the matte finish looks nice to me...and I'm not gay lol.
sure, pedals don't add engine performance.
BUT racers tend to be perfectionists...they like everything just right from the shift knob to the short shifter to the pedals to the tach if they use one...even to the racing shoes...to the racing gloves if they use them. Driver comfort and the ease with which he/she can use his equipment influences overall performance. everything matters. Example: I think I drive pretty well but with one shift knob which is too big for my hand...I tend to misshift...with another that is smaller I never misshift and I can shift a lot faster.
In the case of pedals, lighter is better as long as it's not cheap or slippery lol. when I practice "dry shifting" in my driveway I get the feeling sometimes that the stock pedals don't come up quite as fast as my feet leave them. you want your car instantaneously responsive to the millisecond.
Tachs don't add engine performance, but I notice that my aftermarket tach is much more responsive and probably more accurate than my stock. when I step on the gas in neutral and let off, the stock tach lags way behind the aftermarket.