Creating more space in the footwell area?

[SpeedDemon]

Hi all,

Anyone know what's behind the flat, carpetted interior panel that cuts a diagonal between the side of the car and the back of the footwell? (Ie, to the right of where your right foot is located, for a RHD car). Yes -- I know ultimately that the wheel/wheel-well is behind there, but I'm hoping there might be a little "wiggle room" to carve out for one's foot..

For us LHD'ers in the U.S., there's really no "dead pedal" area to put your left foot when it's not on the clutch. You simply have to keep your foot over the clutch pedal, and I'm very concerned that light pressure on the pedal could be "riding" the clutch and cause pre-mature wear.

Thanks,
Marc

[amg merc]

Marc, suggest that when it arrives you take a run up the '101' to the Sage Brush Cantina in Calabasas on a Sunday morning to show it off to all those Californian bikers who congreate there on their huge, cleaming machines!

[SpeedDemon]

Grins.. Not sure if Sagebrush (Harley-Davidson..) is the right kind of crowd.. The motorcycle guys that would appreciate this car would more likely be on newer, superbikes.

Until I figure something out re: foot space on the car though, I'm probably not going to be "showing it off" at least as far as performance demonstrations go. I'm very uncomfortable with the pedals at this point and am not at all ready to drive the car fast.

[goodlife]

Does the LHD model not have the footrest plate on the left side? On RHD cars there's certainly not enough room to the left of the clutch to rest your foot, but the rest plate is well placed to both be comfortable and prevent you resting on the clutch.

[SpeedDemon]

Here's what I've figured out (since first posting) after comparing pedals & pedal-actuation with my NSX.

Due to how close the clutch pedal is to the side of the car, but more importantly, how low the bottom of the clutch pedal is to the ground, it seems very difficult (at least, for me) for someone with large feet (size 11.5+) to maneuver one's foot under the clutch pedal in order to rest the edge of your foot against the footrest plate. Imagine having to rotate your left foot outward until your little toe almost hits the ground, then tuck it/move it "under" the clutch pedal, and then bring it back up to rest on the footrest plate. It's possible, but very awkward & fatiguing, particularly in the hip area. On the NSX, it takes only a minor pivoting of your foot outward and your toe (clutch pedal is much higher!) is easily past the clutch pedal and over to the dead-pedal.

After experimenting tonight, I think this could be alleviated by locating the bottom of the Noble's clutch pedal a little higher, so it's easier to get my foot under the pedal to reach the dead pedal. I'm not quite sure the safest & easiest way to do that yet, but I've only had the car a couple days, so more time needs to be put into thinking & experimenting . In general I wish all the pedals were located higher-up from the floor!

On a separate thread, I asked about steering wheel spacers.. Looks like one is available that should do the trick (2" spacer), with the side benefit of probably reducing some of the fatigue from overly-bent legs.

I'm starting to get more optimistic that I might be able to fit this car after all .

'Nite,
Marc