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My 2007 4Runner
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4Runner History
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Other
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Concept:
Throttle lag is one of the most complained about issues on the 2003+ 4th Gen and 2010+ 5th Gen Toyota 4Runners.
Sprint Booster is the first and leading product in the industry to improve throttle response by reprogramming the acceleration signal.
What is throttle lag?
Throttle lag is a delay in the increase of the power output of the vehicle's engine in response to the driver's request for acceleration via the pedal.
On older 4Runners, such as my 1999 4Runner, the gas pedal is directly connected to the engine's throttle plate by a traditional cable.
This connection by cable gives a direct linear 1:1 responsive feel to the acceleration of the vehicle.
Vehicles with a properly adjusted cable actuated throttle do not experience throttle lag.
But in 2001 Toyota changed from this traditional cable actuation method to the more advanced Drive-By-Wire, or Electronic Throttle Control (ETC).
Toyota describes this as a link-less ETCS-i (Electronic Throttle Control System-intelligent) system, which realizes excellent throttle control in all the operating ranges.
There are many advantages of an ETC system which has no cable between pedal and throttle...Life-long no maintenance or adjustment required,
enhanced VSC vehicle skid control and cruise control functions, reduced NVH transmission through dash panel, easier to service and tune,
more precise control of the throttle opening compared to a cable that stretches over time, etc.
You can read more about the many advantages of the ETCS-i system in the Toyota ETC Training document
I have made available here on my website.
The reality is that drive by wire does not "realize excellent throttle control" as Toyota claims, but rather introduces significant throttle lag.
Instead of having a throttle cable dictate how fast you take off, the ECM does it instead. So no matter how hard you push on the pedal, the ECM carefully
regulates how much power to provide to the wheels and how quickly to do so.
While this may be a more efficient way of operating, it has the disappointing downside of delaying your pedals response time and acceleration.
This is where a throttle delay eliminator comes in. A drive-by-wire throttle delay eliminator is an electronic device that installs inline between the
accelerator pedal and the ECM, and its simple installation will not affect your vehicle's electronic system, but will eliminate the lag in the electronic throttle response.
Sprint Booster:
As described above, the electronic throttle control system has the downside of delayed throttle response and subdued acceleration, creating problems in
certain circumstances such as up-hill starts, quick gear changes, overtaking, etc.
Sprint Booster is an electronic device that improves acceleration by continuously measuring and converting the digital signal provided by the ETC’s potentiometer,
and providing the ECM with a new and altered signal with the goal of overcoming this throttle response delay for ETC-equipped vehicles.
It provides crisp on-tap acceleration at the driver’s disposal. Though it does not add any more power, it makes your vehicle "feel" more powerful.
While the stock system is designed for smoothness and fuel economy, the Sprint Booster makes your car more responsive and fun to drive.
The plug and play design of the Sprint Booster module allows for quick and simple installation without the need to cut any wires.
There is no adjustment of vehicles electronics and therefore does not affect other systems such as electronic injection, ABS, etc.
| Main Features and Specifications of the Sprint Booster: |
At low revs, the engine responds at approximately half the time in comparison to before.
The delay time in accelerating in the 3rd and 4th gears with the engine in the mid-range is almost completly eliminated.
Big differences in the higher rev range.
Quicker response for downshifts and safer passing.
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3 acceleration modes. Off, Sport, Race
OFF mode – Sprint Booster is deactivated. The response of the car has the factory settings.The LED of the Selector switch is OFF.
SPORT mode– Sprint Booster provides improved response up to 30%. The LED of the selector switch in Sport mode is Green.
RACE mode – Sprint Booster provides improved response up to 60%. The LED of the selector switch in Race mode is Red.
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36 acceleration programs.
The device has 36 acceleration programs, but not all are usable in the 4Runner application.
There are 18 programs for the Manual Transmission selection and 18 programs for the Automatic transmission selection.
Since the Toyota 4Runner only has an Automatic transmission, once you make this selection, you only have 18 acceleration programs left to choose from.
Each mode, SPORT/RACE, can be adjusted with 9 programs allowing the driver to fine tune each according to their particular preference.
You can select 1-9 in SPORT mode (Green light) and 1-9 in RACE mode (Red light) with ‘1’ being the least aggressive program and ‘9’ being the most aggressive.
Each program adjusts the response by between 3% and 6% so it can be fully adjustable and customized by the driver.
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Transmission Specific.
Sprint Booster modes and programs, are transmission type specific for better function and performance.
The driver can select the type of vehicle transmission through a slide switch located on the right side of the selector switch.
The device will automatically adjust the programs according the type of transmission selected.
There are 36 programs in total (18 for manual transmission & 18 for automatic transmission).
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Pedal Lock.
The Pedal Lock feature provides extra protection against unauthorized vehicle use. The driver can deactivate the acceleration ability of the vehicle when it’s stationary through a 3 digit PIN. When Pedal lock is enabled the acceleration gets disabled and the vehicle stays on idle until you enter the correct PIN.
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Valet Mode.
The Valet feature limits the acceleration of the vehicle by 55 % – 65% – 75% (comes in 3 selectable levels).
