Anyone try a throttle controller on a drive by wire car? (Page 1/1)
RayOtton APR 05, 09:16 PM
We bought an '06 Civic EX a couple weeks back as a daily driver for the wife. Nice car, only 50K miles.

I have to say I am impressed. It's a coupe so it's got a sport suspension and it handles very nicely. Of course it's a little down on power for me with just 140HP but not terrible to be honest. And 40MPG isn't anything to sneeze at.

About the only complaint I have is the lag in response when pushing the gas. My Lincoln had the same thing but with 300 HP it was no big deal.

The Honda forums all talk about a throttle booster that reduces this feeling. The manufacturer websites make it clear that it doesn't increase HP but if does make for a more responsive car.

Problem with the Honda forums is that they are overrun with 20 year olds and I can't get a straight answer.

So, anyone here ever try one of these units?
IMSA GT APR 06, 11:07 PM
I won't talk about your specific car but DBW cars in general. The delay is caused by a quick change in resistance value, throttle plate position, and the computer's ability to adjust everything including fuel delivery in a split second. By modifying the resistor value, you can trick the computer to open the throttle plate sooner so when you barely press on the gas, the plate will actually open to 40% instead of just 5%. By the time your foot gets to the 50% throttle position, the computer already has the throttle plate opened to 100% so the response is quicker. The problem is that by modifying the resistor value with another electronic component, you can open up an uncontrollable situation if something fails. In other words, if the unit overheats and fails and sends a false resistance reading to the car's computer, you could end up with a full throttle situation with your foot OFF the gas pedal and cause a major wreck.

Basically, that is what those throttle boosters do. They simply change the throttle plate position quicker than normal. Obviously a chip reprogram would be the way to go but they want an arm and a leg for those.

Edit to add.......if you want to try the Sprint boosters, they do have a 30 day money back guarantee if you don't like it. They install in 10 minutes and are plug-and-play. If you don't like the way it feels, send it back.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 04-06-2017).]

RayOtton APR 07, 08:22 AM
Thanks for the reply.

As it turns out I was able to purchase a Flash Pro for a very reasonable price so I will not be needing the throttle booster.
IMSA GT APR 07, 10:32 PM
Cool. The Flashpro is the way to go but I didn't recommend it because of it's normally high price.
E.Furgal APR 11, 12:02 PM

quote
Originally posted by RayOtton:

Thanks for the reply.

As it turns out I was able to purchase a Flash Pro for a very reasonable price so I will not be needing the throttle booster.



You can tune out the delay.. it is there to get that 40mpg.. Less TPS movement = better mpg..
slower slope to the drivers input= better mpg.
Less movement from foot movement over bumps.. also allows the parts to last longer.. throttle shafts.. less leaks..
Less wear on the TPS..
Newer vehicles with multi driver modes.. control the lag here..
RayOtton APR 12, 06:53 AM
Been delving into the Flashpro for a couple of days.

It is way more complicated than the SCT X3 tuner I use on my F-150.

So complicated in fact that I found an online service that will analyze the data that Flashpro collects and recommend the best settings for this car.

They do the analysis for free. Of course, they have some cost options for setting the car up for me. The prices are very reasonable and I will probably go that route.