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So, I picked up a Sprint Booster from JRP (Johnston Research and Performance) the other day and installed it just in time for a Time Attack event I was participating in on July 25/2010 (www.sigmatimeattack.com). For those who haven't heard of Sprint Booster, it's a throttle sensor enhancement to make up for the delayed response in todays Drive-By-Wire vehicles. To tell you guys the truth I didn't know what to expect. Is this another gimmick or does it truly work? JRP told me it comes with a "30-day Money Back Guarantee"...so really, I had nothing to lose. I figured there's no better way to find out how it performs than to test it on a road course track that I already have baseline times at and that I know pretty well...the track is Mosport Driver Development Track (DDT)- the above link to my Time Attack event has more info on the track config and also has my times posted. The DDT is very technical with various elevation changes which, in theory, should be able to put the Sprint Booster to the test. SIGMA Time Attack provides you with a personal lap timer with a running leader board so it was perfect for this test.

Installation:
The install was as simple as can be...leave your driver door open for 5 minutes, unplug your throttle wire harness, plug your Sprint Booster in and re-connect your throttle harness to the Sprint Booster. There's a wired remote to make your selection for sensitivity, so depending on where you mount it, that will determine the installation time. I put mine in a convenient space above my aftermarket stereo. I "mickey moused" a plastic panel to mount the switch, not knowing if I was going to keep this thing or not. Install took me 20 mins and I had to go to Home Depot to grab a rubber grommet for $1 to feed the wire through the panel. One thing I liked about the Sprint Booster before I even tried it is that the Wired Remote is NOT necessary to leave installed- just leave it on the selection you wish to keep it on and then unplug it. The Sprint Booster will stay set to whatever the last setting was. So really I could have left the panel out of the equation and saved 15 mins. (I have attached some pics of the install below)

There are 3 different settings on the Sprint Booster-
"OFF" (No LED)
Stage1 "MEDIUM" (Green LED)
Stage2 "MAXIMUM" (Red LED)

And so we begin........

I'm running a 2008 Evo X GSR with CAI, Turbo Back, UICP, TEIN Springs, Sprint Booster, No Tune (yet)

LAPPING

B]Sprint Booster[/B] "OFF":
First I went out for a few sessions to get my Evo and I warmed up, then I ran another session with the Sprint Booster OFF to get some baseline times...My best baseline time with the application OFF was 1:10.35 (which is exactly what I've been running on the DDT in the past month). So, the Evo is running well and I'm all warmed up...
Watch the 1:10.35 lap @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOLTDkHsau4


Stage1 MEDIUM setting:
I decided to start off with the Stage1 setting first (Sprint Booster warns that "you may have to adjust your driving style" with its application turned on so I had no clue what to expect). Besides revving my engine in my driveway after install I had no experience with this thing and obviously the last thing I wanted to do was crash my Evo because of some "stupid gimmick contraption" (that's a quote from some of my friends who told me NOT to run the Sprint Booster application in my Evo). So I did a few warm up laps on Stage1 and to tell you the truth, I did notice a significant difference in the throttle response- I was getting more feedback when I was on the accelerator coming out of the corners without a doubt. Nothing too crazy, I had no problems with control- it felt really natural, imho, the way the throttle should feel from the factory. In my first session with the Sprint Booster ON I posted my fastest lap of the day, a 1:09.35. Actually, that's my best time ever on the DDT. Awesome!...my friends see my time on the running leader board, notice my improvement from previous days, and instantly they're more inquisitive about the "stupid gimmick contraption" that I'm running lol


Stage2 MAXIMUM setting:
I'm even more excited to try this thing out and I'm getting more comfortable/confident pushing my Evo with the Sprint Booster on. On the Stage2 setting I definitely felt a difference from the Stage1 so I'm watching my lap times carefully as I'm runnning. I noticed my car drifting a little more than I'm used to but totally controlled and it sure was fun. I still put up a better time than I did with the Sprintbooster OFF even with the loss of traction. After a few good open laps my best time was 1:10 flat. My feeling is that the MAXIMUM setting was a bit much for the street tires I'm running and I was loosing traction coming out of the corners- but I seriously liked the fact that I was putting down the power where and when I wanted it with no real concerns of losing control. R-compounds are on the way...I'll update after I get a chance to run the Sprint Booster and them together
Watch Stage2 best lap @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAnZ2b_x4aQ


Conclusion:
What can I say, the lap times speak for themselves. I ran the Sprintbooster on the Stage1 setting during my OTA and my result was a 1ST place finish. I ran the fastest time in both classes of Sigma Official Time Attack (OTA) with a lap time of 1:09.61- beating a guy who ran almost a full second faster than me at the last Time Attack event one month earlier (June 27/2010). I believe I owe some thanks to Sprint Booster for my win, and my (doubter) friends owe me an apology
Watch OTA vid @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eY-Q...eature=related


This was my first product review and I hope to be doing more in the future. I tried to keep it short yet informative. If I missed anything please feel free to let me know or ask any questions I may not have covered.

(btw, I suck at typing so I really hope this review helps somebody- but not the guys I race against j/k)

Cheers to everyone

Bighec

iTrader: (9)

So it basically just provides better throttle response.

alex3dworld

iTrader: (4)

maybe is just what you need to reduce your time laps, congratulations!
now, talking in facts, when we talk about better "throttle responce" you mean that you don't need to floor it to send 100% aceleration signal right? let's say that pressing gas just 50% of the pedal, your sensor is thinking that you floor it right? or i'm missing something?
if it's just that, i'm letting pass this mod, i promess to my self to floor her only the weekends. lol

H Jensen

iTrader: (1)

I think what it does is takes the throttle input and increases it. So to exadurate to show how it works, I ease on the gas it jumps to part throttle, I hit part throttle it goes and floors it.

