Based on all the recommendations I've seen here and elsewhere, I purchased
a pair of the pedals today. They installed very simply, and Grand Prix
Legends used them w/o problem. That was wonderful. Additionally, the
smoothness of the motion is fantastic. (I have an Act Labs non-Force RS
wheel. I love everything about the wheel/pedal combo except the stickiness
of the pedals.)
I'm looking for advice and/or suggestions, however. The minor issue is the
softness of the springs. I'm used to having to press slighly harder to move
the pedals. I don't want to ruin the smoothness, but has anyone replaced
the stock springs w/ stiffer ones (I peeked inside the throttle pedal).
The major issue is that the pivot point of each pedal is not the very
bottom of the pedal. As a result, the heel isn't completely stationary -
when the toe goes down, the heel rises. For whatever reason (possibly just
what I'm used to), this motion is awkward for me. Up to now, I could just
use the ball of my foot to press the pedals; the rest of my foot was
essentially stationary. With these pedals, it's been difficult to know that
I'm completely off one pedal (when the occasion requires) as I'm engaging
the other one. I've tried raising the back of the base; having my chair
higher and/or lower; and other tweaks to the position of the base relative
to my sitting position. None of that has alleviated the problem.
One thing that seems like it might help is if the total pedal travel was
reduced. Is there a way to affect that change? Any other suggestions would
be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Donnie Hale
I had the same thing too in the beginning, but after a couple of hours
I allready got used to it. Really, practice a couple of hours untill
you get the hang of it, then you'll love the pedals!
Andre
On Thu, 02 Sep 1999 04:04:01 GMT, "Donnie Hale"
Quoted text (30 lines)
>Based on all the recommendations I've seen here and elsewhere, I purchased >a pair of the pedals today. They installed very simply, and Grand Prix >Legends used them w/o problem. That was wonderful. Additionally, the >smoothness of the motion is fantastic. (I have an Act Labs non-Force RS >wheel. I love everything about the wheel/pedal combo except the stickiness >of the pedals.) >I'm looking for advice and/or suggestions, however. The minor issue is the >softness of the springs. I'm used to having to press slighly harder to move >the pedals. I don't want to ruin the smoothness, but has anyone replaced >the stock springs w/ stiffer ones (I peeked inside the throttle pedal). >The major issue is that the pivot point of each pedal is not the very >bottom of the pedal. As a result, the heel isn't completely stationary - >when the toe goes down, the heel rises. For whatever reason (possibly just >what I'm used to), this motion is awkward for me. Up to now, I could just >use the ball of my foot to press the pedals; the rest of my foot was >essentially stationary. With these pedals, it's been difficult to know that >I'm completely off one pedal (when the occasion requires) as I'm engaging >the other one. I've tried raising the back of the base; having my chair >higher and/or lower; and other tweaks to the position of the base relative >to my sitting position. None of that has alleviated the problem. >One thing that seems like it might help is if the total pedal travel was >reduced. Is there a way to affect that change? Any other suggestions would >be appreciated. >Many thanks, >Donnie Hale> I'm looking for advice and/or suggestions, however. The minor issue is the
> softness of the springs. I'm used to having to press slighly harder to move
> the pedals. I don't want to ruin the smoothness, but has anyone replaced
> the stock springs w/ stiffer ones (I peeked inside the throttle pedal).
You can stick a racquet or squash ball underneath the brake pedal to stiffen
it up; that'll help your braking a lot. Hold it with duct tape or whatever
suits you; improvise. Besides, all true race cars need some duct tape on
them! The springs are not THAT odd, either. You can yank one out and lug
it around to your local hardware stores. I suspect you could find stiffer
ones without too much effort.
Actually, this is one of their best points, once you stop expecting them to
feel like your other pedals. When you flex your ankle, your heel moves up
naturally; that's why the pedals are made that way. The pivot is aligned
with your ankle so that your leg is stationary; only your foot moves. Take
a little time to get used to it and you might find yourself preferring it
that way.
I'd avoid this myself, as their accuracy is directly tied to the travel.
But you could easily mount a homemade stop under either or both pedals and
then recalibrate them, if you really wanted to. Just***the stop onto
the base, as the pots are inside the pedal bodies. If you didn't like it,
take 'em off and recalibrate. No problem, and then you'd have some nifty
drilled-out race pedals.
Cheers,
Steve B.
In GPL and N2/N99 you can select brake/gas individually. I just turned
the CH pedals upside down at an angle and used the top (now the bottom)
with my toes to get the heel stationary. Configure your controls with
the right pedals for gas/brake. You have to position things right for
it to work but I prefer over the rocking motion. I have some blocks
under my heels to make it line up right. (and some small boards to keep
the cable from pressing on the floor.)
snip
Well that is normal, the motion of the pedals are made pretty differently
than any pedal on the market. After a couple of weeks you will feel that
it's a natural feeling, since that pivot action really helps to relax the
feet muscle in long races (you know.. 70% C***te races on the NROS are
long and tough! ;) ). In GPL I feel they are great since you can modulate
the pedals in a great way in the 60-80% gas range. It's a great place in
GPL because of the power of those cars.
If you still feel that the position is awkward, here is an idea that many
people have done. Take the base, and turn it 180 degrees. Now elevate it
at an angle of approx. 45-60 degrees. You will create pedals that are close
in motion to real-life car pedals. You can create yourself some setup for
that, I really liked it. Only difference is that Axis3 and 4 are now on
opposite feet :)
--
-- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard>
-- May the Downforce be with you...
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise
how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."
Bruce,
I came up w/ exactly that idea and just spent some time trying it (sounds
like I hacked the same arrangement you did <g>). The big problem for me at
that point was the softness of the springs. I could still accidentally be
holding the brake down some because the weight of my foot (and I'm not a
big guy) is enough to engage it. A secondary issue, in my mind, was the
total pedal travel is quite large (at least compared to what I'm used to).
If I decide to try that more seriously, I'll likely mount the base to the
vertical piece of two pieces of wood hinged together (the other being the
base for the whole thing). I'll also add some stops, probably below where
the toes of my feet touch the pedals (now the bottom) to cause them to not
move so far. Lastly, I might try secondary springs from the base of the
unit to the heel of the pedals.
I'm still considing options, however. The TSW pedals (which they will sell
by themselves) are sounding pretty good at this point.
Thanks,
Donnie
