I finally got around to datalogging a few things with the Soler Throttle Controller. These were captured on my scanner while making a steady and constant rate sweep of the pedal from closed throttle to WOT.

The first two show the controller set to OEM. The last was captured with the controller set to sport 2.

I had a battery tender hooked up and just powered the car on - I guess in my mode. So, this was all done with the key on, engine off. Two things should be apparent: with no correction in OEM, it looks like the throttle position follows the pedal position in a linear fashion and in sport 2, all the logs show a faster response, but then there is an area where all the parameters drop and it takes a fair amount of pedal travel to get back to the drop off point which would seem to give a corresponding amount of dead pedal where nothing is happening.

Anyway, here they are:

 

And this data you collected is with the Soler Controller installed on a C8 Z06 correct?

I recall you mentioning this (below) in another thread...What did Mike at Soler have to say?

 

This is a 2023 Z06, yes.
I am having an ongoing discussion with Mike.........

 

I imagine you must be feeling this midrange dip and leveling off while driving in Sport 2?

I have a Soler controller installed on my C8 Z51 and have been running Sport 4 & 5 and aside from having a steeper response it also feels very linear to me throughout the entire range...

Interested in hearing future updates...

 

I use comfort 6 or 7 and the graphs are similar. And yes, the throttle response is quick, then there is what feels like a dead zone, then the throttle resumes again. I still like it better than stock and you have the added bonus of being able to lock out the throttle - which is a good theft deterrent.

 

You can accomplish the same by mashing your foot down faster. All this is doing is adding a bit of expo in.
"Psychologically" you think you are getting more power, because you aren't pushing the pedal nearly as much. However, WOT is still WOT....

I'd rather spend my money on WHEEL SPINNERS.

 

What you're seeing is what it's programmed to do. It can be remapped in seconds.

It interesting to show folks what it doesn't do too .

As you can see the do not cure throttle lag as many people often mistake.

You can't cure throttle lag by signal manipulation. 2x0=0.








But what they do is remove linearity....aka the ability to modulate the throttle. Not a good thing for actual performance driving but great for puttsing around town and giving it 30 percent accelerator pressure and feeling 50 percent throttle opening.





Not disparaging them at all as I can see the allure for some people.

It's a cool illustration of how I explain they work to folks.

 

Not quite…. Remember this was done with the engine not running. There is a breakpoint between closed/no throttle and part throttle. With the engine not running, the throttles are held open a small amount. Once the engine fires and exceeds a minimum engine speed, the ECM transitions from crank mode to running mode and the throttle position is then controlled to give a desired RPM. The drop in the throttle position you see on the graphs is not lag, rather it is the point of transition from idle to part throttle. The graph would look different with the engine running.

 

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I think this is only true with throttle by cable not throttle by wire. The ECU controls the ramp rate to the throttle body and they ramp it the way they do to get as much fuel economy as possible. Yes, nanny. The throttle controller "over rides" this so to speak. It does make the car more snappy during most driving conditions.

 

Ive programmed them. What you're seeing there youll see with the engine running. These are voltage modifiers. They modify the OEM voltage signal. They can't remove tip in delay. They can increase ramp up on the signal. They definitely do what they're intended which is to feel the immediate power by just lightly touching the pedal.

 

"But what they do is remove linearity....aka the ability to modulate the throttle. Not a good thing for actual performance driving but great for puttsing around town and giving it 30 percent accelerator pressure and feeling 50 percent throttle opening." <<<<------- THIS precisely.

It is not improving performance. What is doing is removing "throttle fidelity" and giving you a wild horse to ride. The horse is going to be just as fast as the refined one, but the ride is going to be much more eventful. I'll stick with the OEM linear, which I believe already has some expo involved to give you better throttle fidelity at lower speeds and less at higher speeds.

 

To get rid of the initial throttle lag get the Solar throttle body. I did this on my C7 and there was no throttle lag. I will be putting the STB on my C8 after the 3 year warranty is up - 7 months to go.

 

I should have more correctly stated that many tuners tune them to remove linearity like you see in the actual graphs above.


They don't have to though you can actually tune in more linearity with a throttle controller if the manufacturer of them would grant you that ability or would make a custom map for you.


Some cars actually don't have very linear OEM throttle maps like Mercedes-Benz so that you're not banging people's heads against their seat backs when you take off from a stop.

Ours is quite linear though.


Again this is all about preference and not what is right or wrong though.

For folks who literally spend all their time just driving around in regular traffic a non-linear throttle is going to feel like the car is on crack all the time and I'm sure they will absolutely love this mod. This is why you get responses like"it totally changed the cars personality" and "the car is so much more responsive."

