BMW M3 SMG Easter Egg

[Counterfit]

not to be one of those annoying knowitalls.... sorry... but yeah, that's really old news. aww man, i can't believe i just said, i'm sorry dude. i don't actually even remember how old the article is, maybe its not even a year old.
anyways, yeah, that's cool stuff... crazy electronics. I want an smg for my kona.

Dammit, ya beat me to it Rinkier Dinkier link


C'mon iGav, you should know that traction control, active suspension, launch control, and automatic shifting were all banned in F1 from 94- May 2001.
I'd take a SMG over a regular stick, simply because I don't feel like changing the clutch after I burn it out in 10k miles because I don't know how to use it yet.

 

[JamesDPS]

Gotta go with iGAV on this.. I have a clutch car since I'm not rich enough for anything with SMG (or anything similar, since that's just BMW's name for it), and it beats the hell out of an auto, but SMG is faster, more accurate, safer, etc. Of course, my left calf is larger from the LA traffic but it's really not all THAT bad...

Anyways it is worth mentioning that the SMG and regular tiptronics are very different beasts -- the Bimmer has different modes, 1-6 (where 6 can only be engaged by disabling traction control, which is why this "easter egg" seems complicated even though all the car mags treated it like a standard option when first reviewing the m3), where in the most aggressive shifting mode, they're MIGHTY fast (5th to 6th in something like 80 ms, for example); normal "semi-auto" cars are really not much more than an automatic where you can sort of suggest which gear to be in

 

[Powerbook G5]

You must have much better semi-autos in the UK, because here in the US, we have really pathetic attempts at semi-autos that really aren't anything but autos that you can more or less shift between if the car thinks it's appropriate to. Besides the BMW, Ferrari, and such, we don't have anything remotely as high tech. Even then, as noted in the article, the US speced BMW isn't nearly as hellfire as the one in the rest of the world. Damn safety guidelines. If it weren't for those, we'd have the nice cars that the rest of you guys enjoy in Europe.

 

[Counterfit]

I think it's just the general attitude we have towards driving. Really sucks, and it's waaaaay too easy to get a license here. I wonder if the RI staties could use a new unmarked cruiser

 

[iGav]

Dammit, ya beat me to it Rinkier Dinkier link


C'mon iGav, you should know that traction control, active suspension, launch control, and automatic shifting were all banned in F1 from 94- May 2001.

I do know that.... why did you think I didn't??? you're not entirely correct in the above statement though... Active suspension continues to be banned

Traction control is still legal, although it's only alowed to kick in once the cars reach 100kmh after the start (and is then engaged for the rest of the race, but many teams still ran mechanical sets up similar to this after they were banned at the end of '93.

But it was electronic T/C that was banned after '93, allegedly it was Ferrari running some dodge stuff, hence why FIA permitted it's use from April '01.

Launch Control was banned at the end of last season, so this year it's manual starts all the way, although apparantly Renualt are using a system that can lock the clutch at a pre-determined point and basically acts as launch control, hence there great starts last weekend.... so if they get a great start again in the next race, which is obviously greater than everyone elses, expect protests etc.

Fully Automatic gearboxes were also banned at the end of last season after 2 and abit seasons moving back to the driver controlled semi-automatic gearbox, as pioneered by Ferrari back in '89, although most of the drivers continued to manually downshift even throughout the race because of the manual overide of these automatic gearboxes.

Active suspension has been banned since the end of '93 and continues to do so. As do ABS/Power Brakes, CVT's, smart aero packs (memory plastics etc etc), fully auto starts (a system that could lock into the starting light sequence and basically start INSTANTLY the moment the lights turned green, Pit-to-car telemetry, all remain banned.

I find it interesting that there's many people *cough* Lauda *cough* that said that all these gizmos make the cars easier to control etc etc.. and that a monkey could drive them, yet when Lauda was offered the opportunity to actually drive one, he spent more times twirling than a ballerina on the track... his opinion changed there after.

 

[Bigheadache]

In Australia I remember the BMW launch control was listed as a "feature", so I am very surprised its an easter egg for some of you guys.

As for tiptronic, I recommend anyone thinking of a boxster go for the 6 speed manual cos the tiptronic doesn't feel right (well it didn't for me -it felt sluggish and lazy) and its only 5 gears.

edit: I meant lazy compared to the manual

 

[iGav]

In Australia I remember the BMW launch control was listed as a "feature", so I am very surprised its an easter egg for some of you guys.

the launch control is a feature, even in the U.S, the difference is that the U.S. LC doesn't rev as high as the euro model... heheh

 

[krimson]

yeah, the new s4 is crazy, they went through a lot of trouble to stuff that v8 in there, had to displace all sorts of things. I read a comparison of the S4, M3, and C32 or whatever the equiv amg would be in like road and track or car and driver or something... the s4 came out on top.

i've seen some pics of the m4, lemme see if i can find you one.

http://www.imakenews.com/autospies/e_article000218364.cfm

well that's just the regular 4 series, i guess the m4 won't be available till the 2007 model year or something. i think the m versions usually come out about a year after the regular ones.

\

i hadn't seen the 4 series yet, so thanks for the peek.. it's a little strange, definately not what I was expecting. I'd have to really drive one before i could even consider it.

--------
and as for why not get a regular 6 speed? 2+ hours of LA traffic ;D that and I like to eat while im driving.. LOL