GROUP BUY FEELER: Bolt-in Dead Pedal

[stalk86]

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Gauging interest for a BOLT IN dead pedal for the AE86. As many of us know the AE86 does not have a nice flat area to brace yourself with while cornering. This dead pedal will give you a solid place to put your left foot while cornering, effectively allowing you to brace yourself and concentrate on driving.

This is made of 12 guage diamond plate steel, but we can offer any type of steel plating depending on interest. These mount with two bolts that are part of the OEM mounting for the fuze panel, and the pedal has a brace underneath it resting on the floor. Here is the prototype:





Looking for a minimum of ten people in a group buy to produce these. We currently have one prototype; we are still proofing the piece for zenki/kouki and for stock interior/sound deadening removed styles.

We are hoping to be able to offer these around $50. If you would be interested in one let us know in the comments and we may set up a group buy.



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[carbd7age]

I'm down for one. Kouki SR5 no interior.

[Carlito86]

Count me in, stock interior.

[stalk86]

Great, keep them coming. We are still working on making the prototypes perfect for interior or absence of interior. Where the pedal rests on the ground is a bit lower without the sound deadening under the carpet.

[Jimmee1990]

If you need somewhere to brace yourself while cornering, I would say you might need a better seat...

[Jeonsah]

I may be interested. Id like to see a the final design. Also, you guys should make the brace adjustable. That'd make it easier to make sure it fits in everyone's car.

[stalk86]

We are considering making the mounting spots slotted and the brace adjustable to make up for any differences in dimensions.

Yes, a bucket seat should be the first thing you do to brace yourself, however, we can't make those, and we love the dead pedal!

[carbd7age]

If you need somewhere to brace yourself while cornering, I would say you might need a better seat...

You're not trying hard enough then. I have a bucket seat, I need a harness and a dead pedal to keep my little ass in the seat.

[RW Bliss]

I'm down for one, but can u make it without the diamond surface? Just plain
would b nice

[4agshoob]

no offence but half the guys here can make this in their garage.....

nice first post btw.

[SidekickChuck]

Not worth the money if it looks like that. If it was stamped out using quality material and didnt look garage cut with a sawzall, id be interested.

[stalk86]

I hear you guys, but some of us don't have fab skills. For $50 a bolt in pedal that will work fine, seems fair.

[Red]

I always thought the purpose of a dead pedal was so that your left leg could be kept symmetrical with your right one while the right one was on the gas pedal and the left one had nothing to do. Which lessens stresses on the spine and prevents spinal pains on long trips.

Bracing in corners?? No, really? You don't need to move the left leg and do some shifting while taking corners?

Also just spent over a thousand miles with my left leg pretty nicely dead pedalled on the floor there.

But, if you like it better with a dead pedal...please, please, remember lighter is faster and that pedal should look like a piece of swiss cheese, machined full of holes to get the dead weight out of it.

[carbd7age]

I just found that T3 offers a bolt in dead pedal for KP60/1 Starlets, it looks hella lightweight, and it's easily removable for cleaning. Plus it matches their floor up plate nicely. It's 80 bucks and he floor plate is 85, but man I bet they look nice together in a stripped interior....like mine!

[Jeonsah]

I always thought the purpose of a dead pedal was so that your left leg could be kept symmetrical with your right one while the right one was on the gas pedal and the left one had nothing to do. Which lessens stresses on the spine and prevents spinal pains on long trips.

Bracing in corners?? No, really? You don't need to move the left leg and do some shifting while taking corners?
.

Your last sentence confuses me. I dont know which side your going for.....

regardless,

If most cars came with a factory dead pedal, im sure they're needed. I have one in my crx and I am definitely happy that is there. It makes sense with cars that have a lower center of gravity. Also, real racing seats that are reliable and that will actually protect you are expensive. Dead pedal is a cheap upgrade. And as far as cornering goes, they are needed during hard cornering. In cars with standard seats and no dead pedal, hard cornering causes the driver to hang onto the steering wheel on right hand turns or use their door panel to support them. Having a dead pedal enables you to brace your body with your left leg around a corner. It really does not have much to do with shifting except that its also a comfortable spot for foot. Some factory seats keep your legs more parallel to the floor of your car. This really makes it difficult to brace your self with no dead pedal.

My AE86 has an aftermarket bucket seat in it and I still wish it had a dead pedal. The seat keeps my legs pointed upwards which means I cant use my leg at all to brace. The seat itself helps keep me aligned properly but I really do wish I had a dead pedal in the car. The JDM ae86's came with them.....


I really hope T3 or these guys make a nice setup for us usdm guys.

[Red]

jeonsah, I'm not on any side here, just saying that personally I'd never glue my left leg to the floor during hard cornering, I'd be shifting, braking, or expecting to do either, at some point in the turn and if I had to worry about getting "unbraced" when I used my left leg...that's out of control.

OEM seats in the GT-S were a copy of the Recaro and fit pretty well. Of course I'm a wide-eyed barbarian and that makes me several inches taller and wider than the folks the car was designed for. (The model driver for US cars was about 5'7" back then, and the Japanese all aimed smaller.)

If I can't count on that left leg being available for use, I'm not doing any hard cornering.

