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Hey HN, What we do: We're building a community of vehicle data (http://shadenut.com http://shadenut.com). Mechanics and DIYers will be able to look up any pie

Hey HN, What we do: We're building a community of vehicle data (http://shadenut.com http://shadenut.com). Mechanics and DIYers will be able to look up any piece of information they need to work on their car directly from their phone while still under the hood (ex. torque specs, TSBs, fluid types/capacities, etc). As a developer I've seen the positive effect that StackOverflow has had on our industry as a knowledge base and am trying to do the same for the automotive industry. The data will be crowdsourced and 100% free to use. Our Problem: Our biggest problem is that the product is not really usable unless it contains EVERY piece of technical data about a model, after which it becomes tremendously useful. The most common feedback we get from technicians is that they'd love to use it and contribute once it's a complete database (as long as it's accurate) but wouldn't switch from the paid competitors until then. The data is all available but there's simply too much of it for a small team to manually import. Our current strategy is to start with a select few models and incentive technicians to make their own entries. However, I'd love to hear how Kevin and Sam would solve this or from others in the HN community who have faced similar problems.

Kluny 11y ago
My suggestion: start with strong subcultures. Become known to drifters as the people who have all the data on 240sx's, or to Jeep people who have specs on every single difference between each model year. Develop a good reputation with each community before moving to the next. Toyodiy is a great resource for me that does what you're doing, but it's not available in handy app form. Basically a comprehensive catalog of every Toyota model every made, with microfiches, parts lists, part cost estimates, task tutorials, and the ability to find your car not only by model and year, but by different models or body styles/trim styles within the same year. Unbelievably comprehensive and very uesful. If you can be as good as them (and they are nonprofit) on a mobile app, even if it's just for toyotas, all you will have to do is shut up and take my money.
- Lukeas14 11y ago
  That's my vision exactly. All the knowledge you would ever need is already out there, probably on page 17 of some forum post. But it'd be a huge to have it all in one place, easily accessible and most importantly, be able to confidently say that it's accurate (the wrong torque on a head bolt could be a $x,000 mistake). Creating a database schema that reflects the manufacturers model naming and options decisions is indeed a complete pain but we're grinding through that. I like your idea of finding a small number of the most passionate enthusiast subcultures and growing from there. Would love to hear more about how this app could help you. I'll send you an email.
  - Kluny 11y ago
    Sure, it's listed in my profile.

Kluny 11y ago

My suggestion: start with strong subcultures. Become known to drifters as the people who have all the data on 240sx's, or to Jeep people who have specs on every single difference between each model year. Develop a good reputation with each community before moving to the next. Toyodiy is a great resource for me that does what you're doing, but it's not available in handy app form. Basically a comprehensive catalog of every Toyota model every made, with microfiches, parts lists, part cost estimates, task tutorials, and the ability to find your car not only by model and year, but by different models or body styles/trim styles within the same year. Unbelievably comprehensive and very uesful. If you can be as good as them (and they are nonprofit) on a mobile app, even if it's just for toyotas, all you will have to do is shut up and take my money.

Lukeas14 11y ago
That's my vision exactly. All the knowledge you would ever need is already out there, probably on page 17 of some forum post. But it'd be a huge to have it all in one place, easily accessible and most importantly, be able to confidently say that it's accurate (the wrong torque on a head bolt could be a $x,000 mistake). Creating a database schema that reflects the manufacturers model naming and options decisions is indeed a complete pain but we're grinding through that. I like your idea of finding a small number of the most passionate enthusiast subcultures and growing from there. Would love to hear more about how this app could help you. I'll send you an email.
- Kluny 11y ago
  Sure, it's listed in my profile.