SprintBooster discussion

[Corey_R]

Lets take two Rs (identical in options), except that one has SB installed and the other w/o. If we lined them up for a race down the straight. The one with SB would have the edge because it would have a headstart due to not having the in built delay when it's driver stomped on it. It isn't faster due to having more power over the non-SB car but it is faster due to the fact that it reacted faster to it's driver's throttle input.

As per both the Sprint Booster "How It Works" page and the white paper's measurements, the ONLY delay that Sprint Booster removes is the fact that 100% throttle is now 66% pedal position. I.e. If you could put your foot down in .2 of a second, with the SB you now only need to get to 2/3 position for it to be "down", so that's now only about 0.13 seconds, saving you 0.07 seconds.

This is the ONLY mention it has of reducing any "delay".

Even Sprint Booster STATE that it will not improve your times!

[Fixxxer]

i mean, look at the thing:


i doubt, if you open one up, that you'd find a microprocessor in there. it'd be 30c resistors (harsh, but that's how many in-line units work on these cars).

it'd be interesting to see Fab's new 0-100 times with the SB in. might work out to be 4.30 instead of 4.37, lol.

Agreed, you can make a very basic example using potentiometers (pots) to modify the signal output voltage of any device, including AFM's, Coolant Temp sensors, Air intake sensors, etc...
And in this case, the accelerator pedal, which appears to use a common 0-5v output.
This mod has been performed a number of times on Autospeed.com
Fixxxer

[triode12]

i think you may be over-dramatising the situation a little bit.

to liken a non-SB golf R to an old digi camera is cool, and its an effective analogy, but if the delay in throttle pick up in an R WERE indeed quarter of a second, the SB is still only shaving 1/4 of that 1/4 of a second, or something like that, using the white paper's examples.

i mean, with DSG equipped cars, we're not even talking about fractions of a second here. we're talking HUNDREDTHS of a second, formula one style. unless the ''lag'' in dsg's is as little as hundredths of a second also, then no.... sorry, but the SB is NOT eliminating, or even going very far into reducing, lag (in reality, that is- the placebo effect will no doubt override this, though).

i'm not trying to stir things up- this topic was covered extensively in the polo forums by a guy called celestine, who had done a crap load to his 1.6L polo, was at the ceiling of mods, and looking for more.

ultimately, it's your money and your call, but to get a stage two golf R monster, whose 0-100 times are starting to etch into supercar territory, and say that the SB gives you an advantage...........

in fact, that would be the ultimate test- do another run, Fab_R. all this speculation and talk of ''lag elimination'' is great, but what's the difference, real world?

i mean, look at the thing:


i doubt, if you open one up, that you'd find a microprocessor in there. it'd be 30c resistors (harsh, but that's how many in-line units work on these cars).

it'd be interesting to see Fab's new 0-100 times with the SB in. might work out to be 4.30 instead of 4.37, lol.

Sorry I lost you there - why would SB only be "shaving 1/4 of that 1/4 of a second"?

It if it shaves off the delay, it would be the whole 1/4 second (I am not saying that it is 1/4 second delay in the R mind you - it is just for arguments sake).

I also don't get the point that is it only a couple of 30c resistors in the package. So what if it is? Someone has thought of a solution to a problem (throttle delay) and put the solution into a neat package. He has had to design, manufacture, market and distribute the product. That takes guts, effort and money, not counting the fact that he had the brains to come up with the solution in the first place.

Are you going to tell me that since it is only a couple of resistors, that you would be willing to make one up yourself (using parts from Jaycar) and solder the resistors onto the throttle connector of your vehicle?

For me, the SB will not be about gaining an advantage at the lights or down a straight of a track. It is to get rid of that irritating delay when I stomp on the pedal at low revs - this delay can be dangerous esp when trying to merge into fast moving traffic on an adjacent lane where any delay could result in someone driving into your behind.

Even at high speeds and revs, the delay is evident, the pedal has a bit of travel before the car responds to throttle input.

[triode12]

As per both the Sprint Booster "How It Works" page and the white paper's measurements, the ONLY delay that Sprint Booster removes is the fact that 100% throttle is now 66% pedal position. I.e. If you could put your foot down in .2 of a second, with the SB you now only need to get to 2/3 position for it to be "down", so that's now only about 0.13 seconds, saving you 0.07 seconds.

This is the ONLY mention it has of reducing any "delay".

