While watching(yet again) the movie Gone in 60 seconds where Nicholas Cage is driving the Shelby GT 500, I notice in screen shots of his feet hitting the pedals, the clutch pedal is bare(no rubber grip). I think I"ve noticed this before on cars that are supposed to be racing type cars.
My General Question is–why are these pedals bare metal?. Seems like there’s always the chance your foot would slip off. Why no rubber pad?
So your foot WILL slip off and the gears will engage quicker than letting up with your leg. One just stomps on the clutch and shift and then skooches their foot to the side and it pops up.
That’s why we did it back in my bracket racing days.
The pedal you saw had holes drilled in it, right? The holes in the bare metal pedal are punched through from behind, leaving a raised ridge around the hole on the side where you put your feet.
This is for better grip on the soles of your racing shoes.
What? Doesn’t everybody wear racing shoes?
Racing shoes? Punched clutch pedals? You obviously were racing in the highfalutin’ league. 
I’m not posting as an authority but I once attempeted to purchase a pair of fireproof racing shoes. The soles were all rubber and had nubs, like running shoes had in the 70’s and early eighties, so I don’t believe they would be required.
Size 14D if you’re wondering.
Some say he has ten toes on the bottom of his feet. Others say he has rubber soles. All we know is: he’s called the STIG!
Yep this is exactly 100% true.
Never consciously noticed it before now, but my recall of footwells with shiny clutch pedals plus your explanation explains it all.
ETA: Going for consistency, as a bracket racer should, was your left foot really more consistent than your right foot and an automatic trannie?
Note to friends: In this case “trannie” refers to a transmission.
A superfluous extension.
I will concede that some racing styles lend themselves to the “slippery” pedal explanation but the main reason is still as described by ghardester. I have seen and used racing shoes with little knobbies, they work fine and you can use a harder rubber sole which last longer than if they were just flat. But flat soles offer more feel and in combination with good pedals are ace.
I can race just fine with rubber on the pedals. My son however can’t because of the size of his feet. He is a size 16 and can’t drive a standard. It is impossible for him to keep moving his left foot over enough to not ride the clutch.
Before synchronized clutches this may have made a difference. I notice a big difference in the newer clutches being a lot more forgiving. Also the new sticks don’t break off as easily.
My current vehicle has metal pedals, including the clutch pedal.
( Infiniti G35 coupe, w/6 speed manual )
Pedals are similar to these. Notice the punched out holes:
http://www.autoaccessorystore.com/products/370_b.jpg
Rubber, by the way, is not slip proof. If the assumption here is that rubber is grippier than other metal options, that needs reconsideration.
We started with a '68 Dodge Charger 383mag/4 speed. We learned pretty quickly that a 6 cyl Nova with a powerglide was far more consistent in the brackets.
So does mine (VW GTI), but it seems to me that this is done to give it more of a sporty look—fashion imitating the real race cars, no?
That would be for fashion.
Yep, bare metal with punched holes is just fashion, but I believe they actually did use them back in the day.
Nowadays real racing pedals have a sandpaper-like surface:
http://www.cardwells.co.nz/images/Brands/Tilton/3ped.jpg
Sandpaper doesn’t look as cool as bare metal though
just out of curiosity, what’s the difference between “true”, and “exactly 100% true”…? :p:p
Nice ride!
I had a 94 Jetta. It was great to shift, almost effortless. Do you have trouble with your foot sliding off the pedal? I have had worn down pedals and if I wore flat bottom boots or if it was wet outside sometimes I would slide off.
Thanks!
The pedals actually have a bit of rubber in the holes, possibly a bit proud of the holes, so no slippage. It really is just for show in this car.
I opted for the dsg transmission (so my wife can drive it too), so there is no clutch pedal to slip off of—that shiny long pedal on the left is just a long foot rest.
Wow, Jetta’s have come a long way! My 94 turbo was a commuter car that I got to save gas or so I told myself. I just fell in love with it on the first test drive. It did have a lot of electrical issues at 100,000 miles which that article pointed out as being a problem.
It was fast and fun to drive which helped with a long commute. Enjoy!
