Hear me out.. Does a Pedal Commander really work??

[Plankton]

I've been running mine in Sport zero, but yesterday I kicked it up to Sport +3 and almost snapped my spine in a few places. lol Just kidding. It's very responsive though. Here's a good video to explain throttle controllers and how they change voltage a little better:

 

[Narg]

yeah cars break, computers break, bulbs burn, spark plugs need replace ,etc ...what is new in this? ...

Nothing except you don't want them to break while at speed due to your own fault. Right?

 

[HDGoose]

So the pedal commander simply adjust the voltage curve of the rheostat that is connected to the PCM, which gives the illusion of quicker response. When it is the same effect that changing the older TPS (throttle position sensor) would do for older EFI systems.

 

[Pull Ya]

If you want to try one look in the For Sale section and see if one is available. You can save some money and then if you don't like it you can sell it. Granted there are some that didn't like the PC however I think it is a very very small minority of users. I've had mine for over 5 years and NEVER have had a problem. Set it once and left it alone. I also have a custom tune and it works well with a tuner, although I recommend that you tell your tuner you have a PC so he/she can make the necessary adjustments in your custom tune. I agree with a few commenters, I think you're overthinking this mod. It's kinda like a lot of food, I don't want to watch it being made, I just want to enjoy the final taste.
Jay

 

[BadHemi2014]

I can tell you that I don't regret spending 3 hundos for my PC. Worth every penny.
To me, it does eliminate the pedal response lag. It is not the same as just pushing the pedal harder. Even if you floor the gas, in a stock Ram, there is a delay before the truck responds. The PC eliminates that. At least that's how I feel it.
Kind of like the dang horn, how you tap it and it doesn't do anything for a fraction of a sec, just long enough to push it again, harder, and sound all ticked off when you were just trying to give a friendly beep.

 

[Cwils80]

Alrighty I do know I am over thinking this. I do understand that the PC will give you adjustability in driving preference, but when I read other people say it removes pedal lag and other people ask what removes pedal lag and everyone responds with this it makes me and others believe that pedal lag would be fixed with this. When really it seems like pedal lag is different than throttle response. Yes it changes the response of the pedal to something more preferred, but the lag itself is still there and can't be fixed. Yes I agree im probably one of the few outliers that think like this lol BUT there is truth to behind what im saying.

 

[Tim Garceau]

The mechanical pedal is not linear with the drive by wire input. The first half of the pedal is ~1/4 of the TPS, the second half is ~25-100% throttle. Again, fuel economy maximized.

All an input booster does is skip some of that dead zone to give you the impression of more instant response and increase downshifting(especially 8 speeds with the 40 shift map TCM).

Most of the feedback on here doesn’t tune or monitor their OBD live data. Record and watch your TPS while driving, it’s instantaneous to the pedal just not linear in relation to its position.

 

[ram1500rsm]

throttle input table is at PCM level PC works before PCM by altering adding or subtracting signal. If you want to compare it with something the most accurate is a 40lb 12 yr old pressing the gas pedal vs a 225lb adult pressing it. PC achieves the same result as you would by pressing the pedal harder but your brain will perceive it different in terms of result because you put less effort in achieving the same result

It's a thing of beauty i'm sure. I do hope you understand i'm not saying the PC doesn't work. i'm saying a tune and the PC are two different things. A tune is a much better, elegant approach and one that will actually yield power, gains, performance or whatever you want to call it. I'm into tuning so whatever the PC does in my eyes is similar or the same as the spring booster and the other few devices out there doing the same or similar and it's not something i'll do myself regardless of how any of them deploy their solution.

There is much more into tuning than just calibrating a throttle feel. i make what the factory did work for me so I tune torque management overall, throttle tip-in, driver demand/throttle input, i tune power enrichment thresholds and delays, A/F ratios, engine timing for part throttle and wot, i address speed limiter, rpm limiters, fan engagement/coolant thresholds, transmission shift points, tire sizes etc etc. There is a lot of things that can be improved in your calibration that you can't touch with PC. again they are two different things and there is no comparison between the two in the same instance.

 

[Ricko]

What about JMS pedal max? ANy good?

 

[WHYTLIE03]

I have a 2017 Ecodiesel. The lag/delay, whatever you want to call it when under 150-160 coolant temp is atrocious and dangerous. I installed the Banks Derringer kit and that helped some but when cold it was still really bad.

