Remus Responder - Review & Experience (Streets, Canyons & Track)

[FK_8]

I’ve had the pleasure of testing out the Remus Responder for 4 weeks now. I wanted to gather some real world experience before i made a write up about it.

I do wanna start off with the obvious, Remus Does Not offer or promise any horsepower increase with this device - now with that out of the way, here’s my personal experience with it for the past month.. daily driving on the streets/freeways, during a canyon cruise and most recently, a visit to the Track (Streets of Willow 4-1-18).

1. You can IMMEDIATELY tell the difference on throttle response! If you needed to press on the gas pedal, for example, 25% to get to a certain speed prior, with the Responder, you can get there with just a 5-10% relative pressure on the throttle. IF you do try to step on the gas pedal your usual 25%, you will be at an entirely different speed. This feel was consistent on the streets, freeways, canyons & on the track.
2. Simple device, simple installation.. but makes a world of difference! I am mechanically-challenged, a youtube DIY-er.. but i installed the Responder in about 5 minutes. Most important thing to make sure is you hear an audible CLICK when attaching the male-female components of the device.
3. I did notice that the lag on stock is most noticeable when slowing down (traffic/turn/curve), either shifting down or not, then trying to step back on the throttle to regain speed. It hasn’t been the case with the Responder.
4. It definitely needs a lil bit of a learning curve.. it has the Eco, Sport & Race mode plus 3 levels per mode. I actually started on Eco +1 and worked my way up til i got the hang of it. It works best for me at Sport +2. I immediately feel that its not there when i turn it off, needing to step on the throttle more. More road time with it, more practice, better learning, but Definitely something you will “miss” when you turn it off.
5. I had a friend (CTR Owner) ride with me in one of our recent meets in SoCal & even he felt the difference in throttle response very early in the ride (i had him watch how much i was pressing on the gas pedal).
6. A lot of people are sending their ECU to be flashed right now, i wanna see reports of how the flash affects throttle response/control & compare it (relatively) with the Responder on & off when i do get my tuning - i will update this report.

@REMUS USA

 

[J35W2]

Thanks for the write up. Don’t see this on their website yet. Any idea on ETA?

One of my least fav aspects of this car is the throttle lag when shifting gears. Imagine that is exactly what this is made for.

 

[FK_8]

Thanks for the write up. Don’t see this on their website yet. Any idea on ETA?

One of my least fav aspects of this car is the throttle lag when shifting gears. Imagine that is exactly what this is made for.

Yes, thats exactly what the Responder is made for.
Not sure about availability issues though, i just referred an FB group member to Mike & he was able to order one without any problem.
Care to chime in @REMUS USA

 

[REMUS USA]

Thanks for the write up. Don’t see this on their website yet. Any idea on ETA?

One of my least fav aspects of this car is the throttle lag when shifting gears. Imagine that is exactly what this is made for.

@FK_8
@J35W2

Thank you for your thoughts on the Responder Ron. Glad to hear you are digging it. It really makes a huge difference as you have seen. Many people associate the lag with the turbo but today's turbos are much more efficient and have much, much less lag than in the past. Most of the lag people notice is actually in the throttle response delay. Once you install the unit this becomes apparent.

The lag is built into the pedal for safety reasons. It could be an 80 year old woman or an 18 year old kid driving and they take that into consideration when setting the throttle parameters from the factory. This will eliminate any lag associated with drive by wire. It almost feels like you increase HP but really it is just allowing you to access the power faster.

As you stated there are multiple settings to choose from and if you adjust the settings you will find the setting that fits your driving habits. It can also be turned off entirely should someone else be driving your car or in inclement weather. Can easily be removed as well and does not show up on any scans. Really great product that works as described.

I am offering a forum member discount on these so please PM me for additional info and pricing.

 

[Micah]

what's the difference between this and a sprint booster: https://www.sprintboostersales.com/ ?

As the device simply plugs inline with the gas pedal I believe all it is doing is increasing the signal faster than it would stock. Arguably this means if the device doubles the rate, and you were to mash your foot as fast as you can on the throttle .... with the device installed it the car would act as if you mashed the throttle twice as fast as you are capable.

additional discussion here: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1326658

 

[REMUS USA]

@Micah I am not that familiar with Sprint Booster but as you can see by reading the description from their site they both eliminate throttle lag and are similar products. Our Responder can be used on both Manual and Auto and I believe we offer an additional setting. Beyond that I do not have much more info on those devices but I have heard good things about them and their product.

