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The First Automotive Easter Egg?
automandc writes "The October dead-tree issue of Popular Science is reporting that the new BMW M3 contains what they are calling the "first automotive easter egg" in its transmission control software. Apparently, the proper combination of commands to the electronically controlled manual transmission will cause the car to rev up to 4000rpm and drop the clutch (premitting burnout, which is normally impossible). According to the article, use of the feature more than 15 times voids the warranty in Eurpoe. Other limitations of the "acceleration-assist" feature are discussed in this Car and Driver article. According to popsci, U.S. laws won't allow the warranty limitation, so the U.S. version of the software only revs to 1500rpm, but dealers will install the european software if you ask. The only other mention I could find on the web is here."
I have to wonder just how many slashdotters this will actually effect... very cool none the less... (wow, first! :) some advantage to being unemployed...)
....it's was originally called the 'kamikazi dyno', where you trick out the software and the only place you can test it is out on the street.
Messing with software to control a car is not new, and I can think of many 'features' that could qualify as easter eggs, such as holding the pedal down on 1985 Fords with EEC-IV would shut off the injectors, resulting in a no start.
Can't wait to see these as rental cars
first time i heard this since apple put in raygun.
A B A C A B B, gore mode enabled
When i turn the key it turns on,then some pretty blue smoke comes out of the tail pipe.
DOnt know why other people dont like it though?
So who else is anticipating the day some idiot tries rolling his own acceleration software and winds up killing a dozen people?
Now for someone to find the easter egg that'll cause the car to skid out on the freeway, flip over the guardrail, and burst into flames.
For everyone that has the $141,000 car (*cough*, umm, yeah I have 2) this is how you do it.
1) Disable traction control
2) Select Agressive Shifting mode
3) Hold the shift lever forward for a few seconds
4) Slam the pedal
Your electronically limited to only 30 "acceleration assisted" burn-out's for the life of the clutch (torque converter) and only 1 per hour.
Fun but, for $141,000 I want a damn 5-speed.
According to the article, use of the feature more than 15 times voids the warranty in Eurpoe.
Good thing I don't live in Eurpoe.
Seriously, though, that sounds kind of cool... except it doesn't apply to me. All I care about is getting to 65 by the time I reach the end of an onramp.
Danish != nationality
Does this mean we already have the "black box"for cars?Can the dealer hook this up to see how fats you go etc etc?
Now tell me the code for erasing the memory.Or will thta be ilegal much like turning back the odometor.
Hi. I'd just like to point out that Kordell Stewart has been replaced by a guy picked up from the XFL. I almost feel sorry for ol' Kordell.
Almost.
As I recall the Ford Windstar 2001 has an Easter Egg as well. Flick the windshield wiper on and off 20 times in quick succession and the wiper motor will burst into flames. Ah, those crazy minivan designers, with their silly little pranks.
...only it doesn't require any easter eggs. Basically, you put the automatic transmission in neutral, rev up the engine and then throw it in drive.
Wanting a 5-speed sounds a bit like you're simply not up on recent (sic) automotive tech.
Manual shift transmissions went out long ago on high end race machines, aka F-1, as an example. Why try to enjoy an ultimate powerplant by shifting for yourself, when you'll be ignoring all that wonderful hp the engineers worked so hard to optimize. You and a manual trans cannot begin to take advantage of a modern engine. You're too slow and not connected to the car's computer. 5-speeds are old school.
Imagine all the CEO's who read this article and thought 'SWEET!' , ran into the car park, got in their beamers and drove out the back of the building to lay a fat one.
Sorry to disappoint (and it would be a waste of a whole slashdot story), but the acceleration assist is documented in the manual.
You need an M3, and you need SMG (the Sequential M Gearbox).
Basically, you stop the car; turn off DSC, change the drive logic to (S6).
Now, hold forward the gear selector, and floor it.
When you release the gear selector you will launch. Get ready to change gear quickly, first gear doesn't last too long. The warm-up lights become "gear change indicators" and flash at you when its time to change gear.
One thing that isn't mentioned in the manual is that if you press the accelerator quickly when setting this up, then it will do a "burn out" start, but if you press it more slowly then you will get a traction controlled start.
Pretty awesome.
And yes, I own an M3.
"Clutchless" manual transmission. No thanks, my left foot works just fine. What's even more irritating is that it looks like you can't even use the old automatic transmission trick of holding your left foot on the brake, and pushing the go pedal until you get the engine up to the torque converter's stall speed and lettting go.....
Of course I'm biased.....I'm still suspicious of the hydraulic clutch in mine.
Comon... It's pretty damn funny....
