Pedal Commander or other throttle controller thoughts?

[mcgaskins]

I just completed my second tank of gas with the Pedal Commander set to sport, plus 3, and with both tanks I averaged 2.5mpg MORE than without it. Driving dynamics are improved dramatically at the same time mpg goes up materially - I'd call it a win/win.

@indycole and @A10Driver what settings have you guys been using, and have you noticed any mpg gains?

 

[indycole]

I've followed your lead with the Sport + 3 setting. My MPG seem to the be roughly the same... sometimes better, sometimes worse. I'd say worse around town and better on the highway.

 

[A10Driver]

I just completed my second tank of gas with the Pedal Commander set to sport, plus 3, and with both tanks I averaged 2.5mpg MORE than without it. Driving dynamics are improved dramatically at the same time mpg goes up materially - I'd call it a win/win.

@indycole and @A10Driver what settings have you guys been using, and have you noticed any mpg gains?

I am using city 2, hard to tell on any mpg difference as I have just installed bumpers as well and am driving all over Colorado. Sport seems a little sensitive going over bumps as any little change on pedal pressure results in instant response, and I feel the truck accelerating and decelerating as I go over the bumps. With city 2 I feel like the truck drives like a manual and I am in total control of gear selection by simply pushing on the throttle. It is also easy to hold a gear going over the passes. I used to shift to sport mode, I no longer do. Overall couldn't be happier and couldn't care less about any changes in mpg as the truck drives so much better. Fwiw the truck has displayed 14.5 mpg for the duration of this trip, and hand calcs have been 14.3 so pretty accurate. And that has been 4 wheeling, and driving all over Colorado

 

[Dan Higgins]

Matt, most of my driving is on road trips where I'm using cruise control or having to work he pedal for long stretches. (On the 12K miles trip I just completed I averaged 15MPH. As a reminder, I have a '16 w/ "33s" a Gobi rack and a typical traveling weight of 6800 lbs based on DOT scales.) The most significant driving fatigue I get is in my right leg calf and foot as I work the pedal. I am wondering if this would alleviate some of that work. I typically do not use ECT Pwr mode unless I am in the mountains. I also have a rather relaxed driving style.

Also, since I hope to have this truck for 400K miles and/or 15 years I am concerned about long term affects on the overall system.

 

[A10Driver]

Matt, most of my driving is on road trips where I'm using cruise control or having to work he pedal for long stretches. (On the 12K miles trip I just completed I averaged 15MPH. As a reminder, I have a '16 w/ "33s" a Gobi rack and a typical traveling weight of 6800 lbs based on DOT scales.) The most significant driving fatigue I get is in my right leg calf and foot as I work the pedal. I am wondering if this would alleviate some of that work. I typically do not use ECT Pwr mode unless I am in the mountains. I also have a rather relaxed driving style.

Also, since I hope to have this truck for 400K miles and/or 15 years I am concerned about long term affects on the overall system.

You will use way less pedal movement for the same driving, all it does is amplify the signal. With 36 settings u can make the pedal control the truck however u want. 15 mpg is great btw

 

[mcgaskins]

Matt, most of my driving is on road trips where I'm using cruise control or having to work he pedal for long stretches. (On the 12K miles trip I just completed I averaged 15MPH. As a reminder, I have a '16 w/ "33s" a Gobi rack and a typical traveling weight of 6800 lbs based on DOT scales.) The most significant driving fatigue I get is in my right leg calf and foot as I work the pedal. I am wondering if this would alleviate some of that work. I typically do not use ECT Pwr mode unless I am in the mountains. I also have a rather relaxed driving style.

Also, since I hope to have this truck for 400K miles and/or 15 years I am concerned about long term affects on the overall system.

You’ll benefit from this no doubt. I have all kinds of lower leg issues with my Achilles and peroneal tendon, and certain cars with a very heavy gas pedal and/or very long throw have caused incredible discomfort (the thing I hated about my JKUR btw). The 16 was borderline too uncomfortable for me to drive, and the reduced pedal pressure and travel that can be dialed in has totally alleviated that for me. Let’s plan a get together soon and you can take mine for a spin to see the difference. FWIW I’m now getting just barely under 15mpg I’m mixed driving up from just over 12mpg in the same conditions.

