# New owner and pedal question



## xp800 (Sep 16, 2004)

Hello all. Got my Red/Red GTO 6 speed on Tuesday. VERY happy with it. For those (like me) who can get the GM family discount this week, I got the car for a 12k/24 month lease at....$1380 at signing (first month payment, $780 cash down, tab transfer, and all taxes on the rebates) and $213/month for the remaining 23 payments. This equates to $263/mo. if you average out my total cash outlay for the two years. How could I not do this for the price??? Needless to say, I didn't have any trouble parting with my loaded red '02 Alero. Lease pull-ahead is awesome as well. I got out of the Alero 7 months early.

And my two car seats fit just fine in the back seats for those wondering.  My kids love the car too.

Now on to business. My only two real complaints so far are what's missing under my feet: no dead pedal and too big a gap between the gas and brake for heel-toeing.

I was amazed how quickly I became uncomfortable with nowhere to put my left foot. I don't like riding or hovering over the clutch, placing my foot all the way to the toeboard felt unsafe, and resting it flat on the floor was uncomfortable. Has anyone out there fabbed up a matching dead pedal? I saw some of those retrofit deals that are meant to go over existing dead pedals, and some of them look -exactly- like the stock aluminum ones. The problem is that there's nowhere to attach it. The panel on the left side of the footwell is not sturdy enough to bolt into. My only thought would be to create a structure that fills the gap between the pedal, floor, and toeboard. I need it sturdy since I typically use the dead pedal to push against as I'm getting seated. Any other thoughts? I know the '05 gets one, so my other thought is to see if I can retrofit it with the '04.

And has anyone out there found a way to get the gas pedal and brake pedal closer together (without bending the pedal arms)? I have a fairly big foot, but I can't get my usual inside of the foot on the brake and right side on the gas to blip for downshifts. I saw the typical retrofit pedal covers that most add to their rice rockets, but those typically rely on the ability to remove the typical rubber pad. My basic thought is to make the gas pedal wider on the brake side.

So far my only real long tern concern is whether I can get the same deal in 2 years for my next one...with 400hp and hopefully a sunroof and heated seats. We'll see how winter goes too.

- Dieter


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

Good question about the dead pedal. I'm transitioning from my Bimmer 3-series and I miss the dead pedal. 

Is there an aftermarket unit available? Even a heel stop would be cool.


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## xp800 (Sep 16, 2004)

Groucho said:


> Good question about the dead pedal. I'm transitioning from my Bimmer 3-series and I miss the dead pedal.
> 
> Is there an aftermarket unit available? Even a heel stop would be cool.



These are the aftermarket pedals I was looking at. I would only be looking to replace the gas pedal and creating a structure for the dead pedal. I have to more closely compare the dimensions.

Pedal sets:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-TVwxfydbpX0/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?c=12&g=101800&s=0&cc=01&avf=N&search=

Specifically:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-TVwxfydbpX0/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?wm=fp&I=507P703BK&g=101800

Dead pedal:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-TVwxfydbpX0/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?c=12&g=102000&s=0&cc=01&avf=N&search=
http://www.courtesyparts.com/Mercha...n=PROD&Store_Code=CP&Product_Code=67840-Z33DP
http://www.autospeedperformance.com/Subaru/dpedal.htm

This was just a quick look. The G35 and WRX replacements looked like they might hold promise to mod to fit.

- Dieter


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

Very cool!

I agree...the G35 pedal looks like a natural as it has some structure behind it...I may just fab my own out of carbon fiber....


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## philpio (Sep 22, 2004)

*Monaro dead pedal*

I read a piece that the Monaro comes with a dead pedal, but that GM took it out to simplify the US certification of the GTO. And, so for 2005, they got the certification.
So, that would mean the mounting holes are probably under the rug somewhere.
Have you actually looked under the carpet ?
If so, then we could order the part from Holden ?
The lack of a dead pedal has become very annoying, at 2500 miles.


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## rollins215 (Sep 19, 2004)

Yeah, the lack of the dead pedal is really my only complaint about the car. Maybe we could do a group buy with forum members to get a better price on the Holden one, assuming we can get it and install it.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

Problem is, for the Holden the dead pedal would be mounted in the inboard _right_ side of the cockpit...


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## xp800 (Sep 16, 2004)

Groucho said:


> Problem is, for the Holden the dead pedal would be mounted in the inboard _right_ side of the cockpit...


This would be true for the Monaro pedal. The '05 GTO gets a dead pedal, which is what I have been waiting to see before I try to cobble something up. I would think that they had to make/add a new structure for one, as it wasn't a priority in the '04 development.

I have not looked behind the kick panel on the left side of the footwell. I had pulled the knee bolster panel under the steering column to install my hard wire radar detector power (a rather awkward location for the fuse panel), but I never looked closely at the sheetmetal while I had the chance. Maybe tonight...

- Dieter


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## philpio (Sep 22, 2004)

Check this out on the ls1gto.com forum:
http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2185&highlight=dead+pedal

mlc built his own dead pedal.
Took a gas pedal, turned it over, made a bracket that bolts to the plastic side panel.

Looks sharp, and sounds like several people have installed it and liked it.
The post from 4/11/04 says he will build one for $55.
I have sent him an email to see if he is still in business.
I'll let you know.


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## philpio (Sep 22, 2004)

Got an e-maiol back from mlc, he is no longer making the pedal brackets...  
Anyone got the time, tools, and talent ?
mlc had some pictures...


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## philpio (Sep 22, 2004)

Made my own, see post "Invisible Dead Pedal for $.29"


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