New floorboard bling - aluminum foot pads on the carpet
09-18-2016, 10:31 AM
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New floorboard bling - aluminum foot pads on the carpet After a number of years of doing track events with my V, I've worn a hole through the carpet at the base of the gas pedal. (You have to remove the floor mats during auto-x and track events, and I guess the crappy seats mean I brace with my feet a lot? I'm really not sure why the wear was so pronounced at the gas pedal.) There was also a bit of wear at the base of the dead pedal. There's really no way to fix it, other than buying an complete new carpet, which seems like overkill since 99% of the carpet looks like new.
Note the bit of Stealth Grey color in the middle of the hole. Oops, guess I waited a bit long to address this!
I've seen these generic aluminum foot pads on the intarwebs, so I figured I'd try one of those. When I checked the dimensions online, though, I found that one really wouldn't be enough - I would have to offset the pad towards the trans tunnel to cover the hole at the gas pedal, and then the pad wouldn't be able to cover the worn spot at the dead pedal. So, I ordered two. They're flat, and the floorboard / carpet is not, so I just bent them by hand (I used the rocker sill cover as a handy fulcrum) so they have a shallow S-shape to them. I used #12 screws to fasten the pads to the carpet. As you can see in the picture of the hole, the carpet is quite thick, with multiple layers of carpet and insulation and whatever else, so just threading the screws into the carpet is enough to hold the pads securely in place. Most of the screws I used are #12 3/4" wood screws, which have the oval head and fit nicely into the recessed "pockets" in the pads. The two forward center screws are #12 1/2" sheet metal screws; the 3/4" screws seemed too long, but I couldn't find 1/2" oval head wood screws, so I went with pan head sheet metal screws.
I've done 2 events with them so far with no issues. I still use my floor mat for daily driver duty; there's enough carpet still exposed that the nubs on the bottom of the floor mat have something to bite into and thus the floor mat doesn't move around much.
Note the bit of Stealth Grey color in the middle of the hole. Oops, guess I waited a bit long to address this!
I've seen these generic aluminum foot pads on the intarwebs, so I figured I'd try one of those. When I checked the dimensions online, though, I found that one really wouldn't be enough - I would have to offset the pad towards the trans tunnel to cover the hole at the gas pedal, and then the pad wouldn't be able to cover the worn spot at the dead pedal. So, I ordered two. They're flat, and the floorboard / carpet is not, so I just bent them by hand (I used the rocker sill cover as a handy fulcrum) so they have a shallow S-shape to them. I used #12 screws to fasten the pads to the carpet. As you can see in the picture of the hole, the carpet is quite thick, with multiple layers of carpet and insulation and whatever else, so just threading the screws into the carpet is enough to hold the pads securely in place. Most of the screws I used are #12 3/4" wood screws, which have the oval head and fit nicely into the recessed "pockets" in the pads. The two forward center screws are #12 1/2" sheet metal screws; the 3/4" screws seemed too long, but I couldn't find 1/2" oval head wood screws, so I went with pan head sheet metal screws.
I've done 2 events with them so far with no issues. I still use my floor mat for daily driver duty; there's enough carpet still exposed that the nubs on the bottom of the floor mat have something to bite into and thus the floor mat doesn't move around much.
09-18-2016, 10:41 AM
#2
That's pretty sweet, man. Where and how much? How strong are they? Will you eventually dent them up over time or you think they will just keep the shape you gave them? This has been a problem of mine for a long time as I apparently have some sort of "active driver foot syndrome" causing me to tear through mats and carpet pretty quickly; even in autos. I'm also about 250 these days so exert a decent amount of pressure down there, too.
09-18-2016, 11:09 AM
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That's pretty sweet, man. Where and how much? How strong are they? Will you eventually dent them up over time or you think they will just keep the shape you gave them? This has been a problem of mine for a long time as I apparently have some sort of "active driver foot syndrome" causing me to tear through mats and carpet pretty quickly; even in autos. I'm also about 250 these days so exert a decent amount of pressure down there, too.
