Sprint Booster and tranny Issues

I finally got so fed up with the tranny issues I decided to give this a try

http://www.sprintboosters.com/

It's the new device that is switchable between three modes: off, normal and aggressive mode.

Took me 10 mins to install and 10 mins more to realize this thing actually works. My car is so responsive now. There's still a slight delay but nothing like the hesitation I got before. The jerky gear changes are still noticable but only slightly and probably more so to me because I'm always looking for the issue.
The mode that worked best was aggressive. In normal mode there was still a delay.
I'm going to continue testing in all three modes for the next month (30 day money back guarantee) and post my experience for others with this issue.

A thought occured to me last year (don't laugh, just thinking out loud) - maybe some of the tranny issues are not really tranny issues but an issue with the accelerator. I dismissed the thought as no one else had posted on it as a possibility and BMW had discounted the idea when I mentioned it to their 'engineer" from corporate. Will this device prove the accelerator may be part of the problem? Funny as Toyota is in the news about an problematic accelerator.

Will a $300 part fix a $43K problem? I hope so..wish me luck!!!!

Originally Posted by x3lemon

I finally got so fed up with the tranny issues I decided to give this a try

http://www.sprintboosters.com/

It's the new device that is switchable between three modes: off, normal and aggressive mode.

Took me 10 mins to install and 10 mins more to realize this thing actually works. My car is so responsive now. There's still a slight delay but nothing like the hesitation I got before. The jerky gear changes are still noticable but only slightly and probably more so to me because I'm always looking for the issue.
The mode that worked best was aggressive. In normal mode there was still a delay.
I'm going to continue testing in all three modes for the next month (30 day money back guarantee) and post my experience for others with this issue.

A thought occured to me last year (don't laugh, just thinking out loud) - maybe some of the tranny issues are not really tranny issues but an issue with the accelerator. I dismissed the thought as no one else had posted on it as a possibility and BMW had discounted the idea when I mentioned it to their 'engineer" from corporate. Will this device prove the accelerator may be part of the problem? Funny as Toyota is in the news about an problematic accelerator.

Will a $300 part fix a $43K problem? I hope so..wish me luck!!!!

The difference is Toyota addressed it head on and working on it around the clock.

Instead of lie, deny , and stick to the story.

Funny, I looked at the sprint booster, and it was dismissed immediately by others.

Keep us informed.

Thanks,

EE

Originally Posted by Evlengr

The difference is Toyota addressed it head on and working on it around the clock.

Instead of lie, deny , and stick to the story.

Funny, I looked at the sprint booster, and it was dismissed immediately by others.

Keep us informed.

Thanks,

EE

I asked the same question on the forum last week about the Sprint booster. You had posted about it and I never saw any feedback. I did not get any answers here last week.

I did find some feedback on another forum on Bimmerfest and that person dismissed its advantages saying it quickly lost its luster. So hopefully we do get some good news about it.

Originally Posted by x3lemon

A thought occured to me last year (don't laugh, just thinking out loud) - maybe some of the tranny issues are not really tranny issues but an issue with the accelerator. I dismissed the thought as no one else had posted on it as a possibility and BMW had discounted the idea when I mentioned it to their 'engineer" from corporate. Will this device prove the accelerator may be part of the problem? Funny as Toyota is in the news about an problematic accelerator.

Will a $300 part fix a $43K problem? I hope so..wish me luck!!!!

I think it is a good possibility some of the issue could be not just the accelerator but the signal from the accelerator to the transmission. Since this is a throttle by wire application, software and programming play a huge part in overall functionality. Lack of sync between the two can lead to delays in throttle response, giving the driver a feeling of being disconnected from the vehicle for acceleration and most likely deceleration.

The abruptness of shifts that many of you have said you experience may be something entirely different. That could be a genuine transmission issue, unless it is just a reposnse to the request to change gears and a sudden jerk when it finally does due to unplanned differences in engine speed versus shift points.

Hopefully the $300 part really does help. Someone else said it did not, so please let us know what you think. I almost bought one myself until I saw the negative post and no positive posts (except for the retailers).

I did have a similar experience on my Harley transmission as I posted a while ago. The one "fix" for me to help some driveline lash issues was a damper system on the rear sprocket (cush drive) to take up the slack and smooth out the power reponse. People complained about hearing "clunk clunk" when getting on the gas. The cush drive is an old concept but works. This was also a $300 fix by the way. Anyway, that is my side story. Sorry for the aside!

I still think the problem is both mechanical and electrical.

Part of the reason it behaves so differently from one symptom to the next.

And MD wasn't picking on you of the comments. Sorry if it seemed that way.

I got shrugged by some Bimmerheads at work.

Originally Posted by Evlengr

I still think the problem is both mechanical and electrical.

