GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk6 => Topic started by: Exonian on 23 May 2010, 14:02
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I thought I was the only one who thought the throttle response on the mk6 GTI was a bit lacking, added to which the pedal travel is too long.
It was the same on my mk5 GTI, but seemed more so on the mk6 which has a tendancy to stall when pulling away sometimes (manual car BTW).
After seeing that there are a few others out there who share this view I decided to share my answer:
It's called a Sprintbooster.
These things have been around for a few years now and I was a bit dubious about them at first. Then a mate of mine off the forums (devonmikeyboy for those that visit the Audi and SEAT forums) who's fairly local to me invited me to drive his very heavily modified A3 TDI quattro which has one fitted. Apart from the fact his car is a flying machine you could really notice the difference in the throttle response between his A3 and my mk5 GTI.
However at the time these things cost at least £140, sometimes over £170 and I just didn't feel that they could justify that charge. So I put up with my mk5 for a while longer, then bought a mk6 and duly discovered it was slightly worse again for throttle response.
I re-mapped the car hoping this would cure the problem. No, it was little better. So I contacted REVO to see if there was anything else they could tweak in the map to sort it. Still no. They said it was as responsive as they could get it.
So I ummed and ahh'd for a while longer.
Then I saw mention that the company had released a new version of the Sprintbooster with an on/off switch. This sounded ideal as when I had spoken to another person who I have a great deal of respect for on seatcupra.net, who has a highly modified Leon Cupra, he mentioned that these things can get a bit jerky in traffic. The on/off switch would instantly cure that little problem as it can be done with the engine running.
Bigger surprises lay in wait for me too; the new version is slightly cheaper than the old despite now incorporating a switch (though still well overpriced) at £118 (£100 + vat).
I took the plunge and ordered one. It arrived a few days later at Easter, just before I was about to take a trip to Cornwall. A perfect time to test it.
Installation is easy, unplug loom from throttle pedal, plug in Sprintbooster and plug loom into that. Attach (optional) switch. This has a cable which can then be tucked behind a bit of plastic trim and run up behind the dash to sit in the little cubby hole underneath and to the right of the steering wheel.
The switch has threee settings, off, smooth and aggressive. You can switch between these with the engine running at traffic lights or whenever you stop. They advise against doing it with the throttle depressed though.
I run it on the so called smooth setting. It's not perfectly smooth but it does the job a lot better than standard.
What is this device? Well all it is really is a resistor in a box that modifies the signal from the throttle pedal position sensor to the ECU. To cut a long story short it magnifies any throttle input you give it a bit like strapping a brick to the bottom of your shoe!
Why do you need one? If you are asking that question then you don't.
Is it good value for money? No. But some things you just have to buy!
Any more info you need, do a quick google search. There are vids on youtube and reviews on quite a few forums, mostly Yank forums unfortunately but something is better than nothing.
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what a thoroughly crude thing to do to such a nice new car :grin:
i suggest you unplug it before any visits to the dealership :afro:
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Crude but necessary.
And yes, despite the manufacturers claims that it won't affect warranties etc I will indeed remove it from the car before going near a dealer. :smiley: I'm not that brave.
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Any chance you can post reliable sources for it?
A recommendation is surely better than many people buying blind.
I see then on eBay, and on several websites...but knowing who is reliable and quick to send is well worthwhile.
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Oops, thought I'd put it in the first post: http://www.wheelandtyre.co.uk/tuning/sprint-booster/
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So £118 for a resistor :shocked:
I have always found these type of things to be a complete waste of time and can even sometimes cause damage.
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A pair of wellies would give the same effect.
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A pair of wellies would give the same effect.
As long as they are not caked with mud and manure.
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So £118 for a resistor :shocked:
I have always found these type of things to be a complete waste of time and can even sometimes cause damage.
Then I suggest you don't buy one as you obviously don't need one.
Trust me, if I was any tighter I'd have ginger hair and wear tartan skirts. I don't buy things unless I need them.
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You missed my point, does it really make a difference I would think not.
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You obviously didn't read my first post through or I made a mess of it.
Yes it does work.
The reason I didn't post up about it before was because I knew the thread would end up full of crap because people don't read things properly. I said quite clearly in the first post that if you question why you need one you don't. Simple as.
This thread is in reply to peoples queries from another thread that went a bit off topic.
So for one last time IT WORKS! :grin:
I drive a normally aspirated old skool GTI as a daily driver. When I get into the mk6 you can really notice the difference in throttle response. I stall it sometimes when I've not driven it for a while until a re-adjust. With the Sprintbooster attached this doesn't happen. The turbo lag has gone into negative lag it you like almost like the turbo has become psychic! :smiley:
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It won't cure Turbo lag.
nick
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I give up. :rolleyes:
The throttle lag feels like the turbo is laggy. The sprintbooster allows the ickle wee K03 spool up properly making it feel like there is no lag.
thread subscription de-activated. Ta ra.
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I give up. :rolleyes:
thread subscription de-activated. Ta ra.
Steady on!
I was just saying that a resistor cannot cure Turbo lag which is what your last post suggested.
I think what you mean is it takes out the slck the drive by wire system seems to have over a proper cable throttle. My Polo TDI has a drive by wire throttle and it is a bit rubbish.
Nick
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I thought it was to speed up throttle response. I don't suffer from any turbo lag. I just want the car to be a bit more reactive. I suppose this means a re-map. Will happen soon.
