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Anyone else feel like their transmission is very laggy and unresponsive?

j517

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Do the Pedal Commanders ever go on sale or offered cheaper than $299? I see a few sites have a 5% discount that I could stack with a cash rewards card. But I was wondering if they ever go down to around $249 or something? Also, do they always have to be plugged in in order to work, or can you plug it in, set it to sport mode and then unplug it and store it in the house or use it in another car like my 2017 Charger that has a 5.7 Hemi?
Do as many have done here before do a group buy.

Email this person they are with costumer service top notch service tell them Jason gave you their email they will take care of u guys

[email protected]

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rrbhokies

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Do as many have done here before do a group buy.

Email this person they are with costumer service top notch service tell them Jason gave you their email they will take care of u guys

[email protected]

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk
Too late for me. I took advantage of an ebay deal. I got 5% off from the seller, and ebay was running a 10% cash back in ebay bucks. Figured that was just about as good of a deal as I was going to find so I jumped on it. It's still in shipment, so waiting patiently for it to arrive so I can get it installed!!
 

SilverSurfer15

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Do as many have done here before do a group buy.

Email this person they are with costumer service top notch service tell them Jason gave you their email they will take care of u guys

[email protected]

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

I’m about to start a new thread for a group buy, I’ve seen people saying it but no one is doing it.
 

airgas1998

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for some reason when 1st starting out from a cold start the1-2,2-3 shift is not smooth at all it's very hesitant. after that initial hiccup it's fine so no idea what the hell that's all about...
 

rrbhokies

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for some reason when 1st starting out from a cold start the1-2,2-3 shift is not smooth at all it's very hesitant. after that initial hiccup it's fine so no idea what the hell that's all about...
Is that happening with the pedal commander? Because I have that without the pedal commander now and it's annoying as hell. It's almost like the truck is acting like a bratty child in the morning that doesn't want to get out of bed and get going. It huffs and puffs and finally gives in about halfway up the street in 3rd or 4th gear. I was actually hoping the pedal commander might improve that a bit more. Does anyone know if there is a TSB out for this?
 

Edwards

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I had a Banks Transcommand on my diesel Excursion and loved it. Does anyone make something similar for the 1500? That could solve our problems whereas the pedal commander doesn't address it.
 

j517

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Just got my PC and other parts today installed PC and dash cam the dam wires are a pita for the dash cam.

I took the beast for a drive OMG city 1 feells just right tried city 2 maybe in a few more months once eng is completely broken in and I have an exhaust.

Have a borla x1 coming still have the tips from my s type

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j517

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Luving life city 2 that's all u need
a3040f0c2c7477ec1592e308cb9df784.jpg


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jdmartin

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  • I don't think this truck needs an 8-speed transmission. It only has a top-end of 105 mph. Give me a more responsive and less complex 5 or 6 speed transmission (and call me an old-timer if you want).
I agree with this and I know it makes me a Luudite when it comes to transmissions but I don't care :p . The biggest problem with having more gears is that it gets trickier to match the engine's torque band with the proper gear. The gears aren't that tall, so there's a very narrow band where engine torque is ideal for that gear. Like riding a bicycle with 18 speeds. It's better than a bicycle with 3 speeds, but generally not better than a bicycle with say 10 speeds except for the true elite like in the Tour de France. Someone else said it that it's not the number of gears, it's the programming and design of the system, which is true, but that's the same as the Ram being the masses of people riding bikes while elite cars are the Tour de France. They're not going to build cars for the masses with high-end programming so IMO it's better to keep things simple and usable for most people.

I'm not saying I don't like the Ram's transmission or gearing. I find it perfectly acceptable for the vast majority of driving I do, and I am sure the high gears really rocks the MPG figures. I've actually toyed with the idea of driving around in "tow" mode when I want to drive a little more spirited, as it's supposed to make the gears wider which is really the issue I think most people have.
 

silver billet

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I agree with this and I know it makes me a Luudite when it comes to transmissions but I don't care :p . The biggest problem with having more gears is that it gets trickier to match the engine's torque band with the proper gear. The gears aren't that tall, so there's a very narrow band where engine torque is ideal for that gear. Like riding a bicycle with 18 speeds. It's better than a bicycle with 3 speeds, but generally not better than a bicycle with say 10 speeds except for the true elite like in the Tour de France. Someone else said it that it's not the number of gears, it's the programming and design of the system, which is true, but that's the same as the Ram being the masses of people riding bikes while elite cars are the Tour de France. They're not going to build cars for the masses with high-end programming so IMO it's better to keep things simple and usable for most people.

