inside leg measurement!!!

[James King]

having just purchased a second hand de dion car, i am not happy with the pedal positions.

 

I am just under 6ft with an inside leg of 31/32 inches.. thats as much as i will let on. Anyway, the best position of the seat is furthest back to get a good arm position on the wheel. The pedals are on the middle setting and I am a couple of inches too close on the clutch pedal. When i'm off the clutch, my bent leg almost touches the steering wheel. I'm probably too close to the brake too, although I can heel/toe as they are.

 

Do I need to set them back to the third setting or can I get some lee-way by adjusting the cable...

 

Advice from similar sized men/women much appreciated.

[Graham Sewell]

Welcome to the joys of Sevening!

 

If the only problem is the clutch pedal, then you can release the cable to drop the pedal a little - providing that this is no so much that you cannot disengage drive. However, it is not uncommon in Sevens to have your left leg held at an awkward angle - causing a numb bum sad.gif

 

I have heard that if you move the pedal pivot point, the degree of movement changes and this can be more awkward (especially on the brake pedal).

 

Cheers,

 

Graham

 

 

[Petrolhead]

When I bought mine I had to pull the seat forward to reach the pedals. I am 5'10". The pedals were on their furthest away position and I felt that I was too close to the wheen and gear leaver. I ended up putting the pedals on the middle position and felt much more comfortable.

 

My advice is to set yours to their furthest away position and then minor tweeks to find the most comfortable position. It is a faily straight forward job but don't forget to adjust the clutch and throttle cables to suit.

 

Good luck, have fun

 

Better to go in a blaze of glory than to fade away teeth.gif

[CHRIS CLARK]

Welcome to the joy of owning a Seven!

 

I'm 6'3" tall with an inside leg of 33" (actually 32.5). Seat as far back as possible, and pedals set onto the fwd point. Angles of the pedals adjusted as best as possible via the adjustment/travel nuts etc.

Still have a problem with nowhere to get left foot away from clutch pedal without awkward ankle angle!

So be it; after all, in original guise it was designed some forty years ago to fit a certain CABC who was 5'10" tall I believe!!!

 

When sat in an 'SV' though, I had to pull the seat forward some 120mm to touch the pedals!!!!!

[Steve Campbell]

James,

 

I'm 6'1" with 32 inside leg.

 

I had the same problem. Seat is fully back (Caterham Leather so the headrest against the FIA rollbar actually stops it going 'totally back').

 

I tried moving the pedals first but found that I couldn't actually disengage drive and it just didn't feel right.

 

You get quite a lot of movement by adjusting the cable as the angle of the pedal makes a difference. I 'fiddled around with it' until it felt reasonably comfortable. I think I set the clutch a little lower than the fast / slow pedals.

 

I'll have to have another look now ! Anyway, my knees no longer meet the steering wheel when changing gear.

 

Long distances on dual carriageways mean I get the 'numb bum' feeling. However, if you're not changing gear very often you're on the wrong roads in my opinion !!wink.gif

 

Take a sunny afternoon & have a play until it feels right. Take it for a gentle spin and "Bob's your auntie" or whatever the saying is.

Cheers

 

Steve Campbell

P889 GRR

[chris a]

Guys,

 

I'm 6' 5".

 

My problem is not the pedals but the seat. I need some way of looking like I'm sitting in the car rather than on it. I've got the S type seats which seem to give the best fit for me, is the foam seat the best way to go forward??

 

Chris

[R500 CYA]

6'4 and 34 inches!

 

The key to a comfortable 7 when you are as stupidly tall as us is a small steering wheel.

 

I've moved all the pedals to the furthest position, wear racing boots, have R500 seats fitted, but all made very little difference until I fitted a 245mm wheel from DT.

 

It allows extra room to bend your knees, so you can slide down a little lower, and get IN the car instead of that horrible ON IT feeling.

 

You'll need to rotate the rev counter to see the important bits (who cares if you can't see it below 4500 rpm) and the speedo becomes a waste of time. I also had to swap the shift light with the main beam light. Ultimately a set of shift lights a la R500 should solve all these problems anyway.

 

Nick

[murph7355]

I'm similar in size to Nick but it just goes to show that numbers don't necessarily tell all. I've yet to sit in a proper seat in a std. 7 (aot an SV) that enables me to travel with my legs attached (and I'm not about to have them whipped off).

 

Small steering wheel is definitely a big help (think mines a 250mm Racetech - very nice to use). A removable one even better for getting in and out plus the security of it.

 

BUT the big thing is the seat. For anyone having trouble with dimensions I'd be inclined to whip the seat out and see where you're at. You'd be amazed at how much height/length can be recovered.

 

Your options then are to go with std. Caterham bench seats (thick or thin - I have the latter with a "thick" base for the passenger side) which are surprisingly comfortable especially if you have the girth to match your height, or get a seat made (indi-foam or two-pack foam I guess). Another option would be to bin the seat idea altogether and drop some small seat cushions on the floor.

 

The bench seats were designed for the car and easily/neatly cater for a passenger, the foam seats are designed for you but IMO would look odd with a std. seat in the passenger space (not the most important factor admittedly!).

 

You could then either save the seats to potentially preserve resale value later (though the idea of ever selling my car makes me shiver), or flog them to more than pay for the bench seat/bespoke seat alternative.

 

I also "noticed" recently that, contrary to what I thought, my pedals are only on the middle setting. Perfectly useable and comfy, though I am going to try moving them out for that extra inch.

 

Anyone near Dorking wanting to try the bench seat set up can drop me a line and I'll be happy to oblige.

 

 

Edited by - Andy Murphy on 25 May 2001 11:48:30

[chris a]

Andy, are you off to Le Mans, I could see you there, or should we arrange a getting together of long legged gents (hopefully ladies) and try out our respective cockpits!

[James King]

well, what can i say. there are obviously many seveners out there who have plenty of inches to spare... I think i will go play with my pedals.

 

Is there any thing that can go badly wrong, or any serious no no's when messing about in the pedal box??

 

[murph7355]

Chris - I'm not going to Le Mans but I'm relatively free over the next few weeks so arrange a time.

 

As for spare inches, a nurse once taught me there's no such thing. But that's another story.

[Jan T]

chris a

I will be at Le Mans in my SV ( with the L7 club ). Cockpit will be open for inspection so look forward to meeting you.

6' 4'' fits very nicelysmile.gif

Jan

 

 

[EFA]

Jan,

 

I've heard the SV can take crates of Kronenberg in the passenger seat sideways.

 

That equates to the possibility of getting 16 crates in an SV as opposed to 12 in a conventional Seven.

 

Well volunteered.......

 

 

 

Arnie Webb

The Fat Bloke blush.gif in a Vauxhall that is currently much slower than an R500wink.gif

 

See a car that can't possibly eat an R500 here

See the Le Mans Trip Website here

[Jan T]

Arnie

Apparently I shall be one of 3 SVs at Le Mans so that's an extra 12 crates!!

Cheers,

Jan