Are pedal commanders worth it

Let me tell you, it's worth the $300. I've always had a manual as my daily dirver, and saved my SUV's for the fun stuff. But my wife wasn't fond of me having two cars, so I upgraded to my current 4Runner. The first thing I noticed was the throttle response absolutely sucked. It had no punch to it. I was hesitant to spend the $300, but I need that punch, because I normally dirve on a highway where the on ramp is way to short to get up to highway speeds. Way to many close calls where I've almost been hit, because I wasn't able to get up to speed quick enough.

The thing I love is that I can change the agressiveness of the throttle response with just a click. When I need to get on the highway and just have fun driving I turn it to the sport mode. And on my normal daily dirving I keep it on city.

All in all, I highly recommend it.

So you’ve probably heard about Pedal Commander; otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. Pedal Commander is the most advanced throttle response controller these days. However, there are many misconceptions about its performance, possibilities, and characteristics.

Therefore, in the following lines, we’ll go to the root of the matter in order to see why you should buy it and how to properly install it in your vehicle.

Are pedal commanders worth it

  • How Does Pedal Commander Work?
  • Pedal Commander Modes and Settings
    • Eco Mode
    • City Mode
    • Sport Mode
    • Sport+ Mode
    • Sensitivity Settings
  • Some of the Best Pedal Commanders
  • How to Install Pedal Commander
    • 1. Disconnect the Factory Harness
    • 2. Connect the Pedal Commander
    • 3. Secure the Cables
    • 4. Mount Your Pedal Commander
  • How to Use Pedal Commander
  • Is Pedal Commander Worth Buying?
  • Pedal Commander vs. Similar Products
  • Pedal Commander Pros and Cons
  • In Conclusion

How Does Pedal Commander Work?

Some of you may have noticed that the gas pedals on old car models were more responsive than gas pedals in modern vehicles. Old cars didn’t feel lazy when you stepped on the pedal, and you were able to accelerate faster.

That’s why we have Pedal Commander today. With it, pressing the gas pedal won’t feel like stepping on a sponge anymore and you will be able to feel the power of your car in an instant.

You can say that Pedal Commander is a highly efficient throttle response controller. It will allow your engine to respond faster by bypassing the actuator. But that’s not all.

With it, you will also be able to adjust the sensitivity of your gas pedal. Therefore, your car’s acceleration can be fine-tuned according to your preferences and driving style.

So how does it work? Vehicles nowadays incorporate a throttle-by-wire system. There are no mechanics involved, and everything works due to a positioning sensor. This sensor is located within the acceleration system and it sends information about the foot pressure to the computer. In return, the computer deduces that information and makes the engine generate the necessary power.

Now that you’ve got that sorted out, you should know that the Pedal Commander serves as an intermediary between the sensor and the computer. It takes the information from the sensor, changes it and basically tells the computer that you’ve pressed the gas pedal differently than you actually did.

As a result, depending on the mode that you’ve selected, your vehicle will accelerate faster with less force applied to the gas pedal.

Pedal Commander Modes and Settings

Pedal Commander offers four different modes to choose from:

  • Eco
  • City
  • Sport
  • Sport +

You can customize its performance according to your driving style. Namely, each of these modes has eight different sensitivity levels. However, you won’t be able to program Pedal Commander outside your car’s specifications.

Therefore, in order to understand its performance, let’s see how each of these modes affect acceleration.

Eco Mode

Eco mode allows you to have a smooth and steady acceleration. It does that by using 25% of your engine power and incorporating it evenly across the first 50% of your gas pedal depression.

However, this mode won’t limit your acceleration. As soon as you pass that 50%, the engine power will become more lively. It’s a perfect mode for gradual acceleration, and you will benefit a lot from it when you’re driving in crowded areas.

City Mode

City mode offers a completely different approach. As the name says, it’s optimized for cities where you need to quickly accelerate to a certain point, but still, maintain a steady power growth.

Therefore, with City mode, you will have a slight boost across the first 10% of your gas pedal depression. Once you’re past that, you will be able to smoothly transition to high speed.