I bought a Pedal Commander and installed it and played with different settings. Yup, I tried the hottest setting and it was incredible, super responsive, although “too much”. I settled on something fairly mild and while in town driving was much improved it was difficult to hold a constant speed on the freeway and would cause the trans to drop to 7th gear and hold 7th frequently.

I also had the limp home mode “throttle voltage” message probably 8-10 times. Luckily I had a scanner that can clear codes in my center console, but loosing all power on the freeway or when accelerating through an intersection and having to limp to the side of the road and clear the code just to continue was annoying.

I gave it to a buddy with a 2019 CTD to try out and he liked it and didn’t have any issues so he bought it from me.

I have been thinking about the Banks brand Pedal Monster though.

I am looking forward to finally getting my EGR update/recall and the newest “tune” from Ram as I’ve heard the delay is reduced significantly.

If I wasn’t in California I would have had the GDE tune by now.

 

[Wizard]

It's a thing of beauty i'm sure. I do hope you understand i'm not saying the PC doesn't work. i'm saying a tune and the PC are two different things. A tune is a much better, elegant approach and one that will actually yield power, gains, performance or whatever you want to call it. I'm into tuning so whatever the PC does in my eyes is similar or the same as the spring booster and the other few devices out there doing the same or similar and it's not something i'll do myself regardless of how any of them deploy their solution.

There is much more into tuning than just calibrating a throttle feel. i make what the factory did work for me so I tune torque management overall, throttle tip-in, driver demand/throttle input, i tune power enrichment thresholds and delays, A/F ratios, engine timing for part throttle and wot, i address speed limiter, rpm limiters, fan engagement/coolant thresholds, transmission shift points, tire sizes etc etc. There is a lot of things that can be improved in your calibration that you can't touch with PC. again they are two different things and there is no comparison between the two in the same instance.

####

Agreed. A tune is more involved and targets more than throttle response but it is also more expensive and potentially risky to the engine components reliability. The Pentastar is pretty much maxed out as far as HP and TQ goes but you'll still find peeps trying to milk more out of it via CAI and tune. In my opinion a tune on a stock pentastar equals the effects of a massage to a wooden limb; if truly want some serious power a SC and a tune would be the way to go ...but before that ...it might be even better to look into a sports car ....talking about built for purpose

 

[MAJ_Charlie]

Here this pretty much proves what I'm trying to say. Yes it'll help with drive ability and give you a better overall experience driving the truck. But it won't fix pedal lag.

This person does WOT tests and you can hear his pedal hit the floor then see the time it takes for the truck to respond.

No its not the pedal Commander but this will do the same thing just not as adjustable as a PC.

FWIW...I have two Sprint Boosters. One in my RAM (which does have a tune from Jay Greene...no issues or codes!) and one in my wife's Durango. Sprint Booster has a much smaller footprint (about the size of a Micro SD card) than PC, and unlike PC...you can program it...unplug the programmer...and the pedal device remembers. That's what I did on my wife's Durango. Additional options include being able to set your throttle to a valet mode (limits the max throttle) or a "secure" mode (cuts the signal to the TB all together) as an added security measure. Each is programmable by a code you select. I've had mine for over 6 months and there is a definite difference in throttle responsiveness.

 

[Jim Prendergast]

I have a 2000 Ram limited Hemi. The Hemi has the etorque option added to it at a $2,000 option now will this operate with the E Track system?

 

[Wizard]

I have a 2017 Ecodiesel. The lag/delay, whatever you want to call it when under 150-160 coolant temp is atrocious and dangerous. I installed the Banks Derringer kit and that helped some but when cold it was still really bad.

I bought a Pedal Commander and installed it and played with different settings. Yup, I tried the hottest setting and it was incredible, super responsive, although “too much”. I settled on something fairly mild and while in town driving was much improved it was difficult to hold a constant speed on the freeway and would cause the trans to drop to 7th gear and hold 7th frequently.

I also had the limp home mode “throttle voltage” message probably 8-10 times. Luckily I had a scanner that can clear codes in my center console, but loosing all power on the freeway or when accelerating through an intersection and having to limp to the side of the road and clear the code just to continue was annoying.

