DIY Contest

[TundraSoul]

Here are the entries for our June DIY contest.

1. DIY Contest-Seatbelt Chime and Light Be-Gone for Free!!!
2. Permanent Sirius Antenna Installation
3. locking rear seat mod
4. Sirius Satellite Install / ALL wires hidden
5. DIY: 2001 V6 1MZ-FE SparkPlug Change
6. DIY: Sirius Satellite Installation

This poll will run for 10 days and the entry with the most votes will win.

[guntech]

MX has pictures of his HOT wife in a bikini, standing next to his truck. Any of you guys that can out do that might get more votes .

[wileetundra]

Hats off to the group that put up some DIY articles for this contest. Nice work by all, very creative.

Good idea for the contest, props to TundraSolutions for thinking it up.

I have several cool mods in-progress that I had hoped to enter in the contest but an emergency situation at home prevented me from spending any time on the Tundra and I was not able to finish the mods prior to the contest deadline. Which is really a shame because I am pretty sure that one of them would have been a top contender...

I could have rushed it and done a crude job just to get something posted but I believe in doing my best - this forum deserves nothing less. So maybe I will save my next batch of mod reports up for the next contest? Maybe TS could do another contest run for July and give away a new set of rims and/or tires? hint, hint...

Now I really hate to say this, and I will probably regret it, but I am a little disappointed in the voting results thus far. I didn't need any of the mods shown in the contest but I took time to check them all out and cast an accurate vote. A few were pretty creative or humorous and of course there are some great pics in there, but as someone who writes a lot of mod reports I just had to cast my vote for the person that spent the most time, was the most thorough, and went the extra mile to make something that was truly easy to follow and usable by many.

I can tell you for sure based on all of my mods that a single mod can take 20-40 hours or more, sometimes much more, to plan, purchase, prep, install, cleanup, photograph, document, and post all the details. The time goes up exponentially when you include a lot of reference materials or add video. And this doesn't count all the time spent answering questions and fielding follow-up posts which sometimes continue for months afterwards. So I hope that more of you will consider this before you cast your votes.

Once again I wish all the competitors the best. And I hope that this contest will motivate more of you to post DIY mods. I especially enjoy the mods which were not already discussed in the forum, are not common accessories or simple OEM installs, and are ideally something that requires a little hacking or McGyver work. I hope to be more active on this forum again soon so I will be looking to see what is out there and share more of my own.

[OntheRox]

wilee, while I agree with you regarding the time it can take to perform some mods, I feel obligated to say this: I feel there is credit to be given to anyone that can take a topic, a "source of contention" for many (not myself) that has been covered numerous times with several previous DIY ideas, and convert it into a mod that takes very little time or money and actually works...although some may have been quite silly and maybe not some peoples style.
I too did not have need for any of the mods in the contest...I weighed things like...cost, ease of install, time needed to perform the mod and whether or not this was a mod that had been consistantly sucessfully performed by using other methods.

Sorry to hear about your emergency at home. I hope you dont wait to share your DIY mods, since I havent found one that I need yet, I would love to see more

[wileetundra]

Good comments OTR.

I was first disappointed to see only 6 total entries and then further disappointed that most of them were common accessories or topics which had been covered previously (and in some cases extensively) in the forums. My main point, however, was that it would have been better for the contest to be a fairly close race with each contributor receiving a significant amount of votes, versus one contributor blowing away the competition from the start even though several of them had spent considerable time and effort on their entries.

If the main reason for the contest was to generate more detailed, highly relevant, high-quality, unique DIY posts then the contest may have missed the mark. If voting is left up to the public at large then it will almost always be a contest in popularity, marketing, or novelty and it will be subject to corruption such as new member accounts being registered just to place additional votes (something I have seen at other forums).

There is nothing wrong with this type of contest if TS and the members are pleased with the outcome but I bet that most members would have preferred to see a higher number of entries, fresh material which hadn't been discussed before, and a closer race between the competitors. Perhaps I am wrong and most people just want to be entertained, which is ok too, and I certainly enjoyed some of the entries which I found to be quite creative or entertaining despite my concerns with the contest as a whole.

My suggestion for future contests is for TS to publish criteria for the entries in advance (must contain photos and/or video, must be a new topic or new solution not previously published in the forums, must include a complete parts and tools list, must demonstrate creativity while also being practical, etc.) and then task the forum admins with judging each entry based on the criteria. The admins see a lot more of the forums than most of us and I would trust them to be fair. Regardless of the outcome I do hope that TS will run another contest and that we will get more contributors in the next round.

[OntheRox]

Originally Posted by wileetundra

Good comments OTR.

