's just the same process running through the project. Do it right and how the owner wants it done.

The final 1% taking up so much time is absolutely normal for a project as well, isn't it?

[dome]

4 hours ago, Sham said:

Buying an off the shelf programmable dashboard would've taken 5 minutes, looked awful and been the polar opposite of the whole point of the project so far.

An off the shelf dash doesn't have to be awful. Here's the one from the Tolman 205 GTi, an admittedly expensive restomod.

Yep, that's a digi dash. Click a button and it transforms into the one from a 205 T16. I'd love to put this in the Manta but £££££££££

Ok, I get that it won't go with a mini binnacle but they could've spent 2 years redesigning one of these instead 🙈

[jakebullet]

Oh dear, that was pretty terrible. They could have made 100's of proto self etched boards in less time and cost. Or just drawn the circuit, and a layout of what the finished product wants to look like and there will have been a follower with the gear to knock up a genuine circuit board at nowt a yard.

[83C]

I found the whole process fascinating. Given the aesthetic standard of everything else it would have been thoroughly disappointing if they’d gone ‘that’ll do’ for the dashboard and instruments. 

The fact of the matter is that the bit of the car you see the most is the dashboard and instrument binnacle, so it has to look right. The first effort with the mismatched gauges and backlighting would have driven me mad, and as much as I’d love to use something like a Haltech or Link digital display on a build Binky is entirely the wrong car for it. Looking forward to seeing the end result of the electronics odyssey.

[MrBig]

I'm properly on the fence with this one. I really enjoyed the episode and the n-th degree detail and thought that went into it, but also feel like they should have done a lot more in 2 years.  Maybe there were genuine circumstances that we are not aware of.

 

Hopefully they can make some faster progress now and then crack on with the EsCargot as I was really enjoying that build and would love to see it finished more than the X Power SV or the 205 Rallye car tbh. I do appreciate I might be on my own there though 😁

[St.Jude]

7 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I'm properly on the fence with this one. I really enjoyed the episode and the n-th degree detail and thought that went into it, but also feel like they should have done a lot more in 2 years.  Maybe there were genuine circumstances that we are not aware of.

 

Hopefully they can make some faster progress now and then crack on with the EsCargot as I was really enjoying that build and would love to see it finished more than the X Power SV or the 205 Rallye car tbh. I do appreciate I might be on my own there though 😁

They haven’t been doing that for 2 years. Definitely not. Why it’s taken that long who knows but they do have a proper business.

The thing is, more I think about it, the more I think they must surely be using that technique to prototype it in a backwards way. They’ve got the schematic so they could throw it to PCBWay and get a final board drilled and made for £20. If they’re sticking that in to the car as is then it’ll come straight back out when the solder leaves the substrate - especially as it didn’t take that much effort to lift the solder with a knife anyway.

Besides when I did my electronics for GCSEs 20 years ago, we had PCB Wizard and you could simulate the circuit to see if it worked before you printed it. The software exists negating the need for that silliness.

Spoke to a mate about it today as I haven’t seen him since before the video landed, and he said “it’s a trailer queen, it’ll never be driven properly”. I’m inclined to agree now.

[Waderider]

The more obsessive BOM are the better as far as I'm concerned, and electronics is as interesting as the oily bits. I really enjoyed that!

[straightSix]

I really enjoy watching the electronics stuff tbh and it was certainly interesting. I thought they basically alluded to it being a prototype as has been said and imagine they'll get a proper PCB made up. But I echo a lot of the earlier comments about losing enthusiasm for it as a whole. I imagine those honda k swapped minis will drive rings around this when it's done 

[UltraWomble]

Today on Twatter - however does this mean that we have to wait till Binky is completely finished before we see more of Escargot?

[St.Jude]

On 31/10/2024 at 15:46, UltraWomble said:

Today on Twatter - however does this mean that we have to wait till Binky is completely finished before we see more of Escargot?

This, and the tweets, are disappointing news.

[Missy Charm]

On 27/10/2024 at 11:54, DirtyDaily said:

On 27/10/2024 at 11:52, Sham said:

I'm just as interested in troubleshooting to make electronics fit and function as I am the mechanical bits - it's no different as far as the end result is concerned. Make it as good as it can be.

Have to agree to disagree unfortunately. Just lost enthusiasm for it. If this took them 1 month then that's fine. We've waited nearly 2 years and they haven't even finished it. I don't care about dashboard lights.

Nor do I, unless Meatloaf is singing about them...  

Actual, useful question: wouldn't it just be easier to buy some ready made gauges from Smiths or Auto-Meter and screw them to a custom-made instrument panel?  One could even cover the panel with buttoned Dralon or stick on veneer or Fablon for a natty finish.  

