Brake pedal mods for Heel/Toe

SilverFire · 05-02-2007, 06:07 AM

Now that I've had my Mk1 for about 6 weeks, I've gotten comfortable with it enough to start REALLY driving it.

I tried to do some heel/toe on the way home tonight (gotta love the nightshift!), and couldn't reach the gas pedal comfortably from the brake. They're close enough, side-to-side, but when the brake is all the way depressed, there's still 1" to 1-1/2" to the gas, then I still have to use it. I've read about modifying the brake pedal to fix that, but I've never actually tried it.

Just wondering if this is normal. Is it just me? Are there guys that race it like that? Is it just something that takes getting used to? If not, how hard is it? It looks pretty straightforward.

It works just fine for getting around town the way it is, but I plan to autocross it (Solo 1&2) towards the end of the summer, so if it's not something I"ll get used to, I better get cracking.

Thanks!

judaspriest517 · 05-02-2007, 09:46 AM

I work at a CNC shop where we have made custom pedals for people. My uncle races Porsches and he designed his own and brought them in there to be made. I plan on designing my own very soon, because like you I will be auto-x definitely by next season if not this one.

TomsMR2 · 05-02-2007, 10:19 AM

if you have aftermarket pedals, im thinking you could just use large metal washers/bushings to bring it out another 1/2 inch or so.. it wouldnt need a huge spacer, just enough to bring it in with the brake. you'd have to drill a couple holes and use a flush headed bolt, but nothing major. i think a machined spacer might be overkill.. if you have access to that stuff, cool, but if not its excessive.

just be careful.. if you've got big feet theres a real good chance you'll hit the gas when you press the brake too! both mr2 gens have fairly close spacing.. i think its safe to do, just watch yourself with the gas pedal.

Mach2 · 05-02-2007, 11:24 AM

Well I have a diffrent motivation im frickin huge. I have a MK2 I would love to push my break pedal back about 2 1/2 good inches.

SilverFire · 05-03-2007, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judaspriest517

I work at a CNC shop where we have made custom pedals for people. My uncle races Porsches and he designed his own and brought them in there to be made. I plan on designing my own very soon, because like you I will be auto-x definitely by next season if not this one.

I work in a cnc shop too. If you design it, what are the chances I could get the Gcode or autocad file? I'll have to convert the Gcode for my machines (unless you use a centroid control), but that'd still be easier than designing it myself...

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

if you have aftermarket pedals, im thinking you could just use large metal washers/bushings to bring it out another 1/2 inch or so.. it wouldnt need a huge spacer, just enough to bring it in with the brake. you'd have to drill a couple holes and use a flush headed bolt, but nothing major. i think a machined spacer might be overkill.. if you have access to that stuff, cool, but if not its excessive.

just be careful.. if you've got big feet theres a real good chance you'll hit the gas when you press the brake too! both mr2 gens have fairly close spacing.. i think its safe to do, just watch yourself with the gas pedal.

Tom'sMR2 brings up a good point, were you thinking to make an extension for the gas pedal to bring it up even with brake, or a whole new brake pedal arm to push it back...

Personally, I'd prefer to mess with the brake, form a comfort point, but I'm thinking the gas pedal extension might be better form a safety standpoint...

Ben

ToyotaTechGeek · 05-03-2007, 08:21 AM

my pedals work just fine. to be honest with you, there isn't much need for toe/heel techniques at an autocross. i did modify my pedal covers a little, and i built my dead pedal. but the question is the gas/brake. i modified my gas pedal. cover. anyway, daily driving is not difficult wearing shoes like Vans or a 'sport dress' shoe, but driving shoes make the drive more pleasant.

judaspriest517 · 05-03-2007, 09:50 AM

Give me a couple days to find some free time and I'll get on it. It shouldn't be too difficult since I should have a template already made somewhere. We don't use AutoCAD very often although I do think we have a license on one of the computers for it. We use FeatureCAM most often.

Mach2 · 05-03-2007, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToyotaTechGeek

my pedals work just fine. to be honest with you, there isn't much need for toe/heel techniques at an autocross. i did modify my pedal covers a little, and i built my dead pedal. but the question is the gas/brake. i modified my gas pedal. cover. anyway, daily driving is not difficult wearing shoes like Vans or a 'sport dress' shoe, but driving shoes make the drive more pleasant.

Tom's is there any way to push the brake pedal closer to the frunk wall?

wiggafly808 · 05-04-2007, 05:01 AM

On my old ae92 rolla i just bought those gay "racing" pedals from napa or wherever, theyre like $15 bucks and even though its kind of ricey, it worked great for heel-toe.

SilverFire · 05-04-2007, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judaspriest517

Give me a couple days to find some free time and I'll get on it. It shouldn't be too difficult since I should have a template already made somewhere. We don't use AutoCAD very often although I do think we have a license on one of the computers for it. We use FeatureCAM most often.

The Gcode file might be best then.

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToyotaTechGeek

my pedals work just fine. to be honest with you, there isn't much need for toe/heel techniques at an autocross. i did modify my pedal covers a little, and i built my dead pedal. but the question is the gas/brake. i modified my gas pedal. cover. anyway, daily driving is not difficult wearing shoes like Vans or a 'sport dress' shoe, but driving shoes make the drive more pleasant.

I'm thinking more for next year when I start doing Solo1. I'm basically lazy and I figure I might as well change it now and get used to it being that way, instead of having to re-learn the foot movement.

