SW17LS

So, for our next thread about seemingly unimportant minutiae relating to cars we can argue about for dozens of pages...whats everybody think about accelerator pedals?

I have developed a strong preference for floor hinged accelerator pedals. So much so that its actually a turn off to me that the Audi A8 and Range Rover have top hinged pedals. I just think a floor hinged pedal looks better, and is more comfortable, my foot doesnt slip off, I can rest my foot on the pedal without giving any accelerator input. I also love the look of metal trimmed pedals, and I actually added F Sport pedals to my LS. Whats everybody else think?

The pedals in my LS:




Range Rover pedals:

EZZ

Floor hinged for sure looks and feels better...but only slightly and the top hinged ones are easier to clean in terms of having a floor mat that doesn't need a cut-out for accelerator. Also, the feel of the floor hinged can be similar to top hinged on many vehicles. My Tesla feels just as easy as my IS350 floor hinged in terms of resting my foot without slipping off but my minivan doesn't feel as nice. I also like metal...because the rubber ones look cheap

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

prefer the bottom where the pedal is on a lever not a hinge. Has a more natural feel, easier control/modulation, and not as finicky on foot position. Toyota swapped to the hinge since that design cant get stuck under floormats after that floormat fiasco. Also keep in mind the hinge pedal design cannot be adjusted as they are fixed to the floorpan. The bigger trucks and SUVs wont have hinge pedals because of this. The pedals in the viper and Ram are both adjustable

As for construction material, doesnt mattter to me as long as it provides enough grip

Och

iTrader: (3)

Steve, years ago we actually had a big thread on this, following the whole Toyota UA incident. Many have argued that floor hinged pedals are less likely to get caught up with the floor mats and get stuck, and vice versa. Pretty moot arguments from both sides, but as you would expect it turned into quite a jihad between BMW vs Lexus fans, since most BMWs had floor hinged pedals and most Lexus had top hinged pedals at that time.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

i control the pedals with mainly toes and ***** of feet, not the entire foot. Thats why i dont like the hinge it doesnt feel right if this is your control style. Seems like with hinge, it forces your foot position to have your heels at the hinge

tex2670

Floor hinged accelerator does provide some minor level of additional safety. If you recall, there was the accident with the Lexus ES where there was a non-OEM floor mat that didn't fit right, and the accelerator pedal got stuck under the mat.

My BMW has a floor hinged pedal, but I admit that I don't really notice any difference in my driving experience.

geko29

Floor-hinged for sure, like god and Dr. Porsche intended.

jrmckinley

LOL, great topic and one that I've thought about myself. I love them both actually - As an owner of various LS's for the last 12 years, I love the floor-mounted because it feels more "substantial". On the other hand, we have an LX which is has the top-hinge design so I get to experience that as well. I hate driving with shoes on - and we spend a ton of time at the beach where I go barefoot almost everywhere- so I really like driving bare foot with the top-hinge because I can use just a portion of my foot (mainly thumb toe).

Such a funny and minor detail of a car but one that I've paid a lot of attention to over the years. The bottom hinge just feels right on the LS - whereas the top hinge feels more appropriate on our SUV. It's a coin toss for me.

mmarshall

As far as driving is concerned, doesn't make much difference to me, although top-hinged pedals are a little easier to clean and vacuum under. And, of course, when you are using the cruise-control, the pedal itself is redundant.....the electronics are doing it for you.

sdls

I’ve had cars with top and bottom and it really doesn’t make a difference to me from where I’m sitting.

situman

I actually dont notice. It is one of those things where I get used to it and I just simply forget about it. The stiffness of the spring mechanism would have more of an affect on me, but even then I get used to it pretty quick and forgot about it.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

i slightly prefer floor hinged as well, but i do see the floor mat getting caught MORE of an issue on floor hinged as it tends to slide up the pedal rather than up-and-behind the pedal. auto manus can install mat hooks to prevent this from happening however.

as for material i find metal to be pretty slippery when wet but they do last longer. of course most metal pedals have some rubber or texture to them to prevent this. i prefer the look and feel of metal in the end!

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

with the invention of fly-by-wire throttle, most pedals resistance nowadays rely on the spring itself for feel. on cars with cable driven throttles, as the cable ages the pedal does get harder to depress.

of course with FBW, the response of the throttle body can be customized based on a driving mode; very responsive, laggy, or a combo of both, but i digress...

SW17LS

With the modern mat anchor systems in cars, as long as the mat is secured it wont ride up on the pedal.

patgilm

I feel the floor hinged pedal looks and feels more premium. However, I have one of each right now and I really don’t even notice the difference when I am driving.