What think ye, Oh Guru's?

[EasTexRIII]

Anyone tried this? I know that if it seems to good to be true, it probably is......... And, you get what you pay for. Just wondering if anyone knows anything about these?
On their web page under "how it works" if you have time to read the full version, it's pretty interesting. But does it do what it claims it do?

BoosterPlug Triumph Rocket III 2003-2011

How does the BoosterPlug work ?

 

[warp9.9]

Basically changes the IAT signal sending a false temp signal. So I would ask if it say the whole mixture 6% richer why not just go into the map and add 6% fuel across the board for the price of a 20.00 dollar cable?

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

That was an early attempt at boosting performance. There have been many more advancements since then. I recommend the Dobeck Performance AFR Plus. Call Dillon and tell him Bill sent you.

 

[EasTexRIII]

Thanks @warp9.9 - good point
Bill, I cant afford the AFR+ right now, but real happy with the 20050 that @dougl posted - I've had that in for 2 weeks now & it is an improvement.
Really just wondering if anyone has run one of these out of curiosity to see if it does what it says it does.
At some point if I just have to have a RamAir setup I will probably try the AFR+ or PCV with A/T
Thanks for all input though fella's

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

If I remember correctly someone had used it way back when and it did do what it says. But that was before we had all the goodies that work so much better now.

 

[CanberraR3]

Could be a handy interim fix for anyone who wants to do exhaust and intake changes but can't do proper tuning or fuelling adjustments immediately.

 

[TriumPhil]

A good idea in both theory and practice and still pragmatic for those that either do not have laptops or don't want to get into other digital remote devices (like a smart phone) that fiddle-faddle via downloads with their ECUs.

This kinda' smacks of Messr. DeCosse's handiwork. I wonder if the following from The BoosterPlug site is referring to either the Dobeck device or to the Power Commander. Are they the sort of resistor-based tuning devices that the author is referring to and that I highlighted under "General construction principles" below?

"BoosterPlug alternatives - Be aware of copies !

The BoosterPlug is not the only Plug and Play Tuning device - Are they all the same ?

Certainly not. Technical solutions, build quality and price vary a lot:

• The BoosterPlug concept have proven extremely efficient, and look-a-like copies are arriving on the market. (We are actually a little flattered about this)
• The exact internal setup of the copies is mostly unknown to us, but you should know that a poor construction is a potential danger to your engine.
• It’s difficult to tell how much knowledge there is behind all the fancy words, so you must be confident that the solution you buy is made by people who know what they are doing.
• The slick sales talk to promote these devices is all the same, but most people prefer to make their choice from facts and knowledge. So we have compared the different "solutions" you will find out there. This page is probably the only available source of this overview.

Please read on to see the facts on different resistor tuning devices.

General construction principles:


There's a well known product out there that simply sets the ambient temperature - as seen by the CPU - to a fixed low temperature. This device is nothing but a fixed resistor with no temperature compensation at all..

• This will result in a very, very rich mixture on a hot day.
• In temperatures below the fixed point, your bike will actually run leaner than stock - This could harm your engine!!
• To avoid legal complications, we'll not provide the name of the product in public, but feel free to ask us by mail.
• You really should avoid products of this type. Stay away !!!

The typical DIY approach is to add a fixed or adjustable resistor in serial connection with the original sensor, but you will find commercial products too, which are nothing but a serial resistor in a fancy box. Serial resistor solutions without temperature compensation will suffer from the same problem as the fixed resistor, but to a lesser degree.

• The enrichment of the mixture will vary a lot with temperature.
• If the resistor value is properly calculated, it's not likely to harm your engine or Catalytic Converter, but you don't really know.
• Having an adjustable resistor (potentiometer) is NOT a solution, because you would have to adjust it every time the ambient temperature changes. Moreover, you are blind to the correct settings.

A few products claim to have temperature compensation made by including a second NTC resistor (AIT sensor is a NTC resistor too)

• The extra sensor must be able to measure the approximate same temperature as the AIT sensor in the air-box to work correctly.
• It should be located somewhere where it is not affected by engine heat and where it will receive a reasonable amount of airflow.
• If the sensor is included in the module, it will sit under a shield with no air flow around it, and the temperature can be +20 degrees celsius higher than ambient temperature, because the engine will heat up the area. That's not very useful.
• The BoosterPlug is the only resistor Tuning device to offer real Temperature Compensation

Performance


The Graph below shows the performance you will achieve with the different aproaches to Resistor Tuning.

• Green line shows the fixed resistor method
  - Very poor performance due to the large variation in fuel enrichment
  - The only "solution" that can actually make your bike run leaner than stock
• Red line is for the set-up where you have a fixed resistor in serial with the original AIT sensor (The typical DIY approach)
  - You will still have a lot of variation in enrichment with changes in ambient temperature
  - If you only ride your bike when the temperature is say 15-25 degrees, and you chose the resistor value correctly, you can have "OK" results with this method - not excellent, but probably an improvement if you stay in the same temperatures.
• Yellow line is what happens if you have temperature compensation with a second NTC sensor located in an area where it's affected by engine heat.
  - For the calculation, I assumed that the second NTC would measure + 20 degrees Celsius over the AIT sensor measurement. The line will move up or down if the temperature span is something else.
  - It's obvious that this set-up will lower its performance when the twin temperature measurements are not
  equal - the higher the temperature difference, the lower the performance.
  - Even with very large differences in the temperature measurements, the line will not drop below zero %, so
  it will not harm your engine, but the benefits are long gone
• Blue line is the BoosterPlug Performance
  - You'll see the line tends to trail off a little at extreme temperatures, but in the temperature range where you would actually consider to ride your bike the BoosterPlug will deliver a steady performance
  
  
  
  
  

Sensor size - Reaction speed


If you managed to read through the text on this page and the "How it works" section without falling asleep, you should now be aware that the external temperature sensor in the BoosterPlug is essential if you want correct temperature compensation – which you obviously do.

But you also want a fast reacting sensor that will adapt to changing temperatures in seconds. The faster the better.

Again, the original BoosterPlug stands head and shoulders above the copies:

• The BoosterPlug sensor is a tiny 6mm diameter stainless steel sensor that will sense changes in ambient temperatures almost immediately. The weight of the sensor is only 2,4 grams.
• The copy product has a 9mm diameter brass sensor with a weight of just over 5 grams.

Bottom line is that the BoosterPlug will adapt twice as fast to changes in temperatures compared to the copy device.

There's a lot of hidden engineering involved in making simple devices brilliant !"

 

[1olbull]

That was an early attempt at boosting performance. There have been many more advancements since then. I recommend the Dobeck Performance AFR Plus. Call Dillon and tell him Bill sent you.

AH HA!!!
I just knew you had some skin in the game with Dobeck!!!

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

No I just like the product so much I want to see folks get it. It really works and is so simple.

 

[TriumPhil]

I Dobeck's/Techlusion's TFI unit on one of my VTXs and it worked just as well for my purpose as a PC3 did on my other VTX.