Sport Mode

Sport mode is a bit sensitive. It will get you up to full throttle pretty fast. To be more precise, you will go full throttle as soon as you reach 50% of pedal depression.

Therefore, you should use this mode with great focus and care. If you’re driving through a densely populated area, I would recommend switching to either City or even Eco mode.

Sport+ Mode

This is the most powerful mode out of all four. Don’t play around with it if you’re not a highly experienced driver. Take time to practice driving with it in a clear area before you actually try it out in traffic.

Sport+ mode is extremely touchy and will give you full engine power at about 30% of your gas pedal depression. Therefore, make sure to be very careful with it, and try to use it in the open road first.

Sensitivity Settings

Pedal Commander offers eight sensitivity options for each of the four modes. These options will help you fine-tune and customize the modes according to your preferences.

Therefore, if you feel that your pedal is too sensitive, and it gives too much power even on the lightest touch, you can take it down a notch by lowering the sensitivity level. On the other hand, you should increase that level if you feel that you need to push the pedal too far in order to get a response.

Some of the Best Pedal Commanders

Pedal Commander is sold for different car models. In order to find the one that will suit your vehicle specifications, you’ll have to do some research. Try googling it or finding it on Amazon.

Aside from that, you can always consult with your local mechanic. The reason is that some Pedal Commanders may work on your vehicle even if that particular model isn’t specifically mentioned on the package.

But before you do either of those two things, feel free to check the specifications of these selected Pedal Commanders. You’ll be able to see that all of them come at similar prices.

  • Pedal Commander for Toyota Tacoma
  • Pedal Commander for Smart ForTwo
  • Pedal Commander for Dodge Charger

How to Install Pedal Commander

If you’ve already decided to buy the Pedal Commander, don’t panic. Installing it in your vehicle will be a child’s play. Even though you won’t need a mechanic in order to set it up, you will still need some time to get everything right. So, make sure to free up an hour in your schedule, just in case.

A word of advice before you proceed:

You won’t need any extra set of tools for this procedure. However, make sure that the car engine isn’t running. Don’t leave your car key in the ignition at any cost. Doing so may cause errors in the computer that will affect your new setup later.

Also, make sure to wait a bit after parking your car before you proceed with the installation. 10 minutes will usually be enough for the electronics to cool off. Once you do all of that, you may proceed with the installation.

1. Disconnect the Factory Harness

The harness is usually located on top of your gas pedal components. I would advise you to consult your car manual if you’re not sure where it is located. It will speed up the process, and you will be sure that you’ve plugged out the correct wiring.

Once you’ve located the pedal assembly, disconnect the throttle sensor wiring.

2. Connect the Pedal Commander

The second step is to connect the Pedal Commander connectors into their corresponding plugs in the gas pedal assembly. It’s a no brainer. You just have to check whether the connectors and the plugs fit together. Hearing a click when you connect them will be a clear sign that you did everything properly.

3. Secure the Cables

Take the cable and run it all the way to the place where you’ll put your Pedal Commander. Make sure to tuck all cables in place so that they don’t come in the way while you’re driving. You can further secure them in place with pins or tape.

Finally, take a clean piece of cloth and some alcohol. Clean and rub the area where you’ll place the Pedal Commander.

4. Mount Your Pedal Commander

You can mount the Pedal Commander anywhere you want. However, make sure that it is a place where you’ll be able to monitor and access the commands easily.

Once you’ve chosen the right place, you’ll need to stick the bracket onto it. Take the velcro tape that you got with the package and put it both on the bracket and the surface. Stick the bracket and put your Pedal Commander in it.

And that’s it. Your Pedal Commander is all set up. Now, let’s see how you can try it out.

Once you’ve set up everything, the Pedal Commander will turn on as soon as you start your vehicle. However, it will take 5 minutes for it to shut down when you turn off the engine.

As I’ve already mentioned before, the Pedal Commander has 4 different operating mods. You can access all 4 of them by clicking on the corresponding buttons. Buttons are large enough and can be easily accessed during the ride.

Furthermore, the Pedal Commander also has a Bluetooth app from which you can control it. It’s available for both iOS and Android. Just make sure to use the app only when the car is idle since you shouldn’t be using a mobile phone while you’re driving.

