Pedal Commander

Mrclean67 · 03-20-2019, 09:58 AM

If anyone is on the fence about buying one don't be. I already knew the product given I have one on my 17 Dodge Ram 1500, I can say it's a completely different truck. Installed it on my 07 328i coupe 6 MT last night and I was all smiles and a little earlier to work this morning. It's currently set in Sport and +2 on the controller. I tried Sport + mode and good lord it's wicked, almost hard to drive around town. Just thought I'd give a little review from someone that owns 2 of them on different types of vehicles. Hope this helps anyone who's undecided. DEFINITELY worth the money!

nsjames · 03-20-2019, 10:57 AM

hard to drive because the pedal box is simply altering the signals to the DME so that ten percent of the pedal is now 50%.

your car is not faster.

Mrclean67 · 03-20-2019, 11:20 AM

I understand my car is not faster, what it is, is quicker to respond. And ten percent is now not 50 percent, it alters the reaction time between the pedal and the throttle body, the movement through the pedal is still linear. I ran a friend of mine to 60 in my truck and he has the identical truck, I got to 60 quicker simply because my truck could react quicker than his. It's worth every penny and a very noticeable difference and I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

nsjames · 03-20-2019, 12:10 PM

lol.

no.

it literally plugs in between the pedal assembly and the DME. It cannot talk to the throttle body,
Your car doesn't even use the throttle body for throttle control, it uses the valvetronic system to meter air.
All this does is alter the pedal signal to the DME to make the DME think that you've pushed the throttle down further than you have.
that's wy the website says this:
**Pedal Commander will not be active while using cruise control.**

because when in cruise, it can't alter any pedal travel information.

the pedal commander is simply adding exponential to your throttle pedals output.

Mrclean67 · 03-20-2019, 01:00 PM

Ok I agree to some extent, yes via the dme, but it's not tricking the dme to thinking it's farther open than what it is, it's time, no different than my truck, no it's not talking directly to the throttle body but the ecm, manufacturer's have a set signal speed all the pedal commander does is alter that signal speed, the time it takes between the pedal and ecm on my truck for instance. And if I'm completely wrong that's ok because I do know it works and works very well, if you drove any vehicle without one and then with one you would notice a huge difference as you obviously know what your talking about, I highly recommend you try it if you know anyone who has one. I was only trying to give a review of a product I believe in because I own 2 of them. However it works is really irrelevant at this point. And in my OP I never said my car was faster, I said it was wicked, meaning responsive never said faster. I'm basing my information off of Pedal Commander website and 100 plus reviews and 19 videos I e watched. The only other test I can do is turn it off and measure with my calipers pedal travel, then turn it on and measure the same distance, if the rpms are different then your correct and there should be a huge difference if your correct.

hassmaschine · 03-20-2019, 02:50 PM

It doesn't change the response time of the system at all, that is impossible. It just makes the pedal over sensitive, by literally making the DME think the pedal is pushed down further than it really is. It can't change the speed of the signal because that is physically not possible.

You could do the same thing by changing the pedal/voltage curve in the DME, stock is 20%/v (5v signal = 100% open).

And that will be adapted out over time by the DME anyway. They N52 doesn't even use 'throttle control', because not only is the throttle not used for anything except a failsafe (it's normally 100% open), but BMW has been using a 'torque control' strategy for several decades now. There is literally no direct relationship between throttle position and pedal input.

I wouldn't bother, it's a waste of time and money. There's right ways to do things and then there's BS like this..

nsjames · 03-20-2019, 06:57 PM

yes, I would obviously know that the pedal travel no longer corresponds to what it should.

look, this is easy to test.

Pull out your diagnostic software, look at the pedal position.
Set it to a know distance above the floor at about 1/3rd it's travel.

Look at the pedal position with and without the box.
With the box is going to report a much higher pedal position, because all the box does is add exponential to the linear voltage response from the pedal.