 

[Dan Higgins]

Thanks, Matt. I’ll follow up with a PM.

 

[Battleship]

I had to try this thing and it is well worth it, although the price tag, especially for the BT version, was tough to justify at first. The truck feels more powerful and the transmission doesn't do as much "thinking". It is much more pleasant to drive in the city (actual city) with this new throttle response. No MPG comparisons, and I probably won't bother. Thanks to @mcgaskins for bringing this up, and also compliments on your impeccable taste in Land Cruisers.

 

[NMNORSSE]

Put a PC27 on my '18 a few days ago, set it to Sport +3, drove it for a while and backed it down to Sport +2. It makes a huge difference in the responsiveness of the truck. Gone are the mushy pedal and delayed response.

There isn't any more power than there was, I just don't have to put my foot all the way into it to get it to move the way I like. So, it feels sportier and is more fun to drive. Since I've got arthritis and a reduced range of motion in my right ankle from an ancient injury, the quicker throttle response is doubly appreciated.

Putting it in took 6 minutes. 5 of those minutes were spent waiting the prescribed 5 minutes while the fob was safely 35 feet away. This is so the system isn't powered when you unplug the pedal sensor making it throw a code. You don't have to remove any panels.

I've been averaging 13.2 mpg on my daily commute over surface roads and some freeway. I'll reset the meter today and in a month or two I'll edit this post with my updated MPG. I don't care if it makes a difference, but it'll be interesting to see nonetheless.

I got mine on Amazon Prime for $329. It isn't a practical, necessary or priority upgrade like tires, sliders or a winch for off roading, but it sure is nice to have!

 

[JayTortugaTee]

@mcgaskins - are you still getting +2 MPG?
If so, what do you attribute it to?

I love the idea of it and im sure it makes the car feel snappier, but having a hard time wrapping my head around a difference in MPG from a device that merely controls throttle engagement points.

What am i missing?

 

[NMNORSSE]

I'm just spitballing here on the gas mileage thing but in other threads people have reported better gas mileage when they drive in ECT. So, maybe if you get up to speed quicker and then coast/idle more you burn less gas overall. The Pedal Commander set to Sport definately does that.

This is totally opposite of the old teachings about 'jackrabbit starts from traffic lights making for poor gas mileage' but who knows how the ECU is programmed. Maybe what was true for carburators doesn't hold for EFI and computer controlled trannys.

 

[mcgaskins]

@mcgaskins - are you still getting +2 MPG?
If so, what do you attribute it to?

I love the idea of it and im sure it makes the car feel snappier, but having a hard time wrapping my head around a difference in MPG from a device that merely controls throttle engagement points.

What am i missing?

I have been seeing the same 2 mpg increase halfway through the third tank. I have a few thoughts as to why this is happening, and all are just my opinion/theory.

I drive relatively fast, and, before the PC, the transmission mapping combined with with the throttle response required me to essentially floor the gas pedal several times a day to maneuver how I wanted in traffic. It did not respond in a linear way to my throttle inputs, then by flooring it the car “overreacted” and responded too aggressively. The PC makes the truck respond in a far more linear and controlled way and requires far less depressing of the gas pedal, so it’s helping move the truck along more efficiently. I have issues with the tendons in my lower leg, and the effort reduction in using the gas pedal has gone down tremendously to the point it has caused my discomfort to go down as well.

Another interesting feature is that by running in sport +3 I’ve been able to not run in the power mode on the transmission which causes the Eco light to be on most of the time now as opposed to never before. I have no idea what that means, but it could segue into my next theory: Perhaps the strongest impact comes from the fact I’ve been hyper aware of my driving style and mpg lately. When I see the eco light come on, I try to keep it on and have been more conscientious about how aggressively I’m stepping on the gas.