Part of the reason it behaves so differently from one symptom to the next.

And MD wasn't picking on you of the comments. Sorry if it seemed that way.

I got shrugged by some Bimmerheads at work.

Man, you are up late too!

No offense taken.

Actually looks like we agree. In my long-winded answer above, I said electrical (where the Sprint Booster may help - but said software which would tell things when to fire/shift) and mechanical (actual trans issue). Looks like we are on the same page.

200 mile update....

aggressive mode was very responsive but gave me whiplash! Normal mode is what I have settled on for now. The car 'almost' drives like it should do. I can actually overtake on the highway without risking my life now. Some of the gear changes are barely jerky but the jerkyness is over very quickly. I guess because there's no delay from the accelerator. The hesitation and pedal lag is mostly gone. I wanted to ensure what I was experiencing wasn't a placebo effect so I changed modes randomly, without looking, and was able to correctly identify which mode I'd selected - not exactly scientific but close enough.

I'll keep updating if it helps others...

Thanks for the update, X3Lemon. Please keep them coming!

Wow, If we agree there must be something to this. Yeah can't sleep lately due to an injury.

I am curious if helps to correct some of the problematic shifting I wonder if it really will enhance the one's that are working.

Lemon..was it that easy to install?

Not to garner any sympathy but broke my back again in a competition and have to baby my movements so I can heal up in time for an international competition in June.

Originally Posted by Evlengr

Wow, If we agree there must be something to this. Yeah can't sleep lately due to an injury.

I am curious if helps to correct some of the problematic shifting I wonder if it really will enhance the one's that are working.

Lemon..was it that easy to install?

Not to garner any sympathy but broke my back again in a competition and have to baby my movements so I can heal up in time for an international competition in June.

yup..removed one hex bolt that holds the pedal to the floor. then removed the accelerator cable plug from the pedal and slipped the sprint booster in between, screwed the pedal back in and done...

Originally Posted by x3lemon

yup..removed one hex bolt that olds the pedal to the floor. then removed the accelerator cable plug from the pedal and slipped the sprint booster in between, screwed the pedal back in and done...

Do you have to do the same thing each time you change the setting or is that somewhere else?

Originally Posted by Evlengr

Wow, If we agree there must be something to this. Yeah can't sleep lately due to an injury.

I am curious if helps to correct some of the problematic shifting I wonder if it really will enhance the one's that are working.

Lemon..was it that easy to install?

Not to garner any sympathy but broke my back again in a competition and have to baby my movements so I can heal up in time for an international competition in June.

Sorry to hear about the injury. What sort of competition are you in?

Sigh. I posted about this elsewhere. We had a long review of this over on skyroadster.com. The SB doesn't really do anything except serve as a massive amplifier for your accelerator.

Link to Sky Roadster forum: http://www.skyroadster.com/forums/f2...minator-29978/
Link to white paper about Sprint Booster: http://www.peony888.com/VS/SprintBooster.pdf

The tranny issue requires a BMW fix; you shouldn't feel compelled to fix it on your own. They are responsible for the mistake to begin with. Another reason not drive a slushbox.

Originally Posted by Evlengr

The difference is Toyota addressed it head on and working on it around the clock.

Instead of lie, deny , and stick to the story.

EE

Really...?

Toyota is facing growing criticism that it has not done enough to ensure the safety of its vehicles.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press Tuesday that federal officials had to alert Toyota to the seriousness of the safety issues that eventually led to the recalls.

"They should have taken it seriously from the very beginning when we first started discussing it with them," he said. "Maybe they were a little safety deaf."

LaHood also said the U.S. government was considering civil penalties for Toyota for having dragged its feet on safety concerns.

Toyota executive vice president Shinichi Sasaki acknowledged Tuesday in a Nagoya, Japan, news conference that it took prodding from NHTSA officials for the company to decide on the U.S. recall.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...#ixzz0eTytKQGI

Originally Posted by madurodave

Sorry to hear about the injury. What sort of competition are you in?

Been practicing Martial Arts in one form or another since I was 11. Currently praciticing Aikido. As part of my most recent belt test I had to take on three trained opponents. I essentially zigged instead of zagging. Got a compression fracture of several vertebrae.

We have an international seminar in Tahoe coming up.

So short story crawling under the dash will be difficult, and trying to use economy of motion to reduce further aggravation.


However, I do like the idea of something that can be added or removed quickly, as BMW likes to blame everything that goes wrong on external causes.

Originally Posted by Sonoman707

Really...?

Sorry, I still don't see BMWNA even admitting problems with the HPFP with the 3'ers and everyone knows that is an issue. Even the dealers admit this one.

When the head mechanic for BMWNA looks you straight in the eye and states they can't promise getting another AT will solve the issues with shifting that is pretty bad.

