Sprint Booster vs. Tuning

Definitely not required.

I started on 04B03. Then added sprint booster. Made driving tolerable. Changed to 04B04, got rid of sprint booster as throttle was now tolerable. Then got OVT 2.0 and was happier around town. Had a 5.7 hemi ram as a rental for a week, and when I got back in the taco, I was pissed how weak the throttle was. I had to put it in ECT and it was... annoying. Added the KDMAXX tune.. and it is by far the best this truck has driven in 5 years. Light years better than anything I tried before it. It drives how it should have from the factory.

 

Mine almost makes it feel like the tranny slips or hesitates at times as well. Must be the same thing.

 

And that is exactly what I was hoping for, I didnt care to make the the truck "faster" or shift firmer. I just wanted a smooth downshift without the truck dropping 2 or 3 gears and revving to the moon.

 

If you don’t really care about more throttle response, the “always on ECT” mod might be the best for you. I run ECT on with the Sprint Booster combined now and it’s glorious. Makes my truck zippy and shift just right for my taste. You can get the ECT module on ebay for <$50 and it takes about 10 min. to install. Mesa Customs makes one too (and I think they invented it, but they were always out of stock when I was looking, so another member on here makes one and sells them on ebay). You can still turn ECT off too BTW, but instead of defaulting to off when you start the truck (and having to manually turn it on, it’s the opposite). I’d say turn it on when you get in the truck for the next couple days and see if it helps, then you can decide better if you want the always on mod.

 

I installed the SB V3 in my 2016 TRD Sport about a week or so ago. Have it set on "Sport 7" and like it a lot. Feels noticeably peppier to me. Tomorrow I'll install a TRD air filter and the Toyota Intake Flow Accelerator (the one that comes with the TRD Cold Air Intake Performance Kit). Hopefully, it will feel still peppier. Dunno?

 

I settled on “sport 6” mode on my truck. That setting gave my truck the most natural throttle curve as well as that get off the line “punch”, and it also seems to be just the right setting for me to predictably be able to control the shifting of the trans with the gas pedal.

 

Interesting. We’re close. I do like the idea of setting it up for one’s taste. S/b enough settings for almost anyone.

 

So just read through this; question. Appears the SB doesn't or shouldn't effect any warranty really and earlier a post once programmed can be disconnected? Or did I mis-read that the SB remains plugged in for it to function?

 

That's my understanding.

 

Exactly correct, in that it does nothing permanent to the computer at all, and yes, it can be easily disconnected, although you shouldn't need to.

 

^^ This. I would hate to be on the hook for a major repair that would have otherwise been covered under warranty.

 

It won’t affect warranty because it’s easily removed in a couple minutes and once it’s gone, it’s gone (it doesn’t affect your ECU or anything after it’s removed). When you install it, the unit itself always stays attached to the gas pedal’s connector, but the controller for the SB is removable (or you can mount it so you can turn it on/off or change the settings as you drive). But once you set it how you like, you have the option to remove the controller and it’ll keep on doing its thing on whatever setting you last set it to. I set mine on S6 and removed the controller.

When I go to the dealership I don’t normally plug in the controller to turn the SB off, but you can if you feel like it. Since it’s tucked up under where the gas pedal is, it’s not something that someone would notice unless they specifically looked up in that spot for some reason. I’ll bet the techs just think, man this thing runs great when they pull it around the parking lot.

 

Perfect! Appreciate it.

I think I will go this route. I love our truck, but it's pretty lack luster compared to our tuned BMW and GTI LOL. (I know different worlds and not trying to make it something its not, just little more seat of the pants pep would be nice)

 

While I don't have an SB myself, I've done a good bit of research on it on this and other forums. Apparently there isn't a lot of room down by the accelerator and it takes a bit of a contortionist to unplug the connector to the accelerator pedal and plug the SB connector in. Make sure you get it in all the way and all the connections are solid, otherwise you will end up with CELs and error codes. Also, make sure you leave the driver's door open with the truck off for at least 10-15 min before proceeding to make sure the CANBUS system has done it's thing. Come back and let us know how it all goes and what you think of it.

 

I'm all in on one just waiting to tack on a few more miles and it to go on sale. I will say that when it ever goes to the dealer I will knock it down to lowest setting, don't need some tech or car jockey hitting the go pedal and getting an unexpected boost in acceleration.

 

I found it very easy to install and took maybe 5 min on the Tacoma. There are some (I think) A/C lines that are directly above the pedal, and I’m not sure if they get hot or not, so I made sure when I zip tied the excess wires up, that nothing was going to touch those lines. That might not have been necessary, but it’s something I did to be safe. I didn’t have much problem getting the factory pug off the gas pedal, but if it becomes a pain, you can always quickly unbolt the whole pedal assembly to get the plug off, and not have to be working up there in tight quarters where you can’t see well.

You can just turn it off completely with the controller.

 

Love it! Just installed. Set to S7 for fun. Boy that wakes up the pedal something good in a good way.

Access I found super easy compared to some of my other cars. Everything seemed to snap and lock in place.

I forgot about leaving the door open for a bit, ooops. We will see. Only driven around the block for the moment, have some errands later to run.

 

Glad you're happy with it, and thanks for reporting back. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you on the door thing

 

OK. Yall need to take a look at the accelerator pedal of the 2nd AND 3rd gen tacomas (as they are the same). They are a simple analog circuit, no canbus, no fancy data stream, so all the pedal commander/sprint booster is doing is altering how much you are pushing down (more in "sport modes", less in "eco modes") the pedal as seen by the ecu.

IT.
DOES.
NOT.
MAKE.
THE.
THROTTLE.
BODY.
MORE.
RESPONSIVE.

You ARE NOT, changing the tune of the ecu, the coding of the ecu etc. The reason why there are 2 throttle pedal inputs is for redundancy if one fails, essentially a self check.

from here ->https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pedal-commander-installed-wow.692471/page-6#post-25074505

================

If you understood the electrical circuit at play here you would understand why the pedal commander / spirit booster inline pedal things do nothing more than simulate pushing on the gas pedal more or less than you actually are. Its a simple analog circuit, reference voltage in, and the further the pedal is pushed reference voltage increases or decreases (depending on the way the potentiometer is wired) at the same rate. The ecu takes this voltage back and compares it to the reference voltage and calculates how far you are pushing the gas pedal. YOU CAN NOT REPORT BACK A HIGHER THAN REFERENCE VOLTAGE OR LOWER THAN 0...

THATS ALL THE ECU SEES. REGARDLESS OF ANY DEVICES, SWITCHES, ETC PLUGGED INLINE TO THE THROTTLE PEDAL.

You could literally put an on off switch in place of the throttle pedal to simulate 0 to 100% gas pedal pushing as quick as possible and the throttle body would only move as fast as the ecu would let it (which is almost instant unless a traction control event takes place - also do not put a switch in the throttle pedals place).

I dont understand why this is so hard to grasp.


EDIT - Diagram - Two simple sweeping analog potentiometers within the gas pedal assembly.

 

Ever driven with one?