Thanks

I was first disappointed to see only 6 total entries and then further disappointed that most of them were common accessories or topics which had been covered previously (and in some cases extensively) in the forums. My main point, however, was that it would have been better for the contest to be a fairly close race with each contributor receiving a significant amount of votes, versus one contributor blowing away the competition from the start even though several of them had spent considerable time and effort on their entries.

I too was disappointed in the lack of "variety" to choose from. I do however understand that everything I would like to see is not necessarily what everyone else may like to see. I also realize that there is a reason every mod cannot be covered all at once...because that would leave no room for further contests for the TS members like yourself, right?



If the main reason for the contest was to generate more detailed, highly relevant, high-quality, unique DIY posts then the contest may have missed the mark. If voting is left up to the public at large then it will almost always be a contest in popularity, marketing, or novelty and it will be subject to corruption such as new member accounts being registered just to place additional votes (something I have seen at other forums).


I disagree...I think in fact this contest may have given hope to other people that would like to enter future contests, as they will not feel the pressure to have to have fancy, elaborate, time consuming, pocket draining type of DIY's. It adds variety IMO.

I believe all the contestants worked very hard to accuratly show the DIY and I dont believe that popularity is a factor at all...I think you are correct that marketing played a factor here...welcome to life? As far as the new member accounts comment...I give TS more credit than you I guess, and I am sure they have it covered


There is nothing wrong with this type of contest if TS and the members are pleased with the outcome but I bet that most members would have preferred to see a higher number of entries, fresh material which hadn't been discussed before, and a closer race between the competitors. Perhaps I am wrong and most people just want to be entertained, which is ok too, and I certainly enjoyed some of the entries which I found to be quite creative or entertaining despite my concerns with the contest as a whole.

Dont underestimate the value of entertainment...its a billion dollar industry, and we are sure to be entertaining people at this very moment.

My suggestion for future contests is for TS to publish criteria for the entries in advance (must contain photos and/or video, must be a new topic or new solution not previously published in the forums, must include a complete parts and tools list, must demonstrate creativity while also being practical, etc.) and then task the forum admins with judging each entry based on the criteria. The admins see a lot more of the forums than most of us and I would trust them to be fair. Regardless of the outcome I do hope that TS will run another contest and that we will get more contributors in the next round.

There goes the free market.

[wileetundra]

Originally Posted by OntheRox

I do however understand that everything I would like to see is not necessarily what everyone else may like to see. I also realize that there is a reason every mod cannot be covered all at once...because that would leave no room for further contests for the TS members like yourself, right?

I agree. I never said that the contest should contain every mod or everything that I would personally like to see. There are too many possibilities and everyone has their own wish list.

If TS runs another contest then I might consider posting one or more of my new mod reports however the results of this contest will make me think twice about it. I wouldn't want to invest so much time and effort in a detailed mod report if the majority of members are really looking for entertainment.

Originally Posted by OntheRox

I think in fact this contest may have given hope to other people that would like to enter future contests, as they will not feel the pressure to have to have fancy, elaborate, time consuming, pocket draining type of DIY's. It adds variety IMO.

I agree. More DIY contributions would be a good thing no matter what. I have seen many mods which cost less than $50-$100 but were very creative, useful, and practical. I have nothing against such reports. I just have a personal preference to see something new, innovative, and detailed vs. simple projects and solutions which have been discussed previously. To each his own.

Originally Posted by OntheRox

I believe all the contestants worked very hard to accuratly show the DIY and I dont believe that popularity is a factor at all...I think you are correct that marketing played a factor here...welcome to life?

My reference to popularity was directed at the popularity of certain types of content, not of a particular member or contest entry. Marketing is indeed a fact of life, just not something I look for in a DIY or mod report.

Originally Posted by OntheRox

As far as the new member accounts comment...I give TS more credit than you I guess, and I am sure they have it covered.

I am sure TS will do everything they can to keep it legit. I also believe that most forum members here are honest and wouldn't know how to get around the controls even if they wanted to. I also run several sites and forums and work in the tech field so I know what is possible. You can catch a lot of things but not everything, and it only takes one bad character to corrupt a poll like this. I doubt it would happen but it is a possibility and wouldn't be fair to the contestants who put in so much time to contribute.

[OntheRox]

I just dont live my life in the world of "what if", "it could happen" and "it's a possibility"

So... I agree to disagree because as they say "opinions vary". They say other things about opinions too, but they probably aren't relevant here.

[tonylop33]

Since there is no real criteria for judging, the the masses are free to use whatever criteria they want.