We can all appreciate Mortal Combat references every now and then....
ya see the difference is that this was intentional. and is (kinda) a feature. not something that is added or modded, or something that is just a defect in a shitty car
Title says it all :-)
As a hardcore BMW geek, I am really glad to see the M3 and it's very cool SMGII transmission make it to the front page of Slashdot. For more info, check out:
BMW's Flash SMGII Transmission Presentation
The Unofficial BMW E46 FAQ
I wouldn't call Launch Control an easter egg however. If you explore the BMW Flash presentation, they mention it. While BMW North America said it would be disabled on US cars, as soon as the M3 SMG came over, the first (privilaged lucky bastard) owners tried it out and it worked.
I have a new 325Ci (5 speed) and a previous genneration M3 race car that I built up from a crashed car and used parts. My only regret is that many people view Bimmers as yuppie mobiles, when in fact, they are amazing to drive, very technically advanced and probably the best overall vehicles on the road. Oh well... that feeling goes away when I am at the track or on an empty road.
Freude am Fahren
I only play arcade games, so I've no idea whether this works in any other version, but:
:-). Impresses the bystanders in the arcade no end.
In Daytona USA, if you hold down the start button whilst going through the automatic/manual transmission, etc, before 'Gentlemen, start your engines', you can disable all of the computer-driven cars
For the BMW in question, this 'feature' is documented in the owner's manual....not hidden. Hardly an easter egg. But, I'm sure some marketing guy felt enough fools would buy into it if it appeared in print.
And the injector shut-off on the Ford was on purpose, not a defect. The circa 80's XR4Ti had a turbo, and this feature was meant to allow the engine to be spun over after an oil change, so as to allow oil pressure to build in the turbo before actually firing the engine. Not documented and clearly factory designed. One of many, many unknown 'tricks' that exist in many makes of cars over the last +15 years. As an another example, the Corvette has had a very entertaining alarm system for some time now...
I just was just about to go try this out, then I relized this doesn't work on my 15 year old minivan out back. For the price of this car, why don't you just go out and buy a real muscle car, with enough time you could probably write your name in the parking lot. Peeling out is cool, all you have to do is bald your tires!!
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
That's a real feature of the transmission.
:-)
NB: the transmission in question is not a normal manual (i.e., with a foot clutch and stick). It's a hybrid auto-manual which has an electronically controlled clutch (i.e., there's no foot pedal since the computer controls the clutch entirely). The gearing is controlled by the computer or (as desired) by two paddles (+/-) along the steering wheel for up/down shift. BMW calls its version SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox).
Ferrari and F1 cars also have this feature (similar technologies).
The acceleration assist is a genuine feature which basically tells the SMG to accelerate hard from a standstill as a special case (F1 cars also have launch control). It's a genuine feature, not an easter egg.
Cool car, M3!
This article was processed by Cowboy Niels amazing SpelCheker beta 1.1a.
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
Computer: Thank you for pressing the self-destruct button.
President Scroob: Hey Helmet! Check this out! I found an easter egg in the ship's computer.
Computer: nine... eight... six...
Helmet: And a pretty major bug. What happened to seven?
President Scroob: No, Gates said that was a feature.
Computer: Just kidding...
A manual trans simply causes less power lost by the time you get to the wheels (15hp in some cases). In terms of using one over the other in an otherwise similarly equipped, 10 year old car, this can be an advantage. But in a modern car (made in the last few years), that being the only advantage, a manual trans cannot compete with a computer controlled automatic or semi-automatic transmission. When the auto shifts in 80ms and you take 10 times longer, which is going to win?
As for fun, try driving with one hand at speeds over 150 mph. You'll appreciate the control two hands provide when you don't have to let go of the wheel to drop down a gear.
I'm afraid you're holding onto not only the gearshift, but the past as well.
Good. So now if someone trips an easter egg by accident, instead of crashing the boss's computer, they total the car in front of them. Can I sue the manufacturer for this little gem if that happens?
Easter Eggs Bad, people. Easter Eggs major source of bugs. Easter Eggs source of strange, unexplained behavior. Easter Eggs source of the GDMF Doom clone in Excel. Sorry, I've got Doom alredy, I don't need another one taking up hard disk space.
Delete the automotive easter egg and put in something useful. Preferably something that won't raise my insurance rates (anymore than driving a car like this already will).
--GrouchoMarx
Card-carrying member of the EFF, FSF, and ACLU. Are you?
So where's the post detailing a hack to reset or eliminate the 30/lifetime and the 1/hour limits? Oh, and don't forget the 155 mph governor.
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Is this really an Easter Egg? It strikes me as more of a cheat code. Easter Eggs seem to be pretty but basically useless feature. They often times display the developer's names or give you some little extra bonus. But cheat codes are designed to unlock hidden potentials in the system, to circumvent rules, or basically... to cheat.
