Can the Sprint Booster be fitted to our cars?

egremont · 16th November 2014, 11:59

A product called “Sprint Booster” is on the market and BMW and Minis are included in its product range. Apparently an E46 (2001?) was used in a demonstration.

Does anyone know of this product, and if it fits the E46 and Mini cars, can it be installed in our cars.

It is intended for late model cars,that have Electronic Throttle Control aka Drive-By-Wire in lieu of the old throttle cable of former years. The delayed response (intended to be a safety feature) appears to be a common annoyance with vehicles fitted with ETC / DBW and subdued acceleration can create problems in certain situations such as overtaking etc.

This product’s short cable (with its box of electronics) intercepts between the cars accelerator box and the outgoing cable to the throttle body. Said to be a 10 minute job to install.

My car responds well when moving off from rest. However, when asked to accelerate from a low speed, there is a definite short delay before my car responds.

egremont

Jakg · 16th November 2014, 16:13

I've heard this complaint levelled at E46's but never at out cars.

I could be wrong, but I also think the only 75 / ZT in the range using DBW was the diesel - and being a turbo diesel it's going to have a bit of lag anyway.

trikey · 16th November 2014, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakg

I've heard this complaint levelled at E46's but never at out cars.

I could be wrong, but I also think the only 75 / ZT in the range using DBW was the diesel - and being a turbo diesel it's going to have a bit of lag anyway.

Yep only the diesels and a few factory petrol cars used fbw

michael peters · 16th November 2014, 16:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by egremont

A product called “Sprint Booster” is on the market and BMW and Minis are included in its product range. Apparently an E46 (2001?) was used in a demonstration.

Does anyone know of this product, and if it fits the E46 and Mini cars, can it be installed in our cars.

It is intended for late model cars,that have Electronic Throttle Control aka Drive-By-Wire in lieu of the old throttle cable of former years. The delayed response (intended to be a safety feature) appears to be a common annoyance with vehicles fitted with ETC / DBW and subdued acceleration can create problems in certain situations such as overtaking etc.

This product’s short cable (with its box of electronics) intercepts between the cars accelerator box and the outgoing cable to the throttle body. Said to be a 10 minute job to install.

My car responds well when moving off from rest. However, when asked to accelerate from a low speed, there is a definite short delay before my car responds.

egremont

Funny enough. I was thinking of posting asking if anyone had ever modified a throttle position sensor. Only had my diesel 75 a short while, very pleased with it but it is a bit of a slug to get going. I felt a lot of this perception is down to the very long pedal travel, about 3 inches compared to my Merc van which has a total pedal travel of about 1 1/2 inches. As said, only in my mind but I felt a much shorter pedal travel would sharpen up the response. Probably use more fuel as well!!!!!

rich17865 · 16th November 2014, 17:10

Sounds like a Marinbrian remap is on the cards, send him a PM

vroom vroom!

Sector-9 · 16th November 2014, 22:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by egremont

My car responds well when moving off from rest. However, when asked to accelerate from a low speed, there is a definite short delay before my car responds.

Is that not in part down to the operation of the hydraulic torque-converter? Especially if the lock-up clutch isn't engaged? As pointed out already, if you have a diesel there are other factors too such as turbo lag and the EGR valve which will cause a slight delay between driver demand and the engine being able to deliver.

Jakg · 17th November 2014, 06:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael peters

Funny enough. I was thinking of posting asking if anyone had ever modified a throttle position sensor. Only had my diesel 75 a short while, very pleased with it but it is a bit of a slug to get going. I felt a lot of this perception is down to the very long pedal travel, about 3 inches compared to my Merc van which has a total pedal travel of about 1 1/2 inches. As said, only in my mind but I felt a much shorter pedal travel would sharpen up the response. Probably use more fuel as well!!!!!

You can adjust the throttle stop a bit and then you can recalibrate the pedal by doing something with the ignition and pressing it a lot (can't remember exactly).

You'll want an OBD reader to view the TPS data live.

(this is assuming DBW with a sensor at the pedal end, not at the throttle body)

egremont · 18th November 2014, 10:55

Only the larger 2.5 KV6 and a few diesel 75 / ZTs were sold here in OZ.

Apparently this slight delay is inherent in petrol engined vehicles with “drive by wire” technology.
It is all to do with stringent emission requirements.

My MG Rover trained service man explained to me that this “slight delay” is due to the car manufacturers having to meet the European Emission Standards – “ Euro 4”. He also mentioned that MG Rover released an update in 2005 to try and reduce / overcome this delay. If he has not already installed this update, he will do so at my cars next service.

Older cars used a carburettor system, and when the driver wished to accelerate, the carburettor activated its “accelerator pump” to inject extra fuel into the system – giving the engine a “rich” mixture to aid its acceleration. This reduced air to fuel (rich) mix would not be tolerated under the Euro 4 standards.

The ideal air to fuel mixture for petrol engines, to enable a complete combustion is 14.7:1. This ideal fuel mix, the stoiciometric ratio is what the manufacturers aim for.