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What about fuel economy is there any effect on that? If it sort of does turn up throttle position of the pedal so does it make it like 10% throttle like 15% and so on what happens at 100% does it make it 150% throttle? I wonder what the ECU makes of that. I suppose pedal off is still pedal off mind.
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I give up. :rolleyes:
thread subscription de-activated. Ta ra.
Steady on!
I was just saying that a resistor cannot cure Turbo lag which is what your last post suggested.
I think what you mean is it takes out the slck the drive by wire system seems to have over a proper cable throttle. My Polo TDI has a drive by wire throttle and it is a bit rubbish.
Nick
Thank you someone with sense, I still think you could end up with issue in the future, they must build a small amount of slack in for a reason.
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Right, apologies, I was very busy yesterday so had to type in a rush and obviously was confusing everybody hence had to abandon the thread for a bit before things got even more muddled. And it's not as if there isn't a certain amount of Wumming goes on in the mk6 section from time to time which I was trying to be wary of. I thought I'd covered most things in the first post which genuine mk6 owners would either be familiar with or not be bothered about. It's more bothersome for those of us who own another vehicle that dosen't suffer the long pedal travel and slow responses. This is a very mk6 GTI specific problem that I also noticed to a slightly lesser extent with my mk5 GTI previously. Maybe I didn't go into enough detail in the first post but I didn't want to write a bloody book on the subject.
So:
Steady on!
I was just saying that a resistor cannot cure Turbo lag which is what your last post suggested.
I think what you mean is it takes out the slck the drive by wire system seems to have over a proper cable throttle. My Polo TDI has a drive by wire throttle and it is a bit rubbish.
Nick
Yep, my bad as the Yanks would say. What I meant was the throttle lag had disappeared and I was trying to liken it to a reversed version of turbo lag, seemingly like a psychic turbo.
Trying to explain things when you're in a rush ain't good. Lesson learned, apologies for misunderstanding.
I've owned all manner of VW TDIs and DBW 1.8Ts and none have had this issue bad enough to bother me once re-mapped. It just seems more inherrant with the floor hinged pedal on the mk5 petrol models. I had a mk5 2.0 TDI some years ago and that didn't seem so bad but it never seemed as lively to me as my previous 1.9 TDIs.
I thought it was to speed up throttle response. I don't suffer from any turbo lag. I just want the car to be a bit more reactive. I suppose this means a re-map. Will happen soon.
See above. Re-mapping alone may be the answer for you, but I needed a re-map of the engine and throttle pedal to satisfy me!
What about fuel economy is there any effect on that? If it sort of does turn up throttle position of the pedal so does it make it like 10% throttle like 15% and so on what happens at 100% does it make it 150% throttle? I wonder what the ECU makes of that. I suppose pedal off is still pedal off mind.
Basically it amplifies any throttle input and means you get 100% throttle at about three quarters of pedal depression. I've not tried it but an educated guess would say the final quarter of pedal travel would now be redundant. Which if you read post #1 is what I want. The pedal travel is too long for me.
So yes, fuel economy will be affected if you make use of the vastly improved throttle response too often. But just like when you re-map, you soon ease off and adjust your driving style once the novelty wears off to take advantage of the improved dynamics without hooning around.
And finally to Wayne, yep, maybe I don't have any sense but hey ho. Someone's got to experiment a little. I did research this for quite some time (see post #1) before coughing up my hard earned and the company have been round a few years now. I've not read any horror stories. If I'm unlucky I may get to write my own though :lipsrsealed: Time'll tell.
You don't live too far away from me by the looks of things (Im in Devon) so if you want a demonstration of the issue that some of us believe mk6s have I'd be happy to let you see for yourself. The small amount of slack is very definately there for a reason, and that reson is likely to be some beaurocrat somewhere who's probably in the same department that insists the door mirrors are a funny shape that gives you blind spots. Insert your own anti EU Clarkson quote here to suit.
I had a Polo GTI 1.8t a few years ago. That had the complete opposite throttle response to the mk5 and more so the mk6 Golf. VW even made light of the fact in some witty adverts showing some bloke keep overshooting his parking space in his Polo GTI (there's a few more similar vein ones on youtube), so we know it's something engineered in to these latest generation cars.
For me, I'm no boy racer, I rarely use high revs but I do like a snappy throttle response and good mid range punch. If I end up with an issue in the future I'll be sure to come back and warn everyone.
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Sounds like a good mod to me, Exonian. Certainly a lot cheaper than a remap (mine cost me £550 :sad:). Thanks for the very detailed write-up.
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It basically makes the range of 0% to 100% throttle happen over a smaller range of throttle pedal movement.
I've never felt the need before on other VAG cars...but the Mk6 GTI has tragic throttle response.
The sprint booster makes it possible to blip the throttle without feeling like you are going up stairs...and makes the car far motre lively.
sure, you can get the same affect by pressing the pedal further...but try doing that whilst heel-toeing.
It can't open the throttle any further than the TB allows...so no damage can occur. It doesn't affect enough for that to happen.
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It basically makes the range of 0% to 100% throttle happen over a smaller range of throttle pedal movement.
I've never felt the need before on other VAG cars...but the Mk6 GTI has tragic throttle response.
The sprint booster makes it possible to blip the throttle without feeling like you are going up stairs...and makes the car far motre lively.
sure, you can get the same affect by pressing the pedal further...but try doing that whilst heel-toeing.
It can't open the throttle any further than the TB allows...so no damage can occur. It doesn't affect enough for that to happen.
Thanks for the info. :afro:
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Thanks Exonian and Ess_Three.
Good mod.
Very clear now. :smiley: