In August we had a new member @KenJ77 sign up and make a thread introducing a new book that he was making and asking if it was ok to introduce the forum in it.
About introducing your forum to readers in FIAT technical book in Japan
Dear. Sir, I'm a Japanese Auto-technical writer helping to make a maintenance book about the FIAT TwinAir engine. It will be published at the end of October. (same as this book https://shop.san-ei-corp.co.jp/shop/g/g13239/) So I've been searching for useful information for amateur...
www.fiatforum.com
He then very kindly offered to send me a copy once complete and I'm happy to say that day has arrived!
It's all in Japanese of course, but I must say it looks fantastic. Packed full of photos, diagrams and information about maintaining your beloved 500.
But the best part of course is the mentioning of us - yay!
Roughly translated comes out as:
I took apart the Dualogic and TwinAir units and looked into their structures, but I realized that the recent manuals have little information and I would end up just replacing parts. Well, disassembling them like in the old days and repairing them by reusing usable parts would cost a lot of time, so it might not be possible in the modern world, and it might be inevitable. But, as an enthusiast, I want to fix anything that can be fixed.
Do European enthusiasts like practical mechanics?
There's no point in complaining, so I started looking for information on various websites, including the Cyber Library, but there isn't much technical discussion on domestic websites, and I was blocked off by things like "I put on a turbo blanket."
I went to Fiat's home town of Europe to find out what kind of activities amateurs were doing. There was a Forum. There, they focused on technical matters and shared their experiences.
It seems that they are discussing technical theories and exchanging information. I think there are quite a few sites in Japan that bring together people with similar interests, but I feel that there are surprisingly few sites where people can discuss various technical matters and exchange information.
Looking at the forums (it may be the same in Japan), new cars are no longer available, and people are increasingly buying used cars. People seem to be reluctant to buy expensive parts to repair defects, and they want to repair things that they can do by themselves, and the discussion about repairs seems to be lively. So, I found two forums, "The FIAT FORUM” and “Drive 2”. Both have a section where people talk passionately about Dualogic. I was impressed by the technical aspects of the discussion, and I browsed the site for a while. FIAT FORUM has been active since 2002, and has borderless members. I sensed a friendly atmosphere, with many of them from the UK. There, I found a section called “The one and only Dualogic failure thread” (https://www.fiatforum.com), which seems to have been up and running since 2015.
There were so many stories about Dualogic malfunctions and breakdowns, so they put them all together in one section. Looking at the month, it started with "I can't get the gears to go in", then it went to "I changed the hydraulic oil", then it went to "The selector nipple is stuck because of the oil", and it seems like the problem is obvious and it's easy to find a solution.
The last comment seems to be from a person with skills, but I thought it was great that people could discuss and find solutions in the forum.
So, I asked if I could do this kind of activity with this book, and Ben the Boss said, "That's a good idea," and gave me the OK. I think it's a good experience to talk about machines with people from overseas, too. Even though we're talking, we're just writing things down, so there's no problem with Google Translate.
Having successfully made contact, I took the opportunity to try another site I had found: "Drive2" https://www.drive2.ru. It is, believe it or not, a Russian site. It appears to be a site for posting questions about cars and discussing them with others, but it also has the feel of a place for finishing up and selling used cars, which is a sign of the times. One of the sites has a Fiat Panda.
There is a repair corner, and it seems that there is a high demand for repairs there as well, so I thought that the repair know-how would be useful. I was surprised to see them tackling something that would be impossible to do even in a laboratory here, such as the emulsification problem with Dualogic hydraulic oil in extreme cold. I also tried to contact them, but Google must have been scared, as it couldn't translate my query and I was defeated. Europe, especially Northern Europe, is a place where automation is in demand.
It seems that it is quite popular and has spread to some extent, but it seems to be overcoming its own problems.
(FF Intro Box)
Founded in 2002, it is the No. 1 online FIAT community and is a site that allows you to ask any questions you may have about Fiat. Member registration (free) Click on the Register button above and fill in your information. Create an account and log in.
I also registered as a kind of fate, and when I asked if I could introduce the paper in this magazine, the boss Ben said, "Wow, it's amazing, I'm happy we can be featured in a book
I particularly like the part about me being the Boss - haha. As to the quote "the last comment seems to be from a person with skills" - I'm not sure how close that translation really is, but here is the thread, I'll let you guys decide who is the skilled one
The book is available now for anyone who can read Japanese (or just wants something new for their collection)
フィアット500 メンテナンス＆エンジョイファイル: クルマ＆バイク【三栄web shop】
三栄web shopフィアット500 メンテナンス＆エンジョイファイルのページです。
shop.san-ei-corp.co.jp
Congratulations and thank you again to @KenJ77 for his fine work (and kind words) - I hope it sells well for you
