I am struggling to get comfortable with my size 10’s in the Elan. Relaxed heel and toeing works just fine, but when I need to brake hard I find I am clipping the accelerator.
Can the pedals be adjusted to achieve a bigger offset? I had a Caterham a few years ago and the recommended technique was to use a crow bar to bend the brake pedal away from the accelerator.
Been there,done it,was that man…
It can be done on the car but is far easier if you remove the pivot bar and pedals and put them in a vice,don’t forget that if you move the brake pedal away from the accelerator to move the clutch pedal aswell…or you could just move the one,put it all back together and find out later like I did…
Best bet,find where you would like all three pedals and “set” to suit.
It does take a little getting used to if you’re very used to modern cars or just saloons.
BUT, what I have found helps is to remove the rubber from the brake pedal.
This gives a few more millimetres between it and the throttle pedal
Even so, I have had a few scarey moments where I’ve stamped on the brake only to hit the accellerator as well
If you’re considering bending the brake pedal, I’d recommend removing the pedal mechanism from the car and dismantelling…then bending the pedal lever. The pedal box is made from very thin flexy metal.
With size 13’s (US), I can relate. I can’t drive the car when wearing running shoes because the front part of the shoe is too wide. I bought a pair of sport driving shoes (not full-out racing boots) with thin, narrow soles - makes all the difference. And I also removed the rubber pedal covers, long since.
This is my next upgrade, too. I wear size 7 and have problems. I do put new running shoes on the grinder to narrow down the front half of the shoe and it helps somewhat.
I’m even thinking of taking this a step further and widening the foot well at the fender (wing) side as well. I know the re-bar is behind the masonite but I’m sure it can be reshaped to a ‘concave’ type of finish. I suspect there’s very little room at the frame side to do the same. But I’m looking…
I am very familiar with the kick panel in the vicinity of the clutch pedal (LHD) because I just installed a speaker in that area. There is certainly opportunity to dish the kick panel if you want to. On the frame side, you would need to remove the felt under the carpet to get more clearance - probably want to replace it with a thinner insulating material, possibly foil faced, to preclude parboiling your foot.
I really do recommend the sport driving shoes. Mine are made by Adidas and very comfortable. There is a rocker at the heel, and no sharp edges anywhere on the shoe to catch pedals. The only downside is the Goodyear logo on the back - an apparent attempt to make them look sporty. The sole has a tire-tread-like pattern as well.
Oh well, it looks like I’ll have to dig out my racing boots. I always felt a prat wearing them in the Caterham which was a road legal race car with a full cage, harness etc. Mind you, having to climb in over the top of the cage and literally drop into the seat wasn’t exactly subtle either. Filling up was always ‘an event’…
Perhaps I should also get some string backed gloves and grow some facial hair as I’m not sure that being clean shaven is really the done thing in a classic sports car!
I installed the insulation on the other side of the chassis, between the chassis and the headers. Huge reduction in “toe temperature” and no loss of space inside the footwell. Toes now down to 98.6.
Gordon is correct. In the UK the car will fail the MoT test if the brake pedal is ‘not grippy’ - I speak from experience, although my excellent local garage is too friendly to fail it on such things, but they do advise what needs changing - they know I will sort it out.
At their recommendation, I drilled a load of ‘dimples’ into the surface of the pedal - they said this was acceptable. I was unable to find pedal rubbers to fit my Paul Matty supplied replacement pedal box, as it is the early curved-on-one-side pedal pad shape (should be rectangular on an S4) but has no hole in the middle to suit Ford(?) rubbers…
Hello jimbo,
you began with “I am struggling to get comfortable with my size 10’s in the Elan” , if I were a shrink I’d analize that word struggling…
getting comfortable with the Elan’s stock pedal spread is simply a small challenge for a good driver, once you figure it out, it’s a joy… think F1.
I’m comfortable with my bowling shoes on and think, oh crap, when I climb in with the construction boots on… buy the narrowest shoes you can find, bedroom slippers included, maybe put them in the car, ready to wear on the next high speed twisting excursion you take…
…bending pedal arms? Safety Stress Cracks?
If you’re really having a rough time, try putting a small block on top of the brake pedal to raise it above the throttle…
drive fast, Eric
ps; I’m AMAZED by the comments concerning rubber pads on the pedals… here in the USA the automobile owner would have to pay the inspector to take the time to look at the pedals…
any Yankees got any stories on Elans not passing state inspections ? ? ?
That needs a separate thread, if not a complete new forum. I’ll just say that I’ve seen the extremes - from ultra-picky to wave throughs - in 30-plus years of Massachusetts state inspections. My current garage hears, sees, and speaks no evil.