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Pedal Box to improve feel


danielbrookes

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Hi,

Strange one but I really don’t like how my pedals feel.  Everything works fine but they feel a little “mechano” if that makes sense.

I don’t like the way the accelerator cable is fitted to the pedal box and it’s all very notchy/old feeling.

When I drive my tin top it drives like a new car because, well it is! The accelerator feels really smooth (probably drive by wire), the brakes are really smooth and it just feels nice to drive.

My kit is the opposite even though it’s new. I was thinking is there a way of replicating that smooth/new feeling? Perhaps with a pedal box like this https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/obp-universal-kit-car-pedal-box-252525/

I love my kit but the one thing that lets it down (and also stops the wife driving it) is the pedals and how it “feels”.

Hope I am making sense but wondered if anyone else had done anything to improve the drive experience?

My Zero is all brand new, done 2.5k miles.  The brake cylinder is an old Sierra one and it’s the standard pedal setup.


Thanks,

Dan

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3 minutes ago, nelmo said:

It's a kit - by definition, it will never be like a factory-built car. It's called 'character' - embrace and rejoice 🙂

 

Totally get that, but wondered if it could be improved.  My wife will not drive it as a result which is a pain as I think she will love it.  I’ve spent so much on it it’s the one area I am not 100% happy with so for the sake of a few hindered quid is it worth looking at?

Plus it gives me something else to tinker with 😂.

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Do you mean the pedals don't feel smooth, like the bushes are dry, they 'stick'?

Or do you mean the pedals themselves feel flimsy and cheap, are they bending, or flopping about/loose?

Or do you just mean that the pedal pressure is too much, you have to stand on them to get any sort of braking effect?

Adjustable balance-bar pedal boxes can be finickety to set up, there are nuances to them, they sound all very cool to people who think they've got race car parts in their car but trust me, they require careful setup, planning on balancing the cylinder ratios, and just as easy as they can make things better they can make it worse. I am talking from experience, I have a competition car running one.

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As you say it's likely your new car has fly by wire so it's not got that mechanical feel. Also brakes on a new car are going to be running ABS so can be significantly sharper. Do you run a servo? I've got one on my 2b and it does make the brakes sharp but i have to be careful as doesn't take much to lock them.

One of the things i've read (and hopefully not talking nonsense) is that the accelerator on RWD cars tends to be a longer movement. The reason being that an accidental slip of the throttle will potentially result in a spin. If you have a longer movement you reduce that risk. I've certainly kangaroo'd in my 2b a few times where i've gone over a bump hit the throttle - come off it - bounced back on and that's on the standard sierra box.

 

As brumster says are all the bushes good, cables good? If you've used an old gearbox remember the bushes on the clutch fork will be worn and the release bearing is likely old unless you replaced them. All these things add up to a less smooth feel.

You could try playing with spring rates to start with as that will effect the throttle pedal feel, and would be cheap to start with. eliminate any areas where the spring might catch or judder.

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Thanks both.  It just feels old, clunky and mechanical - I guess it’s because it is mechanical and not drive by wire.  My issue may be the pedal box as there is some flex in it.  It’s a hard one to explain really and I was wondering if a pedal box was the easy bolt on solution to a more modern feeling drive.

The pedals themself are fine I think it’s the throttle cable and the breaks feel “old”.  A servo may help.  Maybe I need to spend some time going through the whole setup.

 

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Yeah, I wouldn't say a pedal box is necessarily the answer. Maybe just a refresh of sorts is all that's needed... check the existing pedal box arrangement for flex/'sticktion' in the bushes, play across the axle that all the pedals pivot on, lubricate, etc?

My car is standard Ka M/C on original Sierra brakes and the pedal effort and feel is lovely, spot on for me. Granted it's not like an overly-servo'd tin top but it's a nice balance, just a little bit of 'meat' to it but not overly firm.

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The sierra master cylinder is designed to be used with the sierra brakes WITH a servo.  It can and does work without, but the issue is horrible feel and often comes up here and other kit car sites.  The best solution is to fit a master cylinder better suited to the piston size of the sierra brakes when being used without a servo, and as dan mentioned, a common option is the Ka master cylinder.

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Hi. There is no reason your pedals should feel clunky there are many zeros on the road inc 2 I own and my pedals are smooth. 
they won’t feel like your high end daily driver but there Certainly no cortina the standard zero pedal box is actually quite good 

can I ask when you built the pedal box did you ream out the bushes on the tube or just squeeze them on - it sounds like the pedal box just needs a bit of work. 

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I have done a bit of work on mine to improve this. New brake and clutch master cylinders and aligning the height of the throttle cable helped. I have just moved the throttle take off point higher to reduce throw and have a bearing to run the cable over so it always enters the sleeve square and straight, this I have done before and it transforms the feel. I will post pictures once it’s done but don’t hold your breath I’m working flat out at the moment I don’t get time off to tinker. 🙈

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Thanks again for comments. I can’t remember re fitting the pedals it was a good few years ago.  I’m going to spend some time on it and see how I go, everything said applies - the cable angle is wrong (about 45 degrees).  I don’t think the cable run is as short as it could be, not sure about the bushes. I’ll give it a good work over and if I can sort a drive out that will help.

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