Pedal Box Simulator
Discussion
Strange question maybe, but one of my mates lost a leg a short while ago and now needs to 'train' his left leg to operate brake and accelerator.
He isn't just doing this himself, but can't get an instructor for quite a while. He has been out on the road today (with the assessor) who has recommened more practice.
He wants to 'train' his remaining leg so it has a bit more finesse rather than stamping on the pedal which results in a jerky drive.
I realise there are gaming pedal boxes, but he needs something more representitive of the real world.
In the olden days, you used to be able to unbolt a complete pedal assembly from a car (Escorts and Minis etc), I am not sure that is still the case.
I think we could rig up some feedback by adding a potentioneter for position, but the pedal feel would need to be representitive.
It might be okay just to push against the return spring (certainly for the accelerator), but might need heavier resistance for the brake.
I can fabricate a floor mount - it is just getting my head arong what might be out there that can be adapted.
I have run the question past my daughter who is an OT, but they don't deal with driving and are not aware of anything.
Any one have any ideas?
He isn't just doing this himself, but can't get an instructor for quite a while. He has been out on the road today (with the assessor) who has recommened more practice.
He wants to 'train' his remaining leg so it has a bit more finesse rather than stamping on the pedal which results in a jerky drive.
I realise there are gaming pedal boxes, but he needs something more representitive of the real world.
In the olden days, you used to be able to unbolt a complete pedal assembly from a car (Escorts and Minis etc), I am not sure that is still the case.
I think we could rig up some feedback by adding a potentioneter for position, but the pedal feel would need to be representitive.
It might be okay just to push against the return spring (certainly for the accelerator), but might need heavier resistance for the brake.
I can fabricate a floor mount - it is just getting my head arong what might be out there that can be adapted.
I have run the question past my daughter who is an OT, but they don't deal with driving and are not aware of anything.
Any one have any ideas?
No ideas for a name said:
Strange question maybe, but one of my mates lost a leg a short while ago and now needs to 'train' his left leg to operate brake and accelerator.
He isn't just doing this himself, but can't get an instructor for quite a while. He has been out on the road today (with the assessor) who has recommened more practice.
He wants to 'train' his remaining leg so it has a bit more finesse rather than stamping on the pedal which results in a jerky drive.
I realise there are gaming pedal boxes, but he needs something more representitive of the real world.
In the olden days, you used to be able to unbolt a complete pedal assembly from a car (Escorts and Minis etc), I am not sure that is still the case.
I think we could rig up some feedback by adding a potentioneter for position, but the pedal feel would need to be representitive.
It might be okay just to push against the return spring (certainly for the accelerator), but might need heavier resistance for the brake.
I can fabricate a floor mount - it is just getting my head arong what might be out there that can be adapted.
I have run the question past my daughter who is an OT, but they don't deal with driving and are not aware of anything.
Any one have any ideas?
I very much doubt whatever modifications you install on the car to make it drivable for him will be legal without some form of approval.He isn't just doing this himself, but can't get an instructor for quite a while. He has been out on the road today (with the assessor) who has recommened more practice.
He wants to 'train' his remaining leg so it has a bit more finesse rather than stamping on the pedal which results in a jerky drive.
I realise there are gaming pedal boxes, but he needs something more representitive of the real world.
In the olden days, you used to be able to unbolt a complete pedal assembly from a car (Escorts and Minis etc), I am not sure that is still the case.
I think we could rig up some feedback by adding a potentioneter for position, but the pedal feel would need to be representitive.
It might be okay just to push against the return spring (certainly for the accelerator), but might need heavier resistance for the brake.
I can fabricate a floor mount - it is just getting my head arong what might be out there that can be adapted.
I have run the question past my daughter who is an OT, but they don't deal with driving and are not aware of anything.
Any one have any ideas?
shirt said:
Seems overblown to me, just find a quiet industrial estate to practice on a weekend. Will take him less time to adjust to left foot braking than it would for you to make that contraption.
It is a fair point - but I am not sure there is anyone local that can do so. I am 300 miles away, and his existing car is a manual.Chicken and egg, he can't get his (Motability) auto until he has passed the assesment, and he can't get any professional training in a decent time frame.
I picked up accelerating with left foot reasonably quick in car when came off bike, but I had already used left foot braking for some time.
Was only first time I fully stomped brake when started left footing brake, despite knowing I was to slowly press it to get a feel.
Few on road practice sessions with left foot gave me a feel and I could do it delicately fairly quickly, which was good timing as one night I suddenly needed to hold revs while braking for lights due to an intake valve fault.
Best of luck.
Was only first time I fully stomped brake when started left footing brake, despite knowing I was to slowly press it to get a feel.
Few on road practice sessions with left foot gave me a feel and I could do it delicately fairly quickly, which was good timing as one night I suddenly needed to hold revs while braking for lights due to an intake valve fault.
Best of luck.
CheesecakeRunner said:
Would he still be driving with an accelerator on the right and brake on the left? If so, I wouldn’t discount gaming pedals straight away. I have a pretty basic Logitech setup for my PlayStation 5 and it’s fairly realistic as far as pedal feel goes. Certainly when I’m playing Gran Turismo I do have to put myself in a frame of mind of actually driving a car to do my best rather than playing game. So accelerating and braking appropriately and as you would in a real car.
Interested in this... I kind of discounted it as I expected the pedal feel not to be realistic at all.I will make this as a suggestion tomorrow.
He wants to do everything possible to accelerate (no pun) his recovery and doesn't want to sit around waiting for instructors to be available. It is only, I think, 7 weeks since he lost his leg and he is already up and about and re-learning the driving.
