I am what should be the perfect Italan car owner, 5'7" tall, short legs long torso. I think Ferrari dropped that design memo on the Modern V12s and I find I need to sit very close to the to be able to push the clutch all the way in. I sit so far forward that to move the sun visor I have to duck to the side to move it This along with some other annoying things, I am endeavoring to sort to be able live with the car as I am on borderline with selling it. I worked out if the clutch peddle was closer I would improve greatly where I sit in the car and improve the experience. What I found is there is some adjustment in the clutch linkage but I am not sure how long the thread is. This is what I have found. and the last shot is your truly Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Graeme- If that adjustment does not do it or affects clutch free play, a common ploy is to put an aluminum pedal on there and put a spacer under it. This is usually done on the brake or throttle to make it easier to heel and toe, but no reason it would not work on the clutch pedal as well. Hill Engineering makes an aluminum pedal set for the 456 GT, and it should be easy to have an aluminum spacer matched to that for the clutch pedal. PS02 - Pedal Set by: Hill Engineering - Hill Engineering Ferrari Parts Here is a brake pedal spacer Barry used to give you an idea. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/138765193-post62.html Image Unavailable, Please Login
Terry Thanks for the links and the good idea and about the spacer. Don't laugh I am looking for at least an inch and because of the movement ratios I am hoping to to get close and a spacer on all the pedals and even the foot rest. As at this point in time I cannot see any indications in the top of the binnacle ie the "sport light".
Graeme- At 5'7"/170 cm, with short legs and short arms, I can feel for you. Inch spacers on all three should be easy to do once you have the aluminum pedals so the shop can get the curvature correct. Probably a little juggling in thicknesses will make them perfect for heel and toeing, too.
The seating is great for passengers and have taken friends (4 up) out for lunch. I sort of get used to being jammed in the corner but each time I get in I start from scratch.
I can understand your frustration, because I'm 6'2" with a 35" inseam (Very short torso for a guy), and I fit in the 456 perfectly. Even have enough headroom for a helmet. And I don't have the seat all the way back either. Cheers, George
Since I bought the car in 14 besides the Mechanical issues I have struggled with the seating position, and have since spoken to another person of shorter stature to me who sold his for the same reason. I have a long torso and sit as high as a 6' plus person but have short Femur's I refer it to Ducks disease , bottoms to close to the ground. I can lower the seat base as we know and then the Lumbar is half way up my back, feels like the back of a park bench. So raising the seat sorts that. If I move the seat back so its more comfortable then I need to push the clutch in with my toes and that means depressing the seat squab with my leg, just plain uncomfortable and not go for any ones back. I did a test yesterday with a 1.25" X 3" disc on the pedal with tape and that makes a big difference so when I have a minute I get the car out and have a go at extending the push rod linkage as far as I can so the thread is in safety (diameter of the thread) I suspect the 550 and 575 are different as they are not trying to accommodate 2 extra people sadly they are well out of my budget, there lies the next dilemma... Here is a bit of fun http://www.consumerreports.org/cars-best-and-worst-cars-for-tall-and-short-drivers/
If there is not enough thread on the push rod you can always just TIG weld an extension on the clevis. Just make sure the upper travel limit stop screw has enough adjustment to let you raise the clutch pedal to your desired height. On my 550 I adjusted the brake and throttle pedal heights for easier heel and toe.
Nothing wrong with that, Graeme. Long before I added that 1 cm spacer under my brake pedal, I had spacers on my tricycle... . Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you all for the suggestions, And a Correction from the first post, the yoke in the picture is the Brake The Attached picture are the correct yoke and before and after After spending half an hour on my back under the dash ( reminds me of working Lotus's) I found that some one had been there before me as the yellow tell-tail wasn't there. I removed the Yoke and spring and found that you cannot actually turn the up stop with out destroying the rubber stop. I suspect its set before the assembly is installed and only accessed from behind the pedal box. However on assembly I managed to get what I suspect was two full turn out on the yoke, and then the yellow tell-tail was visible. The Pedal sits about 10mm higher and is an improvement. I also (again) Played with the seating position and found if I put the seat back in the full recline the squab down and steering wheel full extension. Re-positioning the lumbar further down, (Bit of a Lotus theme happening here) I can now see the lights across the top of the dash binnacle. With the steering wheel full down and back is better but you I cannot read the instruments.... Bar hum bug... I wounder if its too late for Surgery... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sorry for rabbiting on about this but it's was starting to become a deal breaker for me and the car. I finally sorted the seating position, by going back to the beginning. I think I was trying to sit in the car too upright. Now with the seat all the way down front squab up a bit. This then changes the angular relationship the the pedals making the issue Almost non existant. Now with The seat back reclined further which changes the position of the lumbar curvature in relation to my back, and I can now see the lights inside the in top of the instrument Binical. One odd thing the seat back seems to mould to shape after it warms up, but I suppose it's designed for much larger stature people than me. I did this video over the last week and have posted it else where on Fchat. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QaAXgbB_oxo .
