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SpeedBooster

5K views 28 replies 5 participants last post by  page62 
#1 · (Edited)
#3 ·
DansSlk said:
I am looking into a version custom tailored to the SLK i don't fancy just a generic MB one.

I will let you know how i get on
I passed it on to my engineer friend in Germany with the hopes he can develop something with a little less "gotcha" value.
 
#4 ·
Yea, the $250 price tag seems a little steep to me.

Here is the info he sent me.....course this is for the r170's.




Sprint Booster is compatible with your vehicle in two versions. One for
manual transmission (BDD 451) and one for automatic transmission (BDD
451A).

Best Regards

Stamatis Boulekos


I like the idea of no lag when pushing the pedal. :biglaugh:

SLKman:tu:
 
#6 ·
Basically, what the Sprint Booster does is convert the adaptive throttle control ("drive-by-wire") into linear throttle control. Basically it "feels" like you have more power because of the way it controls the throttle response.

So...if you want your car to go faster, buy the Sprint Booster...or press your right foot harder and deeper on the accelerator pedal more often!
:bannana:
 
#7 ·
Also if you read thru the thread, they talk about having to re-learn to drive in order not to keep making the car jump down a gear everytime they give it a little gas. :(

Sounds like it may cause you to use more gas? :confused:

Course many of them swear by it because it gets rid of that hesitation when they push the pedal...so who knows?:)

I will ask if I can try it and if I don't like it will they let me send it back.:bannana:

Then i will try it for sure! :biglaugh:

SLKman:tu:
 
#9 ·
"because it gets rid of that hesitation when they push the pedal...so who knows?"

the reason i use manual. I can see i'll need to accelarate ahead, I don't want to accelarate just yet. what do I do... Auto is like cruise control the car cannot see ahead just it's current situation.
 
G
#11 ·
Its a simple bit of kit really basically it just saps power from the line to the pedal and then measures the retuning voltage.

MB (and most other makes for that matter) make the first part of the pedal travel "mushy" it makes the car easier to control at slower speeds and for reversing stuff like that.

Lets say for arguments sake the first 5% of the travel is setup like that what the module does is measure the voltage being returned by the sensor and then up it if need be so if you apply 2.5% it doubles it so the computer always sees 0% then 5% and skips the mushy part of the throw getting right down to the linear part of the travel as page62 correctly states however since its just parasitic and does not have any actual control of the cars computers in any way the throttle is still adaptive so instead of keeping your foot buried in the carpet for longer you simply need to stamp the pedal harder when you need the power.

I think the reason people are having to re-learn it all is that you get used to the travel of the pedal and what amount of power it supply's so you install this device and drive like normal the throttle is actually more open for the first couple of seconds than you expect it to be causing the car to kangaroo you put your foot down the car lurches forward so you take your foot off and it stops then you place you foot down again and the process repeats just like pilot induced oscillation in an aircraft (well one without the computing power of a modern day one anyways)

Not trying to support the module or anything here and the price they are charging is ridiculous i am just trying to clear up a few facts on what it is supposed to do to the throttle and what i am trying to set up mine to be like.
 
#12 ·
Correct me if I'm wrong...the "kangaroo" effect would only last as long as it took to differentiate how much pedal to apply at any given moment. Like my wife's Saturn Vue...after driving my car with the hesitation and all, I get in her car and just about throw her and myself to the back of the car. It doesn't take long to configure my foot pressure to keep from getting whiplash.

BTW...This is not a for or against evaluation.
 
#13 ·
People take there foot of the accelarator? why the hell. ;) really people should learn to left foot brake with an auto. keeping the power on coming off the brakes is a good way to keep the car balanced. thanks for that write up dan, never heard about any of that before.
 
#14 · (Edited)
SLKman said:
Now that you mention it...My car does NOT lag when I shift thru the gears.:burnout:

So in manual, I guess it gets lazy.:biglaugh: LOL

Interesting....

SLKman:tu:
Mine only lags if I let the rpms drop below 2000...but it can be annoying if I'm not concentrating on it. Then I look at my wife and go, "What...it's not me!" :biglaugh: Before I know it I'm almost in someone's trunk.
 
G
#16 ·
Correct me if I'm wrong...the "kangaroo" effect would only last as long as it took to differentiate how much pedal to apply at any given moment. Like my wife's Saturn Vue...after driving my car with the hesitation and all, I get in her car and just about throw her and myself to the back of the car. It doesn't take long to configure my foot pressure to keep from getting whiplash.

BTW...This is not a for or against evaluation.
Thats very true i think the difference is that for the AMG's especially a small amount of change of the pedal equals a large amount of difference to the engine so if i keep on using my previous figures 5% throttle is quite a lot when you want to pull away from a junction say and because it does not go 1,2,3,4,5 just 0 right to 5 its gives a jolt i am sure any body with half decent throttle control could feather it to the point where you don't notice it but for your average joe (not saying anybody here is) it can be a surprise and the natural thing to do is take your foot off the throttle hence giving the kangaroo.
 
