Tis is another FR following the 1st FR shared by bro jmbkit 1.5mths ago.
i finally got mine installed 3wks ago and here is my own 2cents worth ....
Pivot 3-Drive Throttle Controller (P3D)
1. Pre-amble
It has been quiet awhile since I did any mods to my ride …. So after a 4.5mths hiatus, des brought in a box of the new Pivot 3-Drive. Myself and jmbkit had in fact stumble on this little wonder while surfing and we happened to be with des and once we read wat it could do …. We immediate ask des to put an order for it …. Sadly we had to wait another 2mths as this new toy was selling like hotcakes in Japanese domestic mkt tat there weren’t enough for overseas market.
Some 3+wks ago, the gang went over to KLAuto on a weekend and I ended up there chit chating with them. They left at 3pm and I decided to stay on cos it was raining and wanted to catch up with the demon himself ….
He didn’t try to sell me anything tis time instead keep himself busy serving 3-4 customers at his premises. I was more interested in getting the miniature air pump and got the last unit.
There it sat the P3D on his shop showcase. The Japs' answer to the German's sprint booster.... somehow tis little black box product keep drawing my attention and i keep moving over to look at it ....
Nonetheless, bro jmbkit was the 1st FD I know of to install tis quiet little product. His FR was well written b4 I got mine done. One of the functionalities tis product offers tat attracted me was it provides 3 modes and 13 drive settings …. Wat u mean ? there is Sports, Normal and Economy mode …. Within Sports mode there are 7 drive settings (SP 1 to 7) , Economy mode got 5settings (Eco 1 to 5) then we hv Normal mode. and I noted there were 3 boxes of the P3D boxes left….
After 2hours of staring and looking at it , unlooking at it .... move to steal a look at it .... turn away. aiya, tis cat n' mouse game must stop. i walked over took it out.
began … unboxing .... des told me just put it in and go for a test dirve la. aiya .... I thought wat the heck just give it a try la …. The reviews I had about it has been good but I thought of only installing it at year end …. Hands itchy so decided to just get it done once for all.
heres a pic i got a fr taiwan wish website with an unboxed picture of the P3D.
took 2 big rounds around Damai then out to the GH area .... jaw nearly drop weaving in & out of the heavy Saturday evening traffic like a "rempit" bike ....
got back .... showed desmond the thumbsup and the rest is history.
2. Technical Specifications
tis is extracted fr Pivot Japan site ....
The P3D is rather well made as i inspected the black box & wire harness. here is a pic of a stripped P3D & its PCP board
The P3D works similar to another parallel product Sprint Booster. I shall not go in to compare both but let the product features do the talking ….
The P3D has a special specific wire harness for the FD (
model TH-4A) …. So it’s a plug’n play mod and no splicing of wires req’d.. Anyway, P3D works by tapping on the drive-by-wire signal wires that is linked to the electronic throttle controller of the FD. Wat it does is to intercept the signal sent depending on the degree the accelerator pedal is depressed …. and enhances or reduces the signal output
I found these illustrations on the Pivot site and I will let the pictures do the talking in clinical test done on other cars by Pivot.
I personally found the responsiveness of SP7 to be too high…. Kinda of like SP5 setting better and for Eco mode, I prefer Eco3 & 4 setting.
3. Positions of the P3D black box
There are various positions u can place the meter box …. Des recommends the plastic buttons where the VSA switch is. Or the Japs put it on the dashboard in front of the Rev/speed meter. Some bros here attached it at the “cigarette compartment” next to the car ciggy lighter (ie. right under the HU) and some place it next to the right air con vent. another put it on the right side lower compartment under the VSA switch.
I wanted a discreet place to install it and still within my vision. So I decided the best place to install it is the
top right corner of the front windscreen.
Why ? in tat way I am able to manually make adjustments while still keeping an eye on the road cos I only need to move my eye balls upwards to the right or I can still see it fr the corner of my right eye (Once installed it cant be viewed fr the outside but must fabricate a sloping bracket to hold it at a more steeper gradient than the slope of hte windscreen so u can view it at eye level).
If its position anywhere else, it would require me to nod my head down to the left or to the right. And if its installed on the dashboard of the rev meter, not gonna be easy to access the box to make setting or mode adjustments while driving.... quiet dangerous oso la .... again its my rationale why i put it there & a personal preference.
a. P3D at the VSA button area
b. P3D Next to the Ciggy Lighter module
4. Driving with the P3D
I have driven and lived with it over 2.5wks now and have gone thro the Putrajaya-Cyberjaya hiway 3 rounds (to and fro). I hv tested the P3D in different modes and this is shared based on comparing Normal, SP5 (a bit of SP7) and Eco3 drive settings. For each of this I hv done a standing acceleration test, on the move deceleration test and switching in between modes while dirving.
