Pedal Commander Review 5.7

Disclaimer, I have nothing to do with this company, this is just my review that may help out others.

Purchased the Pedal Commander recently, I read all the reviews and did the research. Bottom line, this is the most bang for your buck performance mod you can do for your Tundra period. My Tundra is a 2017 5.7 feels like a different truck. I came from a 2007 5.7 Tundra that I felt had great pedal response and IMO plenty of power. The 2017 in comparison felt doggy and unresponsive to the point that I always had the tow/haul button on which helped a lot. Well, the Pedal Commander solved any issues I had and then some. Truck feels like a rocket in Sport+ mode, there are several "modes" Ive settled on Sport-4. I bought the Pedal Commander with bluetooth $325, the app mimics the layout of the actual unit so you can control all features from your phone.

The theory behind the Pedal Commander from what Ive read is that it does not add power however, it changes the throttle map & shift points. What that translate to from my experience is a huge improvement in drivability.

Install took 3 minutes, unplug connector to gas pedal, plug pedal commander into gas pedal, plug factory connector into pedal commander (simple inline configuration). Thats it, start truck, select the mode and go.

I had previously done the SABM, G-Tek, TRD Flow accelerator, K&N drop. Stock exhaust for now. There is an "eco" setting on the Pedal Commander which some say you'll get better gas milage if thats your thing.

I mounted the Pedal Commander in a hidden area as mentioned above, you can control all features with your phone if you get the Bluetooth model. They have a non-bluetooth that is $25 less so no reason to get that one.



Hope this helps any fellow Tundra owners, for me this was a huge improvement.

 

Right on! Is this similar to a tuner? I may look in this.
Where is the pedal plug?

 

Pedal plug is right on top of the gas pedal

 

I'm liking it!!Great info. My 07 has great pedal response which quite frankly was somewhat of a surprise at first to say the least but I've heard that newer Tundras do have sluggish pedal response. This is a great fix!!

 

My 3rd gen with tow/haul drives and has about the pedal response of a stock second gen without tow/haul, Toyota toned it down quite a bit, its nice because it's not jumpy but definetly sluggish in comparison

 

I installed one a while back for different reasons. I wrote a review / update at #8 on this.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/pedal-commander.21681/

 

Many will argue that BD tuner is only about $100 more and will do much more. The PC is simple, that's why I chose it.

 

Have you had any issues with the BD throwing codes etc.

 

Do not have BD, have PC, no issues with it.

@dirtydeeds seems to like the BD, and sells them too.

 

Love my PC

 

I think the Pedal Commander is one of the most over looked options for any Tundra owner. If you have spent time and energy on your intake and exhaust systems you will benefit even more. All Tundras are stuck with the factory setting for the drive by wire and shift points. Those guys that enjoy the "poor mans supercharger" ie. the Tow/haul button, set the Pedal Commander in Sport+4 and your head will snap back when you accelerate. I was amazed how different my truck felt, seat of the pants was immediate like I had added a bunch of horsepower.

 

As far as helping with MPGs any comparison numbers out there for Tundras?

 

According to Pedal Commanders website, 20% increase which means nothing with all the real world variables. On this Tundra I was really shooting for the best gas milage when I bought since I commute. Just wasn't seeing it, then add lift, add big tires, it was over. The milage is what it is on these trucks.

I'm sure Toyotas attempt at some increase in MPG's is why the gas pedal feels like a sponge with no response and why they switched to a different A/C pump that doesn't cool as efficient as my last Tundra where the A/C was ice cold all the time and the gas pedal was super responsive. At least the Pedal Commander fixed the oem pedal issue.

 

If the pedal commander makes the gas pedal more sensitive thus giving you more acceleration I can't see how it would net you better fuel gains as you're going to be goosing it everywhere.

My '11 had a much more sensitive pedal than my '16. My '16 feels "slow" in comparison. I also went from 4x2 to 4x4 and think it's slightly slower. However, I don't get any worse gas mileage in my '16 than my '11. Probably because I am driving around slower versus jack rabbiting around in my '11 all the time.

As for why they switched I read it was from complaints of the pedal being too sensitive for off-road purposes but who knows.

