Test drove 16 TE...seems sluggish

[flyinhawaiian01]

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

Could I? Well, its a possibility I guess. All it is in the pedal is nothing more than two potentiometers (AFAI can tell), and changing their resistance values, or piggybacking another set of resistors should change the curve. I believe that's all the sprint booster does, aside from having an electronic switch and a few lights, as well as a circuit to keep the mode selected if/when the switch/light is disconnected from it.

But, why bother with it, China's already got one out for it at 180 shipped, and I bet there will be more of them on the market in another couple years.

Here's one on ebay right now: Throttle Controller Booster for Toyota 4Runner 2010 On | eBay

The thing that bothers me is the wording of all of these controllers. There is absolutely no way that the throttle timing is increased by adding something inline, its physically not possible. The pedal has no electronics inside of it, so there's no delay in its reporting of the pedal's position! Its two potentiometers (ie., two volume control knobs) and all it does is reports how far the pedal has been depressed.

The ONLY way these boxes can speed up the response time is to look for the pedal starting to move and send a "blip" to the ecu to trick it into thinking you just stepped down harder on the pedal, then backed off a bit. However, I did NOT see any "blip" of the throttle through my torque app while monitoring the sprint booster, what I saw in the logging data from the pedal outputs was just a faster rise of the throttle, and maxing out sooner. Basically shortening the throw of the pedal's range.

Here's a quick chart from toyota with an overlay I made of what these units, such as the sprint booster, is doing.

I'm pretty sure by changing the resistance values of those two potentiometers, you'll be able to do the same thing, but to take one apart, source a bunch of different pots that are the same size, then determine which one will do what we want it to do, that would be weeks of testing and a couple hundred bucks. Its just not worth the time and money to r&d this, I'm fine with just adjusting my throttle input with my foot!

 

[Kennyr44]

I have a sprint booster on my 15 Limited and love it. We use the green sport mode only. Im glad I didn't let the $300 price deter me from buying it. Money well spent. They sell these for my other cars but they truly don't need it. The ML350 V6 comes out of the hole like a bat out of hell. Let's not even talk about the 380hp LS460.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Yet every time I drag race a Corvette or Ferrari in the snow or up a mountain wagon road I win by a mile. Go figure....

I have owned many, many fast cars. Corvette, BMW M3, Porsche Carrera4, etc... The 4Runner is not sluggish. It's a relatively large/heavy SUV with a V6 motor tuned for the real world. And when used for what its designed for (getting out of just about anything Mother Nature can throw at it) it excels in every manner.

If you want a fast "SUV" buy a Porsche Cayenne. But just get your ass out of my way if we are on Tincup Pass and you are holding me up because you are scraping on 3" rocks. ;-)

 

[ScoMey]

Yet every time I drag race a Corvette or Ferrari in the snow or up a mountain wagon road I win by a mile. Go figure....

I have owned many, many fast cars. Corvette, BMW M3, Porsche Carrera4, etc... The 4Runner is not sluggish. It's a relatively large/heavy SUV with a V6 motor tuned for the real world. And when used for what its designed for (getting out of just about anything Mother Nature can throw at it) it excels in every manner.

If you want a fast "SUV" buy a Porsche Cayenne. But just get your ass out of my way if we are on Tincup Pass and you are holding me up because you are scraping on 3" rocks. ;-)

I came from a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder with the 3.5 VQ engine... with a very aggressive tip-in programed into the throttle-by-wire. Was really fun to drive in the dry... but it was very tricky to drive and control on slippery surfaces, even in 4WD. Part of the aggressive feel was also due to the steeper axle ratio (4.3 or so as I seem to recall). Much prefer the more linear throttle control of my 4Runner, and as has been said many times here... the power is there when you need it - you just need to ask for it with a bit more throttle input.

 

[SirBarton]

I just hit 5000 miles on my '15 Trail and I think it's more about me getting used to it than the car waking up.

