Does anyone think the foot pedals(man trans) are awkward?...

[Uncle Paully]

hello everyone
i know this is a sort of strange topic, but lately it's been grabbing me. i have a theory that the location of my foot pedals is less than comfortable. i feel that the lengthy clutch travel requires me to sit closer forward than average, and as a result i feel that my gas/brake foot has a restricted range of space. for example on the highway, when i'm off the gas or at just partial throttle, i feel that my gas foot is "cocked" and i need to use the cruise control so that my foot can rest. normally, (please correct me if i'm wrong) i feel that the gas foot should be in a comfortable postition at any level of throttle in order to make those long trips sans cruise control.
if i'm crazy, don't be bashfull.
thanks

[mike wong]

you are not crazy.

refer to the BMW clutch stop in the UUC catalog:
http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/

So if you don't have to depress the clutch pedal as far, now you can reposition the seat further back. That extra inch/inch and a half makes a big difference in your driving position.

[Uncle Paully]

i almost think that the engagement of the clutch is already pretty low. i almost think that i may need to fabricate a thicker clutch pedal. you know the pad area. my only doubt there is whether or not it would be awkward when going from the dead pedal to the clutch and if my foot would get caught
thanks

[Gooch]

This is the first car I've owned where the gas pedal is attached to the floor. It makes the lever point on the bottom of the pedal instead of the top like most cars. So the pedal stays stationary with the floor. My ankle doesn't really care for the angle when accelerating.

[Uncle Paully]

hey dude
i've had other bimmers and i didn't seem to have this problem. and if i'm on the high way and don't need to shift, i'll move the seat back and my right foot is comfortable. i have a feeling the it's a combination of the clutch being a long throw and the gas and brake being a tad close.

[DueyT]

Yeah, the brake is a tad close to the gas for my tastes...the clutch does have a longer throw, but I feel that engagement is at a decent place. My biggest beef is that the steering wheel doesn't come out further. I'm 6'2", but even with gorilla arms, I have to stretch a bit to make the racers "wrist on the top of the wheel" measuremnet thing happen. Maybe that's because of the F-16 seating position I use...you know, leave 3" for the person's knees in the rear left seat! :D

Ceers,
Duey

[Unregistered]

I'm 5'10 and Ive never really had any problems reaching pedals with the seat back a bit. But with this car i have to put the bottom of the seat all the way up and Im still stretching a bit to push the clutch all the way down. I'm pretty used to it now though, i just have to slouch in the seat a bit

[Mr Project]

I've always thought the brake and gas weren't positioned terribly well for heel-toe. The E36 seems a little more natural, but I don't remember now if the E36 has the floor-mount gas or the high-mount gas pedal...maybe that's part of the reason.

[Uncle Paully]

I've always thought the brake and gas weren't positioned terribly well for heel-toe. The E36 seems a little more natural, but I don't remember now if the E36 has the floor-mount gas or the high-mount gas pedal...maybe that's part of the reason.

[Bellicose Right Winger]

How about looking for the cause of the low clutch engagement?

Paul Shovestul


i almost think that the engagement of the clutch is already pretty low. i almost think that i may need to fabricate a thicker clutch pedal. you know the pad area. my only doubt there is whether or not it would be awkward when going from the dead pedal to the clutch and if my foot would get caught
thanks

[Uncle Paully]

How about looking for the cause of the low clutch engagement?

Paul Shovestul

[Bellicose Right Winger]

Huh? If engagement is fine, why did you tell us you thought engagement is pretty low?

Paul Shovestul


i almost think that the engagement of the clutch is already pretty low.

[Uncle Paully]

what i was telling mike was that i didn't know if the clutch stop would do the trick because i believe the engagement point to be fairly close to the floor. as a result, i didn't believe i would be able to gain the extra inch he spoke of.
so to recap, fairly close to the floor - clutch engagement fine - and no contradiction.
comprende?

[Bellicose Right Winger]

That's exactly how I interpreted your post. The point is that engagement "fairly close to the floor" is NOT normal. The clutch stop is usable because the "normal" engagement point is closer to the top of the pedal travel then it is to the floor. Under "normal" conditions you don't need full pedal travel to get clutch release/engagement...which is why Mike(?) suggested the stop.

Paul Shovestul




what i was telling mike was that i didn't know if the clutch stop would do the trick because i believe the engagement point to be fairly close to the floor. as a result, i didn't believe i would be able to gain the extra inch he spoke of.
so to recap, fairly close to the floor - clutch engagement fine - and no contradiction.
comprende?

[TimGinCentralNJ]

I've always thought the brake and gas weren't positioned terribly well for heel-toe. The E36 seems a little more natural, but I don't remember now if the E36 has the floor-mount gas or the high-mount gas pedal...maybe that's part of the reason.

[Uncle Paully]

That's exactly how I interpreted your post. The point is that engagement "fairly close to the floor" is NOT normal. The clutch stop is usable because the "normal" engagement point is closer to the top of the pedal travel then it is to the floor. Under "normal" conditions you don't need full pedal travel to get clutch release/engagement...which is why Mike(?) suggested the stop.

Paul Shovestul

[bimmerd00d]

i broke the hinge on the accelerator on my 93 525i, so i dont get the cocked foot cramp anymore ;)