What other sporty (trackable) cars have floor mounted pedals?

That definitely solved the problem, it's just ever so slightly over budget.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

It's only money 

For a lot less than $15k you could put a very high-end pedal box in pretty much any car, I would expect...

amg_rx7 said:

Honestly, I'd just add a floor mounted clutch pedal and make it reversible.  Yes, there will be some fab work but doesn't mean that it can't be changed in the future.  Driving a fun car on track is a wonderful experience.  Life is short.

Agreed. Pretty much any hydraulic clutch car should be relatively easy to convert to floor mounted pedals with off-the-shelf aftermarket components from Wilwood:

I'd imagine even a car with an servo throttle wouldn't be terribly hard to figure out.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Pedal doesn't have to be heavier, the pedal stop mounts to the floor a'la BMW.

I am having a hard time figuring out the mechanics and anatomy differences between top and floor mount pedals.  They obviously act in a different arc, but the arc is relatively small in chord and doesn't explain to me how one causes a problem but the other does not.  You can flex (or not) the ankle in either case and operate the pedal.  But if your heel is on the floor, your foot is making the same exact motion with either pedal, using the same muscle/tendon combinations.

irish44j said:

For a lot less than $15k you could put a very high-end pedal box in pretty much any car, I would expect...

The $15k is because I'd sell the S2k to pay for another vehicle and should have $15k+ left over. It's not $15k on top of the S2k.

As mentioned, one of the reasons I'm not really that keen in paying for someone to do all the engineering to get a Wilwood pedal box or similar into the S2k is that it's not one of my "forever" cars. If it was I wouldn't care, but as it isn't I'm trying to keep all modifications easily reversible and I don't see this one being of the easily reversible kind.

maj75 said:

In reply to BoxheadTim :

I am having a hard time figuring out the mechanics and anatomy differences between top and floor mount pedals.  They obviously act in a different arc, but the arc is relatively small in chord and doesn't explain to me how one causes a problem but the other does not.  You can flex (or not) the ankle in either case and operate the pedal.  But if your heel is on the floor, your foot is making the same exact motion with either pedal, using the same muscle/tendon combinations.

The main difference - and I've been able to validate it, as I have a medium-term a/c 911 project with floor mounted pedals - is that a floor mounted clutch pedal doesn't result in a force from the pedal back into my foot that attempts to push my toes towards my knee (which results in a stretching motion at the heel). The reason is that the arc of the pedal movement on the floor mounted pedal is downwards, whereas the one on the firewall mounted one is ever so slightly upwards.

I’m thinking more and more if the durability question can be answered in a positive way that a DSG VW or Audi is probably the answer you are looking for.  Both to get the time in on the track for time trials, and to let your left foot recover after track time in the formula car, just in case.

Tim out of curiosity (you've probably though of this) if the pedal part of the clutch pedal were such that it pushed directly on you heal would that alleviate the problem?

We used to have someone racing with with who was basically missing the top half of their left foot, so they'd depress the clutch with their heal. My thought is maybe you could come up with a bolt on that would put the force through your heal...........unless of course that makes it worse.

So, this is as good a place to ask something that has been bugging me as any...

How do you do a floor pedal conversion on a car without either moving the driver's seat a foot back, or cutting a huge hole in the firewall and completely restructuring it?

I would LOVE to have floor mount pedals in the Quantum.  It would solve so many problems.  But I don't see how you can fit it all behind a firewall designed for hanging pedals.

I have never had a patient where I failed to resolve plantar fasciitis, have not had to do surgery for that in a very long time.  The pain at the back of the heel, a few inches above or both?  Generally Achilles symptoms are not from the bone.  Recovery from Achilles surgery is long and challenging, hence to be viewed in a very circumspect fashion.  There is significant debate on whether surgical or conservative treatment is best for rupture.

As is true in many cases regarding motorsports, driver mod is going to give the most bang for the buck.

I'd suggest the easy button is a VW with DSG. 

I hear that Miata floors can be lowered allowing more headroom.

Unless you are basketball tall then it might drag the road. 

Toebra said:

I have never had a patient where I failed to resolve plantar fasciitis, have not had to do surgery for that in a very long time.  The pain at the back of the heel, a few inches above or both? Generally Achilles symptoms are not from the bone.  Recovery from Achilles surgery is long and challenging, hence to be viewed in a very circumspect fashion.  There is significant debate on whether surgical or conservative treatment is best for rupture.

It depends - sometime a little above the heel (about an inch, maybe) and to the side, sometimes right where the achilles tendon attaches to the heel, sometime right on the heel bone spur if I've been sitting wrong (like in an airplane).

In general it's a lot better than it was a few years ago. That's why I was so surprised that after doing everything I wasn't able to do for a while (like drive the S2k on a long road trip, drive cars with manual transmission in DC traffic), it's now flared up again.

doc_speeder said:

I'd suggest the easy button is a VW with DSG. 

That or an Evo X MR with a better seat. I'm researching  the VW (or Audi TT, I kinda like the way they look) and try to figure out if the DSG - like the Evo's dual clutch transmission - also needs additional cooling on the track.

In reply to wlkelley3 :

The problem is more that to be comfortable it an NA with a roll bar, I'd have to lengthen the car by a couple of inches.

Knurled. said:

So, this is as good a place to ask something that has been bugging me as any...

 

How do you do a floor pedal conversion on a car without either moving the driver's seat a foot back, or cutting a huge hole in the firewall and completely restructuring it?

 

I would LOVE to have floor mount pedals in the Quantum.  It would solve so many problems.  But I don't see how you can fit it all behind a firewall designed for hanging pedals.

Thank you. I had that nagging feeling that I was missing something, but based on your comments at least the two of us seem to think that the "simple pedal conversion" awfully looks like a fair amount of work (or in my case, money, because I don't have that level of skill).