Drivers foot rest

[hammie]

Peeps

I'm thinking I need some sort of heal pad and rest for my clutch foot when cruising as i dont like leaving it resting on the pedal. I don't have carpet mats and my shoes are getting ruined from rubbing on the ally. I was thinking of a bit of pvc conveyor belt riveted down which i have loads of and a small piece of ally angle to hook my heal on.

Has anyone had the same issue and come up with an alternative solution?

[Rusty Nuts]

I've got a carbon fibre foot rest panel (FS) that replaces the flat panel its used but in serviceable condition, drop me a pm if you're interested.

[hammie]

Hi Rusty

Pardon my ignorance but does this replace the side or floor panel. Can you send me a piccy. I could be interested.

[Davemk1]

I'm in the USA so the car is left hand drive and therefore there is no way to install the left foot rest into the side panel. So I've done two things.

First is that there is an adjustable foot rest that catches the edge of ball of my left shoe. It's adjustable fore/aft and for angle. I knew I'd never get it just right so I made it adjustable. It does a great job of letting the foot relax while cruising and never gets in the way while using the clutch.

Secondly I made a heel rest for both feet. It's made of 1" x 1/4" aluminum bar and bent into shape. It allows me to brace my feet very securely while cornering and braking....and at the same time I can operate the throttle and brake with great modulation with my right heel braced against the heel rest.

It is amazing how much difference the heel rest made for both comfort and for car control when driving at the limit. Without it it seemed impossible for me to have subtle throttle control while my heel slid around on the floor so my inputs tended to be jerky and anything but subtle. But once I made the heel rest I could brace my heel on it and then with great control meter out throttle and brake inputs.

I tried driving without it after having it in place for some time and it felt so jerky and insecure. I think there are lots of ways to do this for sure and no doubt mine is not the best way....but that said it will help so much in terms of comfort and car control I strongly suggest that you try making one.

 

dave

[hammie]

Thanks Dave. 

From the look of it the clutch rest is closer to driver which is how I was thinking of sound it. 

[Rusty Nuts]

4 hours ago, hammie said:

Hi Rusty

Pardon my ignorance but does this replace the side or floor panel. Can you send me a piccy. I could be interested.

Please see PM

[SXRORY]

No help on the rest but I too was ruining my nice trainers. Bought some kart boots which have rubber up the heels and actually turned out are a bit of a revelation in regards to feel. 

You do look a bit of a plonker when you wear shorts though 

[hammie]

Wel this is my first attempt to copy Davemk1. First drive today and i must agree with Dave's comment about control. It's made it sooo  much better and enjoyable to drive. Thanks Dave.

My next change will be to add some grip tape and fit the panel that Rusty sent me, more for when cruising and need to rest the clutch foot.

[Davemk1]

Very good!

It's impossible to find a real race car that does not have some kind of heel brace and there's good reason for this. One of the biggest changes a driver can make to aid car control is to solidly hold their entire body as securely as possible so that they can control all the steering, brake and throttle inputs with great precision and subtly. This means a firm seat that does not bounce up and down, firm close fitting side bolsters, proper 5 point belts to hold the hips and torso securely in the firm seat and of course heel braces that keep the feet from sliding fore/aft on the floor.

I've set up many of my own race cars over the years and helped friends set up there cars - everything from Boxsters to Atoms and a proper heel rest/brace is a real game changer. You don't know what you're missing until you try it and then you'll want one on every car you drive. They are more than worth the small effort to make. The lower the butt is compared to the feet the bigger difference it makes.

 

dave

[Sparkymart]

So if you're feet are over the top of the brace doesn't it dig into the back of your heel? Also are you aiming to hold both heel's in the same position?

[Davemk1]

3 hours ago, Martin Rice (Sparkymart) - Cornwall AO said:

So if you're feet are over the top of the brace doesn't it dig into the back of your heel? Also are you aiming to hold both heel's in the same position?

In my case the aim is to allow the heel to stay planted in the same place while the ankle joint flexes to press the pedals. My heel is never on top of or beyond the brace - it's always on the floor pressed up against the brace.

dave

[hammie]

13 hours ago, Martin Rice (Sparkymart) - Cornwall AO said:

So if you're feet are over the top of the brace doesn't it dig into the back of your heel? Also are you aiming to hold both heel's in the same position?

Ditto to Dave's reply and the piece of rubber is to stop ruining my shoes against the ally floor. 

[Sparkymart]

Ok I see the bottom of your heel is pressing against it rest

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

15 minutes ago, Martin Rice (Sparkymart) - Cornwall AO said:

Ok I see the bottom of your heel is pressing against it rest

Exactly! A foot rest/brace can be an awful lot kinder to your foot wear than grip tape is on its own, as well. (Used grip tape before adding a small brace, on a previous car. The grip tape is great, it does exactly what it says, but was so abrasive, it really wore down the heels on my race boots, and ordinary shoes/trainers with no wrap around heel protection could spoil quite quickly. A heel brace instead, worked even better and solved the shoe eating problem of tape!

[hammie]

Grip tape now added, to be 're fitted tomorrow when I've warmed up.