Ordered a pedal commander (review and thoughts)

[1 SX]

After a thread popped up here about a "throttle controller" just like that the seed was planted.. 🌲

actually ordered it last year for the kia there was supply issues @ PC so it took a couple months to ship out.

The kia has a drive by wire system.. that is acceptable most of the time. I have been analyzing the throttle for some time and well its kinda numb overall though. I am hoping for a more immediate tip in response with more "feed back" so to speak in the throttle.

It will be here tomorrow - I will install then give my thoughts.

some people love em, some hate em. im not sure yet.
i've never had one but am looking forward to trying it out.

Will update once I receive and install. This "should" be fun 🙏

 

[bruckus]

Running a Sprint Booster in our 4 Runner. Works as advertised and a great addition. I think you'll be happy with the Pedal
Commander and the throttle response adjustability.

 

[CC1981]

I have a Pedal Commander thats been on my truck for years now, it works great and I love being able to adjust the throttle sensativity on the fly.

 

[RedSpider]

some people love em, some hate em. im not sure yet.
i've never had one but am looking forward to trying it out.

The people who hate them are people who have never used one.

 

[justalubetech]

The people who hate them are people who have never used one.

I don't have one, but don't hate them and can definitely see their usefulness on some cars.

I just laugh at the ads with all the comments of people thinking they got a race car by plugging it in lol.

 

[kschachn]

So what does it do exactly? Is it like the Sport/normal/eco dial on my Tiguan?

 

[Pew]

So what does it do exactly? Is it like the Sport/normal/eco dial on my Tiguan?

Adjusts throttle tip in to make a car feel faster, basically pushing the gas pedal more. The drive mode dial for your tig does a lot more.

 

[RedSpider]

I just laugh at the ads with all the comments of people thinking they got a race car by plugging it in lol.

Yup there definitely are users of them that dont understand what these things actually do and what they are capable of, and what they are not capable of. There is certainly a perception of more power, even though these boxes are totally incapable of altering the tune at all. I can tell you though, after having one on two different daily drivers, it makes them *feel* like totally different cars.

I see people on forums all the time talking smack about them, and thats fine, forum warriors have to be warriors. Things like "just get a proper tune" ok whatever. If you're chasing dyno numbers or tracking the car and actually do need every little bit of power you can get, then absolutely yes spend the money and get a decent tune. If you just want your car to feel a bit more aggressive or change the drivability without making a significant change to it or endangering your warranty, get a much cheaper pedal box. Dont like it, return it and get a tune. Most people wont.

Or "Just push the gas pedal down further, its the same thing" yea whatever, again. How about this, pull the vacuum hose off your brake booster and just push harder on the brake pedal for now on, its the same thing, right? No, its not. You might be able to stop in the same average distance every time, but the experience of driving the car certainly isnt going to be the same. Same thing with a pedal box.

I've heard one tuner, a fairly successful and well known one in one of the car communities I frequent, flat out said on a forum a year or so ago "A lot of what you feel in many tuned cars, versus stock, is the remapping the curve of the gas pedal, and not the actual power difference from changing boost numbers or messing with timing or torque limiters." Thats straight from a tuner's mouth, someone who makes most of their money selling tunes, not throttle boxes. I dont know if he actually meant to admit that, but he definitely saved this cheapskate $600, I can tell you that much.

 

[kschachn]

I see people on forums all the time talking smack about them, and thats fine, forum warriors have to be warriors. Things like "just get a proper tune" ok whatever. If you're chasing dyno numbers or tracking the car and actually do need every little bit of power you can get, then absolutely yes spend the money and get a decent tune. If you just want your car to feel a bit more aggressive or change the drivability without making a significant change to it or endangering your warranty, get a much cheaper pedal box. Dont like it, return it and get a tune. Most people wont.

Or "Just push the gas pedal down further, its the same thing" yea whatever, again. How about this, pull the vacuum hose off your brake booster and just push harder on the brake pedal for now on, its the same thing, right? No, its not. You might be able to stop in the same average distance every time, but the experience of driving the car certainly isnt going to be the same. Same thing with a pedal box.

I've heard one tuner, a fairly successful and well known one in one of the car communities I frequent, flat out said on a forum a year or so ago "A lot of what you feel in many tuned cars, versus stock, is the remapping the curve of the gas pedal, and not the actual power difference from changing boost numbers or messing with timing or torque limiters." Thats straight from a tuner's mouth, someone who makes most of their money selling tunes, not throttle boxes. I dont know if he actually meant to admit that, but he definitely saved this cheapskate $600, I can tell you that much.

I haven't seen any of that in this thread at all. Or was this just a preemptive strike?

 

[1 SX]

Okay it's installed. I will say I have absolutely no bias positive or negative. I did not read any reviews to alter my expectations of this.

