Is heel and toe possible with OEM 911 pedals, or should I go to the aftermarket?

[dd74]

The stock clutch, brake and accelerator pedals on my car seem rather far apart on their own for regular street driving, and absolutely too far for heel and toe. Specifically, the brake pedal, when depressed, is not level with the accelerator, thus rendering heel and toe almost impossible. I've noticed this with other 911s' pedals as well.

So two questions:

1) Can the OEM 911 pedals be adjusted more closely for heel and toe? If so, how is this done?

2) Or should I buy a set of aftermarket pedals? If so, what pedals do you guys suggest?

Thanks.

[ischmitz]

It all depends on your SHOE size. An elephant or Michael Jordan could press clutch, brake, and accelerator at the same time

[tonythetarga]

The brake pedal is adjustable. Not sure what year your car is, but if you remove the carpeting and floor board you will see the brake push rod that goes to the master cylinder. You can make an adjustment but be VERY careful not to take too much pedal off because you could run out of travel and also hit the gas when you are trying to brake and only blip the gas.

[bjmullan]

Heel and toe is possible with standard 911 parts it's just difficult! Took me ages to get a technique that I was happy with. Just keep trying.

[ZOA NOM]

I simply added a spacer in the rod that attaches to the back of the accellerator pedal, which raised it about 3/4". Perfect for the street.

[dd74]

Originally posted by tonythetarga
The brake pedal is adjustable. Not sure what year your car is, but if you remove the carpeting and floor board you will see the brake push rod that goes to the master cylinder. You can make an adjustment but be VERY careful not to take too much pedal off because you could run out of travel and also hit the gas when you are trying to brake and only blip the gas.

Thanks, Tony. That's the information I'm seeking.

[Grady Clay]

I agree – what year and shoe size?

My size 12 work perfectly heal-toe with standard pedal position on every Porsche I have ever driven – that is a considerable number of vastly different street and race cars. Can it be improved for your specific application? – you bet. Unless you have some specific anatomical issues, I would start with Porsche’s standard set-up and be hesitant to change.

Porsche has applied a lot of great engineering here. Make the best of it.

The extreme might be my son’s size 16 in a Formula Mazda. We built a custom pedal assembly so he can both heal-toe and left foot brake. He can drive a 911 (and Cup) just fine with the standard Porsche configuration with his size 16s.

Best,
Grady

[ischmitz]

get yourself a pair of shoes size 13 and stuff'em with old newspaper in the front - cheaper than new pedals

[jluetjen]

I heel-and-toe with my size 9.5-10 foot and stock pedals all the time. In my case, I've got the ball of my foot on the brake and the heel at the base of the accelerator pedal. For street use, it doesn't take a big "blip" of the throttle to match the rev's since the engine is not turning a lot of rev's anyhow.

[Todd Simpson]

The linkage on the accelerator can be lengthened to raise it while the brake pedal can be lowered ever so slightly. The linkage is different for the power and non power brake cars but the concept is the same.

The final step is to lean gas pedal over towards the brake by putting a washer or two underneath the right side of the accelerator mounting bolt.

The aftermarket pedals look cheesy.

[Bullet Bob]

I recently bought an '88 Carrera and I adjusted the pedals this afternoon. I dropped the brake pedal by 1.5" or so and took it for a spin. Perfect! It was a pain to get in there to adjust the pedals (I'm a big guy) but the effort was worth it. I was considering custom pedals but not any more.

Bob

[sfoster13]

Just went through this myself. I have small feet (size 8 and no jokes please). I did 2 things. I adjusted the throttle pedal to gain about a half inch (very easy to do PM me if you want details) and I bought a set of racing pedals from Rennline. The pedals gave me about about 1/2-3/4" on the brake and the throttle and now it's a piece of cake. Highly recommend doing both.

Sean

[dd74]

Sean - pm'd you.

Thanks.

[Dixie]

I can heel/toe a stock 911 using my 9.5 'A' width foot. It's all in the technique.

[Jon Merck]

I adjusted my brake pedal down close to the height of the gas pedal (EASY diy Job) and like juletjen I blip the throttle with my heel and brake with the ball of my foot (I get better brake modulation...non ABS car).
I tried other methods and found it uncomfortable using half of my foot or blipping the throttle with my toe. I was concerned my foot would slip off the brake whilst using the right half of my foot or toe while blipping the throttle, so I keep the ball of my foot firmly on the brake.
IMO it is better to have my foot on the brakes in lieu of the throttle,esp. in a traffic situation!
Practice on the street where circumstances allow, and be careful!
A must have skill for tracking your car...

[dd74]

Yep - just went for a drive, and after really concentrating on it, I can see where I can heel and toe with the stock pedals. The brake pedal is too high to do it effectively, so either it (the brake pedal) will have to be adjusted downward, or the accelerator brought up - or both pedals adjust for a happy median.

[efhughes3]

Heel and toe is much easier during track conditions. You need to keep in mind the fact that when driving in anger, the brake pedal is magically on the same plane as the fast pedal.

If you adjust for level pedals on the street, during track sessions, they'll be out of whack.

[ZOA NOM]

It should be understood that adjusting the pedals for the street will place them out of alignment for track use, unless you find a happy medium. Under aggressive braking at the track, the brake pedal will be closer to the floor, and the stock location of the accellerator pedal would be ideal. If you have moved them, you may be sacrificing brake travel, or your accellerator may seem too high off the floor at the track.

[Jon Merck]

Yep! I shoulda said, Be cautious not to adjust too much out of the pedal travel. It can be scary, ask me how I know!
I have 1 1/8" between my brake pedal "at rest" and the throttle. Brake
1 1/8" higher!

Zoanas, My thirteen year old son wanted to know if that was your wife in the avatar! I got some explaining to do...

[diabolos88]

geezus ZOANAS , those juggs are simply keeping me from thinking straight! where in the heck did you find that avie?