I'm not saying I don't like the Ram's transmission or gearing. I find it perfectly acceptable for the vast majority of driving I do, and I am sure the high gears really rocks the MPG figures. I've actually toyed with the idea of driving around in "tow" mode when I want to drive a little more spirited, as it's supposed to make the gears wider which is really the issue I think most people have.

The bike example isn't apples to apples; with bikes, there is overlap between different gear combos because there are 2 shifters; it's possible to rearrange them so that you have gear 1 + 8 = gear 3 + 2 or whatever, numbers pulled from my butt, but I do a lot of biking and there is definitely overlap between them.

With a truck, the advantage of more gears means you can drop first and second really low to make pulling off the line better, and then you can get more over drives etc.

A 5 speed in your truck just won't tow as well as the 8 speed will. It will lug more often, and then rev up higher once it downshifts. It will also be slower off the line.

Number of gears matters, as does the programming. They are both equally important and driving experience will be poor if one of those is off. There are diminishing returns of course; going from 4 speed to 6 will be more noticeable than going from 8 to 10. But I'll still take a perfectly tuned 10 speed over a perfectly tuned 4 speed any day.
 

Neurobit

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Luving life city 2 that's all u need
a3040f0c2c7477ec1592e308cb9df784.jpg


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Yeah... Loving my PC! No more lag. And I only have it in City 2 or 3. Runs like a bat out of hell now. Wow.


1F9B6FB6-675D-4126-887C-BB127C1A0E2B.JPG 33819C56-0BA5-40C0-A7F0-64B4EABA225A.JPG
 

SilverSurfer15

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so people likely aren’t experiencing transmissions problems? They simply just don’t understand how to use the pedal? (I’m not saying it’s great)
 

Neurobit

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so people likely aren’t experiencing transmissions problems? They simply just don’t understand how to use the pedal? (I’m not saying it’s great)
More than likely, what folks are seeing is the drive by wire lag, not the tranny, which would explain why the PC commander addresses this. IDK. that's just my theory. I've always thought the transmissions on these trucks are superb.
 

Gozar

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I'll chime in for the Pedal Commander, now my truck feels like it has a Hemi in it.
Bought it used off the Buy/Sell part of this forum and it was a breeze to install.
Tried various settings but settled on Sport -3 for now, Sport 0 was great but I felt like I only had about 1/8 of the pedal travel to get to full blast mode....I prefer a little more pedal play to use.
I highly recommend it for anyone who thinks their truck is a little laggy.
 

SilverSurfer15

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I actually like the stock pedal, and how much travel it is has in the lower end. But I also have more driving experience than the average person I think, so I could kind of see why people want faster response. Once you get the feel of it, you can really speed up and slow down in the same gear similar to a standard. And then know how to hard press it to downshift as aggressively as you want.

I’d be curious to drive a pedal commander truck for a week or so and see how much different it is.
 

airgas1998

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Is that happening with the pedal commander? Because I have that without the pedal commander now and it's annoying as hell. It's almost like the truck is acting like a bratty child in the morning that doesn't want to get out of bed and get going. It huffs and puffs and finally gives in about halfway up the street in 3rd or 4th gear. I was actually hoping the pedal commander might improve that a bit more. Does anyone know if there is a TSB out for this?
I do not have the pc...
 

Neurobit

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I actually like the stock pedal, and how much travel it is has in the lower end. But I also have more driving experience than the average person I think, so I could kind of see why people want faster response. Once you get the feel of it, you can really speed up and slow down in the same gear similar to a standard. And then know how to hard press it to downshift as aggressively as you want.

I’d be curious to drive a pedal commander truck for a week or so and see how much different it is.
I felt exactly the same as you until two days ago... Figured I'd get the PC, on Amz (so easy returns, right?).
This thing is not going back. :D :D :D

PS: I've been driving for around 40 years...
 

jdmartin

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The bike example isn't apples to apples; with bikes, there is overlap between different gear combos because there are 2 shifters; it's possible to rearrange them so that you have gear 1 + 8 = gear 3 + 2 or whatever, numbers pulled from my butt, but I do a lot of biking and there is definitely overlap between them.

