Just curious if anyone has purchased the sprint booster since the last thread and if so, what are your impressions. i'd much rather hear from people who have actually driven with it than a lot of posts from people who haven't driven with and just say push the pedal down further (altough that sounds pretty acurate to me)

 

I installed one on my friends car (at his request mind you) and drove it before and after...and I'm one of the people who said push the pedal down further or move your seat forward 1-2 ticks.

Huge waste of money IMNTBHO. Many better mods available for the money.

 

I have had the sprint booster on for a few weeks now and even though I was skeptical of how much of an improvement it would make I must say I am very happy with it.
I have a modded mini with a Thumper head and custom tune along with a few other bits, and it definately makes driving a whole lot more fun.
Was it worth the money...yes (considering my wife spends more on shoes each month....).
Everyone is different and it sounds like joshK had already made his mind up about the product, but thats cool.
It does take a little while to get use to but now I wouldn't take it off.
After the head it was the best mod I have added.
Also it was the easiest mod I have added only took 30 seconds! A monkey could probably do it in 15...

 

This is one of those things that's going to get tons of yay's and even more nays. The only thing you can do is try it yourself. The problem with peoples opinions are than when people spend money, they subconsciously feel the need to justify that expenditure. I'm not saying that's what everyone is doing, I am saying that you should take reviews for what they're worth though.

If you think it'd be worth it, buy one, if not, save your money.

 

Perhaps I didn't make it clear in my post, but I reserved judgement until actually using it. I came from the Mercedes boards where there are hardly any mods available so tons of people that had the itch to mod (and either weren't very good with the wrenching, had leased their car, or balked at spending the money for the few high dollar Mercedes mods available) ran out and bought Sprintboosters. The same arguments came about on those boards as well.

So no...I didn't have my mind made up. I wanted it to prove everything else I heard wrong (aren't we all looking for that "no-brainer" mod?) ...and...I'd rather spend a little more money and get an on the dyno ECU tune.

Do a search on here - someone posted results from some pretty extensive Sprintbooster testing. It pretty much shows that it does the electronic equivalent of shortening a throttle body cable. I got the same feeling as my friend's car by moving my seat a couple ticks forward. I guess it's a nice mod if you like moving your seat waayyy back.

Bottom line - try it for yourself. If it's not for you, you shouldn't have any problem unloading it in the classifieds.

 

and...I'd rather spend a little more money and get an on the dyno ECU tune.

As I already had a head and custom tune I thought I would give it a try and I like it and that is all that matters

I got the same feeling as my friend's car by moving my seat a couple ticks forward. I guess it's a nice mod if you like moving your seat waayyy back.

I feel like it is nothing like moving your seat forward. If you are a big guy and over 6ft like me moving the seat forward is not an option!

Bottom line - try it for yourself. If it's not for you, you shouldn't have any problem unloading it in the classifieds.

Totally agree

 

It was me that posted it, if that makes it easier to find. I'm not going to dig it up...

Edit: Found it without much looking...

http://frontiernet.net/~dbipes/sprin...intBooster.pdf

 

thanks, usefull link

 

NP

 

outstanding write up! I used to do the same thing with my 5.0 mustangs on the Throttle position sensor by enlongating the screw holes and rotating clockwise to increase the volts.

 

There's also a similar mod that is somewhat common in 80s/90s VW/Audi products with the twin-plate progressive throttle body. By inserting a screw in a certain location you could get the plates to open simultaneously so it would be at full throttle at only 50% pedal travel. The kicker here (much like the Sprint Booster) is that the top 50% of pedal travel is useless.

So, I'd say if you feel like dropping $400 and reducing throttle resolution in a FWD car, go for it.

Feel free to disagree with me. I'm one of those fools who bought an aftermarket intercooler and likes it. I just don't think the principle on which the Sprint Booster operates is sound.

 

+1 on the VW throttle body mod.......did that on my '78 Scirocco and loved the change that it made.

Not sure how this could be the same tho........

 

Why would it be any defferent, that's essentially what the sprint booster does?

 

Because the throttle bodies are completely different. The VW had a 2 stage mechanical one, we have a single stage electronic one. The mechanical one was modded so that both butterflies open simultanously. The booster as we all agree simply speeds up the opening of the throttle body.

 

And how that is fundamentally different? In both cases it results in more throttle with less pedal travel.

I guess the one difference is that the VW mod didn't allow 100% throttle opening anymore. That was the funny part - you actually had *less* flow since the throttle body wouldn't open all the way, so you were LOSING power. The Sprint Booster doesn't make power, but it sure doesn't lose it either.

 

I am not sure how you got the idea that the butterflies weren't opening all the way. The way the old VW throttle body worked was like a 2 barrel carb, only the barrels weren't opening together. The smaller one opened first then as it got to full open the other larger one opened up with more throttle applied. Thus the progressive nature. What the mod did was tie the two barrels together so that they both operated at the same time. The travel was the same, but you got to use the entire throttle body volume thru-out the throttle travel.

The problem with the booster, as has been posted before, is that it is difficult to moderate the throttle position. It tends to be closed or all the way open. Kind of like having a smaller pulley/arm on a carb.

 

...because I did the mod on my Coupe Quattro 20v? I found that the 38mm plate did not open all the way and was maybe at 90% throttle when the 52mm plate was fully opened. Granted thats not a huge change in the amount of available throttle, but it is something.

 

OK

But mine was able to open both fully. This was a much better mod than the single large throttle body offered by Neuspeed at the time. Suffered the same problem as the booster is said to do......worsened part throttle cruising.

 

Yeah that Weber throttle body was not the greatest. Worked great on 280z though. It was also a good choice for VW forced induction applications since adapting boost tubing to a round throttle body was much easier than to the oblong progressive throttle and one could clamp silicone boots on it with much greater success. There are other solutions that came out in the 90s such as the G60 throttle body, or the PL throttle with WK throttle elbow.

 

Several thousand miles of use here; no partial throttle "cruising problems” and no noticeable “dead” pedal position. The following graphic taken from Mini Mania’s site partly illustrates how the effect feels to me.



A few things to keep in mind when reading the paper linked in this thread: it supports an improvement in elapsed time for throttle plate response, the ECU tested is Bosch, as opposed to Siemens used in the MINI, and the less aggressive version tested was for an automatic.

I could be very wrong in how I think this thing works, but lively engine response can't be denied. After completing two back-to-back, three hundred mile flat-out drives, I’m very glad the SB was there to help squirt me from a few potentially fatal circumstances; whether perception and reality are/were blurred for this product's contribution is of no consequence to me.

 

And for about the same amount of money get a Jan tune that will do the same as this plus added HP and TQ with a reduction in the dreaded traction control intrusion!

 

When I have to zip, DSC is switched off. Easy peezy.

DSC did save my passenger side wheels from a low speed(15 mph) scraping last winter during an ice covered left hander though.

Clearly K-huevo is happy with the sprint booster because of the quick throttle response. Thanks for the plot comparison!

Jeremy

 

 

Extra milliseconds of reaction time help out!

Anybody know if there's a different pedal box out there so we can have a 'brake booster' effect? That could be a life saver! It could be tough for heel and toe downshifting though. I suppose you'd have to mount the throttle pedal higher/closer to the brake pedal.

Jeremy

 

Well...we have electronic brake force distribution, right? Just buy another Sprint Booster and hook it to the ABS computer!