[news for me, stuff that doesn't matter]
A friend of mine used to have a yellow Lada Samara estate (big horrible tank of a car). Someone broke into it to steal the radio (being worth more than the car), so he didn't replace it, and never locked his car again.
However, the heater worked even without the key, so every Friday night people on their way back from the pub used to buy kebabs, jump in the car and turn the heater on for a comfortable snack.
...it's a marketing ploy to gain buzz on their product. Too bad the average BMW owner is much smarter than the average marketing guy/girl. BMW's sell themselves, and this kind of thrill write can only serve to cheapen the image.
everyone makes mistakes. please learn from them, though
Don't you all remember the Easter Egg in the De Lorian, triggered by reaching 88mph? I seem to remember that from about 1985.
It is NOT an easter egg...not everything is about computers guys?
:-)
This is a FEATURE called launch control. It was first used in Formula 1 (the definitive form of motor racing) where of course BMW run an engine with the Williams Team. It was only allowed for the first time last season. BMW are cashing in on their F1 success by adding 'launch control' to their sporty saloons.
This is the sort of geek sensationalism that will get neat features banned from cars...this is the same country that nearly put Audi out of business cause yanks couldn't figure out cruise control in the mid 80's.
and while I'm at it
how come geeks know so little about and have such bad taste in cars? Why do geeks think hondas are cool ? How come geeks talk about wanting an electic car but drive v8s? Frys in Silicon valley used to reserve the best parking spaces for electric vehicles now they're back to disabled spots because only professor Frink used them!
for honda think zonda, for a car worthy of the geek moniker think Lotus Elise - revolutionary construction methods, unbelieveably performance and extraordinary fuel efficiency.
Used to be that BMWs were pretty cool machines (both the cars and the bikes). These days the company seem to be pandering more and more to the boy-racer brigade. That's their business, and they know it best, I suppose. What really hurts is knowing that the boy-racer brigade can afford to buy BMWs.
--
"My other car is also a Porsche" (Bumper sticker reported in the Hitchhiker tri5ogy).
.....it's was originally called the 'kamikazi dyno', where you trick out the software and the only place you can test it is out on the street.....
You need to hack the control unit in order to get an accurate dyno reading from an M3, since the front tires need to be spinning at the same rate as the rear wheels. If this isn't the case, the spark timing is retarded quite a bit, reducing horsepower (by quite a lot). The hack supplied by BMW also negates this. Remember to do this prior to putting your new M3 on a dyno.
Also, make sure the dyno shop has a cooling tower. Running a stationary M3 at redline without the proper cooling also invokes the dreaded spark timing retarder. It also might invoke the dreaded Abuse clause in your warranty.
There was a Porsche 911 in the early 90's that would go into "Sport Driving" mode if you pumped the gas pedal to the floor 3X before you turned the ignition. I don't remember if it was the transmission, engine management or both. IIRC, this was an undocumented feature that was told to the magazine reviewers by Porsche.
G
i see lots of young, *very* casually dressed black males driving bmw's around here. you're either wrong about your racial breakdown of BMW drivers, or something funny is going on here.
This is one of the things that the 4x4 guys argue about all the time. The thing about it is that the multiplication (in most cases) drops off pretty quickly as you move up the RPM band. As for the five speed thing....what I've found is that many cars with a decently-sized engine don't need that low first gear to get off the line. I rarely use first gear in mine, because it's got enough oomph (242 cid I-6) to get out of the hole okay.
And I agree with the slushbox on a boat......one of the most fun cars I've ever driven was a Chevy Impala SS. *drool*
People have been fucking with car software, since, well since there has been car software. I'm sure people have already crashed 'mod-chipped' cars.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
So it is a documented feature according to some reactions. Here is somebody that didn't read the manual carefully. According to the accompanying text this driver stepped on the gas instead of the brakes, but my guess is she activated the easter egg.
You are wrong. Since a few years ago (since Spain GP 2001), the cars are allowed to use full traction control, launch control and automatic gear changes).
There is still an option of using manual controls, obviously. (Bad things can happen when you are in the middle of the corner and the computer thinks it would be a good idea to downshift).
But I hope they ban these things again ASAP.
800ms to shift...jesus somebody has stick-envy. I drive the biggest piece of shit on the planet and I'm sure I can easily shift in under 200ms. Why someone would pay $3000 for this tranny, plus add the extra weight is beyond me. I'll stick to manuals.
As many people have mentioned, the article here's easter egg is actually a documented feature. A real bmw easter egg however, is in the e36 models, hold 10 and 1000 buttons on the onboard computer in at the same time. You'll then be prompted for a test number. These 'tests' can display things like litres of fuel in your tank, current speed according to computer etc, which are not normally visible.
check here for a list of what all the tests do.
----
Some people are good with words, others,
Off topic, yes, but the other story on the Popular Science site -- about the development of nuclear bunker-busters -- is awfully interesting and awfully scary.
