OVtune vs. ShiftSense Pro vs. SprintBooster V3

I see lots of comments about the OV Tune and ShiftSense Pro, but minimal on the SprintBooster V3......Why???

Is no one using the SprintBooster V3?? I just bought one (used) and it seems great so far.

Just curious.

Thanks, Paco Devo

 

OVTune is on a completely different plane than Sprintbooster and Shiftsense. It blows them out of the water. They are snake oil/Band aid. OVTune is the real deal.

 

It's also ridiculously expensive. Taking advantage of Tacoma owners because they know the stock tune is shit, and they're currently the only ones with a tune.

 

OVtune is a high end full tune that completely remaps everything $$$$$

Shiftsense changes shift points to better utilize the power (or lack there of) of the new motor and trans

Sprintbooster simply changes the throtle input curve.... it does nothing more than make the ecu think you have pushed on the gas pedal futher than you have.... a waste of money

 

OVtune is roughly twice the cost of a Sprintbooster V3. But it also does MUCH more for response and performance. The price is fair for what it does.

Also them being the only ones with a tune is not them taking advantage, its called being innovators.

 

Agree. It was hard to shell out the cash for OVTune and of course I was concerned about hurting my truck by monkeying with the factory ECU but when I finally got to my wits end I decided I would try this LAST thing and if it didn't make my truck more enjoyable to drive I'd trade it out within the year for a full size (which I did NOT want to do, but I also didn't want a GM...)

Stock tune was harsh, bogged badly, downshifted way too late and resulted in a JERKY downshift at far to high RPMs to be healthy for the drivetrain IMO. Plus the incessant vibrations were annoying on a good day, almost unbearable on others. The lag in throttle response is downright unsafe, and I really hope someone doesn't get seriously hurt (or worse) before they do something about that problem.

Post tune, my truck runs wicked smooth with very little vibes. Throttle response is predictable and linear - I always know what Im going to get out of my truck when I hit the gas without the truck thinking it knows what I want to do. Power delivery is smoother overall and it actually works like any other AT I've owned... you press harder on the gas, it knows you want to go faster and downshifts at an appropriate RPM/load. The extra power tuned for premium wasn't why I bought it, but it is noticeable and makes the truck feel lighter and more peppy which also adds to a more fun driving experience without pushing any limits to cause more engine wear.

Lots of naysayers have concerns about reliability impacts, but I watch my fuel trims, lamda/AFR closely and the tune maintains everything within what the service manual considers "normal" so I can only conclude its at least AS safe as the stock tune, but I won't be surprised if it actually improves the life of the engine/tranny without all the harsh shifts and bipolar throttle response.

My $.02 (and that's about what it's worth...)

 

How much does the OVT tune cost? I was sold on buying the Sprint Booster + SSP until I read your comment. Have any links to the products?

 

Holy crap...they want to charge $300 for a gimmicky device that just changes the pedal signal. That makes the VALUE of the OVTune seem waaaay better.

@St.Germain had a similar dohicky and now has the OVtune and could maybe explain the differences.

 

Taking advantage? Please!

You can keep the stock tune, or you can pay for their product.

Taking advantage would be correct, IF Toyota released a second tune option and charged for it - because THEY tuned the original maps. OVTune spent money and time making their own tune, getting paid for that product is hardly taking advantage of anybody.

 

yep, supply and demand / capitalism at its finest. there was a huge demand, no one took "advantage" of the demand until OV came around and started breaking these ECUs apart to dissect the problems and fix them. I've wasted a lot of money on stupid things in my life. this tune is NOT one of them...

 

Look for the OrangeVirus (OVTune) threads - there is an alpha thread that was used for iteration and development (huge thread, hard to follow for a newcomer) and then 2 more recent threads you'll find - one for manual and one for auto trannys. about $800 shipped

 

You'll be hard pressed to find someone who has tried all three that can give you an actual comparison.

 

nobody can take advantage of me if i have choices. so yeah that one time the OV Tune guy came over and forced me to buy that shit at gunpoint.

anyways..

