Anybody figure out or sell something to adjust the pedal spacing? I hate how close together the brake and gas pedals are. I'm a mechanical engineer so I'm thinking of designing some sort of solution but I don't want to reinvent the wheel if there's already something out there.
Thanks!
My biggest issue was the gas pedal to the inside foot box wall using the prior RT gas pedal assembly. I ended up flipping the bar so it curved to the inside of the foot box (tried the straight version as well and it did not work) and moved the brake pedal pad (Wilwood type) fully to the left, then with proper driving shoes it seems pretty good. I would think if one wanted you could offset the brake pad without to much trouble. You can also trim the stock Wilwood pedals if you wanted to to slim them down. (Size 11 3E foot stuffed into a size 10 driving shoe
If you mean side-to-side I also did the "move the pads to the left" trick. Still a bit cramped but I think anything beyond that would require more serious surgery.
Last edited by BrewCityCobra; 02-08-2024 at 08:56 PM.
Here is an example of some surgery (after thought). Size 11 shoe. Did the standard pedal shifting and still had issues with right foot limited on throttle because of the upper panel. When I pushed it out, I got lots of room, but destroyed my panel in the engine bay. The inside covers with the carpet and I made a heat shield to cover up the damage and all is good.
I cut 1/3 of the width off of the Wilwood foot pads.
JR
Mk4 complete kit #9059 ordered 1/19/17 delivered 3/23/17, 2015 IRS, Fortes/DART347,TKO 600, hyd clutch, P/S, 12.88 wilwood brakes front and rear, heater/defrost and vintage gauges
First start and go-cart 4/11/18. Taken To Whitby Motorcars Greensboro, N.C. 2/5/21 for body/paint
I'm 6'2" and have size 10 feet. I've been concerned about the small space alotted for "foot control inputs" too. I plan to install the bare engine block, bare heads, and headers just to see what my maximum clearance is between the header and side wall of the foot box. I'll do that before I remove the aluminum panels upon recieving the kit (scheduled to arrive 1st week in March).I plan to re-design the entire inner wall of the foot box to use all the space available. While I'm at it before the body comes off I'll see what clearance is availible between the body and the left side wall, then make any changes I can to maximize all available space. THEN trim and adjust peddles as needed. I'm quite sure I'll be reinventing the wheel here and might only gain a few milimeters, but I got ta give'r the ol' collage try.
Rebostar
All the suggestions about moving the pedals around, easy to do with the Wilwoods as noted, are good. But risking stating what's been stated a bunch of times before, shoes make a huge difference. My fat feet are 11 wide. I have one particular pair of running shoes that are narrower than all the rest and I always drive with those. They're a little tight, but make a huge difference. Took me awhile to find the right ones. If I forget and have my regular shoes on, immediately notice it. A lot of guys have mentioned actual driving shoes. Haven't gone there yet since I'm happy with what I have. But don't discount this aspect.
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All you guys and your size 11 shoe issues are cute........................ Try a size 13EEE. The Wilwood pedal box sucks, plain and simple. Give me a Mustang pedal box and power brake booster everyday of the week. The Mustang pedal arms can be bent to fit the pedal box for your shoes/feet way better. But hey, it's not Wilwood. LOL!
Nearly every car from Factory Five comes to our shop with the Wilwood pedals now. To test drive the cars, I have to drive in my socks to deal with the pedal spacing. And that's with the pedal pads from Mike Forte. The latest car we just delivered to Texas, we even bumped out the tunnel side of the foot box and the Ford Accelerator pedal. It helped, but not much. Bedded the brakes before delivering the car and had to do it in my socks.
Here's my 2 cents, even though my car is a Coupe because my car has a Gen 2 Coyote, Wilwood pedals and my shoe size is 11 Wide.
My Coyote Accelerator Pedal Assembly is custom mounted on a fabricated alum. block, but that was to position the accelerator pedal closer to my liking or what I thought it would be.
Secondly, I installed a custom Accel Pedal configuration consisting of two Willwood pedals cut down and mated together to provide a more consistent look across all three pedals. I have that document elsewhere in the forum.
I too mounted the clutch and brake pedal pads to the far left and away from the accelerator pedal pad.
With my 11-Wide shoes, even shoes selected with fairly narrow or minimal sole rubber, the spacing for my shoes was still fairly tight.
It is important to have shoes or sneakers that Do Not have the prevailing extra wide soles, both at the heal and ball of the feet. Such soles really take up space down there.
True driving/racing shoes have small, thin and tight sizing overall and incorporate minimal thin wrap around soles. Those shoes get the job done.
I've tried a few such driving/racing shoes, but couldn't find them in wide shoe sizes. The standard width shoes simply compress the width of my feet, maybe even only slightly, but enough to sprain my feet even after only an hour of use. So it was back to finding other shoes that may work for me.
I did find two Sketchers casual sneaker models in 11-Wide that surprisingly didn't have too wide of soles, but the soles weren't of driving/race shoe design. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be available anymore.
I'm using them because they're the best I have, but the situation isn't perfect.