Take the shift stick, and shift up,up, down, down, left right left right, brake, gas then turn the key.
God spoke to me
The talking dash version Austin Montego/Maestro had a 'Marvin Paranoid Android Mode' where it complained about the abuse it was receiving from the driver.
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or you could buy a proper car, rev the engine to 8000 rpm and drop the clutch yourself.
:).
50 year old execs in their lame-ass pension-mobiles need not apply.
My car, which cost 2.5k (english pounds) will nail the crap out of one of these. And I can burn rubber whenever I want
suck! ford all tha way! :P BA Falcoon mate Xr6 turbo-age
OK, so it's not an easter-egg, but it's still cool. Here's a description of the "racing start" and "burn-out" modes:
p hp?postid=525686&page=1
:)
http://forums.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e46m3/forum.
I think this is what I like most about BMWs - they take something like a computer-controller clutch, and proceed to build in a bunch of neat features to make use of the new tech. Another example would be opening the windows and sunroof with the remote control. It's definitely a geek-thing.
What I like least about BMWs? The effect that driving a BMW has on a person's road-manners.
aaarrgghh....
As a software engineer in Australia, this is just waaaaaaaaay out of my reach (and yes, the $141K is the australian base). Super performance with 4 seats, on a smallish wheelbase: perfect for a computer geek in Sydney. Oh to put one of these on the putty road or the old pacific highway...
NetNewsWire into Yojimbo!
huh! funny! Netscape7 kindly remembered the old form data... heading was obviously wrong: should be something like "ooh, drool..."
NetNewsWire into Yojimbo!
I heard somewhere there was an easter egg hidden away in some GMC DeLoreans that enabled time travel, steps go something like:
1. Ensure Mr. Fusion is fitted, if not source Plutonium (In order to supply 1.21 'Jigga'watts)
2. When in front of steering wheel, enable time circuits on mid console... Be sure to check your destination date, year is correct on the dash..
4. Check that Flux capacitor is 'Fluxing'
5. Start driving, aparently when you hit 88 mph the easter egg will activate (indicated usually by a large flash of light) sending you back (or indeed forward) in time.
Please note I have never done this, so i cannot verify its success.
Ok so its a lame post.. oh well..
-- If at first you don't succeed, lie!
This may be an easter egg in the US model, and I am very happy to hear that it is still possible even though BMW supposedly got rid of it in the US model. It is called "launch control" and is a feature of the SMGII transmission which is a $2500 option on the M3 starting in 2002. Basically what was said in the first article I read about it was that US drivers were too dumb to have it (and this is a very true statement). On another note, I think BMW just sold another car because of this "easter egg" - the fact that I couldn't have launch control was a main factor in me not purchasing the car when I first heard about SMGII. Very cool stuff.
This post will be modded down for no particular reason by a sweaty 14 year old who is not allowed out past dark.
The ``easter egg'' will be on the Bimmer's face when it tries to race against the real boys.
Ah well here at slashdot people think they know stuff......
Clueless...........
While I can still see how people would want a 5-speed, I don't understand why the original post got troll moderation. The statement he made was both true and informative.
This post will be modded down for no particular reason by a sweaty 14 year old who is not allowed out past dark.
This is just plain stupid. Did I go to JOCKdot.org by accident?
1500rpm will not increase the size of you pen!s'...
Test drive one (computerized manual trans aka modern automatic) and then comment. Most times when this type of tech is dismissed so quickly, the dis'er simply has a limited POV. It's known as bench racing...aka talking out yer ass and/or quoting someone else.
With my truck, this is the sequence I use to get the same effect. The sequence takes practice though.
1) Hold clutch pedal down
2) Put shifter into 1st
3) Rev engine to 4000rpm
4) Pop clutch
5) ?????
6) Profit
BMW (if not others) have had easter eggs in their cars for some time now.
/greg
One example is on my '99 MZ3: if you do the right things when turning on the car, you can get all the gages to move through their entire range of motion.
Another is to play with the radio and modify internal settings.
These kinds of easter eggs are dangerous. I've inadvertantly triggered easter eggs in software, putting un-expected results in a car, especially this type of feature, is nuts.
It's a fairly tame one, but my 1991 Ford F150 with the 6 speaker sound system had a minor easter egg in the radio. There were normally only 6 presets but if you mashed together a pair of presets at once you got access to additional presets. This always seemed to me like it had to be intentional. Whatever radio they built the plastics around had 8 memory locations, but the plastics only had room for 6 buttons. The engineers use combinations of buttons to access the additional presets rather than doing the typical thing which would priority encode them.
Chris Kuivenhoven is a thief, beware
If I get into my own jalopy and do a BACK/LEFT/FORWARDS/LEFT/LEFT/LEFT/RIGHT/HANDBRAKE, I assive at my local pub. Odes that count as an Easter Egg or should I try the route to the confectionery shop?