Although I was able to bend them by hand, they're pretty strong. I would guess they're 1.5-2mm thick, so they're not just thin sheet aluminum. I'm confident they'll hold their shape and shouldn't get banged up.
The rubber dots are big, and are not held on by adhesive - they actually go through holes and there are tabs underneath that hold them in place. (Note that the little adhesive dots on the pedal covers have largely disappeared over the years.) I was a bit worried that the dots would be too big, and that they might catch my feet as I'm working the pedals on track. I didn't want to have to change how I move my feet or where I rest my heels. So far that hasn't been a problem; I've caught my heel a couple times, but not in a way that bothered me.
Last edited by AAIIIC; 09-18-2016 at 11:23 AM.
09-18-2016, 02:28 PM
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09-18-2016, 04:03 PM
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Note that they have a heel pad, too, for $70 (or $90 with the GM Performance emblem). You know, in case the $20 one off Ebay doesn't seem cool enough.
If someone wants a cheaper, more factory looking solution, here is what I used:
http://www.heelpadwarehouse.com/
http://www.heelpadwarehouse.com/
I had the whole interior out, cleaned the carpet, then took it to an upholstery shop down the street and had them put one of those vinyl pads on there. (Silly me didn't think to look it up online. Not that it cost all that much at the upholstery shop, but I could've done it myself for a fraction of the cost.)
09-18-2016, 07:58 PM
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Those look good.
If someone wants a cheaper, more factory looking solution, here is what I used:
http://www.heelpadwarehouse.com/
If someone wants a cheaper, more factory looking solution, here is what I used:
http://www.heelpadwarehouse.com/
09-18-2016, 10:51 PM
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They're Autovation pedals that I've had for years.
Note that they have a heel pad, too, for $70 (or $90 with the GM Performance emblem). You know, in case the $20 one off Ebay doesn't seem cool enough.
Note that they have a heel pad, too, for $70 (or $90 with the GM Performance emblem). You know, in case the $20 one off Ebay doesn't seem cool enough.
06-13-2017, 08:40 PM
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Some feedback after 9 months or so.
First, my comment that the presence of the aluminum pads wouldn't affect the floor mat isn't quite true - the floor mat does tend to slide forward a bit. It seems to come to rest an inch or so forward from where it should be, so I occasionally drag it back, and then it does it again. :p No big deal.
As for track use, on a handful of occasions I have hooked my heel on the leading edge of the pad below the gas & brake pedals. Hasn't caused an issue other than excessive throttle blips (like, grossly excessive) when trying to heel-toe, but I can certainly imagine that it could cause a problem. So my intention is to shift that pad forward a couple inches so that my heel won't be able to slip forward of the pad. Here's the plan:
I put the thing over my thigh and used my Man Strength to put more of a curve into the plate to match the new position. I haven't actually fastened it into place yet, but I'll take care of that soon. I pulled the driver's rocker sill cover so I can lift the carpet and actually "permanently" install the pads with bolts and nuts. The self-tapping screws have worked reasonably well, but it'll be good to have a more secure mounting.
First, my comment that the presence of the aluminum pads wouldn't affect the floor mat isn't quite true - the floor mat does tend to slide forward a bit. It seems to come to rest an inch or so forward from where it should be, so I occasionally drag it back, and then it does it again. :p No big deal.
As for track use, on a handful of occasions I have hooked my heel on the leading edge of the pad below the gas & brake pedals. Hasn't caused an issue other than excessive throttle blips (like, grossly excessive) when trying to heel-toe, but I can certainly imagine that it could cause a problem. So my intention is to shift that pad forward a couple inches so that my heel won't be able to slip forward of the pad. Here's the plan:
I put the thing over my thigh and used my Man Strength to put more of a curve into the plate to match the new position. I haven't actually fastened it into place yet, but I'll take care of that soon. I pulled the driver's rocker sill cover so I can lift the carpet and actually "permanently" install the pads with bolts and nuts. The self-tapping screws have worked reasonably well, but it'll be good to have a more secure mounting.