With a truck, the advantage of more gears means you can drop first and second really low to make pulling off the line better, and then you can get more over drives etc.

A 5 speed in your truck just won't tow as well as the 8 speed will. It will lug more often, and then rev up higher once it downshifts. It will also be slower off the line.

Number of gears matters, as does the programming. They are both equally important and driving experience will be poor if one of those is off. There are diminishing returns of course; going from 4 speed to 6 will be more noticeable than going from 8 to 10. But I'll still take a perfectly tuned 10 speed over a perfectly tuned 4 speed any day.
Yeah, the bike analogy may not have been perfect but it's all I could think of :p

As for your point of whether 5 is better than 8, there's no way you can say that just on a post. It depends on the engine, the engine's torque band and the efficiency of the gears. I have a 5 speed Miata and a 6 speed Kia (both manuals) and I can tell you categorically the Miata will smack the Kia upside the head from a standstill because gears 1-2 on the Kia suck and don't hit the engine's torque curve properly. Now on the interstate the Miata has to cruise 70 at 3500 RPM because there's not enough gear room, and that's where the Kia can outshine it. Whether or not something is faster off the line is not a function of how many gears something has but how well the gear is matched to the engine's power curve. Yes, more gears *theoretically* should allow each gear to be more perfectly matched to the power band, but (as in the case of my Kia) it "ain't necessarily so". It also depends on the output of the rear differential. My Titan felt faster off the line than the Ram, to me, but it had a higher rear end ratio, too. I suspect the Ram with the 3.92 is pretty badass and would have smoked my Titan.

I'm not really arguing with you as I think we're pretty much on the same page. I'd take a perfectly tuned 10 speed over a perfectly tuned 4 speed, too. My only point is that it's more difficult to perfectly tune a transmission with more gears because you have to account for more variables all the time, and that mass-producers of vehicles that are not at high-end prices (and even though a Ram is expensive, we're still talking mass-produced vehicles for the working & middle class market) are less likely to spend the money on research, development, design, materials and construction to get that programming as good as it could/should be.
 

silver billet

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Yeah, the bike analogy may not have been perfect but it's all I could think of :p

As for your point of whether 5 is better than 8, there's no way you can say that just on a post. It depends on the engine, the engine's torque band and the efficiency of the gears. I have a 5 speed Miata and a 6 speed Kia (both manuals) and I can tell you categorically the Miata will smack the Kia upside the head from a standstill because gears 1-2 on the Kia suck and don't hit the engine's torque curve properly. Now on the interstate the Miata has to cruise 70 at 3500 RPM because there's not enough gear room, and that's where the Kia can outshine it. Whether or not something is faster off the line is not a function of how many gears something has but how well the gear is matched to the engine's power curve. Yes, more gears *theoretically* should allow each gear to be more perfectly matched to the power band, but (as in the case of my Kia) it "ain't necessarily so". It also depends on the output of the rear differential. My Titan felt faster off the line than the Ram, to me, but it had a higher rear end ratio, too. I suspect the Ram with the 3.92 is pretty badass and would have smoked my Titan.

I'm not really arguing with you as I think we're pretty much on the same page. I'd take a perfectly tuned 10 speed over a perfectly tuned 4 speed, too. My only point is that it's more difficult to perfectly tune a transmission with more gears because you have to account for more variables all the time, and that mass-producers of vehicles that are not at high-end prices (and even though a Ram is expensive, we're still talking mass-produced vehicles for the working & middle class market) are less likely to spend the money on research, development, design, materials and construction to get that programming as good as it could/should be.

Well I could be wrong, but to me it's simple; more gears = more opportunity to put the power right at the sweet spot of the engine. You can't use the miata and kia and titan in this discussion because you're comparing different engines, not the same engine with more or less gears.

The reason why CVT's are so good on paper is the same reason; keep that power optimized and reving right where it needs to be. The more gears you add, the more it approaches the CVT idea.

Yes we agree really good tuning is required, but that's the same for a 4 speed as well. So given proper tuning, a 10 speed will always give you the better options than the same truck/engine with a 4 speed. In worst case, it can skip gears (some transmissions don't use 1, but start off from 2 from a stand still, unless you drop it into sport mode), in best case, it will use all 10 gears and will always have an optimum gear for every mph, rpm, and load.
 

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