Maybe I'm a fool but ....(shoe size)

[Bob A (SD)]

instead of putting down a deposit to get a number for an Elise, I've decided to hold off. Why? Simple. I'm r-e-a-l-l-y concerned about the closeness of the pedals. With my 10.5 EEEE shoes, despite some comments here about thinking I might be okay, I think I have cause for pause. Way back when I owned a '53 TR3A I had a chance to drive a Super 7.... loved the car but the pedals were impossible for me.

And living where I do in the shadows of Mt. Rushmore, the likelihood of snaging a test drive before the Elise is being delivered in quantities is zip. Closest dealer is a 9.5 hour drive away.

Maybe I'm a fool, but now I'll just have to wait until I can get my hands (err feet) on one... and believe me sitting tight is not gonna be any fun at all -


Bob A

[Randy Chase]

If you can, I would look into a short vacation. Find out who has the yellow or silver car and arrange a test drive. That will answer your question, and worse case you get a nice trip and a chance to drive an Elise.

My 2 cents.

[Craigy]

If you like, I can take pictures of the footwell of my S1 elise and send them to you with a ruler or something to show the scale... I have size 10.5 US feet (I also have broad feet). It's not as cramped as it looks, and I actually find that having broad feet puts me in a good position for heel-and-toe downchanges.

email me if you'd like something like that (put something like "Lotus" in the subject line) - address is craig_mcallister@hotmail.com

Craigy

[Vantage]

Try some Puma speedcats for driving shoes and you will be fine. As Craigy points out, wider feet give somewhat of an advantage while heel-toeing. I saw a salesperson that is above six feet tall drive the Elise perfectly with big dress shoes on. Don't be worried.

[zvezdah1]

HI,
I'd consider simpson or other racing shoe, which is what I wore on my caterham which had impossibly close pedals. The driving shoes are very narrow (well not so narrow on an eeeeee...... ) but might be enough to get by.
Chris

[Bob A (SD)]

As this would be a summer car including commutes to work, the idea of special shoes just doesn't float my boat. I just measured the width of a pair of my shoes and they're 4 5/8" wide. I have no idea what the actual pedal spacing configuration measurements are, so I'll be taking Craigy up on his offer and e-mailing him.

And Randy... every time I've tried to plan a short vacation since 9-11 it's been overtaken by events (OBE)- I'm a retired naval officer working as a DOD civilian so I don't even think about those possibilities anymore.

zvezdah1: are you saying that the pedals on the Elise aren't as closely set as on a Caterham 7? I was under the impression that they were very similar in layout spacing.

Bob A

aka "bald1"

[zvezdah1]

From memory, the pedal box on the caterham was several inches narrower than the ELise. Actually the Elise pedal well is that narrow to my mind.
Chris

[zvezdah1]

should be the elise pedal box isn't that narrow to my mind.
Chris

[MattG]

Originally posted by Bob A (SD)
I'm r-e-a-l-l-y concerned about the closeness of the pedals. With my 10.5 EEEE shoes, despite some comments here about thinking I might be okay, I think I have cause for pause

I've driven an Elise twice, both times with some fairly large size 10.5 shoes (Rockport walking shoes...pretty wide for that size). My initial reaction after getting in was a bit of surprise, I found that if I just carelessly stuck my foot down there, the brake was of course much closer than expected and I thought it'd be a problem. Once driving the car, though, I had absolutely *no* trouble whatsoever with the pedal spacing. I wasn't consciously trying to avoid the brake pedal, it just wasn't an issue.

You might want to consider putting a deposit down at a dealer that will refund it to you in full. That way, you lock down your place in line for now, and hopefully get a chance to sit in or drive one before you need to finalize your order.

[Craigy]

I'm on it.

[Craigy]

Shoe

[Craigy]

Footwell, with measurement

[Craigy]

Changing gear

[Craigy]

Cruising Along

[Craigy]

Interstate / sheer laziness...

[Craigy]

Braking and Gearchanging (brakes+clutch)

[Craigy]

Heel+toe

[Craigy]

Parked in traffic / illustration of shoes vs. footwell.

[Bob A (SD)]

Craigy,

Got your e-mail too. These are great and way beyond the call of duty! And they certainly give me something to chew on......mmmmmmmm.

Thanks again for the outstanding efforts here -

Bob A

[zvezdah1]

Great detail Craigy,
For those that don't know, Craigy is a regular contributor to the UK-based SELOC Elise BBS. That's where I first ran into him,

Jeez Craig, you've got some wide**s feet!

Chris