Sprint Booster

[R2D2]

Looking forward to finding out what all the fuss is about!

 

[GRAV888]

Some of you may recall us doing the ecu reset well the SPPRINTBOOSTER elliminates the need for you to do that and stays reset all the time.

Do a gearbox reset and then try it with the sprintbooster fitted as well

Now where's the brown trousers smilie?

 

[hbhudia]

hi,
hows the sprintboost working out for everyone? I am very interested in this, but cant seem to get the link at the beginning of the post working.

thanks

 

[flango]

Hi gang

Thought there was something you should know about sprintboosters before you fitted them, we were asked to test these devices to see how they compared when fitted to performance cars that would run on trackdays and Driver Training. The test was on a BMW 525d and a BMW 325i so you can guess where he request came from.

In both cases lap times at Silverstone were significantly slower when the sprintbooster was fitted, accelerator response was too sharp making cornering extremely difficult, if you want to go drifting these devices are perfect as the number of rear end slides we had was rediculous but if you want to keep on the black stuff and shiny side up I would leave well alone. Fine for straight line speed so again if you are going drag racing great device.

Also on our last trip to the ring one of the cars we took had a sprintbooster fitted and we ended up taking that off as they are certaininly not suited to high speed driving when corners are involved.

Just thought I'd share our findings with you and I know opinions vary, but sprintboosters are not for me I'm afraid.

 

[bigyin1]

I'd like to add that most modern cars have very sensitive throttles, these are mapped this way by the manufacturer on purpose. On cars with a "sports button" all this does is switch maps on the ECU so that (for example) on 50% throttle travel you're actually getting 100% throttle angle (as opposed to 75% with the button off).

When you're on full throttle this obviously has no effect what so ever but on day to day driving some cars are virtually undriveable with this feature.

I personally don't know what this sprintboost thingy is but it sounds like it just fools the throttle angle sensor thus making the car have about an inch of throttle travel before you're on full throttle (thus rendering the remaining 2-3 inches of travel meaningless) thus making the car undrivable on part throttle.

Bring back the old throttle cable i say .

 

[vijilants]

thus making the car undrivable on part throttle.

Bring back the old throttle cable i say .

It doesn't make the car undriveable on part throttle. I've had one fitted to my car for the past 18 months.

Personally it removes the lazy lag you get when driving a Merc, and it certainly makes the car more fun to drive

 

[timberman]

I've had a sprint booster for well over 2 years now and have never regretted getting it

It doesn't add any power or make the car any faster,
what it does do is eliminate the dead pedal area of the throttle and makes the response pretty much instant, which makes the car much more fun to drive

if you were to mash the throttle you probably wouldn't notice much difference, the difference comes on part throttle inputs which on the standard throttle would often make very little difference and have you pressing a little more to try and elicit a response, only to hear the revs rise while the car decides whether to change down a gear or just speed up which can get pretty annoying,
the sprint booster on the other hand stops this and once you get used to it you can easily exert the amount of pressure required to have the car instantly speed up or kick down a gear for more aggressive acceleration

the down side I've found, at least in my car is getting a good launch

in standard form it's hard enough but with the sprintbooster fitted getting a fast launch without spinning the wheels is very difficult.
when I got mine I used my racelogic box and did a few 0-60 runs to test it out, what I found was that it was a few tenths of a second slower due to not being able to get away cleanly, my average times being low 5's instead of the high 4's I had been getting.

I've recently taken mine off and the car feels like a slug and will probably take me while to get used to again.

I would recommend this mod to anyone, it's certainly one of the best mods I've ever fitted

 

[flango]

It doesn't make the car undriveable on part throttle. I've had one fitted to my car for the past 18 months.