G
#17 ·
easty said:
People take there foot of the accelarator? why the hell. ;) really people should learn to left foot brake with an auto. keeping the power on coming off the brakes is a good way to keep the car balanced. thanks for that write up dan, never heard about any of that before.
Again thats very true mate but i don't think its something that springs to mind automatically unless you actually know about it like you would do it without thinking because you know it would have the desired effect your average bloke who has just upgraded to an MB and has never seen a track in his life probably ain't going to think about it in the spur of the moment

Hopefully this makes sense.
 
#18 ·
The funny thing is that my SLK320 doesn't have the throttle lag. My wife's C320 had it, but it went away when the dealer did a computer swap (under warranty, thank goodness).

I've heard they upgraded the software to eliminate the lag...I don't know if this is true or not, nor how it applies to the 230 engine.
 
#19 ·
Well that discription fits me....LOL

"My first Mercedes and never been on a track."

All I know is none of my other cars or trucks have ever had lag like this UNLESS they needed a tune-up. Since my SLK is regularly serviced, I have to assume it is a Mercedes thing.:(

I had not thought of the reverse aspect of it. I would hate to be in reverse and it take off like that. Could be dangerous!

SLKman:tu:
 
G
#20 ·
SLKman said:
Well that discription fits me....LOL

"My first Mercedes and never been on a track."

All I know is none of my other cars or trucks have ever had lag like this UNLESS they needed a tune-up. Since my SLK is regularly serviced, I have to assume it is a Mercedes thing.:(

I had not thought of the reverse aspect of it. I would hate to be in reverse and it take off like that. Could be dangerous!

SLKman:tu:
No offense intended mate.

I admit i do notice it most with MB's but it is quite visible in other cars esp German ones but normally the larger models its quite prominent in the BMW 7 Series or the Audi A8 for example you can push your foot down as fast as you like but for the first part of the travel the RPM's just rise slowly and then shoot off up the scale MB however seem to do it on all the models
 
#21 ·
:biglaugh: No offense taken here. LOL :biglaugh:

I'm relatively new to MB so I fall in that catagory. No pretenses here! :)

Maybe I should check into MB reprogramming the "Lag" out of my computer?

Wonder if that " O2 SENSOR PERFORMANCE CHIP " for sell on Ebay, (that I talked about a couple of weeks ago), may do the same thing. Trick the computer into giving more gas, thus avoiding the "lag"?:confused:


SLKman:tu:
 
G
#22 ·
I would steer clear of any of that magic performance stuff because it does not work at all its all just BS really.

An O2 sensor does control the fuel flows to a certain extent but the actual command as to how much is added is decided by the ECU based on loads of different sensors messing with them would have no effect on lag at all sorry mate.

Its just like ECU remaps they cant give you any more power than you already have give or take 1/2 extra horses on a NA car because without extra air the extra fuel is simply going to degrade performance what a good remap can do it improve the response so maybe if your having probs you should look into that they would be able to sharpen it up for you no problem at all.

The ECU thing is something that i would recommend if you are having problems with the throttle because a good tuner (and its important to go to a recognized name here not some back street garage not that i am saying you would or anything its just because big names tend to have more experience and offer a warranty) would sort that lag right out and not give you any problems with reversing either.
 
#23 ·
DansSlk said:
I would steer clear of any of that magic performance stuff because it does not work at all its all just BS really.

An O2 sensor does control the fuel flows to a certain extent but the actual command as to how much is added is decided by the ECU based on loads of different sensors messing with them would have no effect on lag at all sorry mate.

Its just like ECU remaps they cant give you any more power than you already have give or take 1/2 extra horses on a NA car because without extra air the extra fuel is simply going to degrade performance what a good remap can do it improve the response so maybe if your having probs you should look into that they would be able to sharpen it up for you no problem at all.

The ECU thing is something that i would recommend if you are having problems with the throttle because a good tuner (and its important to go to a recognized name here not some back street garage not that i am saying you would or anything its just because big names tend to have more experience and offer a warranty) would sort that lag right out and not give you any problems with reversing either.
So would you say this SpeedBooster thing is hocus-pocus? I agree on the O2 sensor device.
 
#24 ·
DesignoSLK said:
So would you say this SpeedBooster thing is hocus-pocus? I agree on the O2 sensor device.
I'll throw my .02 in here...

The SpeedBooster is not hocus-pocus, but it doesn't add any REAL power. It merely changes the way the throttle responds to your driving.

If that's worth $250, then by all means go for it, but personally I'm gonna waste that money on clear headlights...
:burnout:
 
#25 ·
page62 said:
I'll throw my .02 in here...

The SpeedBooster is not hocus-pocus, but it doesn't add any REAL power. It merely changes the way the throttle responds to your driving.

If that's worth $250, then by all means go for it, but personally I'm gonna waste that money on clear headlights...
:burnout:
I totally understand page...$250 IS a bit steep for that. And I understood it to not add any hp, just response time. People have been saying it feels like more power only because it's where you want it quicker. I'm holding out that someone will be able to do the same thing for less moola.
 
G
#26 ·
I would agree with page on this one since they make no claims to add any power to the car at all just sharpen up the responses so i would say no its not hocus-pocus but i agree $250 is way too steep for it as the job it actually does is so simple i would bet 90% of that charge is profit.
 
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