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It definitely does...

with the Sprint Booster OFF I found that I was waiting for the car to "pick up" when I was heading out of the corners- I've always felt this on slower tracks. With it ON I felt I had more control coming out of the corners and my Evo was doing what I was telling it to do instead of being a bit sluggish. It is more responsive to throttle input

I've attached a Map of the DDT track. We run it CCW with 2 Kinks in the bottom (that's the really technical part of the track and I'm pretty much in second gear through those kinks) The Sprint Booster helped me keep out of trouble when I went too fast into corners (something I have been known to have issues with lol) allowing me to correct coming out of turns.

I will test the Sprint Booster again in 2 days at Mosport Grand Prix track (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosport...tional_Raceway) - it's considered the third fastest track in the world, so it will be interesting to compare. Calls for thunder storms though

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Thanks man!

Ok, this is something that I tried to explain to my buddy on the phone and he just wasn't getting it...so I'll try my best on here.

With Drive-By-Wire you are waiting for the pedal to communicate with the ECU- it tells the ECU what to do and then the ECU tells the engine what to do. There is a lag in between. Test this by revving your 4B11 a few times while idleing. It is slow to get the signal from the pedal to the engine and doesn't respond "quickly". Quickly is a relative term and before I put the device in I didn't notice the lag that much, but I realize it now. The Sprint Booster simply enhances the signal. I think they say it responds 25% faster and I believe it. It "feels" like you have more power, but really the engine is just responding better to you.

I recommend it for anyone with a Drive-By-Wire vehicle and I'm pretty picky as to what I recommend. I've never competed in Drifting, but my assumption is that it would really help with the feathering of the throttle and getting the wheels spinning when you need them too. Maybe someone with RWD can confirm this for me? It certainly helped me drift in my X- but that wasn't its purpose

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No, this is not true. Wherever you depress the pedal to, that is how much throttle you are giving it- plain and simple. If this were true it would be pretty dangerous. It just gets the engine to that point of acceleration faster. Part throttle = part throttle. Exact same w/o the Sprint Booster

alex3dworld

iTrader: (4)

Hmmm....i believe you.
no matter what this device is doing, it works for you. that's good.

still i'm trying to figurate in my head, like your friend, how it works.

for me, the lag is not in the electrical components pedal-ecu-engine, remember that we are talking about the speed of light. you can make the cable that goes to the ECU a mile longer, you won't notice the diference (in speed). i notice less lag when i fully open the exhaust sistem and installed a less restrictive Air intake.
tomorrow i will research a little more about it.
Thanks for the Photos

ZK

iTrader: (10)

That is pretty stupid... you gain response at the expense of resolution.

Before you could go 0%-10%-20%-30%....100%

Now with that thing you go 0%-50%-100%

Just push the pedal faster with you foot will give you the same results.

AFD

iTrader: (1)

So this works similar to the BLITZ throttle controller (LINK) by magnifying your throttle input??

I'm thinking that the BLITZ in eco mode would be decent, as it seems to match the throttle response of the stock drive-by-wire curve, without the initial dip..

On2

Not what he said up here.

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Thank you On2

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I agree, people will have to try it to see what it can do for them...and hey, if it takes a couple tenths off lap times on the track or it makes your car "feel" like it's got more power on the street thanI think that's pretty good.

I used to think the lag had something to do with my bolt-ons. I figured the MAF sensor readings were off a bit b/c I don't have a tune and that was the reason for the lag. This is not true, the engine just has more breathing space/power and the lag just became more noticable to me...that's my opinion anyway. Also, maybe some guys mistaken the throttle response lag for turbo lag? I'm not sure.

You can get your money back if the Sprint Booster doesn't help you...I've always liked companies that stand by their products and I won't buy items from stores that have "No Refunds/Exchange Only" policies.

Any TUNED EVO X guys willing to try a Sprint Booster???? I would really like to hear from someone who tried the Sprint Booster with a tune as well. I'm getting a WORKS P2 Flash in a couple weeks so I can let you guys know about it then. In the meantime I hope someone with a tuned X can give me some feedback before hand...People are telling me that they think a Tune will improve my 'THROTTLE RESPONSE' and as far as I know (with the WORKS P2) it does not directly affect it.

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Thanks for the link AFD.
I believe you are correct...but they-being Japanese-use different terminology but the premise seems to be the same. Looks like the BLITZ has more options and is a bit flashier as well

SprintBooster

Our competitors have a similar idea, but We at sprintbooster go about it a different way. We dont attempt to take the one size or in this case one application fits all stance on thing. Sprintbooster units are unique to each application. Take the EVO X for instance, we have a specific Manual and Auto Tranny units that provide just the right balance of throttle control where it is important. We go thru endless trials in our testing to ensure that drivers are impressed with our product and once again, with their cars.

The EVO X application is starting to become a popular application since the SEMA show where our product took the Best New Product of 2010 http://www.modified.com/news/modp-09...ema/index.html

Simply put, our product has been refined to offer more options to the driver. We have yes of experience doing this and we offer hundreds of applications. We have seen it all. We have yet to see returns of a single Mitsubishi EVO X, Ralliart, or Lancer application.