EVC is the new name for the popular and proven iDrive throttle control unit imported by North Shore, Auckland-based company Petroject.

If you reckon your mate Dave’s ute just seems to be a little better than yours in terms of acceleration, chances are Dave’s either: spent a gazillion dollars getting his engine tuned, chipped and modified, or he’s spoken to an expert about it, someone like Lawrence Fisher of Petroject for instance.
Based in Auckland’s North Shore, Petroject would have sat down with Dave and gone through the reasons, workings and obvious advantages of the EVC throttle controller – which some of you might have known as the iDrive throttle controller.
Don’t let the name fool you, the EVC throttle controller is not actually a knock-off or clone. It is the same thing as the iDrive – it’s just had a name change.

Yep, it really is THAT good!
And it is the throttle controller which is one of the most tried, tested and proven by happy customers, like Steve for example:
“I was really gutted when I got my ute and found out just how annoying it was to put your foot on the gas and read a book while the throttle sent an email to the engine to tell it what to do. I went looking for a smart, cost sensible solution and came across the EVC throttle controller. I did some more homework and decided to bite the bullet, but I wanted to be sure I wasn’t dealing with some cowboy outfit based off-shore. Petroject are long-standing experts when it comes to fuel injection management systems, so I figured if the EVC throttle controllers were available through them, they’d be right for me. I bought a unit, fitted it in no time and Holy Cow! What an improvement! The ute’s gone from send me a message to thought controlled acceleration. It really is that good!”
OK, so we are looking at the grandpappy of throttle controllers, and that’s important, since it answers a number of questions.
Questions like: how reliable is it? How trusted is it? Is it going to void my engine warranty? And questions along a similar vein.
The answers, by the way, are yes, it’s reliable, yes, there are plenty of units out there since the EVC throttle controller is widely available through reputable distributors like Petroject and no, your engine warranty is safe since any warranty claims against units like the throttle controller have to be proven to have contributed to damage.
In the 30 years Petroject has been around and supplying throttle controller units, there’s never been a claim made.

How it works
All right, so, how does the throttle controller make such a remarkable difference?
First off, its important to clarify what the throttle controller isn’t. According to Lawrence, common misunderstandings are that a throttle controller changes the ECU, increases boost pressure or is some form of performance enhancing chip.
“The throttle controller is none of the above,” says Lawrence. “What it does is adjust the throttle’s sensitivity to driver input, and it does this to either improve/quicken the response from your foot going down on the pedal or slow that response time down, which can be useful in some off-roading situations.”
We reckon most would be installing a throttle controller to put ‘Dave’s’ in their place, setting it to eliminate that pesky turbo lag which still plagues even the most modern 4WDs.
But if its so good, can’t the vehicle manufacturers just dial in better throttle responsiveness? The answer is ‘of course they can’ but vehicles are made to suit a much wider range of customers.
Manufacturers are always working to a compromise between performance/comfort and efficiency. Not everyone wants to take on Dave at the traffic lights after all.
While eliminating turbo lag from your off-road demon is what you want, little old Betty Armitage just wants a tall vehicle that allows her to see over the traffic when she takes her quiet and comfortable 30km/h trip to Bingo.
Same vehicles, different applications, and that’s where a throttle controller comes in.

DIY fit ‘n forget!
‘All right, so do I need to send my 4WD to an auto sparkie to have this throttle controlling thingy fitted?”
Not really, though if you are calling it a ‘thingy’ maybe you should. Anyone who can change an automotive light bulb however, shouldn’t have a problem.
A trained ‘throttle controller thingy’ fitter can do it in less than two minutes.
If you DO need help disconnecting the accelerator pedal’s fly-by-wire plug, plugging the throttle controller in and then reconnecting the accelerator plug piggy back-wise into the controller before running the cable and controller up to somewhere sensible on the dashboard, chances are pretty good you’ll ask your throttle controller distributor to do it for you. That’s if you have to be THAT guy… we won’t tell your mates…  
An EVC throttle controller is easy to fit, easier to use – though we have it on good authority that stepping up the throttle control to maximum should best be done anywhere but on your significant other’s front lawn unless you like looking at skid-marks from your corner of the doghouse, and well worth it for cost effective (improved) vehicle acceleration.
So, if you want to be more of a Dave than a Dick when it comes to controlling your vehicle’s throttle response, give Lawrence and the Petroject team a call or visit the

www.idrivenz.co.nz website.