Not that I could afford to anyway...
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
uh...
Many manufactures have built cars beyond US emissions and had to "tone down" the performance. A simple ECU EPROM chip or different ECU code will remove the cap from these limits.
I don't think the M3 is the first in this game.
All Hail Reptar!
All Hail Lord Migor!!!!
absolutely! but this is a feature! it's called flight control. how would using this feature void the warranty if it were unknown? it is hard on the transmission, which is why i am generally not fond of automatics. v8 m3, yummm!
I don't think this qualifies as an easter egg or a design flaw but old Mopars (mid 60's to late 70's) had leakage through the heater blower motor that allowed you to listen to the radio without the keys.
If you hit the brakes, turned on the turn signal, and had the heater motor on any position but off, the radio would work. My friends dad worked for a Dodge dealer in the mid 70's and we used to play around in the cars.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
it apperes to me that the article provided lacks details and recearch to support it... The M3 SMG II costs $141,500, with a manual gearbox. That's more than twice as much as the cheapest 3 Series coup well if you check out the www.kbb.com or www.bmw.com you will know that one might get coupe for $30,000 and that sound more resnoble... The engine is an in-line six of 3.2 litres capacity that puts out an almost unholy 252kW of power given there's no turbo or other signs of forced induction. got the units wrong here and M3 comes with tubrbo charger... the fact is that u can buy this car for 50,000...
Who controls the information, controls the world...
Of course it depends on _why_ it stalls. The onboards can only take care of so much. The start sequence is preprogrammed for one shot, based on fuel, ambient air, position on the grid, just to mention a few. They may need to upload an altered sequence, only moments newer than the one originally intended for the start.
There was a case last season, where this one team was tapping into the signal from the grid sensors...they shut down right when the lights go out, and one team figured out how to use this to trigger the launch control. Only problem was this was a backmarker team, and once the car got out front, it was quickly run down by the usual gang of hard chargers. This tactic was discovered by the officials and subsequently banned....nice idea, but the driver was along for the ride, and wasn't all that happy being in front of faster cars anyway.
The Ford Aerostar does this without any user input. I've personally witnessed three Flaming Aerostars that spontaneously combusted and I've heard of many more.
------
Objects in Mirror are Losing!
The "floor the gas to turn off the fuel injectors" thing is by design. This feature is also in GM's cars (at least those which used TBI). This is known as the "flood clear" feature. Of course, if you do this while the engine isn't flooded, the car won't start.
Apparently, when I was in USAF and the fleet had just started getting fuel-injected vehicles, airmen used to carbs were tripping this feature... so each "new" vehicle had something like "DO NOT FLOOR GAS PEDAL WHILE STARTING" on the dashboard.
--
Me spell chucker work grate. Need grandma chicken.
When I need software to peel out in a BMW. WTF?
I didn't say he pushes a button to start the engine.
He presses a button on the steering wheel that engages the launch sequence to start the race...the engine is already running, and he's already made a parade lap, heated the engine, etc. The laptop is to gain control over the event and update and/or download any telemetry related to the stall. If they think the launch sequence program is the culprit itself, they need the laptop to also upload a fresh copy to the car's main box on the grid...shit happens. Sheesh... everyone's an expert...no one's a pro.......get some sleep.
I'm glad James Bond isn't the only one who gets the cool car gadgets!
;)
But a real life "Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang" style "don't push me" secret combination -- that ends up activating a powerful under-seat spring driven airbag -- could be the last mistake you make in a car like this...
If you know where the "hidden buttons" are on the LCD screen of 2001-2003 US Toyota Prius and hit them in the right combination, you can not only access an onboard diagnostic menu, but you can also change this display from the usual English into all Kanji (Japanese) characters.
-mrv
But with properly operating injectors (TBI or common rail), you can't 'flood', so there is no flood to clear. Maybe the GM's were so poorly designed they flooded anyways?
So what happens if you get the embedded-software equivalent of a BSOD in the transmission controller while trying this stunt?
;-)
Hmmm... simultaneous launch of all four wheels in different directions, perhaps?
Loud complaints and cuss-words from the onboard speech synthesizer?
Noises that would make those in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' seem reasonable?
Oh, the possibilities!
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
Blue Feather Technologies
will cause the car to rev up to 4000rpm and drop the clutch (premitting burnout, which is normally impossible)
They should never have used the word, impossible, in front of their software guys. For shame.
Why should I pay $150k for a car to get the privilege to burn out??
I've got two cars for under $5000 that can do the exact same thing any time I want. [Private/personal] cars have really went downhill in the past 30 years.
One future, two choices. Oppose them or let them destroy us.