But OTOH as I said, I just did over a thousand miles and found the factory floorpan is close enough to allow my left leg to be extended equal to my right while putzing down the highway, providing good balance on the lower spine and good comfort for the driver. Which is what they're designed for, as best I've heard.

Either way...if I was buying one for either purpose, I'd want to see ounces shaved off it. DIamondplate is heavy. Punch it, plasma cut it, waterjet it, have some fun and go beyond basic holes or at least put it full of holes. Dead weight is dead weight.

[carbd7age]

I really hope T3 or these guys make a nice setup for us usdm guys.

They have, go to T3's site and look under KP60/1 Starlet, they sell one that should be able to be modified to fit. It's not direct bolt-in, but it doesn't weigh anything.

[RW Bliss]

jeonsah, I'm not on any side here, just saying that personally I'd never glue my left leg to the floor during hard cornering, I'd be shifting, braking, or expecting to do either, at some point in the turn and if I had to worry about getting "unbraced" when I used my left leg...that's out of control.

OEM seats in the GT-S were a copy of the Recaro and fit pretty well. Of course I'm a wide-eyed barbarian and that makes me several inches taller and wider than the folks the car was designed for. (The model driver for US cars was about 5'7" back then, and the Japanese all aimed smaller.)

If I can't count on that left leg being available for use, I'm not doing any hard cornering.

But OTOH as I said, I just did over a thousand miles and found the factory floorpan is close enough to allow my left leg to be extended equal to my right while putzing down the highway, providing good balance on the lower spine and good comfort for the driver. Which is what they're designed for, as best I've heard.

Either way...if I was buying one for either purpose, I'd want to see ounces shaved off it. DIamondplate is heavy. Punch it, plasma cut it, waterjet it, have some fun and go beyond basic holes or at least put it full of holes. Dead weight is dead weight.

Actually having a dead pedal can make shifting easier because your foot at rest position is actually closer to the clutch pedal in its retracted position. This shortens the time it takes to depress the clutch pedal, vs having to pull your foot towards you, then depress. Don't get what you mean by the left leg unavailable for use? It's just a spot to rest your foot on, and during cornering or hard braking in the same gear, provides more leverage to brace yourself against the seat. Not all corners require shifting, and even the ones that do it can be beneficial with the more favorable rest position.

[Red]

"Don't get what you mean by the left leg unavailable for use?"
Some folks mentioned using the left leg to brace against the dead pedal while cornering. All I meant is that you can't very well "brace" with your left leg, and still use it on the pedals. If you're bracing and you take it off the brace...you slip. Or, you didn't need to brace in the first place.

Once upon a time before drifting was invented, I pulled a tight dry skid on gravel in a Vega wagon while my friend mistakenly thought we were parking and getting out. He went "hack, HACK, HACK!!!..." as the shoulder harness held him in by the throat. Didn't need to brace, though.<G>

That car didn't have a dead pedal either, that I remember.

[4agshoob]

Bracing in corners?? No, really? You don't need to move the left leg and do some shifting while taking corners?
.

Your last sentence confuses me. I dont know which side your going for.....

regardless, racing seats that are reclinable and that will actually protect you are expensive.

did i really just read this right, lmao

[4agshoob]

But OTOH as I said, I just did over a thousand miles and found the factory floorpan is close enough to allow my left leg to be extended equal to my right while putzing down the highway, providing good balance on the lower spine and good comfort for the driver. Which is what they're designed for, as best I've heard.

speaking of.....i did about 800 miles in a sparco street fighter once in my coupe( 8kg frt, 6kg rr BC coilovers)............never again. my heart goes out to le-mans guys.

[stalk86]

The dead pedal can be used however you like.

Red- even if you float your left foot over the clutch all the time, having a dead pedal provides a flat space for your foot to rest on other times.
I used to float my foot over the clutch as well, but i forced myself to plant it down when I wasn't using the clutch. Because of this my driving improved due to higher focus. Something my off-road friends say all the time is "keep your frame tight," meaning hold your upper body still so you're not flopping around all over the place.
For these reasons we are creating the dead pedal. We can make it in any guage/type of steel that will hold up. Making holes is easy too.

At this point we are just going to offer them individually, as custom one off's. Of course this would require visiting our garage, which is in Portland. So if you really want one shipped, pm me a special request and I can most likely get that done too.

[Jtek]

800mi in a street fighter? Try 1300 in a sparco sprint jr O_O

Maybe if the dead pedal was smaller, less likely to catch your foot on when shifting at events or spirited driving? Looks killer tho!

[carbd7age]

Are these being made? Can I get one made of aliminim?

[stalk86]

Like I said, at this point we're making them as custom one off's.

No, we aren't making them in aliminim (aluminum) yet.

[Red]

Aluminum ?!

Come on Eric, get on the program. Titanium, carbon fiber, these are acceptable materials in an AE8x. Aluminum ?? Really ?! What, you're trying to make it so heavy no one can send four Sumos out to steal it?

Although I'd figure one-offs on a metal brake with some hand work could be made from a sheet of pretty much anything for a coupla bucks more.

SOunds like a job for those newfangled 3D printers, this does!

[stalk86]

fyi aluminum is lighter than steel.

[carbd7age]

Well I found a giant aluminum dead pedal cover, maybe I'll bend it up and make it work.

[ryun84]

fyi aluminum is lighter than steel.

FYI, Red was joking.

[seymour86]

wow