Evening all,
This is my first project and I just took delivery of my caged 190e, still some more bits like gussets and tubing to be welded, but due to Covid he couldn't continue due to lack of supplies. For now I've taken it back to do some small jobs. First item was the bucket seats and pedal arrangements, I'm looking for some advice on how the pedals should be positioned etc.
I'm borrowing a N-1 spec bucket seat which is too small but it gives me a rough idea. Below I've added some images of my position with the seat up to the cage, and in it's highest position. The problem I'm seeing is how I'm going to install the pedalbox, I think it'll be impossible to install the floormounted pedal box due to the floor surface too close to the bucket seat? but with a underslung pedal box there's steering column in the way, as you can see in the 2nd photo, any ideas or tips to help,
Thanks,
Ben
Floor mount pedal boxes don't work in cars not designed for them, unless you are willing and able to rebuild the floorpan and frame rails that will be in the way.
Why not find the factory pedal box, or something similar? Steering column just requires a small hole through the middle of the pedals. Every car in the universe uses something like what you will need.
As far as positioning of you, put the seat where you can depress the clutch pedal all the way with the wrong foot, then extend the steering column or use spacers on the wheel to get it comfortable. My Integra Chump car has a six inch wheel spacer that I made.
I thought you were supposed to build the cage after you sorted the driver position out.
I'd recommend sticking to hanging pedals, modify the levers of the factory ones to get the pedals closer to the floor (since you seem to be a bit short on legroom) and snake around the steering column. A floor-mounted pedal box is a huge expense in itself and they rarely fit without heavy modification to the footwell.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
I thought you were supposed to build the cage after you sorted the driver position out.
Main hoop, combined with bend in knees suggests it's built with the main hoop a bit too far ahead.
Maybe that's just me. I'm tall enough I tend as far to the Dale Earnhardt seat position as I can. Short people don't like my cars...Yogesh sat on a folded up towel in his stints.
Simple fab up a custom brake pedal that weaves around the column. That would be a lot easier then floor mounted pedals.
In reply to Tom1200 :
But floor mounted pedals are ergonomically correct. When you get up on your foot and STAND on the brakes, you go higher on the pedal, which increases your leverage on a floor mount, but decreases it on a hanging mount.
They do rather you require sitting in the back seat when converting a production car, though. Or completely restructuring the firewall. I have also seen some interesting pedal sets where the master cylinders are under a false floor, but this puts your heels up higher, which may or may not be a good thing.
Before you sort out the pedals, I think the seat position looks wrong. Or the steering wheel position looks wrong. How far off the floor pan is the butt part of the seat? Maybe the steering wheel is just gigantic? Since you have to move the pedals anyway, get everything else worked out first.
Without a correctly-sized seat, you're going to have a very hard time setting up the rest of the ergonomics. I'd get the seat I was going to race in installed, then go from there.
And yeah, bottom hinged pedals are likely not worth the effort. I hear you on the more leverage when pressing the brake, but I don't actually like that behavior in a race car. With a standard hanging brake pedal you lose leverage, and therefore get more precise control, the harder you brake.
And it's tough to really know without a correctly-sized seat, but it does look like that main hoop is too far forward. Might need to tilt the seat forward (bringing your hips back) or reconfigure the harness bar to buy yourself a few more inches.
