Sprint Boosters!!

Russ59

Senior member
 Mansfield Woodhouse
Has anyone ever fitted a Sprint Booster to their Z??

The guys on the Crossfire forum really rate them saying they really improve performance.
Unfortunately when I had my Crossfire I never got round to fitting one.

I'm unsure whether it would improve the performance of my 3.0 that much.

https://www.bimmian.com/Sprint-Booster-Throttle-Remapper-for-BMW-E85-Z4
 
Don't they simply change the throttle map settings?

In other words, the performance of the car does not change, but you're getting more throttle for the same foot inputs.

Might as well save your £200 and put your foot down harder.
 
Jonny Essex fitted one to his zed. Massive thread that concluded there's no extra power to be had, it just adds throttle response so it's like having a "sports" button

Edit - sprint's own website confirms that the chip doesn't improve bhp or 0-60 times.... :?

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I was just thinking while reading doesn't it basically do what the sports button does? Not necessary on the M anyway it's plenty responsive enough for me.
 
I was just thinking while reading doesn't it basically do what the sports button does? Not necessary on the M anyway it's plenty responsive enough for me.
 
In a 2.0 like Jonny's with no sport button to start with, a reasonable investment for an improved driving experience. In a 3.0, especially if it has a sport button ? I'm pretty sure it would be underwhelming...
 
It's not an improvement, it just reduces the full functionality of your throttle pedal (by making the car ecu see full throttle much sooner)

Marketing gimmick imo and rather put that money towards more regular oil and filter changes to keep what ponies you have in good shape.
 
I have one on a 3.0i and I like it a lot:

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Yes, it does not add any bhp, yes it is in fact a second sports button and yes what it boils down to is that I am too lazy to put my foot down decently, but it is still quite fun, also taking into account I bought it for a few tenners via Ebay from a guy who was provided with the wrong type of Sprintbooster for his BMW.

However 1, whereas the sports button does not make that much of a noticeable difference the Sprintbooster certainly does;
However 2, I always experienced some sort of hick up around 3000 - 3500 bhp when accelerating in first gear. That hick up is gone when using the Sprintbooster; and
However 3, the Sprintbooster remembers your settings, whereas the sports button does not. Though it has two positions and obviously an off position as well, you do not have to re-engage every time you start the car.

Having said that: well worth the retailing price on a 3.0i? Mwaaaah, not sure. Well worth when bought second hand with a serious discount? Yes, most def.
 
:D All I can say is, after reading about Jonny's experiences on the forum, I stumbled across one on Ebay, which I decided to order as a mere experiment, being sceptical like all you lads. I also decided to do so, being convinced that I could get rid of it again for not much less than I was prepared to offer for it on Ebay. Thus far however, I have not had any tendency to get rid of it.

Each for its own of course, I am not interested in other people buying Sprintboosters as I will have no financial gain in that.

However what I do not understand about the presumed total uselessness of the product for cars already having a sports button on this forum is this: would the same persons stating that also claim the sports button - and by that I mean the improved throttle response it has, not its effects on steering - is completely useless? If not, than why would a product having the same effects, but simply multiplying that effect at least a few times when compared to the sports button be a completely useless product? Anybody bashing it based on that argument ever experienced its effects IRL? :poke:

Also, obviously Sprintbooster does not claim the product to increase BHP, so the fact that it does not cannot come as much of a surprise and in my view also cannot be an argument for claiming its a useless product. You do not go to a supermarket claiming a refund because your steak did not taste like chicken either ... Sprintbooster only claims it improves throttle response and that is exactly what it does. Of course you can argue that you consider the product to expensive in relation to its characteristics (as already stated above), but that's no reason to claim it's a useless product.
 
I'm sceptical about them when discussed in relation to performance.

They might make the car feel a bit quicker due to the throttle being at 100% open when the accelerator is only half pressed.

However, similar to a Sports button, there is no performance increase, and I wouldn't want anyone to be under any illusion that sprint boosters increase performance


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Well you are fully right there, obviously preferrably no one should buy products based on wrong assumptions about their characteristics and thus you are right in warning people against that. :thumbsup:

On the other hand whether or not it increases performance or not is a bit of a semantic issue, as some people will consider performance to consist of more than shere BHP or Nms and may also consider increased throttle response to mean increased performance.

My biggest point however is that it is suggested that it does nothing to cars already equipped with a sports button, by drivers who are not in a position to say so because they have not driven a car with both a sports button and a Sprintbooster. Readers taking over that sugegstion are also under a false illusion as it significantly changes throttle response over the slightly increased throttle response due to engaging the sports button.

Apart from that it also does something that may be of value for certain drivers as every now and then the question is raised here whether it is possible to leave the sports button on permanently, which it is not. At least with respect to increased throttle response, the Sprintbooster allows you to keep that on permanently and thus when engaging it in its "green" position permanently, but with your sports button off (as will automatically be the case following turning off your ingnition), creates an effect on your throttle response similar to having your sports button on permanently, or in its "red" position an effect that exceeds the increased throttle response caused by the sports button by far.

As stated before, whether or not you value these characteristics at the price requested by the seller of a Sprintbooster is a different issue to consider. :wink:
 
There are some seriously lazy people around if a selling point is keeping it on permanently rather than having to push a button next to your leg to turn the sports button on when you've switched the engine off! :poke:

It's not increased performance, I have exactly the same performance as someone with a sprint booster, I just press the throttle slightly harder?! I just don't get the debate on this. It moves the throttle response higher up the accelerator pedal, that's it. If you want that, great, and if you got it on the cheap then fair play, but to debate performance gains or anything else just seems silly.
 
The cars can be coded to have the sport button turned on with the ignition if I'm not mistaken.

It does render the sprintbooster utterly useless for those with sports buttons for sure, hence why most owners with the sport button wouldn't even care for a sprint booster to begin with.
 
I'm totally confused by this. Now that's easily Done so I'd better explain a bit more.
Imagine this was for the volume on your telly.
You can turn the volume up by the +> button on the remote control or you can buy a button that automatically starts your telly at a louder volume?
 
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