Even Sprint Booster STATE that it will not improve your times!

Corey, think carefully about it for a second.
If someone has the jump on you at the lights racing down a drag strip, don't you think he'd be faster across the line? (both of you are in identical cars)
His car may not be faster in velocity (in comparison to yours) but the fact that he reacted faster to the lights made him "faster" across the line. That is what the SB does - removes the delay.

[Fab_R]

it'd be interesting to see Fab's new 0-100 times with the SB in. might work out to be 4.30 instead of 4.37, lol.

Fair comments Buller_Scott

Challenge put down, and i will take it out tonight and see what it does.

Cheers.
Fab

[Corey_R]

It if it shaves off the delay, it would be the whole 1/4 second (I am not saying that it is 1/4 second delay in the R mind you - it is just for arguments sake).

It's not a 1/4 of a 1/4. It depends on the driver.

The Sprint Booster device, according to Sprint Booster themselves, "achieves a full throttle response 25% sooner than the stock configuration"

This means that when you've pushed the pedal down 75% of the way, you're already at 100% throttle.
In other words, if it takes you 0.2 seconds to push the accelerator pedal all the way down, because the Sprint Booster allows you to reach 100% throttle at the 75% position, you've reached 100% throttle at only 0.15 seconds.

In other words, you've saved 0.05 seconds.

For me, the SB will not be about gaining an advantage at the lights or down a straight of a track. It is to get rid of that irritating delay when I stomp on the pedal at low revs - this delay can be dangerous esp when trying to merge into fast moving traffic on an adjacent lane where any delay could result in someone driving into your behind.

Of course the Sprint Booster won't give you an advantage at the lights or at the track, Sprint Booster already state that it won't help you there!

As for your comments about merging, the Sprint Booster device, according to Sprint Booster, is not able to do anything that you couldn't already achieve without the Sprint Booster by putting your foot down further.

For example. If you are driving along at low revs, and your car requires 75% throttle to drop a few gears and pick up enough speed for you to merge, without the Sprint Booster, you'd have to push the pedal 75% of the way down. With the Sprint Booster, you can get away with pushing the pedal 50% of the way down. That's the only difference - again, ACCORDING TO THE MANUFACTURER!.

If you are in a situation without the Sprint Booster device where pushing the pedal down all the way is not enough for you to safely merge, then according to Sprint Booster, it will not help you. It will just mean you'll still be in danger whilst only having to push your foot down 75% of the way!

Fair comments Buller_Scott

Challenge put down, and i will take it out tonight and see what it does.

"Sprint Booster does not reduce your 0-60mph times." - Sprint Booster
"If you have a track car where you spend most of your time near redline, Sprint Booster is not for you - Sprint Booster benefits are felt in the low to mid pedal travel." - Sprint Booster

So Fab_R, considering in the Golf R, when you use LC you have your foot planted to the floor, even according to Sprint Booster themselves, there will be no difference at all.
The only actual difference you will find, is that whether you have the pedal depressed 75% of the way, or 100% of the way, you will get the same LC results - because the Sprint Booster effectively makes the 75% to 100% pedal positions a "dead zone" (i.e. no change in signal).


I love all your enthusiasm. But you are still all going on about things that Sprint Booster themselves say are not possible.

[Buller_Scott]

I also don't get the point that is it only a couple of 30c resistors in the package. So what if it is? Someone has thought of a solution to a problem (throttle delay) and put the solution into a neat package. He has had to design, manufacture, market and distribute the product. That takes guts, effort and money, not counting the fact that he had the brains to come up with the solution in the first place.

Are you going to tell me that since it is only a couple of resistors, that you would be willing to make one up yourself (using parts from Jaycar) and solder the resistors onto the throttle connector of your vehicle?

For me, the SB will not be about gaining an advantage at the lights or down a straight of a track. It is to get rid of that irritating delay when I stomp on the pedal at low revs - this delay can be dangerous esp when trying to merge into fast moving traffic on an adjacent lane where any delay could result in someone driving into your behind.

