DIY pedal spacer for $5

[bigfatcat]

I find the gas pedal in our cars set too far back for easy heel and toe, and did not want to spend $100+ for the velox spacer. So I made one out of wood. Have been using it for a week and it seems to work well and is very secure. Total cost if you have all the tools will be less than $5

Materials needed:

2 x Bamboo flooring samples(free at Lowes). Bamboo is best because it is very dense and hard. and will not break when torquing the bolts during install.
2 x M6x1.0x50mm bolts and nuts($1 at Harbor freight)
wood glue
4x wood screws 3/4"

Tools needed:
10 and 11mm socket
belt sander
band saw
Drill
5/8" and 1/2" drill bits(auger drill bits preferred)
permanent marker

1. Remove your gas pedal.
- remove the electric connector to the gas pedal. There is a clip on the long side of the connector. Press the clip with force and pull out, being careful not to yank out wires.
- remove the 2 10mm bolts holding the gas pedal. Slide the pedal out from the bolt.

2(picture 1). Place the base of the gas pedal to the bamboo, and outline the shape of the spacer and holes with marker. Here is a rough drawing
- holes labeled A are where the existing mounting bolts will go. These will be used to fix the spacer in place
- holes labeled B are where new mounting bolts will go. These will be used to fix gas pedal to spacer
- holes with x are screw holes for screwing two pieces of bamboo together
- the distance between holes A and B will determine how far left the pedal will be moved. I used 15mm space between the holes.

3. drill guide holes for holes A, B and x

4(picture 2). apply wood glue to the back of 1 piece of bamboo board. Slap the 2 pieces together and wipe off excess glue. screw the 2 boards together with holes x. The 2 boards combined will be about 1" thick. same as the Velox spacer. Make sure you drill a wider hole about 1/4" into the wood above each screw hole so the base of the screw will not protrude from the mounting surface

5. Use a drill bit same thickness as the mounting bolts, and drill through guide holes for A and B. This should be just big enough for the bolts to slip through

6. use the 5/8" drill bit to widen holes A about 1/2" deep into the wood. This will ensure your 10mm socket will fit for tightening during install.

7. flip the wood onto the backside, use the 1/2" drill bit to widen holes B about 1/4" deep into the wood, or deep enough that you can slip your new mounting bolts through while being flush with the back surface

8. Use a band saw to cut out the shape of the spacer. The spacer should now look like picture 3(front). and picture 4(back)

9(picture 5). Test the bolts in the spacer to make sure it fits properly.

10. Use the Belt sander to smooth the cut edges/drilled holes and sand down front/back smooth surfaces to expose the unpainted wood surface and make it pretty. This is also where you can adjust the thickness of the spacer to your liking by sanding more or less of the surfaces. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the finished spacer after sanding before I installed it.

11. insert the new mounting bolts into holes B(this is where you will mount the gas pedal). Feed the spacer through existing bolts on your car through holes A. Use the same nuts that were removed from the gas pedal during uninstall to tighten with the 10mm socket and make sure spacer is secure.

12(picture 6). Insert gas pedal onto the new mounting bolts and tighten with the new nuts and make sure gas pedal is secure. Plug the throttle connector back.

13(picture 7). Final pedal position

[daniloneil8]

I see 3 pedals.

[alex87f]

How about fire-proofing? I'm not sure I'd be confident using home improvement materials in a car, especially this close to the firewall.

Some good quality plastic might do the same job, too. I wonder whether 3D printed stuff would be stout enough.

Also, you need a pedal bump stop spacer as well, looks like you made yours out of wood too.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by alex87f

Some good quality plastic might do the same job, too. I wonder whether 3D printed stuff would be stout enough.

In the Focus ST community there are plenty of gas pedal spacers that are 3D printed (with the rest being aluminum) and nobody had any issue, so I guess it should work here as well.

[bigfatcat]

3D printer would be good but I didn't have one. Although not sure how good the 3d Print material can stand up to heat as well.
as for being close to the firewall I have not seen that area inside the car getting hot. Also the metal mount in the car is lifted about 2" from the carpeting of the car so the spacer is not in contact.
For Stopper I used the cutout from wood from making the spacer so it's the same thickness

Here is a thread I found on melting temperatures of different 3d Printer materials. It doesn't look like they can stand up to high heat either:
https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com...d-printed-part

[daskaman]

If your car is on fire, this isn't going to make it spontaneously explode. The moment you get fire spreading to a car interior, the whole car is essentially scrap.

I wouldn't do this mod in particular, but I appreciate that people are being resourceful and putting effort into the chassis with what they conveniently have.

[JD001]

I'm confused.. does this belong to the 'WHAT DID YE DO TO YER FRS TODAY [AMISH EDITION]' thread?

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by alex87f

How about fire-proofing? I'm not sure I'd be confident using home improvement materials in a car, especially this close to the firewall.

Some good quality plastic might do the same job, too. I wonder whether 3D printed stuff would be stout enough.

Also, you need a pedal bump stop spacer as well, looks like you made yours out of wood too.

Plenty stout enough if you use the right material. I have a couple different designs I have printed and given to some local buddies. You can do about 10mm without changing pedal offset, which is what I personally run. Any taller and it is easier to offset the pedals for mounting as pictured in the OP's post.