JPI
New member
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!
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!