Its just a suggestion about how to emulate the effect of the clutch assist feature. The SMG is a pretty amazing piece of equipment, but this certainly does NOT qualify as an easter egg - its like saying jmp fff0:f000 was an easter egg in DOS.
There are lots of cars with "easter eggs". I can describe at least half a dozen with Audis that have been around for years. For example, holding down the "5" button on the stereo while turning it on reveals a hidden graphic equalizer (actually two - one for the front and one for the back).
And so on. I'm sure easter eggs aren't limited only to Audis either.
For that matter, where's an editorial staff that knows how to spell-check? ;-)
Viola!
What was that? You only have an automatic transmission? You can't drive stick? Then you're up a creek where you belong. The more you let a machine control your car the less control you have and you deserve to be stuck with having to look for these silly Easter Eggs in order to wrest control from the machine to do what you want the car to do.
I used to work at a BMW dealership in the service department. When the first M3 with SMG arrived last winter, there was actually a button just aft of the shifter labelled "LAUNCH." How is this an Easter Egg?
You are right about the price details.
But...
The M3 is 333bhp and there is NO TURBO
The AC-Delco radio in my 86 Nova (rebadged Corolla) had that too. I thought it was kind of weird, but couldn't figure out why they would build it to do that, because there was no way it didn't COST money to build it that way.
It is a well advertised, well documented feature of the SMG II transmission. It's called "launch control". It's not tricky to do, and it requires you to be in S6 mode to do it at all, afaik.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
Of course, not really easter eggs but features that can be turned on/off.
Ferrari has already been doing this with it's paddle shifters. The "easter egg" is available in the latest V-12 575 Maranello, and will be available in the newest Enzo(also known as the FX).
I think the award for First Automotive Easter Egg definitely goes to Ford for the Pinto.
Hey, any Easter egg where you don't have to use the verbal trigger "Go go Gadget Car!" is an improvement in the technology.
# Users are merely variables. I prefer to comment them out.
However, couples who have them tend to be emptynesters who dress alike, often color coordinated to match their car.
Thankfully, most Z3 owners are not the uptight snobs like the rest of the bimmer drivers (trolling, flamebait, call it what you will )
Do people consider themselves yuppies anymore? I thought that species died out right before the dotcom boom...
However, unlike most CVTs, it is rated to handle over 200 HP... It is available coupled with the 3.0 liter engine (and the 1.8T) in the A4 and A6 (unfortunately, not coupled with quattro though. Front-drive only).
This is OT but I'll ask it here because you guys seem to know a lot about cars.
/.er who doesn't know much about cars and isn't interested in racing, but likes tech stuff? Something with a lot of cool accessories and automation? Let's say you could spend a lot, $40 or $50K. Thanks!
What would be a good car for a
It's DMC, not GMC. Sigh... I guess I should just be happy you spelled "delorean" correctly...
I have an Audi S4, and I love it, but it's a great car with a mediocre tranny - and I have the 6-speed. The Tiptronic is still an automatic, and feels like it. It's much improved with a 'tip chip' that shortens the shift times and makes the shift points more aggressive, but it's still an automatic :/
However, Audi's rumored to be working on a Multitronic-based "sequential manual" style tranny for the next RS4... possibly a 7-speed!
-- "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." -Joseph Stalin
Wouldn't going "downhill" be beneficial to the speed of the cars??? *rimshot*
*dodges tomatoes*
seriously, though... Any "downward" movement in cars is a result of smaller, more efficient engines, thanks to governmental restrictions. The government doesn't demand a quality vehicle, it demands an efficient one. So now, cheap slow cars are all any domestic companies can make! You want speed, you go foreign. End of story.
for those of you with M3's:
get in car
hold down milage reset
put key in ignition and turn to 2nd position (keep holding down milage reset)
the display will change to test mode
let off the milage reset button and hit it once, it will say 2 on the right side.
let it sit for 2-3sec
hit milage reset again.
=^)... kind of neat. it wont blow up your car or anything lol.. its just kind of neat.
It's "safer" that way.
/troll (for the humor-impaired)
Just like it's "safer" to walk yer bike across an intersection.
Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
the fusible link in the middle of the main wiring harness, all taped together with the rest of the wires. I'm NOT kidding, I can show you where, both in the schamatics and in mine (there's a visible lump under the tape). This is a great way to burn up a van.
Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
Where I live it's 10PM At the nearest Del taco (tak-ok-co). Watch out for those Irvine police! they've got nothing to do but catch abunch of teenage straightedge, hardcore, drunken, and stupid kids! All they want to do is race with reckless abandon! Danm the laws!
Even if I say something insightfull or inteligent, it doens't matter cause I'm an ass.