That's where a week ago, I analyzed my accelerator pedal once again.
The pad couldn't be moved to the right any further because it currently just barely clears the transmission tunnel when depressed half-way or more.
I decided to narrow the pedal pad on the left side and I show the before and after below in the first combo photo.
In the second combo photo, I show my right shoe positioned full/centrally on the brake pedal and then on the barely on the brake pedal (to close to the accelerator pedal).
In that second image, you can see how NOW, my shoe clears the Accel. Pedal even when I haven't stepped squarely on the Brake Pedal. I feel this is a practical improvement for real world driving.
I hope that all helps some builders/owners out there.
Russ told me a few years ago that if his gas pedal was too close to the inside tunnel, just put it into a vise and bend the dog leg a little. Worked great and I'll do it again.
Mike Forte's pedals help quite a bit with spacing, sure you can cut down the Wilwoods as well - but I really like the look of these...
this and thinner width shoes, I'm a size 12 wide so it's still crazy!
I like the idea of trimming the gas pedal, I think I will do that. I have put my shoes on a belt sander to narrow them down quite a bit. It really sucks to hit the gas and brake in a quick stop.
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I'll be the voice of dissent on the Forte's pedal pads. If you look closely, at their widest part they are actually wider than the Wilwood pedal pad where it matters - on the right side of the brake pedal at the ball of the foot. If the Wilwood pad is installed shifted left, the right edge of the pad is pretty much flush with the edge of the black pedal arm. The Forte's pedal pad is wider at its widest spot by a good 1/4" (just a guess from memory). I realize that it's narrower above and below that spot, but unfortunately the spot where the Fortes pad is widest is right where I'm the most cramped for space. I bought a set of Fortes pedal pads thinking they'd be narrower and they just didn't work for me with my size 13 shoes. I can pretty much only drive the car in Puma Speedcats or drivers (narrow loafer-style shoes).
Edited to add: I've seen where some folks have trimmed the bottom right corner off the Wilwood brake pedal pad at an angle to create a little more clearance and I thought I'd have to do that also, but so far it hasn't been a problem for me.
Last edited by JohnK; 02-14-2024 at 01:39 PM.
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Just want throw this in the mix, I installed a Joe's Racing Heel Stop for your right heel, made a big difference, much more comfortable. I tried it installed on an angle but, decided I like it better just straight across. I'm also going to try the Speed Cat's. Thx for the 1/2 size larger tip.
I'm part of the "move the footbox aluminum to the right and bend the throttle pedal bar" camp.
I don't have large feet, but I was having trouble with my right foot pushing down the gas during braking. I could see that being an issue during panic braking.
Pedal "Bender": I seem to recall a pedal "bender" (looks sort of like a clamp with a threaded bolt which, when screwed, would bend the pedal in an offeset) that some guys on here were using, and then mailing it to another guy....kind of like a "play it forward" tool loaner program. I think it was on a thread on here recently.
Here is an example of some surgery (after thought). Size 11 shoe. Did the standard pedal shifting and still had issues with right foot limited on throttle because of the upper panel. When I pushed it out, I got lots of room, but destroyed my panel in the engine bay. The inside covers with the carpet and I made a heat shield to cover up the damage and all is good.
Seems you went with the "Ken Miles luggage capacity adjustment method" from early in the Ford v Ferrarri movie.
Pedal "Bender": I seem to recall a pedal "bender" (looks sort of like a clamp with a threaded bolt which, when screwed, would bend the pedal in an offeset) that some guys on here were using, and then mailing it to another guy....kind of like a "play it forward" tool loaner program. I think it was on a thread on here recently.
No you can not use a pedal bender on the Wilwood pedals. That was for the donor pedals
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... not sure I'd personally bend Russ's gas pedal. Given its properties I wouldn't want to bend an aluminum piece someone else had already bent.
heel-and-toe needs some proximity between brake and accelerator. Figure out what you need vs. going with maximum spacing you can get away with. I thought the accelerator would feel like it was way too far toward the outside of my right foot ... until I tried it. Its placement (RT gas pedal, original pre-2015 footbox) hasn't bothered me a bit.
After a lifetime of buying 'just the right shoe' for all sorts of things, I'm trying to cut down the shoe count. OluKai's (casual) shoe line has very little extra on the sides of the shoe. I've driven my car very little in anything other than a pair of their boat shoes ... heel grabs the back of my foot and the rest fits like a glove.
Cheers, John
Last edited by John Ibele; 09-03-2024 at 04:04 PM.
MK4 #7838: IRS 3.55 TrueTrac T5z Dart 347
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I installed these because I love the look and they gave me more space between the pedals.
I bought those pedal pads from Forte too. They are enough thinner that I don't catch my foot on the brake when operating the clutch and gives more clearance between gas and brake
I bought those pedal pads from Forte too. They are enough thinner that I don't catch my foot on the brake when operating the clutch and gives more clearance between gas and brake
Regarding pedal pads in general (Wilwood, donor, and Tilton) does anyone know if the screw spacing is universal? Tilton makes some really neat pads in two different widths.
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Originally Posted by lance corsi