If there was a V8 option for the 5th gen I would probably buy it. Am I bummed about the feel of the 4Runner? not really. It reminds me of my 2nd gen. It's not exciting off the line, but it's got enough there when I need it.

 

[Elite130]

I'm coming from a v8 Nissan Titan and am a bit concerned leaving the v8, especially living in Colorado. I go skiing and camping a lot in the mountains. I just hope there is enough top end power to keep things moving going up the passes.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

I'm coming from a v8 Nissan Titan and am a bit concerned leaving the v8, especially living in Colorado. I go skiing and camping a lot in the mountains. I just hope there is enough top end power to keep things moving going up the passes.

It will make it but it will be in 2nd or 3rd gear running about 4k-5k rpm all the way to the top. If you have to take off from a stop on one of those steep roads it will be very slow till you get some rpm built up no matter how hard you hit the gas pedal.

 

[badhabits]

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.

Hey give me those extra gears in a manual and I will figure out how to shift them.

 

[Scramble]

What a bunch whiners. Try driving a 3RZ. The new 4runners have plenty of power, what they need is a manual like the Taco. I will not buy a new 4Runner untill they make a 5 or 6 speed manual.

 

[1engineer]

What a bunch whiners. Try driving a 3RZ. The new 4runners have plenty of power, what they need is a manual like the Taco. I will not buy a new 4Runner untill they make a 5 or 6 speed manual.

Thread is nine months old and with the need for a manual I doubt you ever get a new 4runner lol.

 

[Scramble]

Thread is nine months old and with the need for a manual I doubt you ever get a new 4runner lol.

They also said that 4runners would never have e-lockers again...

 

[1engineer]

They also said that 4runners would never have e-lockers again...

Efficiency is the driver for automatics. E locker is just an option like a sunroof.

 

[Scramble]

Efficiency in a 5000lb SUV? OK That's what they make the Prius for.
Manuals were an "option" from 1984 until 2000.

 

[1engineer]

Efficiency in a 5000lb SUV? OK That's what they make the Prius for.
Manuals were an "option" from 1984 until 2000.

CAFE rules.

 

[Scramble]

CAFE rules.

Remember when manuals got better mpgs than Auto's....
Taco's come with a 6 speed manual as an option?

 

[adaml]

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.

I'll second this. When I first got my 2016 4Runner, it seemed a little 'slow' but I was driving it pretty economically as I was putting it's first few hundred miles on the clock. As I drive it more, I don't care as much, I press the pedal more, and it goes fine for a car of its size.

 

[Brandonium]

I only have 650 miles on mine. If I drive in sport mode she is a little less sluggish. I know power is there but it would seem Toyota has created a throttle that battles against you for adequate power at start.

I live in a very hilly area and I damn near have to punch it to get it off its ass when starting on a hill. I know it's a truck and I love it but still it's not asking too much to provide a throttle mapping that allows the vehicle to get off its ass without having to punch the shit out of it to wake it up. Even then, I don't want full throttle I just want the thing to...you know, move?

I'm not the type of driver who is ok having a line of vehicles behind me because the 4R wants to take her sweet ass time. I don't appreciate when others are slowing down traffic so I try to return that same courtesy. :bigok:

And it's not a big ask when other large vehicles have much better throttle response and a much higher GVW.

 

[Mybuddytmil]

I just wish that 5th gear didnt engage until i hit 55 mph. This thing is going into 5th at 37 mph and that is what makes it feel sluggish. I drive with my transmission in s4 until i get on the highway or freeway. I call it the Obama transmission.:banplease:

 

[1engineer]

I just wish that 5th gear didnt engage until i hit 55 mph. This thing is going into 5th at 37 mph and that is what makes it feel sluggish. I drive with my transmission in s4 until i get on the highway or freeway. I call it the Obama transmission.:banplease:

You really want banned?

 

[engineeer]

You really want banned?

:rofl: