Test drove 16 TE...seems sluggish

[adam.friedman.33]

I did gears in my jeep and that made a huge difference. I had 5.13 with 35" tires. I orders a sprint booster to help with the everyday drive ability. If I'm not satisfied with that I will look at gears again. Makes a huge difference.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

It's not fast by any means, for sure. When I first got mine it took some getting used to the gearing, as I felt it was extra slow from a dead stop. It just felt very poky.

But with that said, there are a few times I have cut into traffic a bit later than I should have, and have had to mash the gas to get moving, and the acceleration surprises me every time. In my opinion it has a lot more hustle on standby than might be apparent when driving normally.

It still isn't fast, but with the pedal to the floor I don't consider it to be slow either. Certainly I have driven a lot slower vehicles than this. You just have to tell it with the gas pedal that you want to get up and go.

This has always been my point. They are slow from a dead stop. Once you get moving they are better. Add in a steep mountain road, high elevation and summer temps it almost fells like the brake is on from a dead stop.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Sprint booster does nothing more than re-map the gas pedal to be more of a bell curve than linear. I had it, I returned it, the company was more than happy to admit to me that their kit just re-maps the pedal just like I observed. Call them and ask them what exactly does their kit actually do specifically for the 4 runner.

Absolutely no difference than pushing the pedal down further. I also found, that with my Torque app, mapping the pedal outputs, you hit 100% throttle where its normally 75% throw in middle mode, and about 60% for sport mode, pressing the pedal any further once it hit 100% resulted in no increase of numbers after that.

I've just learned to be more "aggressive" when I hit the throttle now, and can replicate exactly the same feeling as I had with the Sprint booster.

 

[Saker]

Sprint Booster Power Converter. Assuming this is on your 2014 -do you just leave it in sport mode? Is the racing mode not really a program that you would use for a 4runner? Did your mileage drop simply to to a more fun drive and happy pedal response? Any other observations?

I have mine in sport mode, not interested in race mode as it is N/A for me.
No effect on mileage, I prefer the throttle response as it is only remapped... more like the feel of my former FJ or a cabled system.

Other obs..., I like this better than pushing the pedal harder, because it does take the "lag" in response away!!
It is pricy.
I will keep mine.

 

[FriskyDingo]

I wish Toyota would put the 4.6 and at least a 6AT (8AT would be gret) in the 4Runner so bad. I'd love another 50hp to go along with the shit gas mileage i get.

 

[brian2sun]

There is a little thing called a Sprint Booster Power Converter - www.SprintBoosterSales.com that helps rid this bottom end sluggish feel.
YMMV

I have it on my '16 SR5 and I feel it's a nice driveability upgrade.

Sprint Booster Power Converter. Assuming this is on your 2014 -do you just leave it in sport mode? Is the racing mode not really a program that you would use for a 4runner? Did your mileage drop simply to to a more fun drive and happy pedal response? Any other observations?

I use mine in green mode and it makes the throttle feel like a normal vehicle. You can use red mode and it's fine, but it isn't necessary. In fact on the freeway it is annoying because when you hit the gas a little to pass someone, it somtimes downshifts by 2 gears instead of one because it thinks you're flooring it at 1/2 throttle. The green mode is the way to go IMO. My fuel mileage did not drop whatsoever from the Sprint Booster. For whatever reason I have noticed about a 1.5 mpg increase! To me, a $300 device to make a ~$40K more fun to drive (or at the very least, not annoying anymore) is WELL worth it.

Sprint booster does nothing more than re-map the gas pedal to be more of a bell curve than linear. I had it, I returned it, the company was more than happy to admit to me that their kit just re-maps the pedal just like I observed. Call them and ask them what exactly does their kit actually do specifically for the 4 runner.

Absolutely no difference than pushing the pedal down further. I also found, that with my Torque app, mapping the pedal outputs, you hit 100% throttle where its normally 75% throw in middle mode, and about 60% for sport mode, pressing the pedal any further once it hit 100% resulted in no increase of numbers after that.

I've just learned to be more "aggressive" when I hit the throttle now, and can replicate exactly the same feeling as I had with the Sprint booster.

Everything you said is true. However, the sluggish throttle response and having to mash the gas pedal down just to get going everytime really started to get annoying for me. It was literally the only thing I hated about the new 4Runner. The Sprint Booster made my truck not annoy me anymore, so there's something to be said for that IMO. Considering what Toyota charges for add-ons like a chrome exhaust tip, running boards, or "all weather mats", I think this little $300 device was a great addition for me. Even though it is "perceived power", it just makes the truck feel better.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Everything you said is true. However, the sluggish throttle response and having to mash the gas pedal down just to get going everytime really started to get annoying for me. It was literally the only thing I hated about the new 4Runner. The Sprint Booster made my truck not annoy me anymore, so there's something to be said for that IMO. Considering what Toyota charges for add-ons like a chrome exhaust tip, running boards, or "all weather mats", I think this little $300 device was a great addition for me. Even though it is "perceived power", it just makes the truck feel better.

And that's totally acceptable! It is your truck, and if you're happier with it, then why not use it? :thumb3:

For me, I just thought it was an insane price to re-map the pedal's linear (or maybe not-so-linear) curve.

And, FWIW, I would have probably kept it if it was a hundred bucks or so. It really was one of the easiest mods I ever did, just unplug pedal's cable, plug into harness, then plug other part of harness into pedal.

I even told the guy I talked to that if the price was lower I wouldn't have even bothered to return it, but 300 bucks for what it was, was just a bit too much for me.

 

[Mtn Mule]

I have taken my 2015 Turd Pro up to 120 MPH. How fast do you need to go with a 4wd suv??? It got to that speed pretty fast for the type of vehicle it is.

 

[brian2sun]

I have taken my 2015 Turd Pro up to 120 MPH. How fast do you need to go with a 4wd suv??? It got to that speed pretty fast for the type of vehicle it is.

The problem people have isn't how fast it is, it's how quick it is... the acceleration, not the top speed. The motor has plenty of power, but it feels like a heavy boat unless you floor it.

 

[kingofZroad]

My last vehicle was a 2008 Jeep Rubicon with 35" tires and a 3.8L v6.... Compared to that, my 2016 4Runner TEP feels like a Ferrari!!!

I just hit 3200 miles on the odometer. It feels as though it's running a little stronger.

 

[bajacolorado]

The Sprint Booster web site installation instructions shows a simple module install at the top of the gas pedal. But on the first page it shows a wired button (Stock, sport and race) So where is the "Button" wired to?

 

[TX_AG11]

And that's totally acceptable! It is your truck, and if you're happier with it, then why not use it? :thumb3:

For me, I just thought it was an insane price to re-map the pedal's linear (or maybe not-so-linear) curve.

And, FWIW, I would have probably kept it if it was a hundred bucks or so. It really was one of the easiest mods I ever did, just unplug pedal's cable, plug into harness, then plug other part of harness into pedal.

I even told the guy I talked to that if the price was lower I wouldn't have even bothered to return it, but 300 bucks for what it was, was just a bit too much for me.

Could you make one and sell it for $100? Seriously. Seems an open market for someone.

 

[adrtoy]

I just test drove one and thought it was fine being used to our 15 JKUHR and 6 cyl Sub. Unfortunately It turned out to be a $40'000 test drive.

 

[spawn]

Right after i replaced the muffler with Magnaflow 14" it was a night and day difference in the low torque department.

 

[dhylander]

The Sprint Booster web site installation instructions shows a simple module install at the top of the gas pedal. But on the first page it shows a wired button (Stock, sport and race) So where is the "Button" wired to?

There's a connector on the module that the cable for the button plugs into. Real easy install.

 

[cheeser]

Right after i replaced the muffler with Magnaflow 14" it was a night and day difference in the low torque department.

Was hoping there would be a few useful mods. Hard to tell what are really useful vs the perceived feel.

 

[77Bronc]

Once you get about 5000-10,000 miles on it, two things happen. 1. You sort of get used to it. 2. It does seem to wake up a little bit. It's no V8 and it's not fast but they do seem to run better after some miles are put on.

Coming from a F150 with a 5.4L Triton V-8, my 2015 TEP was very anemic. But I just turned 5K, 6 months old, and items 1 and 2 come into play. 1 more than 2...

Oh boy I do miss the V-8, that F150 engine had some real pep.

If I ever test drive a Tundra with the 5.7L, the 4RNR may have to go

 

[Saker]

The Sprint Booster web site installation instructions shows a simple module install at the top of the gas pedal. But on the first page it shows a wired button (Stock, sport and race) So where is the "Button" wired to?

There's a connector on the module that the cable for the button plugs into. Real easy install.

What dhylander says is correct. Also, once programmed you can disconnect the cable and the SprintBooster stays at that programmed setting, so you don't need that wire to stay connected unless you want to.

 

[Saker]

Was hoping there would be a few useful mods. Hard to tell what are really useful vs the perceived feel.

Perceived feel = Useful Mod! IMHO :thumb:

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I wish Toyota would put the 4.6 and at least a 6AT (8AT would be gret) in the 4Runner so bad. I'd love another 50hp to go along with the shit gas mileage i get.

They did... it was the GX460/Prado150

Though I wouldn't want the 6-Spd (definitely not an 8-spd) until they figure out what to do with the gears. The new Tacoma is a perfect example of this, everyone and their mother *****ed about how they wanted a 6spd and so Toyota made one. It doesn't get off the line any faster than the 5th gen (again "Eco" programming and gearing of the transmission/ECM) and once you get into 4~6th gear it kinda gets confused on what gear it wants to be in and so it gets annoying feeling it change it's mind like a temperamental teenager.

So far in almost every single vehicle I have driven that has more than 6 gears, it becomes apparent that the engineers and vehicle have no idea what to do with the extra gears. Bottom line, more gears doesn't mean crap if you can't figure out a proper gear ratio set and programming for them, more is not always better.