Gas pedal modification?

Maybe it is just me, but I have always found the feel of the gas pedal on the 96 RMW was just not quite right.

The natural place that my foot always wound up when coming off the brake was on the nearest end which is also the lowest and below the pedal face "pivot".

When used with my foot there, the end of the pedal hits the floor way before the throttle is all the way open. If I consciously moved my foot up the pedal face to the pivot point it would then get full throttle.

I was under the dash doing some climate control stuff and as long as I was there, I put a tie wrap around the pedal face and arm at end high end of the face. This basically holds the pedal pivot from moving, lifting the lower end higher so it doesn't hit the floor.

Took it for a ride and yep, now it feels like it working right to me and I get full throttle pushing anywhere on the pedal and with less force.

Anybody else feel it the way I did?

i agree i am not comfortable with the pedal placement. also i feel the pedal should be further off the firewall. i was thinking that if it was level with the brake would be better

mtrhead79 wrote:

i agree i am not comfortable with the pedal placement. also i feel the pedal should be further off the firewall. i was thinking that if it was level with the brake would be better

Very similar to what I felt, plus it took a lot of ankle bend up to hit the pedal up at the pivot point so it would move all the way. A bonus of the tie wrap think is that you then naturally push on the end of the pedal, so it effectively has moved the pedal application point further away from the firewall. I found the new, higher, end point to be in a natural position for me when I take my foot off the brake and head to the gas pedal.

i will have to give it a try

That pedal placement always annoyed me on my 1995 Caprice Wagon as well - brake pedal too high and gas pedal too low. I never thought to zip tie the pedal like you did - I did try 'raising' the gas pedal by adding a 1/2" wood block, but it was still less than ideal with the way it would pivot. If I ever get into another wagon, I will definitely give your idea a try!

Interestingly, I think the earlier 'box body' wagons had a larger pedal that was hinged at the floor.