OP these are all different products. most everyone in here is making the same point. there are causal (causal, not casual!) fixes and there are symptom fixes... the OV Tune is fixed at the causal level, a poor ECU program. the Sprint Booster, Pedal Commander, and SSP don't touch the programming but attempt to work around it. you can argue all day about which and why.

i had the Pedal Commander (PC) and had massive value for it because i found my MT Taco nearly undriveable due to the stock ECU program. once i found the PC i got super happy, kept the truck, had fun driving, but continued to fight with a muted engine, non-linear throttle, non-linear power delivery, and basically just a very indirect inconsistent weak feeling motor. i knew the solution was always a new ECU tune but there was nothing available then, so i kept the truck and enjoyed it best i could, which was a damn lot. but it still wasn't right. the symptom was adjusted but not the cause and it was clear to me every minute of every drive.

the OV Tune came and fixed it all for me. now: linear throttle, mostly linear power delivery, no engine "muting", much much more direct feeling at the throttle, and a big chunk more torque that i use every time i drive. it's amazing. and for me it's worth much more than $800 although i agree that 'yota should have had it right from the beginning, but that's another discussion.

 

Those three options aren't really fair to compare against eachother. They do drastically different things. OV Tune essentially addresses both issues that each Sprint Booster and Shift sense address individually.

-Sprint booster as stated makes the throttle curve more aggressive ( Less pedal input = more throttle opening.) It does essentially what the ECT button does minus addressing the shift points. ECT makes throttle curve more aggressive AND changes shift points to better utilize HP...so I don't really see the point of Sprint Booster. Having never used it, maybe I'm missing something but the literature I saw didn't convince me it was worth it and I seem to remember most of the MT ( manual transmission ) guys and gals found it to work. Auto owners didn't see any gains because the shift points were still shit. It seems overpriced for what it does. The website even states it makes your vehicle "feel faster".

-Shift Sense just commands the S+ mode automatically. Now it comes with 3 selectable modes (More aggressive, Standard, and less aggressive). It is also able to engage or disengage on the fly. I have the latest chipset and love the less aggressive mode. It's perfect for me. and is the least expensive one.

These two make the "Problem" of the Tacoma drivetrain more manageable. It has been mentioned these two are "snake-oil/bandaids" but I think that disingenuous to the work the mfg of the Shift Sense put in to the product. There's a lot of thought behind the product and the work involved by a member owned one man show is appreciated by many satisfied users. Both products actually do what they say they do so I don't even know how you call them snake-oil. Intake vortex generators...those are pure snake oil.

The Sprint Booster I've seen marked in many different packages ( Pedal Commander, Sprint Booster, Etc)

OV Tune goes a completely different route. This tune changes the root causes behind why many people hate the drivetrain in these 3rd gens. Engine output is optimized, shift points are better calibrated, AND there is an actual power increase to make things better among other things.

Yes it is $700 but you just spent $40,000 on a truck. Is one month's payment really too much for the the performance it should have had from the get go? I don't think so. Down the line I plan to go the OV Tune route I just don't have any desire to be an early adopter.


J

 

isn't OV tune cheaper if you bring your truck in? I live in SoCal, so....

 

Thanks, guys for all the responses. Most likely I didn't get what I really hoped for, but my truck DOES drive better. So being retired and on a fixed income with a son in college and a daughter in grad school (and paying for each of their vehicles, too) the OV Tune is out of the question FOR NOW. God, my '68 Bronco with a 351 Windsor, carb and NV3550 5-speed is SOOOOO much easier to deal with than all this modern technology!!!!!

I may start to actually miss my '07 Tundra for it's simplicity!

I do appreciate all the explanations and comparisons between the 3 products!!

 

It's $459 if you send in your ECU.

 

IDK how people who are driving 30-40K trucks are complaining about a $700 tune.


Are you plebs living paycheck to paycheck to afford that truck?

 

I'll be able to when my registration code gets here for m tune.

I didn't have a sprint booster but I had a pedal commander. I loved it. I thought it made a bigger improvement to driving experience than the shift sense did. Which was also a good product.

 

My thoughts exactly lol