Product review: EVC Throttle Controller

There are various accessories that will spice up your daily runabout – sexy alloys, brakes, seat covers, vinyl wrap and so on – but did you know you can affordably add some pep to your daily commute with a throttle controller?

Many newer cars suffer from throttle lag (the delay between you pressing your foot on the accelerator pedal and the engine responding), which can be frustrating or even downright dangerous.

A throttle controller is a plug-in module that alters the voltage from your car’s fly-by-wire throttle assembly. It allows much more adjustment of throttle response, reducing or even eliminating throttle lag.

A throttle controller does not increase power or torque outputs, rather it changes the way in which the standard factory-spec outputs are delivered.

We thought we’d give the EVC Throttle Controller a run in a 2015 Peugeot 308 Access six-speed manual, fitted with a stock 96kW 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

The EVC Throttle Controller comes with simple installation and operating instructions. We started the install by powering-down the Peugeot’s electrical system. Check your car manufacturer’s specific power-down requirements, as they can vary.

The actual fitment was very simple, only hampered by the minimal working space in the driver’s footwell. Once the trim panel under the steering column was removed for better access, it was just a matter disconnecting the plug at the throttle assembly and fitting the EVC piggyback loom.

The connectors on the EVC loom were an exact fit for the Peugeot connectors. Then from the loom, the EVC display control unit wire was threaded through to the head unit, mounted in this case on the lower dash with the supplied double-sided tape. Excess wire was looped and bound (with the supplied zip-ties).

The whole process took a bit more than 30 minutes, but much of that was mucking around taking photos. Depending on the car you’re fitting the throttle controller to, a 20-minute install time seems realistic.

With ignition switched on, it’s simply a matter of setting up the controller according to whether your car is auto or manual and then you’re good to go.

There are four throttle control modes available: Factory, Ultimate, Economy and Automatic Control.

Factory, as it suggests, is designed to imitate the factory throttle settings, although in the Peugeot’s case throttle response seemed even more dulled.

Ultimate is for ultimate throttle response and you can adjust this over nine individual settings (from U1 to U9). Set to U9 (maximum response), the Peugeot was very responsive to throttle inputs compared to standard, maybe a bit too much so.

Unlike the standard car, it would break traction off the line from a standing start in the dry without much throttle applied. In-gear response was also much sharper. It felt like a totally different car to drive.

Economy mode – again, with nine settings from E1 to E9 – made throttle response more progressive than Ultimate, and it seemed that in the ‘E4’ setting it approximated the Peugeot’s standard throttle response.

Automatic Control mode is designed as a set-and-forget mode, the unit choosing an Ultimate throttle response level according to pedal pressure. In the Peugeot, it seemed to still be a little too sharp in response, similar to U9, although we’re still experimenting with the auto mode.

For now we’ve settled on the Ultimate ‘U3’ setting, because it sharpens throttle response nicely without feeling excessive, and it also fixes a problem the 308 has always suffered from.

When taking off from standstill, if you didn’t get the revs just right when releasing the clutch, the car would bog down and take off in a very leisurely way – not great when approaching cars at an intersection are suddenly getting uncomfortably close.

While we haven’t fully tested any potential fuel consumption reductions with the EVC, Economy mode did provide an unexpected benefit. Teaching my son to drive, he found it much easier to get the accelerator/clutch co-ordination right without stalling the car in the E4 setting, compared to without the unit fitted.

Obviously, take our experience only as a guide: the EVC unit might work entirely differently in your vehicle.

Two EVC throttle controllers are available: the EVC Throttle Controller as tested here, or a more comprehensive evcX controller, which adds more throttle modes, phone app control and has a wireless head unit with dual USB-C ports.

The EVC Throttle Controller we tested costs $299 and for more details, go to the ultimate9 website.

What we like about the EVC Throttle Controller:
Eliminates throttle lag in Ultimate mode
Economy mode makes throttle more progressive
Nine distinct settings in Economy and Ultimate modes

What we don’t like about the EVC Throttle Controller:
Factory mode more sluggish in response than without EVC
Automatic Control mode too sharp in initial throttle response