This definitely works.
I got a loaner car, and it was quite sluggish to respond. Even in sports mode, when I WOT it would not respond for a good 1-2 seconds. I was telling my brother this yesterday, as he is looking to get into a new car and doesn't know much about them. My explanation to him was that the 28i engine had some severe turbo lag. It didn't occur to me it was user learned behavior, probably from all the people who
don't go bat-shit crazy with their loaners
. Anyway, I just remembered this "trick" today, and tried it before using the car. Wow, did everything change! There is still a good .5-1 second lag compared to my Z, but the improvement is significant... so was my new gas consumption. Will definitely do this once I get my car back. Been grannying the car cause of the winter weather when I got it.