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Adjusting Pedals for Heel/Toe Work?

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Old 01-22-2006, 07:40 PM
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Toby Pennycuff
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Question Adjusting Pedals for Heel/Toe Work?

So, now that I have my car back after getting the clutch properly adjsuted and sorted out, I find that I need to get some adjustment out of the "starting" point of my brake pedal so that I can employ my newly learned heel/to techniques from my Bondurant GPRR 4-Day class.

My question is how much adjustment is available on the brake pedal? Right now, I have a pretty big gap between starting point of the brake pedal and the clutch pedal. Perhaps as much as 1-1.5". Now, I doubt that I have THAT much adjustment on the brake pedal, so does that mean I need to bring the accelerator "out" to meet somewhere in the middle for heel/toe work?

Appreciate any suggestions and/or gotchas.

Toby
Old 01-22-2006, 09:37 PM
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Noah930
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Uh, are you sure you mean clutch pedal? I think what you're really asking about is the difference in pedal height between the brake and throttle pedals, right? It's hard to simultaneously brake and blip the throttle with your right foot (feels like the accelerator pedal is too far away--your ankle doesn't roll that far over). If that's what's true, 2 things:

1. The brake pedal will compress down to the proper height, and match that of the accelerator better if you're really stomping down on it hard. This would be what you'd experience in a racetrack setting, as opposed to a street setting (even driving at 7/10ths-8/10ths). Otherwise, if you were really on a racetrack, turning lap after lap, with time the brake pedal might sink down a little and eventually drop down to below the throttle. That would be dangerous, as you'd apply the brakes and unwittingly also simultaneously grab a little throttle as well (while you're trying to stop).

2. One cheap and easy way to fix the above problem (throttle pedal too low) is to take an extra throttle pedal (you can buy them for about $25--they're plastic), and drill a couple holes and bolt it on top of the existing one. That effectively makes the throttle pedal higher, and makes it a lot easier to blip downshifts on the street, while still allowing for enough difference in brake-throttle pedal height when driving under aggression.

Clutch pedal is always actuated by your left foot, so what difference does is make where it is?
Old 01-22-2006, 10:18 PM
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Geoffrey
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The brake pedal adjuster rod has enough room to adjust it down so as you are braking you can "blip" the throttle. The stock brakes work very well, even in a track environment and generally have a very firm feel to them. The Big Red upgrade makes the pedal feel less firm than with the stock brakes and you won't need to lower the brake pedal as much as you will with stock brakes. Be sure to check the operation of your brake lights as you lower the brake pedal. The brake light switch may also need to be adjusted so the lights operate properly.
Old 01-23-2006, 08:48 AM
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Toby Pennycuff
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Originally Posted by Noah930
Uh, are you sure you mean clutch pedal? I think what you're really asking about is the difference in pedal height between the brake and throttle pedals, right? It's hard to simultaneously brake and blip the throttle with your right foot (feels like the accelerator pedal is too far away--your ankle doesn't roll that far over). If that's what's true, 2 things:

1. The brake pedal will compress down to the proper height, and match that of the accelerator better if you're really stomping down on it hard. This would be what you'd experience in a racetrack setting, as opposed to a street setting (even driving at 7/10ths-8/10ths). Otherwise, if you were really on a racetrack, turning lap after lap, with time the brake pedal might sink down a little and eventually drop down to below the throttle. That would be dangerous, as you'd apply the brakes and unwittingly also simultaneously grab a little throttle as well (while you're trying to stop).

2. One cheap and easy way to fix the above problem (throttle pedal too low) is to take an extra throttle pedal (you can buy them for about $25--they're plastic), and drill a couple holes and bolt it on top of the existing one. That effectively makes the throttle pedal higher, and makes it a lot easier to blip downshifts on the street, while still allowing for enough difference in brake-throttle pedal height when driving under aggression.

Clutch pedal is always actuated by your left foot, so what difference does is make where it is?
Noah930, well, since I've been driving Porsches for almost 10 years, and manual transmissions for almost 35 years, I do remember that the clutch is operated by the left foot! Perhaps I was a not as specific as I needed to be in my question.

The Bondurant instructors were very good about teaching proper heel/toe techniques, and so what I need to know is how much adjustment is available on my brake pedal so that the starting point for braking is much closer to the accelerator pedal. The gap is much too large at this point to have any real chance for heel/toe work.

Originally Posted by Geoffrey
]The brake pedal adjuster rod has enough room to adjust it down so as you are braking you can "blip" the throttle.
Thanks, Geoffrey. I thought I could work that angle, but was not clear how much adjustment would be available. Appreciate the pointer. And yes, the 917-based brakes on these 930's are simply awesome. I love them!

Toby
Old 01-23-2006, 01:59 PM
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nathanUK '81 930 G50
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Hey Toby,

What did they teach you about heel n toe ? Do you use the left part of your foot on the brake and the right part on the gas ?

Or was it how I do it and use my toe's for the brake and my heel for the gas ?

If it is the latter I find both my 911's are fine as they are, I presume stock.
Old 01-23-2006, 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by nathanUK '81 930 G50
Hey Toby,

What did they teach you about heel n toe ? Do you use the left part of your foot on the brake and the right part on the gas ?

Or was it how I do it and use my toe's for the brake and my heel for the gas ?

If it is the latter I find both my 911's are fine as they are, I presume stock.
Bondurant teaches a technique where you use the left-most part of the ball of your right foot for braking and roll your foot over to the right to blip the accelerator with the right edge of your right foot. It takes some work to get the techique down, but I found it worked quite well in both the C5 Corvettes and the Formula Ford. But, you really have to practice. All the time you get in-car at the Bondurant course really reinforces that technique.

Toby
Old 01-23-2006, 10:28 PM
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Geoffrey
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once you move the brake pedal in the Porsche it becomes much easier using the bondurant method.



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