JB vs Sprint Booster

Ok so i have a 328xi coupe and i want my car to feel more sporty in the throttle or feel more powerful. Im in the works of adding the BMW Performance Exhaust but wanna know if i should add one or both of these products to get some more gain or just feel a little boost. help

Help

Sprint booster is a waste of money & does nothing to make the car quicker. It's a feel good thing that just increases the throttle tip in rate to to simulate better performance.

The JB Power box also remaps the throttle for faster tip like the sprint booster but in addition it remaps the cars ECU for more power. That being said the gains are marginal, about 10whp max. On My 330Ci I just stuck with the factory settings as I did not think the gains were worth the price. Overall the 328's are pretty well developed from the factory & its very hard to gain much power without spending a lot of money.

thank you for the info

*bump*

No problem

from what i heard, modding an E9x is pretty expensive. my advice is why not invest in a 335i instead? u'r in the same shoes as many people who wish to mod their rides but the gains are minimal since they are optimal from factory, and the best gains would be to go F/I. instead of putting a custom turbo and throw ur money away and the value of ur car remains the same, buy a car with a better re-sale value like the 335i/is

The sprint booster is good for heel-toe gearshifts under braking on the street. It makes the throttle too twitchy on the track. The car feels more powerful because of the immediacy of the throttle response. I believe most tunes on NA engines do this to make your engine feel more potent, as the power gains, especially on a BMW, are relatively minor. Turbo's engines are a different story in terms of power gains.

You don't need both.

Originally Posted by ///M-ratedE90

The sprint booster is good for heel-toe gearshifts under braking on the street. It makes the throttle too twitchy on the track. The car feels more powerful because of the immediacy of the throttle response. I believe most tunes on NA engines do this to make your engine feel more potent, as the power gains, especially on a BMW, are relatively minor. Turbo's engines are a different story in terms of power gains.

You don't need both.

So are you saying that if im just driving around town then i should go with the sprint booster. Ive notice that JB has a whole line up for those turbo engines

I don't know anything about the JB tunes for NA engines, so I shouldn't give advice on selection. I have a sprint booster on my M3 and enjoy using it. It doesn't revolutionize the car, but it enhances my driving experience. It isn't a cheap tune by any means.

It will make the engine feel more responsive without adding power, it just opens the throttle much faster and without a delay. It does make the car "feel" more powerful. You could also add something like an aFe air filter for a small increase in power and a much better engine sound for not a lot of cash.
I find the sprint booster makes gear changes smoother for me, but this will differ with driving style.
I use mine on the street and turn it off when I track. I have an M3 which has 3 throttle maps with M-Drive that can do a similar function.

Originally Posted by speedninja

Ok so i have a 328xi coupe and i want my car to feel more sporty in the throttle or feel more powerful. Im in the works of adding the BMW Performance Exhaust but wanna know if i should add one or both of these products to get some more gain or just feel a little boost. help

Trade to 335i. Anything else is a waste of money on a 328i. The 335i can be boosted for further for relatively nothing

Looking recently many 335i cars were actually less expensive than the 328i equivalents. Gas prices and reliability issues with the 335i are likely factors. Certainly at 50K+ miles there are a lot of cheap 335i cars on the market here

Jb But if you want sporty feel why not buy a 335i alot more mods you can do for power

I actually have a 07 335i MT and was looking into this sprint booster but Im not sure if I should get it with the JB+ tuner or will the tuner be more than enough needed. I hate that throttle response lag and im trying to get rid of it. I also heard that theres an unlock valve made by Bavarian thats suppose to help with switching from 1st to 2nd. Anyone know anything about this?

The Bavarian valve is a replacement for the CDV - clutch delay valve - in the hydraulics of the clutch system. It restricts the flow of fluid to slow the release of the clutch and in theory give a smoother engagement of the clutch plate with the engine fly wheel. If you are a noob, this is a good thing as it protects your clutch. If you are an experienced stick driver, it can drive you nuts (especially gears 1-2) and probably shortens the clutch lifetime somewhat. You can replace the CDV with a wider bore piece (just drilled out) to eliminate this design feature. This is what Bavarian sells.

You need a real tune with a lag fix to cut down on turbo lag. For what its worth I use the throttle tip in adjustment on the JB4 to slow down the throttle function for better power management eliminating any jumpiness in the launch process.

thanks for the explantion.. yeah im a stick driver for life but then again, i dont wanna kill my clutch and spend $$$$ on a new clutch every year for a $30 unlock valve

Originally Posted by aybarra408

thanks for the explantion.. yeah im a stick driver for life but then again, i dont wanna kill my clutch and spend $$$$ on a new clutch every year for a $30 unlock valve

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29828

There should be a better DIY out there with better pictures.

I also found putting a thicker clutch "pedal stop" a simple method of improving gear changes as it reduces redundant clutch travel at the bottom of the arc. Easy enough to do, just a bit fiddly getting in the drivers footwell.

