Piloti apex driving shoes- Caterham 7

[philrs03]

Morning all,

I’ve recently brought a fantastic 310R to replace my MX5 as a fair weather/track car, and wondered if anyone had any experience with Piloti driving shoes?

Currently I’m wearing my race boots and carrying a spare pair of shoes in the “boot”, which ultimately means there’s no room in there for anything else! It’s not the end of the world, but if anyone’s got any experience of Piloti shoes fitting or not fitting in tunnel and on the pedal box of a 7, it would be much appreciated!

[Reindeer]

Puma Speed Cats for me. Fit perfectly in our rather warm pedal boxes!

[Scaleybrat]

I drive a Sigma engined SV - exhaust on UK driver’s side. Presuming your car is a S3 then your main concern will be space in the footwell and finding an appropriate shoe. In the SV, it has a larger footwell and I didn’t think I’d have problems with footwear but I was wrong. When I picked up my car and drove home I wore my Piloti motorsport high tops (can’t remember the model name, possibly Prototipo). After a 2 hour drive home, the sole had detached from the outside of the right shoe. The heat from the exhaust had melted the glue attaching the sole and it peeled away.
Taking a quick look at the Piloti site, it’s clear their designs have changed since I originally purchased my shoes over 10 years ago and the Apex shoe looks to have a stitched on sole and may do better than my examples.
If foot space is your concern I recommend the Puma Speedcats - I’ve had no issues with them since purchasing 15 months ago. If you prefer Piloti, the Icona looks a similar design to the Speedcat but I have no experience with this shoe.
Just be aware, not only foot space but heat might be an issue when choosing footwear. A Caterham hire company close to me provides shoes as part of the rental package, he only provides Speedcats.

[cerb4.5lee]

Reindeer said:

Puma Speed Cats for me. Fit perfectly in our rather warm pedal boxes!

I wear the same, and they work well for me too.

[braddo]

With Caterhams having a tiny brake pedal and no brake servo, I find that shoes with a soft sole / forefoot (like Pilotis?) aren't great because a lot of force gets lost with the foot and shoe folding around the brake pedal.

Having a more rigid sole in the forefoot area makes a big difference. Race boots have that, I think? Perhaps the Speedcats too?

Basically I wouldn't recommend soft driving shoes or trainers like Converse Allstars etc for Caterhams.

[the_stoat]

I use Vivo Barefoot shoes on both road and track. Piloti's are only an option if you have narrow Ninja feet, if you have hobbit feet like me you would need many months of foot binding before they would fit.

[CanAm]

Speedcats were my first choice, but if walking was also involved I had some lightweight HiTec walking shoes that had a rounded heel and were narrow enough for an S3. I also had a pair of M&S leather slip-ons (again with a rounded heel) that were not driving shoes at all but were surprisingly comfortable for driving in both the 7 and the tintop.

[Tickle]

I prefer Sparco Zandvoort to Piloti, narrower and the sole feels better. Should add that's in an S1 Elise, not a Caterham.

[philrs03]

Perfect, thank you all so much for the replies. I think I’ve gone full circle in an agreement with the race boot way of thinking, and ordered a set of OMP Carreras!! I’ll report back on those when they arrive..