Drive Accord Honda Forums banner

Has anyone installed Pedal Commander?

10K views 25 replies 15 participants last post by  haj6927 
#1 ·
Has anyone installed the Pedal Commander on the 2018, 2019 or 2020 2.0 Touring? What was you experience and was it worth the price? I do not want to mod the ECU with Ktuner or Hondata but want to add some fun to the car.

If you have installed it what have your long term results from the reliability and fun perspectives?

Thanks!
 
#6 ·
My recollection when I read about this device is it just changes the throttle pedal position relative to the amount of throttle being applied. E.g. if stock was a 50% peddle position equals 25% throttle, the device might make it more linear such that 50% pedal position equals 50% throttle. Really just a mind game in my opinion rather than adding any real performance.

But I’ve never had one and I’m sure some folks that spend good money on these can convenience themselves it was a good purchase.
 
#8 ·
I am not a fan or fond of companies that are new to market when it comes to this kind of stuff. People underestimate just how bad you can mess up a car with ECU modifications. Heck, even my 1986 SAAB 9000T had an ECU that screwed up on-board computer, I can't even imagine the importance 35 years later. "This tester was graciously provided to us in a time when these cars are still fairly hard to find. It is a 2108 Honda Accord Sport 2.0T model, fitted with a six speed manual transmission, with 2,000 miles on the clock." - This is info on Ktuner website about 2.0T. This has been on their website for 3 years. So for 3 years they've had a typo where it says "2108" instead of 2018. Might seem trivial but imagine just one parameter of the ECU tune being entered wrong and havoc it would create on your car. And then not fix it 3 years later (I've hinted this at them so many times already). If I ever decide to tune, I would use something like Hondata that's been around for decades. Their interface is outdated but their track record exists. I'm not advocating of any of them, just stating my opinion. That being said, I wouldn't even think of getting that "pedal commander".
 
#9 ·
I have to admit that I'm a little tempted. I'm not looking for or expecting more performance, I would just like a more 1:1 feel or response in ECO and/or when the A/C is on. Right now, as I'm smoothly applying pressure to the gas pedal, it often feels like nothing nothing nothing then finally something or a little too much all at once. Sport mode feels more linear and I would like more of that feeling on the other modes - I don't if I'm getting lesser HP in ECO or normal, I would just like to have the HP come on earlier and less abruptly. About a week or so ago, I was stuck in stop and go on the freeway and was at a complete stop. I saw a gap develop in the lane next to me and when I went for it, it was nothing nothing nothing and then the power hit and the tires spun like crazy, probably prompting WTFs from everyone around. I made the gap but it wasn't smooth... I'm wondering if the pedal commander will help...
 
#11 ·
There would be no point in running the Pedal Commander (or Sprint Booster) in ECO mode, as they'd simply be cancelling each other out. Most of what ECO mode does is to delay and smooth out throttle pedal inputs. Most of what the PC and SB do is to exaggerate and speed up throttle pedal inputs, which is what Sport mode does. You'd be better off just running in Sport mode all the time.

There's no magic in these products. They just amplify the voltage sent to the throttle actuator to make it seem like you've pushed harder on the pedal than you actually have.

They're perhaps somewhat useful in applications where you want to counteract a factory throttle response that's slow and/or dull. Sometimes that's on purpose, as in my 4Runner where the throttle response is deliberately dull so as to smooth out inputs when rock crawling, etc. That's not the case in the Accord.
 
#10 ·
Pedal Commander is $400 when Hondata/K-Tuner cost ~$700 and can do everything that it can (throttle mapping) and far, far more. Also, they don't need to be permanently connected.

Seems worth the extra cost to me.
 
#12 ·
I installed a HikeIt and it does make the throttle respond faster. You can not push the pedal down fast enough to make a difference compared to the HikeIt controller. It installed in 2 minutes and makes car more fun to drive.

I used some credit card points for the purchase so the cost was low for me.
530682
 
#13 ·
Yea I had one on my Q50, Santa Fe sport, 2017 Accord Touring, and liked it on all those cars. It wont make it faster. But does require a lot less throttle to go and some of these cars the stock throttle curve is real dead from 0 to 30 or 40%. So if you like getting going with a lot less throttle input it does just that. When I used a scan tool or my K-Tuner on my 2017 you could see that the pedal was always pushed farther than what was being applied at the engine. Sometimes you had to go 50% before the engine would be at 50%. My Santa fe I would be at 20% on the pedal and get like 8 or 10% on the engine. Seems a lot of manufactures are dialing in some throttle padding to try and get better fuel economy. But I like a car that is 1 to 1. 20% on the throttle 20% on the engine. On the 2017 in K-Tuner you had to set up 7 different tables to try and get it better. Each gear had its on throttle table. On the 10th gen you can just select 2 different more aggressive settings but even at max the engine still lags behind the pedal sometimes so I might do power commander or sprint booster both worked great for me. Sport mode with the setting at max on 10th gen stays 1 to 1 but I dont drive all the time in sport because it caries to high of a gear and stays in 8th gear on the highway never going to 10th gear. So I might add it to this car so normal mode is 1 to 1. I personally hate electric throttles. I wish good old cable operated was still used. I have several cars that have a cable throttle and throttle just feels to me so much better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmmch65 and Samuelx
#16 ·
I debated buying one for my 2002 CLK430. Read a lot of post on that car and basically everyoine agreed it didn't make the car "faster" but did make it a lot more fun to drive. It was 280 hp but felt like a boat if you floored it, the guys who added it said after they had to be careful not to spin the tires leaving a red light :)
But was expensive which kept me form buying one
 