Uninformed and speculative question: will the finished car end up with poor handling?  The video of it going shows it having a drastically widened track over a normal Mini which, when coupled to a short wheelbase, might give the car a tendency to plough on straight when trying to corner.  Does track not have to be in proportion to length, to some degree, if one wishes to exert force round the car's imaginary middle axis?  If it isn't, then presumably the car will end up too steady - almost - to the point that it resists changing direction when steered.  

[MorrisItalSLX]

 

[mintwth]

28 minutes ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

 

All filler, no thriller

[GrumpiusMaximus]

What gets me is that Usagi Electric makes custom PCBs for his valve computer using CNC and it's a much, much better and more reliable process.  No, it isn't adjustable once it's been made but for all the time they spent doing this, they could have knocked 100 boards out that way.

 

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

What gets me is that Usagi Electric makes custom PCBs for his valve computer using CNC and it's a much, much better and more reliable process.  No, it isn't adjustable once it's been made but for all the time they spent doing this, they could have knocked 100 boards out that way.

I think what a lot of people are missing with the PCB thing, is that this novel 3D print solder-traces, allows for rapid prototyping, lets say you knock up a board, test it out, realise 1 trace is wrong or needs adjusting, rather then have to scrap the whole board and start again (either etch out a new one, mill out a new one, or wait for JLC PCBWay or whoever to send you a new one)

you can just peel off the solder trace and 3D print that new section in a matter of minutes probably, so sure there was a lot of initial faffing and fucking about to get it setup, but now it is setup, they can rapidly itterate without having to make PCBs from scratch

and in that regard yeah I quite enjoyed the latest project binky episode and the how-we-did-it video  

 

If I understand what they said correctly, I do believe that once they have finalised the layout etc, they will get PCB's properly made

[GrumpiusMaximus]

@LightBulbFun it's not rapid prototyping if it takes 6 months to refine the system to create the board, when similar systems already exist that are known and work.  It was clever but completely unnecessary.

[Sham]

6 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

@LightBulbFunclever but completely unnecessary.

Like most of the build - and yet people are happy with the episode that involved a flexible driveshaft for the alternator, or the novel flip front, or the electric window conversion, or the rear wiper, or the central locking, or the HVAC.

I don't understand the hate here for people doing what they want to do with a car. Because that's all it is.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

17 minutes ago, Sham said:

Like most of the build - and yet people are happy with the episode that involved a flexible driveshaft for the alternator, or the novel flip front, or the electric window conversion, or the rear wiper, or the central locking, or the HVAC.

I don't understand the hate here for people doing what they want to do with a car. Because that's all it is.

The whole build is a lesson in overcomplicated solutions, you're absolutely right.  I think what has riled people up though is that people are paying the Patreon money and it's taken over a year to release a video that details a clever solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

In previous videos, it's obvious why they've done something a certain way.  The flexible alternator driveshaft is due to the layout of the engine bay and lack of space from the 2.0 Celica engine.  The HVAC system likewise.  Electric windows are in because the original criteria was to try and create something more up-to-date, same with the central locking.

I admire the idea and the execution of what they've done but there are some that feel they're stretching it out now for the sake of it.  I'm not amongst them but I do see where they are coming from when it's taken them over a year to create a PCB.  Even with the electronics learning, it's not a year's worth.  And I don't think anybody would mind if they were just doing it for fun but they are making a not-inconsiderable amount of money.

[Sham]

And yet you can, like me, enjoy it for free if you wish.

No one forces anyone to donate, or even to watch. Again, I don't understand the hate - what they're doing doesn't need to affect anyone else in any way. I swear, people just like something to moan about.

[St.Jude]

1 hour ago, Sham said:

Like most of the build - and yet people are happy with the episode that involved a flexible driveshaft for the alternator, or the novel flip front, or the electric window conversion, or the rear wiper, or the central locking, or the HVAC.

I don't understand the hate here for people doing what they want to do with a car. Because that's all it is.

There’s a difference in what you’ve said though.

A flexible driveshaft, the HVAC stuff, were necessitated by space.  This PCB bullshit is an overreach.

You can, and they have, prototyped it on the computer. Actual PCB software is out there for free and easy to use. When I was doing this for GCSEs (the last time I did it) we would print the board on to acetate, put it on a copper faced substrate and put it under a UV lamp for 10 minutes. The board would be then in a bath of acid for half an hour or something and you’d have a printed board. It takes no time at all.

That PCB will be under vibrations and other environmental stresses. There is no way the solder will stick to the board under those conditions on UK roads especially if all it took to lift the solder from the substrate was the tip of a scalpel. But the reality is that Binky is going to be a trailer queen. So in that regard it doesn’t matter. It would not survive a summer on British roads.

It’s one thing to be clever but it’s only clever if it’s useful or a good idea. This is neither of them.