The pedal cover just might be easier. What did you do? Put some sort of block over/into it? (I told you I'm lazy. I don't feel like searching...)

Gairloch · 05-04-2007, 06:28 AM

Before you start modifying your pedal height make sure the brake system is well bled. If you've got old brake fluid with a bunch of air in it in the system that will impact the height at which it engages. If your pads are just about toast that can impact it also.

Another way to approach this would be to go to a different master cylinder. I don't know about the Mk I but there are a bunch of OE options for the Mk II. Be careful though. Too large of an MC will result in a harder/higher pedal but less clamping force at the brakes.

te51levin · 05-04-2007, 11:42 PM

I'm surprised that the pedal placement doesn't work for you. I've always found it to be pretty ideal for heel-and-toe work. In fact, all my old Corollas had really good placement, too...even wearing work boots, they're spaced well enough to blip downshifts with the brakes applied.

05-02-2007, 06:07 AM	#1 (permalink)
SilverFire Cage Fighter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Edmonton, AB Posts: 299 Thanks: 6 Thanked 15 Times in 13 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (2/100% )	Brake pedal mods for Heel/Toe Now that I've had my Mk1 for about 6 weeks, I've gotten comfortable with it enough to start REALLY driving it. I tried to do some heel/toe on the way home tonight (gotta love the nightshift!), and couldn't reach the gas pedal comfortably from the brake. They're close enough, side-to-side, but when the brake is all the way depressed, there's still 1" to 1-1/2" to the gas, then I still have to use it. I've read about modifying the brake pedal to fix that, but I've never actually tried it. Just wondering if this is normal. Is it just me? Are there guys that race it like that? Is it just something that takes getting used to? If not, how hard is it? It looks pretty straightforward. It works just fine for getting around town the way it is, but I plan to autocross it (Solo 1&2) towards the end of the summer, so if it's not something I"ll get used to, I better get cracking. Thanks!

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05-02-2007, 09:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
judaspriest517 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 38 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	I work at a CNC shop where we have made custom pedals for people. My uncle races Porsches and he designed his own and brought them in there to be made. I plan on designing my own very soon, because like you I will be auto-x definitely by next season if not this one.

05-02-2007, 10:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
TomsMR2 Still not heraldo. Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pineapple under the sea Posts: 4,911 Thanks: 18 Thanked 406 Times in 303 Posts Blog Entries: 1 iTrader Rating: (4/100% )	if you have aftermarket pedals, im thinking you could just use large metal washers/bushings to bring it out another 1/2 inch or so.. it wouldnt need a huge spacer, just enough to bring it in with the brake. you'd have to drill a couple holes and use a flush headed bolt, but nothing major. i think a machined spacer might be overkill.. if you have access to that stuff, cool, but if not its excessive. just be careful.. if you've got big feet theres a real good chance you'll hit the gas when you press the brake too! both mr2 gens have fairly close spacing.. i think its safe to do, just watch yourself with the gas pedal.

05-02-2007, 11:24 AM	#4 (permalink)
Mach2 Flame Retardant Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 746 Thanks: 59 Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	Well I have a diffrent motivation im frickin huge. I have a MK2 I would love to push my break pedal back about 2 1/2 good inches.

05-03-2007, 08:21 AM	#6 (permalink)
ToyotaTechGeek resident GEEK! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: ...boosting mid-corner Posts: 995 Thanks: 14 Thanked 31 Times in 31 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (2/100% )	my pedals work just fine. to be honest with you, there isn't much need for toe/heel techniques at an autocross. i did modify my pedal covers a little, and i built my dead pedal. but the question is the gas/brake. i modified my gas pedal. cover. anyway, daily driving is not difficult wearing shoes like Vans or a 'sport dress' shoe, but driving shoes make the drive more pleasant.

05-03-2007, 09:50 AM	#7 (permalink)
judaspriest517 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 38 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	Give me a couple days to find some free time and I'll get on it. It shouldn't be too difficult since I should have a template already made somewhere. We don't use AutoCAD very often although I do think we have a license on one of the computers for it. We use FeatureCAM most often.

05-04-2007, 05:01 AM	#9 (permalink)
wiggafly808 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Mililani, HI Posts: 18 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	On my old ae92 rolla i just bought those gay "racing" pedals from napa or wherever, theyre like $15 bucks and even though its kind of ricey, it worked great for heel-toe.

05-04-2007, 06:28 AM	#11 (permalink)
Gairloch Dreaming of apexes Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 5,313 Thanks: 139 Thanked 296 Times in 264 Posts Blog Entries: 4 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (7/100% )	Before you start modifying your pedal height make sure the brake system is well bled. If you've got old brake fluid with a bunch of air in it in the system that will impact the height at which it engages. If your pads are just about toast that can impact it also. Another way to approach this would be to go to a different master cylinder. I don't know about the Mk I but there are a bunch of OE options for the Mk II. Be careful though. Too large of an MC will result in a harder/higher pedal but less clamping force at the brakes.

05-04-2007, 11:42 PM	#12 (permalink)
te51levin LithiaToyotaParts.com Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Copperhead Road Posts: 3,699 Thanks: 50 Thanked 324 Times in 268 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (193/100% )	I'm surprised that the pedal placement doesn't work for you. I've always found it to be pretty ideal for heel-and-toe work. In fact, all my old Corollas had really good placement, too...even wearing work boots, they're spaced well enough to blip downshifts with the brakes applied.