If you want to send me the box, I will perform an exhaustive session with it using a pedal controlled precisely by a PWM servo, so we can accurately plot the boxes modifications to the pedal output on all of it's settings. I'm a nerd. I have lots of test equipment. Hell, we can even hook it up to an oscope and see what it's outputs are if you want. I got spare time this month.

rjahl · 03-20-2019, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

It doesn't change the response time of the system at all, that is impossible. It just makes the pedal over sensitive, by literally making the DME think the pedal is pushed down further than it really is. It can't change the speed of the signal because that is physically not possible.

You could do the same thing by changing the pedal/voltage curve in the DME, stock is 20%/v (5v signal = 100% open).

And that will be adapted out over time by the DME anyway. They N52 doesn't even use 'throttle control', because not only is the throttle not used for anything except a failsafe (it's normally 100% open), but BMW has been using a 'torque control' strategy for several decades now. There is literally no direct relationship between throttle position and pedal input.

I wouldn't bother, it's a waste of time and money. There's right ways to do things and then there's BS like this..

Hassmachine.

These throttle mappers get your attention pretty quick.

. Agreed pretty useless.

They really screw up your fuel economy and if you drive an Auto, the fuzzy logic that monitors throttle/ accelerator input will not work correctly. Bad investment.

I think a lot of people get their terminology mixed up. Our cars have separate accelerator pedals and throttle bodies. Some talk about throttles when they a really discussing accelerator position. As you know these are totally different things. In the case of the valvetronic motors, the throttle is usually fully open and is mostly a back up device.

My N54 has a functioning throttle body and like the vanos motors, it's controlled by load / rpm maps and not the accelerator position.

Mrclean67 · 03-21-2019, 02:45 PM

Well now I really feel stupid! Ok first question, why does it feel so much better with it, second, if the DME is going to relearn then at some point it's going to be useless? I've had one on my truck for over a year and it's still the same as the day I plugged it in. Which is way better than it was coming off the show room floor. No loss of mileage and much better towing. I have 30 days to return it.....