Is Pedal Commander Worth Buying?

Buying the Pedal Commander is an investment that will improve the quality of your ride. There are multiple reasons why you should buy one. Above all, it will help you get a more efficient engine response.

All those who love to drive fast and who simply need a good response time from the car’s computer, know how lazy electronically controlled pedals feel. With such pedals, you might feel less confident in some critical moments during your ride, like taking a sudden turn or accelerating instantly in order to avoid a traffic jam.

Therefore, once you install the Pedal Commander and set it up according to your preferences, you will feel like you finally have full control over your vehicle. As a result, you can have an advantage in almost every traffic situation.

And what about the warranty?

Pedal Commander offers a two-year warranty. Furthermore, it’s good to know that this product won’t leave any evidence that you’ve used it in your car. Therefore, when you take your vehicle to a regular service, just detach the Pedal Commander, and everything will show like it was never there.

Pedal Commander vs. Similar Products

If you’re in dire need of a throttle controller, choosing one might seem hard at first since there are new products on the market showing up every now and then. However, some of these products are not reliable, and you shouldn’t let just any controller deal with the acceleration of your vehicle. A wrong choice can even be potentially dangerous.

Therefore, you shouldn’t mind the price when it comes to your safety. It’s better to wait for some time and save up to buy a reliable product with great reviews than to choose the cheapest one.

Some products like Sprint Booster may be a good alternative to the Pedal Commander. However, if we look at all of their characteristics, we’ll be able to see that, currently, the Pedal Commander is the leader when it comes to multiple customization options.

For example, with Sprint Booster you will have only three different modes to choose from, while Pedal Commander offers four. What’s more, with the Pedal Commander you will be able to fine-tune your pedal with different sensitivity levels.

The only benefit of the Sprint Booster is that it offers a three-year warranty instead of two. However, that shouldn’t bother you if you’re looking to get a product that simply performs better.

People who can benefit from Pedal Commander are:

  • Truck drivers and professional drivers who need to travel long distances in a short time.
  • Sports drivers who are used to having an instant response time from their engine.
  • Owners of vehicles who have gas pedals that feel too lazy and hard to control.

Pedal Commander Pros and Cons

Pedal Commander Pros:

  • Easy installation
  • Four different modes with sensitivity settings for each
  • Preprogrammed for out-of-the-box use
  • 2 Year Warranty

Pedal Commander Cons:

  • Sport and Sport + modes may spend lots of fuel

In Conclusion

Getting a pedal commander should be a must for all of you who feel like their vehicle needs too much time to accelerate. Even though it may come at a higher price, you will surely benefit from being able to finally feel all the power that your engine has to offer.

But before you decide to install the Pedal Commander, you should check how to secure your car floor mats. Securing floor mats will prevent them from getting in the way of the gas pedal. As a result, you will be able to fully enjoy faster acceleration that the Pedal Commander provides.

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Does the Pedal Commander do anything?

Pedal commander is a plug & play throttle response control system. It allows you to control your vehicle's gas pedal response time and throttle mapping, so the engine to respond faster so your car can accelerate faster! works with newer vehicles with drive-by-wire systems.

Does a Pedal Commander increase horsepower?

Does the Pedal Commander increase horsepower? Pedal Commander dos not increase horsepower, but it gives you complete customization control over how you want your gas pedal to respond with acceleration.

Do pedal commanders make your car faster?

Pedal Commander doesnt increase horsepower or torque. It speeds up the signal from the gas pedal to the ECU, which allows your car to access all of the vehicle's existing power sooner, which gives you faster acceleration.

How much faster does a Pedal Commander Make your car?

The short answer is it is an amplifier boosting theMore So what exactly does the Sprint Booster do. The short answer is it is an amplifier boosting the accelerator pedal sensor signal by about 30% which makes the accelerator pedal about 30% more sensitive.

Does a Pedal Commander waste more gas?

Pedal Commander offers up to 20 percent more fuel-efficient drives in its ECO mode.

Is Pedal Commander better than pedal monster?

Even if the OBD2 connection works flawlessly with your vehicle, most users choose Pedal Commander over PedalMonster because it is much easier to install.