The statements are completely true. The human body is never going to be able to mimic a modified throttle input that a throttle controller can do. Meaning nobody is going to press down 80% on the throttle for the first second taking off from a light and then reduce their throttle input down to 50% and hold and then reduce a certain amount as well. The throttle controllers can do this so it doesn't feel weird to the user when they push down on the throttle. You just keep pushing down that nice linear amount with your foot and the throttle controller is doing all the non linear work for you to tell the throttle body to open up like you are trying to race the car next to you when all you're trying to do is go to the grocery store.

For any real performance driving like using launch control or being on the track this would obviously be a hindrance and not a help because you want to be able to precisely control throttle input.

But that's not what these are designed for which is totally fine.

 

Nope, incorrect. This is throttle by wire. The foot pedal has a range of inputs to the ECU. Let's pick 0-100%, but it could be any reference range (0-1000, -1000 to 1000, etc.). The only thing the soler can do is influence those values sent to the ECU/TCM, but it isn't going to change the range, and it isn't going to give you a wider open throttle. WOT is WOT.
It's just a "transfer function" in mathematics. This can be accomplished as a direct table mapping for every x physical pedal position, produces a y input to the ECU. It could be linear where x = y. It could be parametric where the y is computed from the x, or it could be done in a dynamic fashion (scary if you ask me).

Keep in mind, the ECU/TCM are going to do what they want to do given the conditions of the vehicle. All you can do is "command" something, but you aren't necessarily going to get it.
From what I have read the paddle shifters and throttle are directly wired to the TCM vs the ECU and bypass the BCM. The TCM actually commands the engine ECU to deliver the power / torque that is appropriate. The careful orchestration of physical throttle body position and retarded timing on shifts is commanded by the TCM.
They said they did this to reduce the latency of the DCT for performance reasons and to protect the DCT from damage.

 

Totally disagree with this statement, "within reason".

I can go from 0 to full pedal quite rapidly. Yes, you could create an expo map where 10% physical pedal input equates to a commanded WOT and get a faster reaction time, but good luck with your insurance company...and I hope the repairs aren't too costly.
With a reasonable amount of expo, a human can mash the pedal to full WOT just as fast as the pedal quickly gets past the region where the expo was present and into the linear portion of the transfer function.

 

Ok, help me further understand the difference between throttle by wire vs cable in how the engine delivers fuel. It's my contention that with a throttle by cable, the ECU sees the throttle position at the throttle body and delivers the requisite amount of fuel based on the mass air flow and other parameters. With throttle by wire, the ECU (or TCU in our case) controls the throttle body and therefore the requisite fuel based on various parameters. You can mash the throttle pedal to the floor and the throttle by wire will control the opening ramp rate regardless of the speed at which the throttle pedal is depressed. That doesn't happen with the old school throttle by cable. No?

 

I think I may have said it wrong then let me try and clarify.

The human body is trained to push down on an accelerated pedal in a certain manner.

The foot is not trained to push down exactly 80 percent from takeoff in city driving then lift to 60 percent then increase to 75percent etc.

That, however, is exactly how you could program a throttle controller to compensate for a non-linear OEM throttle map

So what I am meaning to say is that when people say all you have to do is push down harder that is an oversimplification and usually not the case. It is not just about pushing down harder but sometimes about pushing down a very certain percentage then pulling up a very certain percentage then pushing back down a very certain percentage etc.

Now yes if you're going to absolute threshold limits then of course all you have to do is push down all the way on the pedal. But there's very few occasions people drive at wot

 

Throttle position doesn't control fuel delivery, it controls air delivery. In an old carbureted design, it might have had a more direct effect on fuel delivery as the air passes over the venturi and air pressure controls the fuel delivery, along with direct linkages to fuel pumps, etc.
In a fuel injected car, fuel delivery is controlled by a computer that uses a MAF (manifold air flow) sensor to gauge how much air is being delivered to determine how much fuel to deliver (along with a myriad of other factors). That throttle body could be controlled by a direct cable, but typically it is not because of many factors including emissions controls. Some vehicles do it that way though, and they have a throttle position sensor at the throttle body. This is a throttle position sensor vs a pedal position sensor. In a drive by wire, the two are not the same.

The c8 is drive by wire. The soler pedal commander doesn't install at the throttle body, it installs at the pedal. It just tricks the vehicle into believing the pedal is in a different position than it truly is.
I don't see the utility of them unless perhaps you have limited range of motion with your right leg, or you like the feeling that your car is out of control.

 

Question may be bit off topic but is the Soler controller made in the USA or somewhere else?

 

I was in your camp until I spent the $200 and tried it for myself. I was more than impressed at the adjustability I gained in throttle input. I have 0 regrets adding it and yes, I know it does not gain HP.....

I would try it before you bash it, or buy Wheel Spinners ..