The launch control does not simply drop the clutch. Its a controlled slip to maximize acceleration. The launch control is simply put the fastest way to launch the m3. Because it slips the clutch to control wheelspin it does cause ALOT of wear and tear. Hence the limit on using it before your warranty is voided. The computer can more accurately control slippage and torque then any person could manually. While im a fan of using a stick, you still cant beat the computer. Having the computer do it for you isnt nearly as fun though.
Nothing more to see here, move along...
Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
Well, you really only have to change two things. Traction control, and the shift personality. If you don't kill the traction control (usually a good thing, IMO), it'll keep the wheels from burning out. You also have to tell the tranny to trust you, though it obviously shouldn't.
or ANY number of speeds. Multitronic is CVT. CVT is Continually Variable Transmission. If Audi is working on a sequential manual, it would not be based on the multitronic, because a sequential manual is totally different from a CVT. Also, considering that the multitronic only fits in front-drive cars, and that Audi only releases S (and RS) cars in quattro, and that the multitronic still can't handle the hp & torque of the 4.2 liter engine in the A6, there isn't much chance of the multitronic showing up in either the S4 or RS4. (However, a SMG is quite likely). And, as the owner of an S4 myself, I'd have to say the transmission is definitely better than mediocre, although definitely not perfect. The throws should be shorter, but that can easily be fixed with a shifter kit.
Not exactly. It's been known for some time that with the right sequence of buttons, you can override the speed limiter in your audi. Of course, the audi engineers aren't spilling any details.
I will decide how high to rev my engine, what gear
to use and how harshly to release the clutch, because I am the driver, not the computer.
This is why I drive manual transmission vehicles exclusively.
you tell 'em boss!
I sold BMWs for a few months back in the early nineties. (One of the coolest experiences of my life even though the dealership was going under and I nearly went bankrupt for the chance to play with such cool toys.) I got to be pretty good friends with the regional technical trainer (or whatever they called them) for our region. (He was a tech/engineering geek and I think he liked me because, unlike most of the salesmen, I wasn't there just to make a buck. I genuinely loved the cars and the technology and engineering that went into them.) With a name like Dietz Froelich, I figured he knew what he was talking about, too. ;-)
Anyway, there was constant debate amongst the salesmen over whether it was fact or myth that in the 8 series, when you reached 110 mph, the windows and sunroof would close automatically (to prevent the horrendous wind buffeting in the cabin resulting from the small size and aerodynamic shape of the car's interior.) I searched all the tech documentation and found no mention so I asked Dietz to settle it for me. He merely smiled and said, "I wouldn't know. It's not documented and it's illegal to drive that fast in your country. Whenever I've driven an 8 series that fast on the Autobahn I was always smart enough to have the windows and sunroof already closed."
So... we had an 850 on the lot that was over a year old and still never titled. (As I said, the dealership was going under.) It had to be driven every so often to keep the batteries (it has two) charged so that on the rare occasions someone was genuinely interested in it, it would start. One beautiful summer day I talked the sales manager into letting me take it to lunch. He reminded me that I would be working nearly two years at my current earnings level to pay for it and tossed me the key. (He was a pretty nervous guy by nature. I was shocked he actually let me take it.)
Of course I immediately opened the windows and sunroof and headed out to a stretch of smooth, open country highway near the dealership.
He nearly fainted when I came back in, threw the key on his desk and said casually over my shoulder, "The windows and sunroof thing is true."
Man, those were the days.
Let's see here, a 10% larger motor that makes 30% less horsepower, while getting 10% better mileage? Um... I'll still take the M3 because it also has real brakes, and real chassis and suspension tuning. It doesn't matter how much power you add to the Intrepid, it'll still handle like crap. Motor isn't the only ingredient in a great performance car. My ex girlfriend had a 2001 and it SUCKED. Lots of shop time under warranty, poor, no, BAD handling, and the motor sounds like a coffecan full of marbles. Puuuulease! This wasn't a thread about crappy cars. Leave it alone...
I don't even want to think about what a disgruntled programmer could do to my car. And just wait until all our cars are "wired" for 'net. Hacking really could become a matetr of life and death.
Like most Software people here in Oz, we could get 3x as much in the US or Europe. But that would mean leaving Australia - and I for one don't think it's worth it (having done 5 years in Germany, the US etc).
Zoe Brain - Rocket Scientist
Really? I thought it was IDDQD :)
... the hack that clears the counter that tracks how many times you've done this. :)
-- Mal: "Well they tell you: never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious."
I don't have one of the rice-rockets or one of the various expensive eurosports coupes or sedans. Just a plain old Mustang with a 4.6 and a 5 speed (and only a mediocre rear end at 3.27) and no gotterdamerung ABS. But it's a hell of a lot of fun to drive hard and a bit of a challenge to handle winding down nice backwoods roads.