 

[REMUS USA]

Below is a great thread from VW Vortex about the RESPONDER and most of the questions people will have will be answered in this thread. Slamming your foot down faster on the accelerator is not going to eliminate the lag unless your feet are faster than high performance micro processors and have the ability to relay electronic signals. There could be a bionic person or two out there with those capabilities but I think it is safe to say that the microprocessors are going to be tad faster than your foot.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...tall-Tutorial/page2&highlight=remus+responder

This technology is legit and has been thoroughly tested. We source there form a well know German tuning company who have been around since the mid 90's. I am even willing to offer a 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee. I would just ask that the unit be returned undamaged and in original packaging. Can't go wrong. Don't like it you can return it and talk all of the smack you want on it. Fair deal??

 

[FK_8]

Upon researching about similar devices, i always see people saying “Just mash the gas pedal WOT”.. i do not understand this.
If you’ve “really” tried this approach, then you know that just slamming down on the gas pedal wont help at all with the lag, if anything, it’ll drown it.
Just my $0.02

 

[Micah]

Below is a great thread from VW Vortex about the RESPONDER and most of the questions people will have will be answered in this thread. Slamming your foot down faster on the accelerator is not going to eliminate the lag unless your feet are faster than high performance micro processors and have the ability to relay electronic signals. There could be a bionic person or two out there with those capabilities but I think it is safe to say that the microprocessors are going to be tad faster than your foot.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...tall-Tutorial/page2&highlight=remus+responder

This technology is legit and has been thoroughly tested. We source there form a well know German tuning company who have been around since the mid 90's. I am even willing to offer a 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee. I would just ask that the unit be returned undamaged and in original packaging. Can't go wrong. Don't like it you can return it and talk all of the smack you want on it. Fair deal??

Where is the link for purchase? I tried hitting the website, but it seems to be having issues.

 

[REMUS USA]

@Micah Yes the website is down and I do apologize for that. It is all handled from our headquarters in Austria and we are patiently waiting for that to be taken care of. If you shoot me a PM I can take care of that for you as you will not receive the discount through the website.

 

[J35W2]

I got a chance to install the Responder yesterday & drove around a bit today trying out the different settings. Very impressive throttle response & plenty of settings to dial it to your exact preference. It completely removes all throttle lag, which was a source of frustration for me. I had thought all the throttle lag was due to turbo spool, but not the case. There is almost no lag on the throttle now & the car feels noticbly quicker; not more powerful, it just gets into boost faster & there is no lag between shifts. You can dial it up where the throttle is down right twitchy, but not my taste.

I was actually prepared to not like this mod & saved all the packaging to make a return, but I must say that I really like it and will def be keeping. I would wager a guess that this mod will help with quickness off the line as long as you can keep the wheels from spinning. Appears to work flawlessly with the KTuner stage 1 tune.

UPDATE!! It does appear to have some sort of interaction with KTuner, as I was having issues getting it to flash properly when I loaded an update. Just unplug the Responder (30 seconds tops), flash your tune & then plug back in (30 seconds.) No more problems.

Thanks to FK_8 & Remus for this.

 

[Type-JZ]

bringing this back to topic a year later...lol. I'm interested in this product. I know it was mentioned there's a learning curve, but how does it affect getting out of 1st gear. Assuming this is where the learning curve is at and even less pressure on the pedal..

 

[idragmazda]

Below is a great thread from VW Vortex about the RESPONDER and most of the questions people will have will be answered in this thread. Slamming your foot down faster on the accelerator is not going to eliminate the lag unless your feet are faster than high performance micro processors and have the ability to relay electronic signals. There could be a bionic person or two out there with those capabilities but I think it is safe to say that the microprocessors are going to be tad faster than your foot.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...tall-Tutorial/page2&highlight=remus+responder

This technology is legit and has been thoroughly tested. We source there form a well know German tuning company who have been around since the mid 90's. I am even willing to offer a 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee. I would just ask that the unit be returned undamaged and in original packaging. Can't go wrong. Don't like it you can return it and talk all of the smack you want on it. Fair deal??

Just sent you a PM. Thanks in advance!

 

[J35W2]

I have found that with the extra power of the custom tune & bolt ons, I’ve had to back the responder off to one of the most mildest settings as it basically makes 1st & 2nd gear useless on the stock tires, unless you are really easy on the throttle. The lighter setting also improves DD drive ability as it has better manners with the less aggressive throttle response. It’s more linear/progressive in the power delivery.

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