Although, I can say getting an MT was almost worth the aggravation (but not safety aspect).

+1, spot on Sonoma! Toyota fixed it because they HAD to or Uncle Striped Pants was going to hammer them big time. There is nothing worse, except for loss of brakes and loss of steering that you could have IMHO. Soon we will have brake by wire, steer by wire, along with drive by wire! Stand by for the problems this could bring! BTW unintended acceleration is not a new problem, aside from the famous Audi case, GM had their own problem with the 1941 Oldsmobile fitted with the (then new) Hydramatic transmission! Sorry for jacking the thread. Hope Evl's back gets better and this new gizmo actually helps the dreaded post '07 BMW A/T drivability problem.

Originally Posted by Evlengr

Been practicing Martial Arts in one form or another since I was 11. Currently praciticing Aikido. As part of my most recent belt test I had to take on three trained opponents. I essentially zigged instead of zagging. Got a compression fracture of several vertebrae.

We have an international seminar in Tahoe coming up.

So short story crawling under the dash will be difficult, and trying to use economy of motion to reduce further aggravation.


However, I do like the idea of something that can be added or removed quickly, as BMW likes to blame everything that goes wrong on external causes.

Sorry to hear about that. Hope you heal quick!

Originally Posted by T1T2GRE

Sigh. I posted about this elsewhere. We had a long review of this over on skyroadster.com. The SB doesn't really do anything except serve as a massive amplifier for your accelerator.

Link to Sky Roadster forum: http://www.skyroadster.com/forums/f2...minator-29978/
Link to white paper about Sprint Booster: http://www.peony888.com/VS/SprintBooster.pdf

The tranny issue requires a BMW fix; you shouldn't feel compelled to fix it on your own. They are responsible for the mistake to begin with. Another reason not drive a slushbox.

I think that a signal amplifier is what many need. This will reduce the throttle lag that many experience. As far as actual transmission issues, that is something else. For mechanical problems, this will do nothing. I think it is up to the individual driver to separate throttle lag issues from mechanical issues. The delays from step on the throttle to go could be aided by this device.

The reviews from those who tried it on the Sky Roadster seemed to support that. The ones who tried it liked it from what I could see. The white paper also showed the Sprint Booster serves as an amplifier.

I am looking forward to some more reviews here with BMW's!

I may get one myself in a couple of weeks. As I have said before, my throttle works better after the BMW software updates but it is not 100% there. Perhaps this will help?

The rub is that if there is throttle lag it is NOT because of the input device but because of how the software interprets the input.

Personally I find the throttle control on the AT 2007+ X3 to be a bit binary as it is. Amplifying it's sensitivity would seem to only make it worse.

My suspicion is the issue is rooted in fail safe mechanisms build into the software to avoid problems like Toyota is having. Engineering of DBW (Drive By Wire) systems is definitely a case where you want to design how it will fail and err on the side of caution.

550 mile update (3rd day using it)...

The performance has dropped over the last couple of hundred miles. The pedal reaction time is still faster with the sprint booster in normal or aggressive mode so the lag is minimized, however, the jerkyness has gotten worse.

I can still overtake on the highway without risking my life. I'll continue testing for the rest of the 30 days but at this stage I'm not so certain I'm going to keep it.

I think the tranny has adapted to the sprint booster. So what I did late today was reset the adaption. I'll report tomorrow if it made any difference.

Check this out:

http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/3-Se...duct_info.html

Supposed to be better than a sprint booster.
Looks interesting.

850 mile update...

around town the gear changes are too jerky - this is probably to do with the underlying problem with the tranny rather than a sprint booster issue.

on the highway I can still say it's a life saver when changing lanes or overtaking. I don't hesitate when I have to makes these maneuvers now. Before the sprint booster I used to refrain from sudden maneuvers.

I don't think I'll keep it because of the town driving gear changes.

The device posted by Zoltar looks interesting. I wonder if anyone has used it?

One thing you touched upon that I never thought about is the adaptive programming.

This may happen with anything you put in there because it wants to stabilize itself back to given parameters.

However, since I have an MT maybe it won't impact me.

Originally Posted by x3lemon

850 mile update...

around town the gear changes are too jerky - this is probably to do with the underlying problem with the tranny rather than a sprint booster issue.

on the highway I can still say it's a life saver when changing lanes or overtaking. I don't hesitate when I have to makes these maneuvers now. Before the sprint booster I used to refrain from sudden maneuvers.

I don't think I'll keep it because of the town driving gear changes.

The device posted by Zoltar looks interesting. I wonder if anyone has used it?

That's a bummer. Your experience mirrors what I read about this unit - good for a short time, then not.

I guess I will keep checking. Perhaps in my case where I am at 85% of good trans behavior something like Zoltar mentioned may work. I am not sure about their hp and tq gain claims though.