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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."
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.
Make sure he enters A B A C A B B first :-).
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.
more on topic:
Crusin' USA for N64
Brake, Brake, Brake, Gas, Brake, Gas - Nitro boost
if only that could be an easter egg in a car!
"the fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached to it." - Grandpa Simpson
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.
F1's are optimized for the track and even then the driver sometimes "hints" the transmission. There are also a couple of drivers who still prefer to use a manual. For consumer cars, a 5 or 6 speed is the way to go.
The only thing in consumer cars that can come close to a manual is Audi's Multitronic. Although similar in some ways to belt driven variable shifters found in many hdro-electric cars, Audi's transmission is far more advanced and is designed for performance in mind. Although it gets virtually the same gas mileage and performance as a 5 speed, it's still a tad bid slower and it adds a bit more weight to the car. Audi's other incredible transmission, the Tiptronic, is also very good, but a good driver in a 5 speed will smoke it even in "sports mode".
There is no longer anything that can be done with computers that is nontrivial and clearly legal. -- Paul Phillips
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
So *that's* why mine wasn't working correctly.. I was doing the old Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A B A [Start] thing. I kept getting unlimited ammo instead of the 4k rpm drop.
-- I'd say your post was about 3 monkeys, 18 minutes.
Manual transmissions are more efficient in transfering power to the wheels than automatics. This is there main advantage. Because of this they will accelerate faster and usually get better gas mileage than automatics. Plus, manuals trannys are a hell of a lot more fun to drive. Give me an stick over and slush box any day.
"I have a porkchop, you have a porkchop. I have a veal, you have a veal".
I've always hated automatic boxes (and in the UK, they're in the minority, thank goodness). They take away all the fun from driving; they never seem to be in the right gear.
:-D
I think I read that something like 89% of new vehicles sold in the US now come with a slushbox. I have never owned one, nor do I want one. Especially in a car with no torque.
But the SMG is very, very fun. It's not big or clever to be able to use a manual gearbox. Heck, every 17 year old over here can do it (we learn just about exclusively in manual cars).
See above. I know far too many people who turn the color of an iMac when asked to drive a stick. It is disgusting, indeed.
But being a "yank," and no disrespect to the Europeans, I like this better. And yeah, it's got a real clutch.
Spectators are guaranteed to be awestruck. Emergency personnel will probably be confused, until they figure out the explosive devices and determine that the accident was actually an elaborate suicide.
My other first post is car post.
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!
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.
I use a vehicle on a day to day basis that's capable of 0-60 in under 4 seconds. It can accelerate terrifyingly quickly, It's far far faster than a BMW M3, but I've been completely unable to kill a dozen people so far.
No need to project your own limitations on to other people.
HTH
Deleted
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'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.
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,
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.
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!
Way to understand how it works.
Part of doing the easter egg is FLOORING THE PEDAL.
Somehow I don't think this will be triggered by accident.
-- Dr. Eldarion --
First off, the SMG gearbox is NOT an automatic. It is an improvement upon a manual gearbox (the computer automatically double-clutches downshifts, etc etc)
secondly, C&D is not known for spectacularly reproducible test conditions or scientific thoroughness.
Finally, the only thing that would make a standard gearbox faster than this one would be less weight, or different gear ratios. I suspect the SMG box is slightly heavier, but do not know that to be the case.
Lets put it this way. On the ferrari SMG gearbox, schumacher had a faster laptime than on the 6 speed in the exact same car. Schumacher is also about the only person who gets a better laptime with ferrari's traction control turned off.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
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
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."