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The targa will soon be getting a 'new' garage mate; a 1967 Lotus Elan SE. I'm acquiring it from the original owner! It has a very interesting history.
nice! Elans are such great bargains for what you get. I'm dumb and building 'something' from scratch using a Spyder Chassis. Lots of Tony Thompson racing parts on it. Its a slow project that is happening at my parents house. There is nothing to do where they live and they have a 3-car garage with one car, so I will happily stuff an Elan Chassis in there haha
While I wait for the Lotus to arrive I decided to take a shot at installing the Rennline "Adjustable" throttle pedal I picked up at a discount a little while back. I've never been thrilled by the heel/toe (actually big toe / little toe in my case) action in the car and I had read reports about this pedal improving the situation. I blanched at the price however. So when the chance came along to pick it up at a discount, I jumped. I went with silver/black because the targa is not a race car, it's a road car, and IMO the silver adds enough flash already.
Installation is a bit of a b*tch, and the instructions could be better, but I got 'er done. I just came back from a jaunt and I have to admit that the heel/toe action is definitely better! The new pedal installs about 1/2" closer to the driver than the stocker, which brings it out where the brake pedal is in my car. Also the pedal is wider due to the supplied extensions. I found myself moving the seat back a tad, which might take some getting used to.
Functionally I'm satisfied with the pedals in the car. Now I need to decide whether or not to add non-functional bling, i.e. the rest of the Rennline pedal cover set...
I haven't posted here in a while, so here are some general updates.
I removed the upper pedal extension on the Rennline throttle pedal; it was too close to the brake pedal to the point where I had to consciously avoid it even under normal driving. Without the extension it is perfect for me. I've really come to enjoy the smooth action, and although I still think it is a lot of money for a couple of small gains, those gains make a significant difference to my driving pleasure. So I think I will consider it something that pays for itself over time.
I took another trip, this time a long weekend to Hamilton College in NY to visit my youngest granddaughter. I did my usual "avoid interstates" thing which is very easy in this part of the world due to the large number of secondary alternates. It was a good drive and a very good visit. I can't report mileage because I disconnected the battery before I recorded the total.
Just before I left the driver's seat decided to throw a fit. It was not enough to stop me from going so I waited until I got back to fix it. The seatback angle adjustment and tilt functions had both quit. There is a rod running the width of the seat, connecting the pivots for the seat back and allowing adjustment to both simultaneously. That had worked its way out of the inner connection point, causing stuff to bind. While the seat was out I noticed that the wide strap under the bottom cushion was not very taut, which was a surprise since I had put a new one in back when I fixed the seat the last time. No wonder I felt as though I was sitting in a bucket again! I thought it was my imagination. Rather than repeat the same (apparently pointless) repair again I decided to rig up a cross strap, which holds a semi-rigid plastic sheet under the cushion to provide extra support underneath the factory strap. I just finished that job and took a spin, and it is much better.
Rear tires are shot, again. This is the third set in the ~23K miles I've owned the car; the rears were new when I got it. All were Michelin PS4 or PS4S, so no crazy 200 tire wears or anything like that. I guess I like accelerating out of corners...!
Yikes, 3 sets in ~23k miles? So less than 8k miles per set of rear tires? I assume you had an alignment done at some point. I drive mine pretty hard too and am at 15k miles on my current set of PS4S. Fronts are fine but come spring, I'll probably get a new set for the rears.
Yikes, 3 sets in ~23k miles? So less than 8k miles per set of rear tires? I assume you had an alignment done at some point. I drive mine pretty hard too and am at 15k miles on my current set of PS4S. Fronts are fine but come spring, I'll probably get a new set for the rears.
This set has worn unevenly. The hoity-toity high-priced shop* that did the FSI engine install also took it upon themselves to do an alignment, since which time both LH tires have worn out their inner edges. If not for that the rears would still have about 35% to 40% of their life left. So, yeah, I need an alignment. Again.
* It probably doesn't matter since they won't touch watercooled cars anymore. Specialty Cars in Allentown PA; respected, expensive, extremely sure that whatever they do is perfect even if it isn't.
NOT IN REFERENCE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT MENTIONED IN POST ABOVE. I have no knowledge of them.😎
Lucky you! By the way I should warn you that my son's buddies in San Antonio are busy buying up lakefront properties in Minnesota; if he decides to do the same, I may wander westward...
...but meanwhile, the new rear tires are mounted up and Road Force balanced. I had them check the fronts too while they were at it. The number of wheel weights has gone down dramatically since the last time I had tires done, which leads me to want to take every wheel from every car I own over to these folks. Although given the abysmal weather (thanks Helena!) I haven't gotten it off the rack yet to give it a test, so there's still a bit of a question mark hanging over things. I sure hope all is good because I need -- well, want -- well, need -- to drive the targa to Alabama next week to meet up with my son and spend a couple of days at Barber Motorsports Park whupping on Someone Else's Porsches. More as it happens.
I removed the upper pedal extension on the Rennline throttle pedal; it was too close to the brake pedal to the point where I had to consciously avoid it even under normal driving. Without the extension it is perfect for me. I've really come to enjoy the smooth action, and although I still think it is a lot of money for a couple of small gains, those gains make a significant difference to my driving pleasure. So I think I will consider it something that pays for itself over time.
When I saw your post, I wondered about that, the inadvertent heel-toe.
I think such a setup would be great in a dedicated track setup with proper racing shoes with narrow toe boxes and soles. But, not when you are subject to wearing different shoes every time you get into the car. I have the stock pedal covers and it's not uncommon for me accidentally clip either the gas or brake pedal when I wear certain shoes that have sorta wide soles in the front.
When I saw your post, I wondered about that, the inadvertent heel-toe.
I think such a setup would be great in a dedicated track setup with proper racing shoes with narrow toe boxes and soles. But, not when you are subject to wearing different shoes every time you get into the car. I have the stock pedal covers and it's not uncommon for me accidentally clip either the gas or brake pedal when I wear certain shoes that have sorta wide soles in the front.
Shoes definitely came into play. Ordinary running-shoe styles with their wider soles were particularly tough. It's much better now that the upper extension is gone.
Speaking of heel/toe, does anyone actually use their heel? I put the ball of my foot on the brake pedal and then tilt my foot to the right; it's the outside of my foot or my pinkie toe that hits the throttle, not my heel. I've been doing it that way for 40+ years across dozens of cars, so it works for me.
Shoes definitely came into play. Ordinary running-shoe styles with their wider soles were particularly tough. It's much better now that the upper extension is gone.
Speaking of heel/toe, does anyone actually use their heel? I put the ball of my foot on the brake pedal and then tilt my foot to the right; it's the outside of my foot or my pinkie toe that hits the throttle, not my heel. I've been doing it that way for 40+ years across dozens of cars, so it works for me.
I have used the rennline pedals for years. They are very good and durable. Never used the extensions for the same reasons you stated. Just too much surface area to get tangled up. Add in wider shoes with thicker bottoms and you will have a mess.
From a heel toe standpoint, I do use my heel so i can keep my foot on the brake pedal under heavy braking. For me it works better on the track due to the pedal forces needed to slow the 996. On the street I will mess around with varying techniques since the braking requirements are substantially less. Sometimes it's just fun to test different techniques around town in the 996. Part of the fun.
08-12-2024, 11:22 AM
