Goodchia
Paid Member
Right, Sprint Booster V3 arrived today and as everyone on here has been so amazing helping me out over the years I thought I'd return the favour and post my thoughts in case anyone is in two minds about buying one, as I was.
Sorry if it's a bit long winded but I thought it best to get it all down however, if you're inpatient and don't want to read it all then just buy one. Seriously, BUY ONE. For everyone else, here's the long version:
Background
I thought it was total b*****cks. I assumed that it essentially just makes the car think you're at 100% throttle when you're at 50%, giving the illusion of better response. I was wrong.
After a few recommendations and the V3 coming out, I did some proper research and found that the Sprint Booster actually affects the speed at which the throttle body butterfly opens. Modern car throttle bodies are factory set with quite a slow opening speed. Some rubbish called 'drivability'. Because roadcar. So, flooring the pedal only makes the throttle body open wider. This is the key - The Sprint Booster makes the throttle body valve open faster.
With a 30 day money back guarantee I thought 'f**k it...'
I bought one from eBay as it was the only place I could find (with little research) that shipped to the UK. It was coming from Greece so I paid the extra tenner postage. Ordered Tuesday and arrived the following Monday. All good. Link below:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122398884530?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Testing
Firstly, my 6 year old sister could fit it so don't be worried about getting one if you're not too handy with a 10mm spanner.
Test 1: Started her up and went for a spin. First impressions were 'It's alright... Certainly a bit sharper but nothing crazy like I've heard about'. This brings me to Rule 1: Read the bloody instructions. There's a little switch on the side that tells it if you have an auto or a manual and if you start off in auto, it doesn't work very well.
Test 2: Of course, I immediately set it to 'RACE' and put it on it's highest setting, as you do. Crawled out the drive way on 2% throttle and on to the road. Crept up to around 3k in 1st gear and pinned it. Holy...s**t. It really works!
As I said, no matter how fast you mash the throttle normally, the throttle body won't open any faster. With little effort you can get the pedal to the floor way before the throttle body is fully open. With the Sprint Booster fitted (and on it's highest setting), you don't even need to pin it, by the time you're at 30% throttle it's fully open.
I went for a blast up some country lanes and christ, what a difference. With it 'off', you only ever really get a kick in the back upon initial acceleration, 197's and 200's roll through the gears pretty smoothly. With the Sprint Booster 'on' (and set at max, still), you get a nice womp when changing gears and good shove in the back every time you lift off and get back on it.
Exiting corners is a dream, it makes rev matching a walk in the park and even my pretty poor attempts at heel toe were massively improved simply because the revs flick up so much quicker.
Of course, none of our cars have any proper power below 3k and the Sprint Booster doesn't change that. But, for those of who who are like me, like a proper Sunday blast and see over 23mpg as a warning that you've been taking it too easy, the Sprint Booster is EXCELLENT. End of.
Daily driving
Firstly, it has an 'off' button so none of this really matters but, it also has 18 settings for 'sport' and 'race' which I tried them out.
Set to 'RACE' and on any of its the 9 race settings I found it way too much around town. I can imagine fairly easily ending up rear ending the car in front if you were in traffic and not paying much attention. However, dial it back a bit, find the setting you like and personally I think it makes the car feel like we all think it should (minus the 200 extra ponies). I drove back home on 'SPORT' and on '4' and it was perfect. Fine for driving around town but still has that extra bit of immediacy for over taking grannies... Or Corsa's.
Final Thoughts (Finally...)
For the £186, I genuinely (and more importantly, personally) think it's a more worthwhile buy than a remap on these NA engines. I've got two 197's at moment (check my 'for sale' post if you want one!), one with a remap and now one with a Sprint Booster. I'd take the Sprint Booster any day. It doesn't make your car any faster but it feel so much more immediate that it doesn't really matter.
Important - If it’s wet and you’ve got traction control off then seriously, be careful. I was getting spin from the front wheels just pulling out of junctions in the dry with traction control on.