#19 ·
Adapter Gadget Adapter Font Audio equipment


Bit the bullet and bought the Sprint Booster V3 unit (pictured next to some 39mm poker chips and a Sacagawea dollar for size comparison). Installed it earlier in the afternoon (pretty simple, took about 15 min, including a 10 min wait time for the car's ECU/electronics to stabilize) but haven't driven it yet. Have some driving to do around LA tomorrow so I hope to be able to give some feedback/feelings tomorrow afternoon/night...
 
#21 · (Edited)
Car Vehicle Automotive mirror Automotive design Hood


Ok, so not the greatest day to test out any driving characteristic mods!

Very brief initial impressions - I like it so far. Huge change to throttle response vs pedal travel - gets rid of a lot of delay in both ECO (especially) and Standard (D) (didn't try it in Sport yet). The SB should help me figure out how much delay is due to throttle body/plate settings and how much is due to turbo lag.

I started off in SPORT (green) 5 and clicked it down to 3 and up to 9 while driving around. Am keeping it at S9 for now but will be playing with that more later. Didn't try RACE (red) today and didn't try any of the other features (pedal lock, valet mode).

So far:
Pros - MUCH less delay (you don't have to push the pedal as far and/or wait as long to get response)
easy to install
multi-feature
tiny footprint
looks good
easy to use

Cons - kinda pricey! alternative products can be up to 1/5 the cost (comparing $ only)

The idea of just driving around in Honda Sport mode all the time instead of adding an aftermarket throttle controller had previously been mentioned. I like the response of Sport mode but I don't always want some of the other settings while I'm just toodling around - e.g. in Sport, the car keeps the revs up and if you're slowing down and off the gas, it will "downshift and rev match" every gear on the way to a stop, feels like all the time. For me, I wanted the pedal response/sensitivity all the time but not the rest of the "aggressiveness" all the time... YMMV...
 
#22 ·
View attachment 536343

Ok, so not the greatest day to test out any driving characteristic mods!

Very brief initial impressions - I like it so far. Huge change to throttle response vs pedal travel - gets rid of a lot of delay in both ECO (especially) and Standard (D) (didn't try it in Sport yet). The SB should help me figure out how much delay is due to throttle body/plate settings and how much is due to turbo lag.

I started off in SPORT (green) 5 and clicked it down to 3 and up to 9 while driving around. Am keeping it at S9 for now but will be playing with that more later. Didn't try RACE (red) today and didn't try any of the other features (pedal lock, valet mode).

So far:
Pros - MUCH less delay (you don't have to push the pedal as far and/or wait as long to get response)
easy to install
multi-feature
tiny footprint
looks good
easy to use

Cons - kinda pricey! alternative products can be up to 1/5 the cost (comparing $ only)

The idea of just driving around in Honda SPORT mode all the time instead of adding an aftermarket throttle controller had previously been mentioned. I like the response of SPORT mode but I don't always want some of the other settings while I'm just toodling around - e.g. in SPORT, the car keeps the revs up and if you're slowing down and off the gas, it will "downshift and rev match" every gear on the way to a stop, feels like all the time. For me, I wanted the pedal response/sensitivity all the time but not the rest of the "aggressiveness" all the time... YMMV...

I saw your earlier

Cloud Sky Tree Smoke Event
 
#26 ·
Has anyone installed the Pedal Commander on the 2018, 2019 or 2020 2.0 Touring? What was you experience and was it worth the price? I do not want to mod the ECU with Ktuner or Hondata but want to add some fun to the car.

If you have installed it what have your long term results from the reliability and fun perspectives?
YES YES YES THE PEDAL COMMANDER IS VERY RESPONSIVE NO LAG WITH THE 2.0 10 SPEED AUTOMATIC.
OVER 15 DIFFERENT SETTINGS. WORKS WITH YOUR PHONE THROUGH BLUETOOTH. AWESOME ON THE INTERSTATE..MUSTANGS BEWARE..
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top