K&N Throttle Control Module Review on the 3.5 V6

This post will be long and probably boring, so I'll start with a brief overview so you can skip the rest if you like.

After mulling over the choice between a tune or throttle controller, I decided to try the K&N controller. My reasons are specific to the manual transmission and you can read those below if you have nothing better to do, but for what most people might be interested in, I will sum up what I think:

Negatives:
• The module box is big and the cables aren't very long. This makes it a pain in the ass to mount cleanly in the driver footwell and the cables aren't long enough to really put it anywhere else.

Neutral:
• Turned all the way up seems to be what I would describe as about a 30 - 40% increase in pedal advance. I'm sure this isn't accurate, but its the best way I can quantify how it feels when you turn the knob up while pressing the pedal a set amount. The truck doesn't feel twitchy when all the way up but you can notice the loss of low power resolution/control.

Positives:
• It pretty much works as advertised. Pressing the pedal makes the truck go 'more'.. you can read the details below if you want.

• Made in the USA and yet still competitively priced with all the other imported options.

• Robustly built. This is made with materials that are comparable the OEM hardware and wiring in the truck in both appearance and feel. If the cable length allowed more distance, or the module was a bit smaller, you could almost make this look like a factory part.

• Analog knob and function. I've found I really like this feature. The truck doesn't seem to care that you adjust it while pressing the pedal. I guess it just sees the steady increase/decrease like pressing the pedal instead of unexpected jumps that might cause a code. You can tune it to feel on the fly.

• It substantially improved the rev matching experience. With the knob turned about 1/2 to 2/3 the engine responds to a pedal blip and will raise the RPM more like I think it should.




The issue I wanted to correct was primarily the lack of pedal response when rev matching and hopefully also the ECM's indecision/lurch that occurs when trying to accelerate quickly form a dead stop.
I can manage the ECM's indecision with a bit of rev/clutch drop, but the rev match pedal response was killing me.
After asking some questions here (thank you all by the way) it seems the tune doesn't really address the rev match dead pedal, so I took a chance on a throttle controller.

More pedal, more rev doesn't work on this truck. With the stock pedal setting it is more about how long you hold the pedal down, and not how far or fast you press it. With the clutch in under most situations, you could press the acceleration request pedal to the floor and let it back up before the revs will climb more than 500 RPM. You can press the pedal a moderate amount and hold it for about 1 to 2 seconds and it will jump a thousand or more.. It is often inconsistent depending on the engine RPM when you press the clutch.... So, it's frustrating.

This controller has mitigated these issues to the point that I'm much happier with this truck.
I have also found that I really like the analog nature of the knob.. It sort of fits the manual experience.

I mounted the knob in a switch blank to the left of the steering wheel beside the auto LSD button. It's very easy to adjust on the fly, so when I'm in a parking lot or reversing, I just turn it to stock/off but when I want the truck to accelerate like a normal V6, I just turn it to the right. It's a resolution knob for the accelerator pedal.

That's where I think this gets interesting. I've read that fly by wire pedals are really a torque request pedal instead of a throttle change request. I think I'm starting to see that now. Having the ability to turn it up or down so conveniently has made it possible to pay attention to how the truck behavior changes. It is more than just pressing the pedal harder.. The ECM reacts differently. It may be because of the immediacy of the request when the pedal gets touched. You can't put your foot down that fast.. It feels like the ECM may be skipping the Atkinson cycle nonsense and just giving the torque. The change in my MPG would fit with that. I could run 45 to 60 in 5th or 6th (uphill/down) and get 20 to 21 MPG on the back roads I live on.. Now I'm getting 18.5 at best while still driving the same speeds if there is very much pedal movement involved with hills. On relatively flat roads I still see 20.

With the knob turned up a bit the truck responds in 1st like a normal truck should. 1st always felt both long and gutless.. Even when you floor it, it still sort of wound up without the immediate initial movement a low gear should give... no torque. This has been a very pleasant change. It doesn't feel fast, and the truck doesn't feel like it's being flogged.. It just feels like other vehicles I've owned...Like you would expect a V6 to feel.

I wonder if maybe the lack of resolution created by throttle controllers is what makes them feel better to those of us used to throttle cables. With a cable on a butterfly it's easy to open it to the point that you hit zero vacuum generating all the torque an engine can at a given RPM without actually opening the throttle 100%. With a manual transmission on a small engine you could find the point in a given gear that opening the throttle more didn't increase acceleration. The engine was already consuming all the air it could until the RPM had time to catch up. It's harder to open it only very slightly to get a slow increase in torque delivery. The drag in the cable and the spring on the butterfly probably had us opening the throttle more than we realized. I guess those small increments are what drive by wire seems to do very well.. I like having the ability to get it either way with the turn of a knob.

 

Dayummm. I hear the tune on manuals is spectacular though

 

Right on, if it works for you that's all that matters! I hear the tune for the manuals is even better than the AT tune tho, so keep that in mind later down the road!

 

Been thinking about this again for my 2017 TRD OR automatic. I had a knockoff of the Pedal Commander but it was soooooo twitchy I said screw it and returned it.

Earlier this year I installed Nitros and a Magnuson (33’s). While the truck is very much improved, that 0-20mph under normal driving is gutless and flat and drives me crazy.

I don’t mean trying to launch it, just normal driving, especially with $5 gas, it’s just flat: that’s the best way I can describe it.