Personally it removes the lazy lag you get when driving a Merc, and it certainly makes the car more fun to drive

The lag is there for a reason, everyday driving steer well clear sprint booster will compromise your drive and safety

 

[timberman]

The lag is there for a reason, everyday driving steer well clear sprint booster will compromise your drive and safety

when first fitted there can be a few hairy moments due to the difference it makes ( first day I had mine fitted I nearly rear ended a car as I went to overtake )

but you soon get used to it and adjust your pedal inputs accordingly,

In Fact I'd say for everyday driving it's probably better with whatever inputs you make on the pedal getting an equivalent response from the throttle.
even parking's a piece of cake

 

[flango]

when first fitted there can be a few hairy moments due to the difference it makes ( first day I had mine fitted I nearly rear ended a car as I went to overtake )

but you soon get used to it and adjust your pedal inputs accordingly,

In Fact I'd say for everyday driving it's probably better with whatever inputs you make on the pedal getting an equivalent response from the throttle.
even parking's a piece of cake

Does make a difference I agree but for performance, security and driver training it actually slows you down (see earlier post) so not for me I'm afraid. People relate sharper throttle response to more speed and more progress but it's not the case.

 

[timberman]

Does make a difference I agree but for performance, security and driver training it actually slows you down (see earlier post) so not for me I'm afraid. People relate sharper throttle response to more speed and more progress but it's not the case.

your absolutely right it doesn't add any performance and I also found if anything it made the car slower.... at least from a standing start
but tbh I never considered it a performance mod, I bought it purely to overcome the throttle lag which I personally find annoying and unnecessary, and it does this very well.

I think some people are under the misconception that it makes the throttle pedal more like a hair trigger with even a slight push giving an instant surge forward ,which it doesn't,
you get the same response just with less delay, and the car is just as controllable as before if not more so,
it just takes a bit of getting used to not having to wait a second or 2 for something to happen when you press the pedal

 

[flango]

your absolutely right it doesn't add any performance and I also found if anything it made the car slower.... at least from a standing start
but tbh I never considered it a performance mod, I bought it purely to overcome the throttle lag which I personally find annoying and unnecessary, and it does this very well.

I think some people are under the misconception that it makes the throttle pedal more like a hair trigger with even a slight push giving an instant surge forward ,which it doesn't,
you get the same response just with less delay, and the car is just as controllable as before if not more so,
it just takes a bit of getting used to not having to wait a second or 2 for something to happen when you press the pedal

I would totally agree with your comments I think it is peoples misconception of what this device does is actually the main problem.

If it works for you then great and I suspect it may also be better on some cars than others, thats why the dissemination of knowledge on this forum is so important it lets you sort out the fact from the fiction

 

[timberman]

I would totally agree with your comments I think it is peoples misconception of what this device does is actually the main problem.

If it works for you then great and I suspect it may also be better on some cars than others, thats why the dissemination of knowledge on this forum is so important it lets you sort out the fact from the fiction

Agreed

 

[stevesey]

If you want to know more about what it actually does - see here

 

[flango]

If you want to know more about what it actually does - see here

Nice link and the first paper I have seen that explains it very well, nice to know they found exactly what we did when we did the BMW test, cheers for that

 

[vijilants]

The lag is there for a reason, everyday driving steer well clear sprint booster will compromise your drive and safety

Ive used it for 18 months, and true in makes the throttle more sensitive, but like anything, it's just a matter of getting used to it. At no time has it ever compromised my drive and safety.

In actual fact I find it safer to drive this car with the sprint booster especially on overtaking, changing lanes etc on motorways , dual carriageways etc, because I know that when I accelerate, the car's response is immediate.

Without it, it use to take considerable time to pick up and go, which was a situation that I did find dangerous.

 

[hbhudia]

thanks everyone.

Sounds like i might be getting myself an early christmas present!!

 

[C43AMG]

I Will bring mine to Olly's GTG, if any one want's to try it out.

 

[Chattonmill]

I find that if I need instant response when overtaking, dropping a gear manually does just as well......

 

[BTB 500]

If you want to know more about what it actually does - see here

Hope everyone read this bit ...

Incidentally, if I were permanently installing this device in my car, I would want the Sprint Booster to have two completely independent amplifiers. Why? Mercedes wisely used two independent accelerator pedal position sensors for the ECU to sample. In this manner, a single point of failure can both be detected by the ECU (a check engine light and code) and worked around (driven normally). If the Sprint Booster does not use independent circuits, a single point of failure could affect both outputs, rendering the car inoperative or telling the ECU to floor it, neither of which might be detected by the ECU as a fault. This is unlikely perhaps, but not impossible.