4.1 “Normal mode” Drive Setting
I noted tat the car felt a little bit more responsive on a single tap of the accelerator pedal .... just a feeling I got and not a picture of my imagination. Later while I browsed the Pivot website, even at Normal mode, throttle response is already at 6% (pls refer to illustration above)
Another feature I love about the P3D is the sequence of change ….start a “Normal” mode --> press mode button --> goes to “Sports” mode (one of the SP settings)--> press button --> goes back to --> “Normal” --> press mode button --> goes into --> “Eco” mode (one of the Eco settings) --> press mode button --> back to “Normal” mode
4.2 “Sports mode” Drive Setting
I did a test on SP5 mostly …. And a bit of SP7
a. Standing Start
Immediate throttle response and car just shoots up to 4k rpm immediately ….. tis is on SP5. Tried SP7 and the rev response was a tad quicker …. Maybe by 10-15%
b. Rolling start fr 40kph --> 100kph
At SP5 the rev meter shoots up to 4k – 5k rpm very fast …. At SP7, it even went close to 6k rpm.
I was impressed … love the modulating feel of the pedal against the throttle response.
Sharp & quick are 2 words to describe it.
another thing tat I was impressed is the box shows in LED format the % throttle response …. By giving readings of R10 (response of 10%), until R100 (100% WOT). the Pivot engineers have been mindful and designed the P3D to give the driver inputs and learn about the throttle response by giving out a reading
tis is indeed a great feature to hv if u need an indicator to manage your FC ... listen up to all the FC conscious bros here.
c. Speeding from 80kph to 150kph
At SP5 or SP7, the rev needle is so 6k – 6.5k rpm happy …. Move up to the max rev levels happily. The diff btw SP5 & SP7 is the response that as a driver u can feel the rev meter moves upwards each time the pedal is depressed and how the car responds.
It was really fun to drive the car in Sports mode. Although the P3D does not effectively alter the overall engine power but it works similar to the LCP where it provides a more efficient delivery of power … by tweaking with the DBW signals, the R18 engine felt very rev happy. I would recommend SP5 for most spirited drives cos I find the difference btw SP5 & SP7 at hi-speeds rather minimal (SP7 is more effective at standing start & rolling start upto 80kph)
and SP7 is a real petrol guzzler....
4.2 “Eco mode” drive setting
(mostly done on Eco3 drive setting only)
a. Standing Start
Nothing much to shout about except it doesn’t feel different fr Normal mode, just better response w/out P3D installed
b. Rolling start fr 10kph --> 50kph
After playing with the SP mode, can really feel the car becomes sluggish in the rev response. A slight tap of the pedal does rev the rpm much.
c. Rolling start fr 40kph --> 80kph
Not much to say except slower response …. And the car accelerates very very smoothly and no sudden hi-rev sound heard.
I was impressed …
d. Speeding from 100kph --> 120kph
This is wat I like cos the car moves into 120kph very very smoothly and feels very sure. Not a mode used if u wanna overtake a speeding car …..
5. Fuel Consumption
This is the section I believe a lot of us wanna know …. After 3wks of ownership, I hv topped up to a full tank 4x.
This is wat I got
a. b4 P3D – 380 to 420km per full tank
b. P3D with SP5 driving on 60% hiway – 370km per full tank
c. P3D with mixed SP5 and SP7 driving on 60% hiway – 350km per full tank (tis part was going MME/Ulu Yam etc trying to chase the CTRs)
d. P3D with SP5, Normal & Eco driving on 60% hiway – 440km per full tank
(Pls note after putting my BBK, my driving style has been more spirited cos the car is very fun to drive and more often cant resist to tekan the pedal and slow down quickly as well ….)
After my discussion with jmbkit, his long haul trips to Melaka & JB hv yielded 560km to 660km per full tank on Eco5 drive setting. Amazing right ? (both jmbkit & my ride hv similarities where we hv 17” 225 wide tyres, LCP + K&N filter and the rest of the pivot stuff, diff is he has an upgrade exos system while mine is stock. And of course no BBK, so he don’t lose FC by driving like me)
I suspect for those real FC kakis, attaining 560km-600km per full tank is not a problem on Eco5.
(just saw a CTR with P3D installed last weekend, owner like the improved throttle response as well)
check w deca cos i think he did like 700km while going back to Terengganu.
6. Does the ECU negate the P3D Throttle Response ?
Well it doesn’t affect it after my 3wks of ownership. I hv resetted my ECU once b4 removing the battery terminal for 1 hr about 2wks ago.
7. Conclusion
I am rather happy with this new mod cos everytime I feel like “chasing” a car on the hi-way, it provides a more efficient power delivery mode and when its time to stinge on petrol, I can reduce my drive mode to Eco mode …. all within the tips of my finger.
With 13 difference drive settings to play (7SPs,1Norm & 5ECOs) … tis is a great product to purchase as long as u can get over the price of sub RM1k ….. is it value for $$, well if u only drive Eco mode all the way …. But I feel it works great if u r always caught in daily traffic jams or moving crawls … Eco mode works best here.
Disclaimer:
This is written on a voluntary basis and i dont receive any financial assitance/benefits/pivileges fr the principal nor the supplier of the product. This has been shared based on my personal experience and remains my own opinion only. Pls do the needful research b4 u embark on a purchase and ask diligently.
), only accelerate harder then you will get back the feeling of normal mode. I'll recommend this gadget if you have extra cash on hand, after installed this, even any stock FD also can sapu other cars easily (except CTR 
) 