One of the many questions that the folks at JMS Chip always receives is, “What is the PedalMAX, and what exactly does it do?” While drive-by-wire electronic throttle-body applications are still relatively young (when compared to their drive-by-cable brethren), there are still some advantages (and disadvantages) to these modern, electronically-controlled throttle bodies.

According to JMS, the PedalMAX uses an OEM-grade Plug & Play wiring harness, which is designed to connect to the factory accelerator pedal position sensor and OEM harness.

One of the biggest disadvantages to a drive-by-wire application is the increased response time when compared to a drive-by-cable system. This is because the drive-by-cable application is almost instantaneous, so long as there is no slack in the cable of course.

When compared to that, you must realize that the drive-by-wire system must rely on data that is fed to it through the ECU, which is sent to a controller that uses an electromechanical actuator to allow for throttle actuation.

What’s in the box?

Thus, this issue introduces the question: how can you vanquish this delay in throttle response? For the answer to that question, we turned to JMS to explain what the PedalMAX is and what it’s designed to accomplish.

“In a nutshell, the JMS PedalMAX is a microprocessor-controlled throttle enhancement device for ’05-’16 Ford cars, trucks, vans and SUVs with modern drive-by-wire accelerator pedals,” Brad Grissom at JMS told us.

“The Plug & Play kit fully integrates with the factory control system to increase throttle responsiveness and acceleration, without the need of OBD-based tuning solutions. A single device and part number is capable of being used on almost all Ford vehicles sold in the U.S. This is a complete solution for safe and measurable increases in performance for those who want to stay within the ‘warranty’ window.”

A closeup of the JMS PedalMAX reveals its proprietary hotmelt-molding process, which encapsulates the printed circuit board and connections in a small protective housing.

JMS said that many OEM drive-by-wire throttle controlled vehicles have a delay in the throttle response, and that the PedalMAX’s main objective is to rid your car of that lag.

“This is why the PedalMAX is designed to address that delay, which improves overall responsiveness,” Grissom said. “PedalMAX installs in series between the accelerator pedal position sensor and the vehicle’s ECM. The accelerator pedal position sensor signal voltage is modified as it passes through the PedalMAX module. The ECM then interprets the modified signal and controls the throttle actuator based from this input. This results in increased response time and acceleration that is still proportionate to throttle input, while staying within the OEM signal range.”

While the main goal of the PedalMAX system from JMS is to improve throttle response by closing the gap in the delay between the pedal and the throttle-body, JMS said there are some slight horsepower and torque advantages to the system as well.

Now that you have an idea of what the PedalMAX is, and what it’s designed to do, our next segment with JMS Chip will center around how the PedalMAX can assist enthusiasts in their next Coyote swap or EcoBoost swap project.