Brad:
Good stuff guy, thanks for the info. I intend to dig out the old hacksaw and so
forth and give it a shot. I do, however, have another question.
I've read many times in this NG how easy it is to find substitute springs at any
hardware store. Now maybe we here in Utah really ARE forty years behind the
times (as the old joke goes, "Welcome to Utah, please set your clocks back forty
years."), but I had a devil of a time finding anything close to reasonable
springs. The only springs I could find of the right diameter practically
required me to stand on the pedal in order to compress them.
I finally had to use the accelerator spring for the brakes and slip a sub
diameter spring inside another, weaker spring for the accelerator. Hardly the
best solution. A buddy in Canada said he got his from Canada Brakes,
unfortunately the last Canada Brake franchise in Salt Lake must have closed up
shop :-).
Any suggestions as to where your got yours and what the specs were? I really
like the LWMFF wheel, but the brakes are a problem. I've managed to cobble
together a solution but it's not the best and getting CH pedals is likely to be
a bit of a chore.
OTOH, it does make an awfully good excuse for being slow, "Well, I'd have done
better but with my brake pedals ... {sigh}"
Thanks,
Joe
It's time to dig out your Logitech pedals, and give them one more chance.
With a simple modification, you can increase the travel of the brake pedal
by a full 40%.
If you haven't already done so, this would also be a good time to replace
the brake pedal spring with a slightly heavier one, available at most
hardware stores for mere pennies. Take your old spring with you when you
get your pedals apart, and find a replacement of equal size, but heavier
gauge.
The brake pedal in the logitech pedal assembly is actually compressed quite
a bit (about 13mm). I measured the stock pedal travel at approx 25mm, with
the wheel assembled. I measured 38mm with the top off and the brake pedal
resting on the spring. Freeing up the brake pedal to make use of some of
this wasted compression (travel) turns out to be fairly simple.
With a few minutes time, a small hacksaw blade, a phillips screwdriver, and
a small file, you can reclaim that wasted (and precious) brake pedal travel.
As delivered, the topside of the base has a 25mm X 45mm hole that the brake
pedal comes through;
<-25mm->
________
| | ^
| | |
| | 45 mm
| | | -----------
Brake
pedal
arm
is
under
here
You need to get some of that plastic out of the way to let the brake pedal
rise up a little higher through the base.
Cut a 17mm wide X 28mm vertical slot directly under the hole where the
brake pedal comes through the top of the base, thus allowing the brake pedal
to protrude higher through the top of the base, like so;
________
| |
| |
| | original brake pedal hole
| | --| |-- new cut starts here
| |
| | 28mm vertical
| | -------
17mm wide
NOTE: The length of the slot determines the amount your brake pedal will
rise. You want a little compression on the spring, so that it will stay in
place. Don't cut this slot too long, or your brake pedal spring will not
stay in place. Don't get greedy!
Best to cut the slot a little shorter to begin with and adjust it to length
with the small file. Neatness counts here, and keep the dust out of your
pots.
Bevel the sides of the cut to help guide the arm of the brake pedal, and
ensure that it travels freely without scaping either sideI now have a full
10mm more brake travel, when measured vertically on the
compression spring centerline.
The base has suffered no ill effects due to this modification, and is as
sturdy as ever.
Acclerator Pedal:
The accelerator pedal is not compressed very much at all, so there is very
little to be gained with a similar relief slot. However, you can remove the
adhesive *** bumper inside the base unit that sits under the gas pedal.
This will gain you approx 3mm of travel, but will allow the spring to bind a
little under full compression.
Removing the bumper under the brake pedal will show a similar gain in pedal
travel, but ONLY if you use the stock spring. A stiffer spring will bind
before it even hits the *** bumper, so there's nothing to gain by
removing it if you have replaced your stock brake spring.
anybody wanna set a CH Pedals?
Brad
Joe,
I tried doubling up the two stock springs on the accelerator side, but could
not put up with the binding. Twang! twwang!
What the accelerator side needs is not a heavier spring, but a light damper
of some kind... (maybe a future project).
I got my spring (which IS fairly heavy, but that's how I like it) at the ACE
Hardware store down the street. The spring I used will bind with about 1mm
between the bottom of the brake arm and the *** bumper in the base.
Hopefully you have an ACE Hardware store fairly close to you.
One thing I should have mentioned in the original article. To mark the cut
for the brake pedal slot, put the pedal in the top half of the base so that
it comes through the hole and rests against the bottom of the top. Mark
either side with a razor blade, or sharp knife. Cut the slot to 26mm and
adjust to length with a small file.
Good luck Joe!
Thanks Brad,
I cannot wait to get home and take out my chainsaw :-)
Jens
On Sun, 25 Jul 1999 14:53:09 GMT, "Brad DuTemple"
>It's time to dig out your Logitech pedals, and give them one more chance.
>With a simple modification, you can increase the travel of the brake pedal
>by a full 40%.
<snip>
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