Sure, I could have a faster gearbox, an OEM supercharger, a lower ratio rear end, a dropped and tunable suspension, etc. (And I suppose I'd enjoy the 5.4L engine...)
But the fun of driving the car is in seeing what you can do with the hardware available. The skill of the driver isn't in having the most expensive hardware, its making the best use of the available hardware.
And having fun!
-- Mal: "Well they tell you: never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious."
But being a "yank," and no disrespect to the Europeans, I like this [link to viper] better. And yeah, it's got a real clutch. :-D
Yeah, the Viper's kinda nice. A clutch, some serious rubber on the road, some cubes under the hood, and a roaring powerhouse of an engine.
But having said all that, it *is* still a Dodge.....
-- Mal: "Well they tell you: never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious."
Considering your clumsy typing of "manual", _and_ your incorrect use of the term "[sic]" which is meant only to denote an error in quoted material, I'd say that a stickshift is probably a little too difficult for you to handle. Stick to walking and chewing gum at the same time.
Yeah, maybe a little offtopic but you need to be warned. My wife, bless her heart, bought me a Z3. I HATE, HATE, HATE the thing. The performance is OK but I get a terrible BACKACHE every time I occupy the car for more than 20 minutes or so. Who TF designed this piece of sludge. My legs, knees, and feet are butt up against hardwood. The seat doesn't go back. I would never tell my wife -- but Gawd I wish I hadn't let her talk me in to trading in my comfy (and 1/2 as expensive) '93 5.0 Mustang!!
What was that?
Unless you're now screaming down the road under full power, that sound is your transmission hitting the tarmac!-))
Modern Audis, like the A6, S6, and RS6, A4, S4, etc, have a feature that allows the driver to disable the upper speed limiter (typically 130 mph for an A6, higher for S6, and rediculously high for an RS6). I believe one uses the radio and/or the trip computer stalk.
Does anyone know how?
and got his first stock a month before Win3 was released.
Yes, we can always leave... I spent a SHORT time in the US, and on return I was praising Sydney's previously-too-humid air! :) I'm originally from Holland, and am now having a hard time thinking of living anywhwere else but Australia (in my case Sydney).
Anyway, different topic... might be interesting.
NetNewsWire into Yojimbo!
that's it....when you can only attack the person in order to make yourself stand out in a crowd, I'm sure we'll all react w/awe.
Is that the best you can do? C'mon....try again...I can take it. Go ahead...take another shot.
My Honda S2000 has an easter egg: In the US if you take it to the track several times and drive it at around 120+ mph, either the engine or the transmission will fail, because unlike in Europe, where Honda considers it normal to drive fast, in the US they have not issued the same recall to replace the oil banjo bolts and spicket/valve in the transmission. Sounds like Europeans bought a different car- one that you can drive like a sports car.
Oh, and it has the disable ABS feature too like the Acura NSX (built in the same plant). Pull the emergency brake and rev the engine for a while to disable ABS.
A friend of mine has an '86 Buick Riviera. It has a CRT touch screen in the dash that controls the stereo, climate, extra gauges, trip computer, etc.
It also has a hidden diagnostic mode accessed by pressing a combination of buttons when it's in climate control mode. It lets you access the engine and body control computers, where you can do things like look at trouble codes, the status of various sensors, etc. You can change the torque converter lockup strategy and some other powertrain behavior.
One time he had trouble with the dome lights flickering, sure enough the body computer had stored a code for the dimmer switch in the dash working erratically. A few weeks ago he test-drove a similar car, which he knew to avoid because the diagnostics computer showed that the engine had overheated in the recent past.
Pretty cool stuff, especially coming from GM over 15 years ago!
Ah. You need to turn OFF software to peel out in a BMW. Blame it on our Litigation happy world. On the other hand, if you want to launch to the best of the car's ability, faster then you could by yourself, then you need computers to help. The drag racers know that peeling out is the last think you need to do to launch quickly. Watch a drag race sometime. When they mess up, they "go up in smoke". When you see no tire smoke, they launch correctly. Now, BMW allows you to have one of those E-Ticket rides without the fancy drag tires. Just tell the computer to do it. A drag racer has to replace $5,000 worth of parts for one 5 second run. You get 15 or so starts before you need a new clutch. Computers sometimes are actually useful... -Guy
When the Apple IIc was introduced, the informative copy led off with a couple
of asterisked sentences:
It weighs less than 8 pounds.*
And costs less than $1,300.**
In tiny type were these "fuller explanations":
* Don't asterisks make you suspicious as all get out? Well, all
this means is that the IIc alone weights 7.5 pounds. The power
pack, monitor, an extra disk drive, a printer and several bricks
will make the IIc weigh more. Our lawyers were concerned that you
might not be able to figure this out for yourself.
** The FTC is concerned about price fixing. You can pay more if
you really want to. Or less.
-- Forbes
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