Even at high speeds and revs, the delay is evident, the pedal has a bit of travel before the car responds to throttle input.

i think that much of my response to your post has been answered by other posters, so i'll politely answer just a couple of points in your reply.

i too admire the entrepreneurship of someone who'd pounce on an opportunity to sell resistors/potentiometers in plastic boxes- there are plenty on ebay going for around $50 a pop, and the guys who make them in their garage and distribute them worldwide, are earning a bucketful. im not ''ragging'' on that part.

as for whether or not i would be willing to manufacture my own- depends. the fact that they are resistors in boxes is PRECISELY why many people will make their own- you only need to go to tdi club and search "evry mod" and "beer mod", and you'll find that people are doing this stuff all the time, with the same result as the name brand (to use the term broadly) companies.

i was going to do the evry mod (same as a tdi in-line ''chip'' box), until i settled on a software tuner instead. touching the throttle on my vehicle myself, though- no. i wouldnt, i personally dont see the advantage (in my specific case), and double-de-clutching, 2nd gear 0-100 launches etc are things i'd elect to get the hang of/master, long before finding an issue with my accelerator pedal's rate of travel (and besides, i'm gonna call it a day with mods to my car, as my heart's now set on another hatch that i recently drove that blew my ****ing mind, although it doesnt have a VW badge, unfortunately).

i guess i should segue out from this conversation, though- at the end of the day, the fact that i believe the sprintbooster to be pure placebo, is completely irrelevant. if you've spent a good couple of hours trying to play devil's advocate with the sprintbooster on the road, and your objective view is that the unit does have the ability to eliminate lag, and make the car more practically driveable in the real world, then that's great- im not trying to shout anyone down, it's just that i've seen this discussion before, and am regurgitating the conclusions put forth in that particular thread at the time. if you're happy with the product, then simply brush my ''views'' aside as those of a naysayer. no harm done

i'm still genuinely interested to see Fab_R's times, though (i know that you're not after improved acceleration yourself, but now that Fab's done what he has to his car, i reckon he might be starting to get into "incremental gains" territory, so it'd be really interesting to see the results).

cheers,

scotty

[Ryan_R]

Perhaps the manufacturer hasn't driven a Mk6 Golf, or they are generalising for a bunch of car brands that behave differently.

Considering how you replied to the person who couldn't believe that an ECU tune alone would reduce times by a whole second or so, I have to admit I'm surprised at how you're failing to accept the feedback by those who have used this product on their cars. Who cares what the manufacturer says, they're probably just covering themselves legally for the odd case where it doesn't do that much.

I'm not talking about how long it takes me to push the pedal to the floor - I'm talking about how long the car takes to respond to me pushing the pedal. It's the same reason why J. Clarkson once said he preferred a Ferrari F40 to the Enzo - due to the the absences of computers (or 'commities', as he described them), that decide how to react to your request. Sure, there are still computers and safety features such as TCS and ESP on board, but the removal of lag makes the car respond instantly, and as you and the manufacturer said, makes the car 'feel' faster. When it comes to sporty cars - isn't the feeling one of the most important things, besides price, practicality, looks, and so on?

This'll be my last post on the subject unless someone has further questions.

[Buller_Scott]

ryan_r, was your post directed to myself or corey?

i have a feeling it's corey, but i too have passionately advocated the effects of ecu tunes (in a diesel context).

[Corey_R]

He was directing it to me.

Ryan_R, we'll just have to respectfully disagree. Sprint Booster says on their site that what the product does is amplify the accelerator input, nothing more nothing less. They also offer a money back guarantee - so I doubt they have to cover themselves legally for anything in that respect. In any case, you still seem to be claiming that this "accelerator pedal amplifier" is some kinda snake oil product which has access to the computer in the DSG and the computer in the ECU and can actually change what Volkswagen have programmed....

As that is what you believe, whilst completely contrary to the manufacturer of the device states or explains in their production documentation, or what seems actually possible from the installation of the product and the cables it's connecting to, there is really no further point in trying to discuss your claims....


I would urge anyone thinking of dropping the money on this product to carefully read The Sprint Booster Website's "How It Works" page. After you've read it, sit back, look at the pictures, and think about it again. Then if you're still considering it, have a read and look at the installation instructions and not how and where it is connecting. If you're still interested, then read the Sprint Booster White Paper pdf provided by Buller_Scott.

If you're still interested, by would prefer to pay roughly 10% of the ask price of the Sprint Booster, then consider making it yourself using google searches as per Buller_Scott's posts.


As I said before, I wouldn't mind having this feature in the Golf series. It'd be great if it were linked to a "Sport Button", such as other makes of car (including in the VAG stable), to switch between accelerator pedal "characteristic profiles". Just be fully aware of what a product does and doesn't do before laying down your hard earned cash