Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Ihfhcub 2555 days ago
Yea that's why 6 executives are being charged with criminal fraud because all they were doing was studying for a test
2 comments

While I think that 'studying for a test' is a pretty charitable interpretation of events I think the parent has a point. While making it clear to car makers that there is a line which they can't cross is a good thing; I think serious though should have gone into making the test less easy to game in the first place.

I suspect similar cheats are employed all over the industry. For example my motorcycle has a dead spot which people have been known to bypass the clutch switch to avoid. The reason for the dead spot is that the noise test is carried out at a specific speed and by programming a dead zone in the fuel map they can make it pass the test.

The only real difference between this an the VW emissions scandal is that everyone has to suffer the consequences of cheating the test!

> While I think that 'studying for a test' is a pretty charitable interpretation of events I think the parent has a point. While making it clear to car makers that there is a line which they can't cross is a good thing; I think serious though should have gone into making the test less easy to game in the first place.

> I suspect similar cheats are employed all over the industry. For example my motorcycle has a dead spot which people have been known to bypass the clutch switch to avoid. The reason for the dead spot is that the noise test is carried out at a specific speed and by programming a dead zone in the fuel map they can make it pass the test.

Can you go into more specifics about this? I used to ride and am embarrassed that I have no idea about this "dead spot" you are referring to.

Just a little dip in the power output. I can't say I've ever noticed it but it's apparently visible on a Dyno trace. It only happens in first and second gear from what I remember.
"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html