Anyway, I hope this helps at least one of you - I'll keep an eye on the thread in case any questions come up.
Cheers.
Sorry if it's a bit long winded but I thought it best to get it all down however, if you're inpatient and don't want to read it all then just buy one. Seriously, BUY ONE. For everyone else, here's the long version:
Background
I thought it was total b*****cks. I assumed that it essentially just makes the car think you're at 100% throttle when you're at 50%, giving the illusion of better response. I was wrong.
After a few recommendations and the V3 coming out, I did some proper research and found that the Sprint Booster actually affects the speed at which the throttle body butterfly opens. Modern car throttle bodies are factory set with quite a slow opening speed. Some rubbish called 'drivability'. Because roadcar. So, flooring the pedal only makes the throttle body open wider. This is the key - The Sprint Booster makes the throttle body valve open faster.
With a 30 day money back guarantee I thought 'f**k it...'
I bought one from eBay as it was the only place I could find (with little research) that shipped to the UK. It was coming from Greece so I paid the extra tenner postage. Ordered Tuesday and arrived the following Monday. All good. Link below:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122398884530?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Testing
Firstly, my 6 year old sister could fit it so don't be worried about getting one if you're not too handy with a 10mm spanner.
Test 1: Started her up and went for a spin. First impressions were 'It's alright... Certainly a bit sharper but nothing crazy like I've heard about'. This brings me to Rule 1: Read the bloody instructions. There's a little switch on the side that tells it if you have an auto or a manual and if you start off in auto, it doesn't work very well.
Test 2: Of course, I immediately set it to 'RACE' and put it on it's highest setting, as you do. Crawled out the drive way on 2% throttle and on to the road. Crept up to around 3k in 1st gear and pinned it. Holy...s**t. It really works!
As I said, no matter how fast you mash the throttle normally, the throttle body won't open any faster. With little effort you can get the pedal to the floor way before the throttle body is fully open. With the Sprint Booster fitted (and on it's highest setting), you don't even need to pin it, by the time you're at 30% throttle it's fully open.
I went for a blast up some country lanes and christ, what a difference. With it 'off', you only ever really get a kick in the back upon initial acceleration, 197's and 200's roll through the gears pretty smoothly. With the Sprint Booster 'on' (and set at max, still), you get a nice womp when changing gears and good shove in the back every time you lift off and get back on it.
Exiting corners is a dream, it makes rev matching a walk in the park and even my pretty poor attempts at heel toe were massively improved simply because the revs flick up so much quicker.
Of course, none of our cars have any proper power below 3k and the Sprint Booster doesn't change that. But, for those of who who are like me, like a proper Sunday blast and see over 23mpg as a warning that you've been taking it too easy, the Sprint Booster is EXCELLENT. End of.
Daily driving
Firstly, it has an 'off' button so none of this really matters but, it also has 18 settings for 'sport' and 'race' which I tried them out.
Set to 'RACE' and on any of its the 9 race settings I found it way too much around town. I can imagine fairly easily ending up rear ending the car in front if you were in traffic and not paying much attention. However, dial it back a bit, find the setting you like and personally I think it makes the car feel like we all think it should (minus the 200 extra ponies). I drove back home on 'SPORT' and on '4' and it was perfect. Fine for driving around town but still has that extra bit of immediacy for over taking grannies... Or Corsa's.
Final Thoughts (Finally...)
For the £186, I genuinely (and more importantly, personally) think it's a more worthwhile buy than a remap on these NA engines. I've got two 197's at moment (check my 'for sale' post if you want one!), one with a remap and now one with a Sprint Booster. I'd take the Sprint Booster any day. It doesn't make your car any faster but it feel so much more immediate that it doesn't really matter.
Important - If it’s wet and you’ve got traction control off then seriously, be careful. I was getting spin from the front wheels just pulling out of junctions in the dry with traction control on.
Anyway, I hope this helps at least one of you - I'll keep an eye on the thread in case any questions come up.
Cheers.