03-20-2019, 09:58 AM	#1
Mrclean67 Private 6 Rep 70 Posts Drives: 2007 328i 6 speed manual Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Baton Rouge, LA iTrader: (0)	Pedal Commander If anyone is on the fence about buying one don't be. I already knew the product given I have one on my 17 Dodge Ram 1500, I can say it's a completely different truck. Installed it on my 07 328i coupe 6 MT last night and I was all smiles and a little earlier to work this morning. It's currently set in Sport and +2 on the controller. I tried Sport + mode and good lord it's wicked, almost hard to drive around town. Just thought I'd give a little review from someone that owns 2 of them on different types of vehicles. Hope this helps anyone who's undecided. DEFINITELY worth the money! __________________ I can fix it or I can fix it so nobody can fix it!
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03-20-2019, 10:57 AM	#2
nsjames Brigadier General 2440 Rep 4,331 Posts Drives: 08 328xi Touring Join Date: May 2017 Location: ohio iTrader: (0)	hard to drive because the pedal box is simply altering the signals to the DME so that ten percent of the pedal is now 50%. your car is not faster.
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03-20-2019, 11:20 AM	#3
Mrclean67 Private 6 Rep 70 Posts Drives: 2007 328i 6 speed manual Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Baton Rouge, LA iTrader: (0)	I understand my car is not faster, what it is, is quicker to respond. And ten percent is now not 50 percent, it alters the reaction time between the pedal and the throttle body, the movement through the pedal is still linear. I ran a friend of mine to 60 in my truck and he has the identical truck, I got to 60 quicker simply because my truck could react quicker than his. It's worth every penny and a very noticeable difference and I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-20-2019, 12:10 PM	#4
nsjames Brigadier General 2440 Rep 4,331 Posts Drives: 08 328xi Touring Join Date: May 2017 Location: ohio iTrader: (0)	lol. no. it literally plugs in between the pedal assembly and the DME. It cannot talk to the throttle body, Your car doesn't even use the throttle body for throttle control, it uses the valvetronic system to meter air. All this does is alter the pedal signal to the DME to make the DME think that you've pushed the throttle down further than you have. that's wy the website says this: Pedal Commander will not be active while using cruise control. because when in cruise, it can't alter any pedal travel information. the pedal commander is simply adding exponential to your throttle pedals output.
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03-20-2019, 01:00 PM	#5
Mrclean67 Private 6 Rep 70 Posts Drives: 2007 328i 6 speed manual Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Baton Rouge, LA iTrader: (0)	Ok I agree to some extent, yes via the dme, but it's not tricking the dme to thinking it's farther open than what it is, it's time, no different than my truck, no it's not talking directly to the throttle body but the ecm, manufacturer's have a set signal speed all the pedal commander does is alter that signal speed, the time it takes between the pedal and ecm on my truck for instance. And if I'm completely wrong that's ok because I do know it works and works very well, if you drove any vehicle without one and then with one you would notice a huge difference as you obviously know what your talking about, I highly recommend you try it if you know anyone who has one. I was only trying to give a review of a product I believe in because I own 2 of them. However it works is really irrelevant at this point. And in my OP I never said my car was faster, I said it was wicked, meaning responsive never said faster. I'm basing my information off of Pedal Commander website and 100 plus reviews and 19 videos I e watched. The only other test I can do is turn it off and measure with my calipers pedal travel, then turn it on and measure the same distance, if the rpms are different then your correct and there should be a huge difference if your correct.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-20-2019, 02:50 PM	#6
hassmaschine Major General 3966 Rep 7,215 Posts Drives: "NBO" 330i Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: earth iTrader: (0)	It doesn't change the response time of the system at all, that is impossible. It just makes the pedal over sensitive, by literally making the DME think the pedal is pushed down further than it really is. It can't change the speed of the signal because that is physically not possible. You could do the same thing by changing the pedal/voltage curve in the DME, stock is 20%/v (5v signal = 100% open). And that will be adapted out over time by the DME anyway. They N52 doesn't even use 'throttle control', because not only is the throttle not used for anything except a failsafe (it's normally 100% open), but BMW has been using a 'torque control' strategy for several decades now. There is literally no direct relationship between throttle position and pedal input. I wouldn't bother, it's a waste of time and money. There's right ways to do things and then there's BS like this.. Last edited by hassmaschine; 03-20-2019 at 02:57 PM..
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03-20-2019, 06:57 PM	#7
nsjames Brigadier General 2440 Rep 4,331 Posts Drives: 08 328xi Touring Join Date: May 2017 Location: ohio iTrader: (0)	yes, I would obviously know that the pedal travel no longer corresponds to what it should. look, this is easy to test. Pull out your diagnostic software, look at the pedal position. Set it to a know distance above the floor at about 1/3rd it's travel. Look at the pedal position with and without the box. With the box is going to report a much higher pedal position, because all the box does is add exponential to the linear voltage response from the pedal. If you want to send me the box, I will perform an exhaustive session with it using a pedal controlled precisely by a PWM servo, so we can accurately plot the boxes modifications to the pedal output on all of it's settings. I'm a nerd. I have lots of test equipment. Hell, we can even hook it up to an oscope and see what it's outputs are if you want. I got spare time this month.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-21-2019, 02:45 PM	#9
Mrclean67 Private 6 Rep 70 Posts Drives: 2007 328i 6 speed manual Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Baton Rouge, LA iTrader: (0)	Well now I really feel stupid! Ok first question, why does it feel so much better with it, second, if the DME is going to relearn then at some point it's going to be useless? I've had one on my truck for over a year and it's still the same as the day I plugged it in. Which is way better than it was coming off the show room floor. No loss of mileage and much better towing. I have 30 days to return it.....
	Appreciate 0 Quote