UPDATE: The best solution I found for optimal heel-toe is to use a pedal set with a 1/4" throttle spacer and a 1 3/4" inch separation between throttle and brake pedals. This works for me - YMMV.
I've been contemplating the various throttle pedal spacer offerings on the market with the hopes of improving the terrible positioning of the pedals for Heel-Toe. The problem is that most of them simply raise the throttle pedal without moving it closer to the brake pedal.
What I wanted did not seem to be offered with any of the adapters;
1. Move the pedal higher but not the 38mm or 1 1/2 inches that seems to be the common offering. Under threshold braking, I think that's too high. You'd end up with the throttle being higher than the brake.
2. Move the throttle pedal much closer to the brake. I want to have my foot solidly on the brake and be able to roll my ankle to blip the throttle with the side of my foot. The stock spacing is so far apart that I barely have the edge of my foot on the brake if I want to blip the gas. Not very secure feeling.
I decided that the best solution for me would be to get a pedal set and fabricate some spacers.
I bought a OMP OA1000 3-pedal set from www.425motorsports.com for $35. I also had some scrap 1/4" polyethylene that I used for spacers. This is the same as cutting board material and is easy to cut with woodworking tools.
I first removed the throttle pedal assembly. It's held on by 2, 13mm bolts. Push the tab on the wire connector to remove it. I then drew a rough outline of the pedal assembly on the plastic, cut it out, and drilled 2 holes. 5 minutes for a spacer. 1/4" is about as far as you can go with a spacer using the stock stud and nut. If you want to go thicker, you will need to find stud extensions or drill out the stud and replace it with a longer bolt.
Next, I made a spacer to place between the OMP throttle pedal and the stock throttle pedal. This combination would give me a 3/4" lift, 1/4" from each spacer and about 1/4" from the OMP pedal. If I find it's too much lift with full threshold braking, I can remove one or both of the spacers.
You can see from the photo, the bolt holes lined up so the nuts fit in the spaces in the throttle without cutting up the reinforcements.
Once I put it all together, I got a 3/4" lift and my throttle pedal is now 1 1/2 inches from the brake. The stock spacing was about 3 inches. An added bonus is the brake pedal now feels much more substantial. I never liked the feel of that tiny pedal pressing into the ball of my foot. Now, most of my foot is solidly planted on the brake and I only have to roll my foot a little bit to blip the throttle - perfect!
An interesting item came with the OMP pedals; It stated that ECE 35.1 suggests a minimum pedal spacing of 50mm and a maximum spacing between brake and throttle of 100mm. That's roughly 2" and 4" I'm assuming that ECE is a European standard since these pedals are made in Italy. If you have driven a late model European car that has nice heel-toe spacing, you can probably assume that it has a 2" spacing between throttle and brake. If mine turns out to be too close, I'll move them apart another 1/2". If I make any changes after being on the track, I'll let you know. Thanks.
I've been contemplating the various throttle pedal spacer offerings on the market with the hopes of improving the terrible positioning of the pedals for Heel-Toe. The problem is that most of them simply raise the throttle pedal without moving it closer to the brake pedal.
What I wanted did not seem to be offered with any of the adapters;
1. Move the pedal higher but not the 38mm or 1 1/2 inches that seems to be the common offering. Under threshold braking, I think that's too high. You'd end up with the throttle being higher than the brake.
2. Move the throttle pedal much closer to the brake. I want to have my foot solidly on the brake and be able to roll my ankle to blip the throttle with the side of my foot. The stock spacing is so far apart that I barely have the edge of my foot on the brake if I want to blip the gas. Not very secure feeling.
I decided that the best solution for me would be to get a pedal set and fabricate some spacers.
I bought a OMP OA1000 3-pedal set from www.425motorsports.com for $35. I also had some scrap 1/4" polyethylene that I used for spacers. This is the same as cutting board material and is easy to cut with woodworking tools.
I first removed the throttle pedal assembly. It's held on by 2, 13mm bolts. Push the tab on the wire connector to remove it. I then drew a rough outline of the pedal assembly on the plastic, cut it out, and drilled 2 holes. 5 minutes for a spacer. 1/4" is about as far as you can go with a spacer using the stock stud and nut. If you want to go thicker, you will need to find stud extensions or drill out the stud and replace it with a longer bolt.
Next, I made a spacer to place between the OMP throttle pedal and the stock throttle pedal. This combination would give me a 3/4" lift, 1/4" from each spacer and about 1/4" from the OMP pedal. If I find it's too much lift with full threshold braking, I can remove one or both of the spacers.
You can see from the photo, the bolt holes lined up so the nuts fit in the spaces in the throttle without cutting up the reinforcements.
Once I put it all together, I got a 3/4" lift and my throttle pedal is now 1 1/2 inches from the brake. The stock spacing was about 3 inches. An added bonus is the brake pedal now feels much more substantial. I never liked the feel of that tiny pedal pressing into the ball of my foot. Now, most of my foot is solidly planted on the brake and I only have to roll my foot a little bit to blip the throttle - perfect!
An interesting item came with the OMP pedals; It stated that ECE 35.1 suggests a minimum pedal spacing of 50mm and a maximum spacing between brake and throttle of 100mm. That's roughly 2" and 4" I'm assuming that ECE is a European standard since these pedals are made in Italy. If you have driven a late model European car that has nice heel-toe spacing, you can probably assume that it has a 2" spacing between throttle and brake. If mine turns out to be too close, I'll move them apart another 1/2". If I make any changes after being on the track, I'll let you know. Thanks.
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