ETA: It looks like that Logitech pedal box can be customised... in this case removal of the clutch - if you have one can you confirm?
Edited by No ideas for a name on Thursday 14th December 20:03
eliot said:
how can you drive a manual with one foot? How do you operate the clutch and throttle to pull away?
No, his manual car will go. He will replace it with an auto - most likely an EV. It is just he can't get the auto until he has passed the assesment, and can't pass the assesment in sensible time, without something to practice on.eliot said:
how can you drive a manual with one foot? How do you operate the clutch and throttle to pull away?
When I had nickered right foot, from a stop I literally had to ease into 1st gear while idling as soon as amber came on until it started to crawl onwards (didn't stall most of the time unless hill) then do the throttle, changing at speed wasn't as bad but had a little engine braking before back to accelerator.In a mobility you likely want hand controls.
With regards to gaming pedals, there are two types.
I initially had the cheaper type, where the accelerator feels reasonably realistic, but the brake just feels like another accelerator with slightly more resistance. I.e. 0 to 100% relates to pedal travel.
I now have a more expensive type, where the brake pedal uses a load cell rather than a potentiometer. So it behaves much more realistically. It’s moves a little, but then the braking force relates to how hard you’re pushing rather than how far the pedal is moving.
Obviously it depends on how much he wants to spend to practice. If he gets a PS5 and a copy of Gran Turismo 7 he can have some fun while he’s doing it 🙂
I initially had the cheaper type, where the accelerator feels reasonably realistic, but the brake just feels like another accelerator with slightly more resistance. I.e. 0 to 100% relates to pedal travel.
I now have a more expensive type, where the brake pedal uses a load cell rather than a potentiometer. So it behaves much more realistically. It’s moves a little, but then the braking force relates to how hard you’re pushing rather than how far the pedal is moving.
Obviously it depends on how much he wants to spend to practice. If he gets a PS5 and a copy of Gran Turismo 7 he can have some fun while he’s doing it 🙂
No ideas for a name said:
NFT said:
In a mobility you likely want hand controls.
He tried hand controls today as part of the assesment, but it was decided that he should be okay with the foot control.Just using the 'wrong' foot has no finesse without practice.
I understand now.
Can he rent an auto for a few days?
I still can’t see how a pedal box will help though. Adjusting to the pressure/feel required won’t take very long, but transitioning from one pedal to the other may do, especially if the need to brake is rushed. I still think a quiet or closed road is the best place to practice this.
For cruising it’s much easier, use cruise control and cover the brake. Left foot accelerating might feel awkward but won’t be any issue modulating speed.
I have both my OEM feet btw. Just learned to left foot brake a long time ago and drive my autos this way. I had my right leg out of action for a while due to torn Achilles, during which time if I needed to drive I’d operate both pedals with the left foot.
When choosing the Motability car, I’d go with one that’s not over servoed as many new cars can be. That’s another reason I don’t think the gaming pedal will help, too much variation between cars. My LR has a fairly long travel brake and it’s progressive. The A1 is more of a switch.
Can he rent an auto for a few days?
I still can’t see how a pedal box will help though. Adjusting to the pressure/feel required won’t take very long, but transitioning from one pedal to the other may do, especially if the need to brake is rushed. I still think a quiet or closed road is the best place to practice this.
For cruising it’s much easier, use cruise control and cover the brake. Left foot accelerating might feel awkward but won’t be any issue modulating speed.
I have both my OEM feet btw. Just learned to left foot brake a long time ago and drive my autos this way. I had my right leg out of action for a while due to torn Achilles, during which time if I needed to drive I’d operate both pedals with the left foot.
When choosing the Motability car, I’d go with one that’s not over servoed as many new cars can be. That’s another reason I don’t think the gaming pedal will help, too much variation between cars. My LR has a fairly long travel brake and it’s progressive. The A1 is more of a switch.
I think the thing with the gaming pedals isn't so much replicating the feel and force, but learning finesse - gaming pedals will definitely do that for you. There's a programme which you might want to look at called BeamNG that accurately recreates vehicles and has some realistic town/country road settings to practice driving in a relatively realistic manner. (Note that all online videos of this game showcase the realistic crashes but not the accurate driving characteristics...)
I remember seeing a contraption years ago that allowed the throttle pedal (on a real car!) to be swapped from one side to the other to make it easier to drive using the left foot. I think the pedal could even be flipped up or down to allow others to still drive the car right-footed.
Here is is: https://www.jeffgosling.co.uk/products/left-foot-a...
I remember seeing a contraption years ago that allowed the throttle pedal (on a real car!) to be swapped from one side to the other to make it easier to drive using the left foot. I think the pedal could even be flipped up or down to allow others to still drive the car right-footed.
Here is is: https://www.jeffgosling.co.uk/products/left-foot-a...
I remember seeing a guy on Danny_DC2's YouTube that has lost his left leg, and he used an adapter similar to this in his car: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DriFeez-Accelerator-Handi...
Video here - https://youtu.be/eLXsV6T8hec
Video here - https://youtu.be/eLXsV6T8hec
DaveE87 said:
I remember seeing a guy on Danny_DC2's YouTube that has lost his left leg, and he used an adapter similar to this in his car: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DriFeez-Accelerator-Handi...
Video here - https://youtu.be/eLXsV6T8hec
Wonderful "left foot accelerator footwell board"?, don't even bolt it in, simple hinge like wide U shape linkage lets you have accel to left of the clutch so you can angle foot to right position and control both at same time. (as you press new left pedal it also pushes standard accelerator on right.)Video here - https://youtu.be/eLXsV6T8hec
A few hundred to buy but tempted for one myself now.
Happened upon this tennis ball pedal simulator video too.
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