On a manual transmission....

[slateman]

Isn't the clutch pedal supposed to be all the way tot he left?

I was just test driving a car and the clutch pedal was in the middle next to the brake. Isn't it supposed to be next to the door?

Sorry, I just had to vent. I had the worst time trying to adjust to it, and the truth was the car was too small for me to fit in so my leg was constantly hitting the steering wheel.

[irbodden]

usually, yes.

[FeelTheRT]

uhh what car is this?

was the actual clutch pedal in place of the break pedal or did the clutch pedal activate the breaks while the breaks activated the clutch? its possible that someone had the fluid lines swapped for some reason.

[slateman]

It was a 97 Jetta.

The Clutch was square in the middle, directly under the center of the wheel. Next to it was the brake pedal (they were the same size) and then the accelerator.

[FeelTheRT]

ooh, i thought u ment the clutch pedal was in between the breaks and the gas pedal... that's fine, it's all up the manufactures

tipically this is what it looks like

[Zumina]

errr, if the clutch was that far away from the BRAKE, your reaction time would be pretty bad.

[MarkM]

Originally posted by Zumina
errr, if the clutch was that far away from the BRAKE, your reaction time would be pretty bad.

Guess you don't drive manual cars very often then , that is perfectly normal...try driving a Porshe 924 or 944 and then you need to start worrying as you can't see your feet and that can cause a few problems (you tend to rest your foot near the clutch and can engage it by accident) A lot of cars do have a foot rest to the left of the clutch but that spacing is ok and brake pedals are only large on an auto.

[slateman]

Every manual car (all two of them ) I've ever driven had the clutch all the way to the left. That way I didn't have to move my left foot very far.

[Zumina]

Originally posted by MarkM


Guess you don't drive manual cars very often then , that is perfectly normal...try driving a Porshe 924 or 944 and then you need to start worrying as you can't see your feet and that can cause a few problems (you tend to rest your foot near the clutch and can engage it by accident) A lot of cars do have a foot rest to the left of the clutch but that spacing is ok and brake pedals are only large on an auto.

I don't quite understand what you said, but my statement was in response to the phot he made where he thought the clutch is where a foot rest is commonly found.

[krafty]

The deadman (footrest) is all the way to the left. The reason the pedals are close together is so you can heel-toe and operate all 3 pedals with 2 feet. My guess is you've never driven a performance car with a manual gearbox before.

[deathstalker]

I wouldn't have it any other way (I have a Jetta). When cruising on the highway, I have plenty of room to get my left foot in a comfortable position. And as krafty said, it's all about heel-toe

I drove a friend's RSX a few months ago and I'm pretty sure hers is set up the same way. It was a fun little car, but just didn't have the personality of a VW. If it seemed a little small, a few adjustments to the seat could take care of that.

[Restola]

My civic's clutch (not a performance car ) is about twice the distance to the left of the brake as the gas is to the right of it. I think.

[BlackVCG]

What does it matter how far away the clutch is from the brake? Don't know about you guys, but I keep my left foot on the clutch and work the brake and gas with the right foot.

[GT]

Originally posted by BlackVCG
What does it matter how far away the clutch is from the brake? Don't know about you guys, but I keep my left foot on the clutch and work the brake and gas with the right foot.

Its a driving technique called "heal toe" Here in the states we are immune to real race car driving and prefer mundane autosports such as driving straight or driving straight and then turning left.

Heal Toe and Double clutching

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

Originally posted by BlackVCG
What does it matter how far away the clutch is from the brake? Don't know about you guys, but I keep my left foot on the clutch and work the brake and gas with the right foot.

That is bad. You shouldn't keep your left foot on the clutch, because you may not realize it, but you may be pushing it in a tiny bit, and it will wear out your clutch.

gtrsi: I know what you mean man. NASCAR is not racing, it's driving in circles. You want to see racing, watch the F1 circuit or LeMans.