I gave it to a buddy with a 2019 CTD to try out and he liked it and didn’t have any issues so he bought it from me.

I have been thinking about the Banks brand Pedal Monster though.

I am looking forward to finally getting my EGR update/recall and the newest “tune” from Ram as I’ve heard the delay is reduced significantly.

If I wasn’t in California I would have had the GDE tune by now.

#####

What code(s) did you get when it went into limp mode?

 

[averageguy]

I have one and it works. I don't know how and don't care.

 

[Cwils80]

I have one and it works. I don't know how and don't care.

Lol this is my favorite answer!

 

[Ramm5.7]

I have one and it works. I don't know how and don't care.

Best post in this thread!!!
I feel exactly the same!!!!
I havent posted due to the technical mumbo jumbo responses which I understand analytical minds need to do but I have had one since 2017 in my WhytRam, before and after a Greene custom tune! I traded it in on 12/28/19 and it went in my new truck with 50 miles on it on 12/29/19.
Mine is an old school non bluetooth model. Always worked, never an issue and many many adjust on the fly uses.
Full disclosure NEVER NEVER NEVER has it been set or tried on ECO mode!!!
That seems to me to be counter productive as to why I have a Hemi!!

 

[ram1500rsm]

####

Agreed. A tune is more involved and targets more than throttle response but it is also more expensive and potentially risky to the engine components reliability. The Pentastar is pretty much maxed out as far as HP and TQ goes but you'll still find peeps trying to milk more out of it via CAI and tune. In my opinion a tune on a stock pentastar equals the effects of a massage to a wooden limb; if truly want some serious power a SC and a tune would be the way to go ...but before that ...it might be even better to look into a sports car ....talking about built for purpose

There are plenty of things you can do to the pentastar as well.. Same concepts apply in the TM department, AF delays, PE delays, spark management, trans tune, traction control, fan settings, WOT fueling etc etc. I think Jeep claimed 87 octane was sufficient for the Jeeps, maybe 89 octane for the trucks ?. It's a V6 doesn't mean you have to drive a minivan tune with it.

Tuning can be as cheap as $100 more expensive than buying a power commander if you do it yourself,lol if you never did tuning before then yes you'll have to pay somebody $400-$500. Learn at your own pace with Hptuners. $399 will give you enough to literally do anything you want except logging WOT fueling. You can start with the basics, then add such features later on for an extra fee. Just saying.... I'm surprised a lot of enthusiast in our forum aren't actually doing more in the tuning department considering the era of Alphaobd and Hptuners. Check the LSx forums, Chally and Charger owners don't seem to be playing around with the little kids toys anymore... same Hemi or Pentastar

Regarding the risk, start with the basics turn off MDS, disable the speed limiter, disable a little TM here and there, get familiar with the scanner and logging portion. i haven't messed up with any engine or trans since 2006, and i have tuned and raced my own vehicles that are also daily drivers. i've done cammed applications especially from GM LSx family LS1,LS2, L76, LS3 and LS7 ,have also done Ford Stangs 5.0, Dodge Challenger 6.4, Jeep Pentastar , now RAM Hemi ,Durango Pentastar etc. Principles are literally the same but their implementations are different depending on the manufacturer. Ford uses MAF, Mopar uses SD, GM uses a hybrid MAF/SD approach. Trans tuning is vastly different when it comes to the Auto equipped vehicles.

An example from years ago, cam, bolt ons and tune 09 G8GT against a 13 Charger R/T
look at the passenger mirror...

Full daily driver

 

[Pat1usmc]

I’ve had a pedal commander on two 5.7L Rams, love it and the control it affords. I actually have one for sale if anyone is interested.

 

[OnSale]

I just installed my pedal commander 2 days ago, and i am blown away at the difference. I immedietly was 100% content with my purchase, i got mine for $200 shipped, which was a killer deal.

But yes, it works. My truck when i would floor it, it would take forever for the truck to respond and start moving. But with the PC, i can barely even brush against the pedal and it freaking screams and rips. Its such a major difference, like jaw dropping difference.

I took my GF for a ride and did not tell her about the PC. I floored my truck and she grabbed the pillar and the center console and said "holy **** what did you do to your truck its so much faster". Now i know its not "faster" per say, but it without a doubt seems faster and feels a hell of a lot faster with the PC.