 

You guys do realize that this just gives you 100% throttle input at less pedal input right? Pushing the pedal further down would accomplish the same thing and save you the $300 this thing costs.

 

I wanna know about Eco mode, I understand how PC works... I have a LEAD foot, maybe this could be a crutch and help me stay out of it... I cant imagine it would improve your MPG much if at all... but maybe it can keep me above 10-11ish mpg haha! Cause I would be happy with mid 12 low 13, I don't do much Highway driving as work is only 4.5 miles from the house.

 

You do realize that the PC is much more than "100% throttle" and that just pressing the gas. Its possible your TRD Pro has better throttle response than some of us. In my case, there was almost no response to the point where I thought something was wrong. IMO this is just as effective as a tuner. A lot of automotive MFG's offer similar systems built in for example Land Rover has Terrain Response each setting has a custom designed throttle map for specific driving situations. I have Sea Doo watercraft that have "Eco" "Touring" "Race" in Eco mode they are sluggish and doggy in Race, they are monsters, instant acceleration.

Toyota could have simply added a "sport" button and this wouldn't be an issue.

 

There is an Eco mode on the PC that basically make the truck feel like a boat with very little throttle responses quick shifts etc. Its like driving a manual transmission in 4th gear going 25mph, you can press the gas pedal to the floor and nothing happens. From my experience operating anything in Eco mode is going to be de-tuned with major trade off's.

 

Oh boooo so, so what your saying is Eco mode does more harm that good then in a sense.

 

I wouldn't say that at all, MPG is a trade off anything that you're trying to be fuel efficient with is a trade off "light foot" or "feathering it" are the same even if you don't have ECO mode.These are big trucks with big V8's, large tires etc.

 

Ya... I got the truck knowing MPG was bad just need a "crutch" to keep myself from flooring it all the time lol its hard to be "light foot" when that Exhaust / engine sounds so good! lol

 

Get the Pedal Commander, give it a try for 30 days. As I mentioned in a previous post, when I got this new Tundra I was attempting to get the best gas milage I could. I realized it was futile after mods, lift big tires etc. The Eco mode might give you that crutch you are looking for.

 

Nah... sorry dude, but you're wrong. All this contraption does is give you 100% perceived throttle at less pedal angle. This isn't the first one and more than likely won't be the last one like it. When you are talking about mapping the pedal, that is all it does... move 100% throttle to a lower throttle pedal angle so that it feels like you are smashing the gas when you actually aren't. You kind of hinted at it, but does it physically change the mapping of the ECU, nope. It does go into different ECU mapping though, but not because its modified anything, but because you are effectively pushing the throttle at 100% without actually pushing the pedal that far.

Here is why:
When you go to 100% pedal input, the ECU no longer reads the MAF or the widebands to compensate for fuel. It goes into speed density and then calculates a specific amount of fuel based on the temp of the air incoming through the MAF. That is called Power Enrichment, or PE. From there, the engine takes off and more fuel, with more vacuum, equals more power. If you have ever seen a wideband air/fuel ratio sensor on a modified engine car and they smash the pedal, the ECU goes into PE, to a previously targeted AF ratio, then calculates load, compensates for injector size, while reading IAT and then goes. All this thing is doing is getting you there quicker.

You are effectively tricking the computer into PE, while not pushing the pedal all the way. Not here to argue with you though. I am just giving actual info for those that are on the fence or skiddish about it and want to know what this actually does. You would be better off just re-gearing, since the higher (numerically) gear ratios reduce your overall calculated load and produce more torque through the gear ratios.

 

The WOT delay is programmed into the ECM software, don't think this would really give the extra happy fun mode a tuner would give.

 

Maybe it is trickery but it does seem to work or make the truck feel different.

 

I can say I was confused by the rocket ship descriptions everyone used when talking about their Tundras because my '18 is doggish. But I'm realizing more each day that the older models are the ones saying this. Without Tow/Haul on, the '18 is a complete dog.

 

When I took my 07 for a test drive 4 yrs ago...holy S**T!! It took awhile to get used to it. Tow Haul mode is NUTs. I can chirp my my Cooper STT Pro M/T's !!!

 

Praise the lord. Amen!!!