It is activated/deactivated through a 3 digit PIN.
By limiting the acceleration there will be a significant reduction in vehicle’s performance (Power and Torque).
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Compact Design.
The compact size allows the driver to place the selector switch anywhere on the dashboard with the use of the included double sided tape.
Sprint Booster also offers the option to completely remove the switch from the device. In this case the device will work with the last settings stored in memory.
For example, if the driver disconnects the selector switch while in SPORT-5 (SPORT mode- Acceleration program 5), the device will keep as default the program SPORT-5.
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Videos demonstrating the elimination of throttle body response lag:
These are great videos I found which demonstrate the Sprint Boosters effect on throttle lag.
Unboxing:
The Sprint Booster comes with the following items:
Sprint Booster device.
Selector switch.
Double sided tape to mount the selector switch.
Cable tie for conceling excess switch wire.
Installation Instructions.
User Guide.
Sprint Booster V3
Packaging |
Includes installation instructions and user guide |
All included components |
Selector switch and Sprint Booster device |
Selector switch and Sprint Booster device |
Selector switch connected to the Sprint Booster |
Installation:
The installation of the Sprint Booster throttle lag eliminator is very easy.
First remove the keys from the ignition and wait for 10 minutes to ensure that the vehicle can complete checking the electronic systems through the CAN bus.
After a full 10 minutes has passed since removing the vehicles key, disconnect the accelerator pedal connector harness.
Accelerator pedal
with factory wire harness connected |
Disconnect the accelerator pedal connector |
Accelerator pedal
with factory wire harness removed |
On the selector switch, set the switch to Automatic transmission type.
Set the type of your vehicle's transmission |
Connect the selector switch to the Sprint Booster device.
Selector switch connected to the Sprint Booster |
Connect the Sprint Booster device to the harness you just removed from the accelerator pedal. then connect the Sprint Booster device to the pedal assembly.
Accelerator pedal
with Sprint Booster attached to factory wire harness |
Selector switch connected to the Sprint Booster |
After connecting the Sprint Booster device to the harness and pedal, you will notice the new location of the factory wiring is a little too close to the
air conditioner / heater piping. These pipes get hot and you do not necessarily want wires touching them.
I used a piece of 1/2" fuel line, about 5" long and sliced down the center, to protect the wiring from contact.
A section of 1/2" fuel line, 5" long
to be used to protect the factory wiring from the heater pipes |
Fuel hose protecting factory wiring |
With the Sprint Booster device all connected up, you will now want to run the switch up to the dash somewhere for convenient access.
At first, I choose a location to the left of the steering wheel that allows for easy access if needed,
but is also in a place where the led light on the switch will not be in constant sight and avoid distraction.
I quickly realized that I would not be able to live with the look of the exposed wiring.
Sprint Booster selector switch mounted to left of steering wheel |
Since I have one factory switch position unused, I removed its blank cover. Using a dremel, notched out a section of the bottom to allow the wire to pass through with no stress.
Also did the same notching of the actual dash itself.
Notching out of factory switch blank
in order to mount with a cleaner look |
Dremel 562 Tile Cutting Bit used to notch switch blank |
Finished switch blank modification |
Notched factory switch position |
Using the included double sided tape, position the Sprint Booster switch onto the factory switch blank and pass with wire through the notched portion of the blank and dash.
I think this gives it a professional look to the switch and the LEDs are not in view while driving which can be a distraction, yet it is easily accessable if needed.
Sprint Booster selector switch relocated to unused factory switch for cleaner look |
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Review:
It works! Throttle response is immediately improved.
Gone is the anoying lag between the time you press the accelerator pedal and the time the engine responds. The vehicle downshifts if needed much quicker as well.
The lag time was a real drawback and quite a problem (almost dangerous) at times such as when scooting across traffic lanes during a busy left hand turn intersection,
entering fast moving highways and during a quick passing maneuver.
The responsiveness can be dialed in, in varying degress of responsiveness depending on the mode (sport or race) and program (1 thru 9) you choose.
I am not an agressive driver, especially in a heavy, lifted SUV with big A/T tires, such as my 4Runner. But I enjoy driving and do not like an unresponsive feel.
This corrects that.
I will say that so far I do not like the Red Race mode. It is far too aggressive for the type of driving I do. For me, it ramps up the RPMs to a range that I typically
would not want to get to at partial throttle. It completely eliminates the lag but the remapping is too much for me at the higher levels of the Red Race mode.
That said, the Green Sport mode is the one for me. I am mostly keeping the setting somewhere between 5 and 7 Green Sport mode. This gives a great balance between increased responsiveness
and the ability to still modulate the throttle similar to how you can without this device installed.
I have purchased my Sprint Booster from Jason at www.burtmanindustries.com and have
nothing but good words to say about the experience. His price cannot be beaten and he was able to answer all my questions up front and offered a money back guarantee.
Shipping was timely too. If you are not familiar with him, he has been servicing the 4Runner community for over 20 years now and is active on various enthusiast forums
in which he has a great reputation.
I am indeed sorry I waited so long to do this modification.
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