Originally Posted by ///M-ratedE90

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29828

There should be a better DIY out there with better pictures.

I also found putting a thicker clutch "pedal stop" a simple method of improving gear changes as it reduces redundant clutch travel at the bottom of the arc. Easy enough to do, just a bit fiddly getting in the drivers footwell.

Standard 1/4 mod for MT's for many years. Mine was a crude piece of wood. Switch to now, piece of wood under the throttle to keep the car out of kickdown at WOT

Originally Posted by aybarra408

I actually have a 07 335i MT and was looking into this sprint booster but Im not sure if I should get it with the JB+ tuner or will the tuner be more than enough needed. I hate that throttle response lag and im trying to get rid of it.

The Cobb N54 AccessPort tune will also eliminate the throttle lag.

Btw, the N55's initial stock throttle lag is much worse than the N54, at least until you've driven it aggressively (or used a Sprint Booster as I did) for a few hundred miles. It's almost as if the throttle is binarily off/on after moving the first couple of inches. Very annoying, to put it nicely.

Originally Posted by speedninja

Ok so i have a 328xi coupe and i want my car to feel more sporty in the throttle or feel more powerful. Im in the works of adding the BMW Performance Exhaust but wanna know if i should add one or both of these products to get some more gain or just feel a little boost. help

I'd recommend that you check out the BMS Power Box Performance Tuner BMW for the N52 Engine. The Power Box shows power gains from 8-10 horsepower and 8-10 Ft./Lbs. of torque at the rear wheels on a dyno. The BMS Power Box remaps the throttle mapping for better throttle response, and an increase in horsepower and torque. The Power Box features easy installation and removal, and gas pedal switching between 7 performance maps.

Map 0 - Disables BMS Power Box, all signals pass through
Map 1 - 30% throttle remapping, performance tuning on
Map 2 - 60% throttle remapping, performance tuning on
Map 3 - 100% throttle remapping, performance tuning on
Map 4 - 30% throttle remapping, performance tuning off
Map 5 - 60% throttle remapping, performance tuning off
Map 6 -100% throttle remapping, performance tuning off
Map 7 - throttle remapping disabled, performance tuning on

In addition to the BMW Performance Exhaust (which is a great choice BTW), I'd recommend that you also look into getting an intake system on the car. An intake will be a great compliment to the tune and the exhaust system. It'll allow your engine to breath better by improving airflow and the exhaust will allow the car to exhale better by releasing back pressure.

One of the most popular choices is the aFe Stage 2 Si Intake for the BMW 328. This intake features aFe's sealed intake design. This design provides for less intake noise while still providing all of the great benefits of an aftermarket intake system. The intake performs to provide peak gains of 12 horsepower and 15 Ft./Lbs of torque with no other modifications required.

Originally Posted by aybarra408

I actually have a 07 335i MT and was looking into this sprint booster but Im not sure if I should get it with the JB+ tuner or will the tuner be more than enough needed. I hate that throttle response lag and im trying to get rid of it. I also heard that theres an unlock valve made by Bavarian thats suppose to help with switching from 1st to 2nd. Anyone know anything about this?

The JB+ is actually very conservative and you can definitely make a ton more power going with some alternative choices. One of the most popular tunes available is the Cobb AccessPORT for your N54 335i. It provides very consistent power gains and is pretty much the most user friendly tune out there.

The Cobb AccessPORT ECU Flash simply replaces conservative factory settings with more aggressive calibrations that result in impressive gains in torque and horsepower while still maintaining a high degree of safety for your N54 engine. The tuning is extremely flexible and allows you to choose on the fly one of the performance maps that are loaded onto the AccessPORT. Typical performance gains from the Cobb AccessPORT Stage 1 flash are increases of 30% peak horsepower and an amazing 38% increase in peak torque. The stage 1 map is meant to be used on a stock car with no other mods. This tune is an ECU flash, not a piggy-back tuner, there will be no added devices to your vehicle's ECU.

You will get a whole lot more functionality and accessibility with the COBB AP. You do get free software and map updates for life that be downloaded straight from the COBB AP Manager software. Not to mention that the COBB AP does allows for you to do live data logging, trouble shoot, and scan & clear codes. You get free updates for life and depending on what mods you have on your car, you'll be able to run the various maps that are available (for different power gains).

They also allow you to choose between stock throttle (AT) or linear throttle (MT) maps which gives you more control of how you'd like your car to feel. Each stage is also available with both sport (91 octane) and aggressive (93 octane) maps depending on the octane of fuel you have access to. Definitely worth it to try it out, we have a 30 day money back guarantee on the product as well!

Originally Posted by ModBargains.com

One of the most popular choices is the aFe Stage 2 Si Intake for the BMW 328.

Just curious... Why are the MSRP and sale prices on the aFe Stage 2 Si intake significantly more for the 328i than the 335i?

Also, I see that the 328i intake is offered with a Pro Dry S conical filter, but the 335i version is not. What's the reasoning there?