The absolute first immediate impressions are: Sport mode plus 1 is where it's at for this kia.
A nice immediate response to throttle inputs without being so sensitive like sport+ where when driving every bump is felt with like a surge because of the throttle sensitivity.. sport+ actually rises the revs to about 1100 at idle and makes the throttle basically like a light switch hair trigger ready at any moment. city mode feels like normal, and eco I could not activate on the test drive as I had to read the instructions and you have to hold the power button for three seconds.

Every main mode does make a substantial difference in throttle feel, and the sub adjustment are pretty nice also to fine tune the feeling even more.

I did not gain 50 hp and wot feels about the same.
But with the removal of the initial throttle tip in delay is a huge success and exactly what I was looking for.

Was it worth the $300.. plus? Depends. For me it was as it did make the car a lot more responsive in throttle inputs and movements, but my expectations were not extraordinarily high and truthfully did not know what to expect. PC delivered results immediately with a 4 minute installation. last note im not going to use the app/bluetooth, as I like the physical buttons haha.

 

[wbwanzer]

Let us know if it affects your fuel mileage.

 

[wtd]

I've had a Sprint Booster on my 2014 Mustang GT from almost the time it was new. It made a huge difference in how the throttle response feels. Before, there was a lot of lag in the throttle response and the SB took all of that away. It did make it feel like I gained power even though it didn't. It made the car a lot more enjoyable to drive.

Mine is adjustable but I leave it on 100% and I don't even have the adjustable switch mounted. It was definitely one of the best add ons to this car.

 

[RedSpider]

I haven't seen any of that in this thread at all. Or was this just a preemptive strike?

Definitely preemptive. I've been in enough throttle box debates on various forums to know what the objections will inevitably be.

 

[kschachn]

Definitely preemptive. I've been in enough throttle box debates on various forums to know what the objections will inevitably be.

Perhaps. I’ve just found that things with actual value tend to be their own defense.

 

[KrisZ]

No experience with this, but I would think these types of devices would be most useful in manual
transmission vehicles. Throttle programming is pretty dreadful in these.

 

[TiGeo]

I use one (BMS) in my Sportwagen. Fantastic upgrade for driveability. Many folks simply think that this mimics pushing the pedal harder/faster but that is not the case. It changes the voltage output vs. pedal push % curve as can be seen here in my logs. Video shows it nicely. These are not "snake oil". Usually the folks down-talking them have never actually tried one which is classic internet forum stuff for you. I run mine on max.

 

[justalubetech]

This is one of the things I miss about my S10, is having an actual throttle cable. What my foot told it to do is what it did lol, now people are paying $300-$600+ to basically mimic a cable throttle.

I get the reasons for drive by wire with the new eco/sport modes and driver assists, but some things I wish stayed simple.

 

[IndyIan]

This is one of the things I miss about my S10, is having an actual throttle cable. What my foot told it to do is what it did lol, now people are paying $300-$600+ to basically mimic a cable throttle.

I get the reasons for drive by wire with the new eco/sport modes and driver assists, but some things I wish stayed simple.

My Focus still has a cable, but they do manage to add a little bit of rev hang on throttle chop.
My only real complaint about the DBW in the Outback is the excessive tip in, 5% pedal travel doesn't need to be 25% throttle... It does kind of make the car feel "peppy" but I didn't buy the car to feel "peppy", its slow, and fuel efficient and excessive tip in starts to get rid of the efficient part...

 

[justalubetech]

My Focus still has a cable, but they do manage to add a little bit of rev hang on throttle chop.
My only real complaint about the DBW in the Outback is the excessive tip in, 5% pedal travel doesn't need to be 25% throttle... It does kind of make the car feel "peppy" but I didn't buy the car to feel "peppy", its slow, and fuel efficient and excessive tip in starts to get rid of the efficient part...

I wonder how the affect of a pedal commander type product would be on those outbacks/crosstreks etc, as that aggressive tip in from a stop is a common complaint, then it just kind of falls on its face.

 

[1 SX]

About 100 miles update:
To sum it up: it love this device, and now realize how "sleepy" 😫 the programming was from the factory.

I think currently Sport +1 is best mode and do not want to change it yet as every mode makes the throttle that much more of less sensitive and have to relearn every mode to accelerate and shift smoothly without revving it super high or low ect. So im going to learn and master a mode at a time... over some miles and time. Im not even going to install it on the dash because I will so infrequently be switching modes.
Rev matching is such a breeze now because the throttle... actually does something when you press it.

To be honest gas mileage has decreased a solid mpg, but over 30 mpg still.
In my mind a small penalty to pay to to have the type of throttle response I was looking for. "just hit the throttle more" was VERY false thinking my my part. PC does not work that way at all. Hitting the throttle more even with PC gives you more acceleration but under light throttle inputs kinda ups the sensitivity so like 5% input is more like 35% or something like that, but yet there is still power left in the pedal.

Also to note no check engine light or anything negative. I will hook up laptop to it to see if there are any pending codes or anything like that.
Overall I am very pleased with the PC, but again it not for everyone, (or maybe it could be!)

Im sure you could do the opposite to make the throttle LESS sensitive such as on many newer Subarus that 5% is like WOT.