Banks Pedal Monster & The 2.7

[JPI]

I recently participated in a discussion posted last week by 'Nathanstew' concerning throttle controllers that reminded me that I had been intending to pick up a Banks Pedal Monster for my 2025 TB with the 2.7 since I purchased it last March, but had never gotten around to it. I had previously installed a Pedal Monster on my last truck, a 2022 Colorado LT with the 3.8 V6, and loved everything about it. So I had no concerns at all about the quality, safety and performance, however I was curious how it would pair up with a turbocharged engine and what, if anything, I could expect differently.

Anyone who owns the 2.7 knows that it is a strong performer and to their credit, GM has put a lot of effort and engineering into reducing turbo lag as much as possible...and then they go and saddle the truck with a corporate approved squish-pedal with a massive dead spot in order to squeeze one more tenth of a percent of fuel economy out of it. In my opinion, near zero turbo lag doesn't help you if have to push the throttle past an arbitrary and undefined dead spot just to get on boost. And since American auto manufacturers have decided that we don't deserve manual transmissions in full size trucks anymore, that squishy throttle pedal is the only input the driver has in keeping his engine in the happy zone and his turbo on song. For me anyway, this led to my truck having a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde personality on the road.

The new Pedal Monster arrived last Friday and spoiler alert, it fixed everything I hoped it would. Since my boy-racer days ended sometime around 1989, I have mine set to 'City - 7'. I find that this level of adjustment gives me the almost perfectly linear throttle that I'm looking for without being twitchy. I'm not interested in spinning tires, I just want to feel like every quarter inch of throttle I add results in that much more air/fuel going to the engine. Kind of like when we drove cars that had mechanical connections from the gas pedal to the carburetor. And this single thing alone makes ALL the difference with this turbo charged engine. Now I'm back in control and after about 2 minutes of driving to train my right foot the new pedal sensitivity, the truck runs strong and drives smoothly. If I thought this thing was great in my naturally aspirated Colorado, then it's phenomenal in my turbo Trail Boss.

Install is a snap. If you can drive a truck than you can install this in about 10 minutes, so I won't go into detail.
However I will mention one thing, when I got down to disconnect the factory connector from my gas pedal, it looked like this:

I admit, I wasn't familiar with this style of connector. And while it did come off easily once I got past my fear of breaking it, it's location made it tricky to get a good hold on that sliding lock (which was red on my truck)
I was tempted to try and start it sliding by using a flat head screwdriver, but decided to just work my thumbnail in there on both sides and work it carefully in the direction of the 1 arrow. Hopefully that helps you.

In summary; If you own a 2.7 (or any engine for that matter) there is literally no downside to installing this. It doesn't do anything to your ECM, it just lets you decide how much throttle control YOU feel comfortable with. Just make sure you remove it before you take your truck to the dealer!

 

[Stormin08]

i will concur, the GM pedal is in a tighter spot and this connector can be a pain to remove...but it comes right off

 

[JPI]

Ok, hold the phone. Unfortunately I have to make an unhappy update.

About 3 days after I made my original post, I started to develop a problem with my infotainment system. At random times, my radio would stay on after I shut the truck off and opened the door. The console lights would stay on as well. I tried forcing a shutdown by holding the power/mute button but no dice. The sound system would go dark, but the display would stay on. I would be able to turn the radio back on and use it like the truck was running if I pushed the button again. Like I said, this was a random occurrence and It would always cut off after a while because of the battery save feature but this was obviously unacceptable.

After disconnecting the battery and reinstalling it with no success, I called Banks tech support. They said that on some newer trucks, the OBD connection that the Pedal Monster uses can sometimes confuse the system. He suggested that I go into settings and change it to "No OBD" . This means that the unit would still power itself from the OBD port, but wouldn't use it to collect information. This was less than desirable since the main thing I liked about the Pedal Monster was the OBD connection that allowed it to know how fast you were going and what gear you were in. That's what allows the reverse safety feature to operate. So I changed the setting and the very next time I drove the truck, the infotainment system spazed out again.

As a last ditch effort, I disconnected the battery, waited 15 minutes then reinstalled the unit again, this time with the initial setting of "No OBD". That seemed to solve the problem....for about 4 days. Yesterday it did it again. And this time when I got back in the truck again, I was getting a blank screen on my Apple car play when I opened Amazon music. That was the last straw, I disconnected the unit and I'm back to stock. At least that way, if it happens again, I know to blame it on the truck and take it in for warranty service. The infotainment system on my 2022 Colorado was prone to occasional demon possession, so it's not impossible to think that this might be GM's fault.

(By the way, I know this became very long winded, but I wanted to give the whole timeline in case anyone else is having a similar issue)

My only hope now it to contact Banks tech support again and hope they have a software update in the works. If not, I guess I'll have to hope they take a return. My dealings with Banks has shown them to be a solid company, so I'm not worried either way. But it's a damn shame. I really like the Pedal Monster, that's why I installed it on my last truck. And I had this one perfectly dialed in to eliminate the factory squish-pedal. Hopefully Banks can come up with a solution.
More to come.

 

[Stormin08]

that stinks....i do recall some years having a different 5v source....i had to wait to try a MAF sensor due to that same reason.