From what I have read, all manufacturers using a drive by wire system in their petrol engined cars suffer this delay - to a greater or lesser extent.

Some advertisements for the Sprint Booster include the BMW and Mini marques amongst other manufacturers.

This “affliction” is not apparent when starting from rest, but rather when travelling at say, 25 kph (possibly behind an elderly motorist) and for some reason you need to accelerate to get out of your position. Whilst I agree with my mechanic that the 75 / ZT delay is only slight, he did mention that I should drive another European brand that I won’t name (and no, it is not BMW or Mini) - it is much worse.

He also mentioned that the common rail diesel engined cars don’t have the same design characteristics or Euro 4 requirements.

All too often one reads where a driver has mistakenly hit the accelerator pedal in error and crashed into a building or other vehicles, and I wonder whether this may have had some influence on the design engineers.

Abbadon · 19th November 2014, 22:46

I think Euro 4 came later for diesels and in 2 phases. I'm more aufait with off highway regulations for diesels.

alanjay · 19th November 2014, 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by rich17865

Sounds like a Marinbrian remap is on the cards, send him a PM

vroom vroom!

Does Marinabrian visit Australia often or have I got the wrong Melbourne?

16th November 2014, 11:59	#1
egremont Loves to post Rover 75 Connoisseur SE. Auto. Saloon. SE Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 458 Thanks: 163 Thanked 198 Times in 70 Posts	Can the Sprint Booster be fitted to our cars? A product called “Sprint Booster” is on the market and BMW and Minis are included in its product range. Apparently an E46 (2001?) was used in a demonstration. Does anyone know of this product, and if it fits the E46 and Mini cars, can it be installed in our cars. It is intended for late model cars,that have Electronic Throttle Control aka Drive-By-Wire in lieu of the old throttle cable of former years. The delayed response (intended to be a safety feature) appears to be a common annoyance with vehicles fitted with ETC / DBW and subdued acceleration can create problems in certain situations such as overtaking etc. This product’s short cable (with its box of electronics) intercepts between the cars accelerator box and the outgoing cable to the throttle body. Said to be a 10 minute job to install. My car responds well when moving off from rest. However, when asked to accelerate from a low speed, there is a definite short delay before my car responds. egremont

18th November 2014, 10:55	#8
egremont Loves to post Rover 75 Connoisseur SE. Auto. Saloon. SE Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 458 Thanks: 163 Thanked 198 Times in 70 Posts	It's the Euro 4 requirements. Only the larger 2.5 KV6 and a few diesel 75 / ZTs were sold here in OZ. Apparently this slight delay is inherent in petrol engined vehicles with “drive by wire” technology. It is all to do with stringent emission requirements. My MG Rover trained service man explained to me that this “slight delay” is due to the car manufacturers having to meet the European Emission Standards – “ Euro 4”. He also mentioned that MG Rover released an update in 2005 to try and reduce / overcome this delay. If he has not already installed this update, he will do so at my cars next service. Older cars used a carburettor system, and when the driver wished to accelerate, the carburettor activated its “accelerator pump” to inject extra fuel into the system – giving the engine a “rich” mixture to aid its acceleration. This reduced air to fuel (rich) mix would not be tolerated under the Euro 4 standards. The ideal air to fuel mixture for petrol engines, to enable a complete combustion is 14.7:1. This ideal fuel mix, the stoiciometric ratio is what the manufacturers aim for. From what I have read, all manufacturers using a drive by wire system in their petrol engined cars suffer this delay - to a greater or lesser extent. Some advertisements for the Sprint Booster include the BMW and Mini marques amongst other manufacturers. This “affliction” is not apparent when starting from rest, but rather when travelling at say, 25 kph (possibly behind an elderly motorist) and for some reason you need to accelerate to get out of your position. Whilst I agree with my mechanic that the 75 / ZT delay is only slight, he did mention that I should drive another European brand that I won’t name (and no, it is not BMW or Mini) - it is much worse. He also mentioned that the common rail diesel engined cars don’t have the same design characteristics or Euro 4 requirements. All too often one reads where a driver has mistakenly hit the accelerator pedal in error and crashed into a building or other vehicles, and I wonder whether this may have had some influence on the design engineers.

16th November 2014, 16:13	#2
Jakg This is my second home N/A Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Suffolk Posts: 6,867 Thanks: 0 Thanked 397 Times in 302 Posts	I've heard this complaint levelled at E46's but never at out cars. I could be wrong, but I also think the only 75 / ZT in the range using DBW was the diesel - and being a turbo diesel it's going to have a bit of lag anyway.

16th November 2014, 17:10	#5
rich17865 This is my second home Transit Connect Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Crewe Posts: 9,532 Thanks: 868 Thanked 1,619 Times in 1,095 Posts	Sounds like a Marinbrian remap is on the cards, send him a PM vroom vroom!

19th November 2014, 22:46	#9
Abbadon Avid contributor MG ZT+ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Swansea Posts: 247 Thanks: 100 Thanked 18 Times in 16 Posts	I think Euro 4 came later for diesels and in 2 phases. I'm more aufait with off highway regulations for diesels.