When it’s all said and done, this is intended to help people want to sharpen up their throttle response. I wouldn’t buy it for mpg alone, and I’m not trying to sell it as such. I’m not trying to sell it at all actually, though in hindsight I should have done a promo code and got a cut from PC. I also really don’t care if people believe my experiences.If you buy it and didn’t like the results you got, you can always return it, or of course you can just avoid buying in the first place.

 

[JayTortugaTee]

Haha no doubt.

Since you started this thread Ive been on the ECO train as well to see how I can can average.
So far sticking between 13.8-14.0.

What is your +2 average?

 

[mcgaskins]

Haha no doubt.

Since you started this thread Ive been on the ECO train as well to see how I can can average.
So far sticking between 13.8-14.0.

What is your +2 average?

I’ve gone from about 12.5 to about 14.5 pretty consistently. I’ll fill up again tomorrow and see if it holds true on the third tank. I’ve intentionally not babied it on this tank, so I’m curious to see.

 

[christianleeboy]

Ordered my PC few days ago and installed it today... oh man~ Feels so much better, no more sluggish acceleration (dragging ass) and much more enjoyable to cruise the Land Cruiser

I saved $33 at PedalCommander.com by using code SEMA10 (10 % discount)... not sure when the discount expires.
Thank you @mcgaskins for the intro to PC & making cruising more enjoyable!

 

[Mendocino]

I drove @mcgaskins truck today and the Pedal Commander and the TSB mod were fantastic! I'm doing it to mine immediately. I've already made the appointment for the TSB work at a local Toyota dealer and will order the Pedal Commander this evening. What a difference!

 

[swatski]

One of the very few things that bugs me about the 16+ Land Cruiser is the throttle mapping which I think is far too lazy and slow. I end up getting worse gas mileage than I would with a more aggressive map because I'm into the gas pedal more than I'd prefer. My 08 LX is on the other end of the spectrum where it's almost jumpy because it's so sensitive/aggressive which I much prefer. I am thinking about trying out the Pedal Commander module, and I'm curious if anyone here has tried it. I see only one post on it about 4 years ago in passing, but that guy was running it on a diesel.

The PC27 module appears correct for the Land Cruiser even though they don't specifically mention the 5.7 gas engine under the drop down. The PC27 appears to work for most Toyota models including the Sequoia / Tundra 5.7 and the Land Cruiser 4.7 as well as a bunch of others. They have a 30 day guarantee, so I think I'll give it a shot.

Pedal Commander - Throttle Response Controller

https://www.amazon.com/Pedal-Comman...37398177&sr=1-5&keywords=pedal+commander+pc27

Doing something about "Torque Management" would be wonderful! I feel that much power is being lost due to electronic control (of torque converter?). The torque management system is so crazy (in my 2017 LC200) - when the engine and trans are cold - press the throttle and the engine revs up, but the truck barely moves...

Would PC27 help with that???

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[linuxgod]

I'm interested to see results from anyone with a 2008-2015 (6 speed).

Side note: Oddly I got over 14MPG driving up to Milwaukee and back. Even resetting the non-refill MPG meter while on the highway I was maintaining ~14MPG cruising at 70mph, which almost never happens. Last time I did the same trip I was getting 11-12MPG. I don't have the PC, but I do notice when my mileage sucks I also feel like the truck is less responsive, so I've been wondering the last couple weeks if the ECU has been retarding the engine timing on me.

 

[mcgaskins]

Doing something about "Torque Management" would be wonderful! I feel that much power is being lost due to electronic control (of torque converter?). The torque management system is so crazy (in my 2017 LC200) - when the engine and trans are cold - press the throttle and the engine revs up, but the truck barely moves...

Would PC27 help with that???

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I’m convinced it would help across the board with the 16+, and it can’t hurt to try. The PC and transmission TSB cured all the complaints I had about the truck.

 

[swatski]

I’m convinced it would help across the board with the 16+, and it can’t hurt to try. The PC and transmission TSB cured all the complaints I had about the truck.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but would my 2017 LC purchased in March 2018 already have had the TSB done? Is there a way to find out, would the dealer service know (from their records)?

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