WileE, you take into account the time and effort as part of your criteria. Your DIYs are great, but I might not do them because some of them are too involved for me. I enjoy seeing the creativity and effort in some of what you do, but they generally are things I don't need. My criteria was 1)is it something I might want to do and 2) was it explained well. I admire the "Permanent Sirius Antenna Installation" as an example, but I am not willing to cut a hole in my roof.

Hope you emergency is over or will be resolved positively soon.

Hats off to all who submitted and I am sure all of them will help someone at some point.

[ThirdHorseman]

Originally Posted by wileetundra

Good comments OTR.

I was first disappointed to see only 6 total entries and then further disappointed that most of them were common accessories or topics which had been covered previously (and in some cases extensively) in the forums.

So everyone has the same skill level? I'm thinking that what's easy or common for you may not be for others. Also, the average owner of a new $20-$40K truck is going to PREFER common accessories that are easier to install, and might just want to see how others did the install. Also, discussing a topic "extensively" is much different than seeing the process step-by-step.

My main point, however, was that it would have been better for the contest to be a fairly close race with each contributor receiving a significant amount of votes, versus one contributor blowing away the competition from the start even though several of them had spent considerable time and effort on their entries.

Why? Does not winning a small contest on an internet forum somehow negate how much we appreciate the time and effort expended by all contest participants? I didn't think so. I think saying their topics were already covered extensively (insinuating they wasted their considerable time and effort) is probably worse than not winning the contest. JMO, of course.

If the main reason for the contest was to generate more detailed, highly relevant, high-quality, unique DIY posts then the contest may have missed the mark. If voting is left up to the public at large then it will almost always be a contest in popularity, marketing, or novelty and it will be subject to corruption such as new member accounts being registered just to place additional votes (something I have seen at other forums).

Forums exist for information sharing, friendship, and fun. Having funny DIYs for easy mods is not "missing the mark", IMO. I also thought that ALL the entries were detailed, relevant, and of good quality. Having done intricate DIYs myself for other vehicles, I can assure that ANY MEMBER that takes the time to document the process for others deserves our respect and gratitude.

There is nothing wrong with this type of contest if TS and the members are pleased with the outcome but I bet that most members would have preferred to see a higher number of entries, fresh material which hadn't been discussed before, and a closer race between the competitors. Perhaps I am wrong and most people just want to be entertained, which is ok too, and I certainly enjoyed some of the entries which I found to be quite creative or entertaining despite my concerns with the contest as a whole.

It's a contest. It's for fun, it's not the Olympics. Do we even know what the prize is?

In the end, aren't we all winners because we're part of a forum with members that are willing to document their work for our benefit?

My suggestion for future contests is for TS to publish criteria for the entries in advance (must contain photos and/or video, must be a new topic or new solution not previously published in the forums, must include a complete parts and tools list, must demonstrate creativity while also being practical, etc.) and then task the forum admins with judging each entry based on the criteria. The admins see a lot more of the forums than most of us and I would trust them to be fair. Regardless of the outcome I do hope that TS will run another contest and that we will get more contributors in the next round.

I agree 100 percent.

[Tundradrenalin]

I think the intent was to spark interest in creating more DIY write-ups in the future and less jibber-jabber about the same beaten to death topics that we sift through daily to find the real jewels in the rough. All good points you all have mentioned. A good DIY doesn't have to be a completely new mod idea, but it can be a reworked peice of art. I've already been digging around on the forum, found dozens of ideas that were documented, poorly. And I have already started creating new write-ups for the future.

With the intent to spark interest, well, looks like it worked. Tundrasoul has already said this was the first of more to come. So get working on those ideas and start your documenting. I can guarantee the next one won't be as overlooked as this one was.


ps. I still haven't voted.

[hndymn]

Originally Posted by Tundradrenalin

A good DIY doesn't have to be a completely new mod idea, but it can be a reworked peice of art.

I agree. That's why I voted for mxsjw's DIY. It was hilarious, easy to follow, had tons of pics. I don't like to read instructions, so it's got to be entertaining or I don't bother. He even gave credit to the format creator.

Now, about the choice of Red Stripe...

[OntheRox]

Originally Posted by hndymn

I agree. That's why I voted for mxsjw's DIY. It was hilarious, easy to follow, had tons of pics. I don't like to read instructions, so it's got to be entertaining or I don't bother. He even gave credit to the format creator.

Now, about the choice of Red Stripe...

You made me laugh Hndymn

[Tundradrenalin]

CONGRATS MXSJW! Landslide victory to boot!

[mxsjw]

Thanks to the other participants and to all who voted.
I am flattered.