Q: “Could you comment about pedal mounting and differing techniques? After training myself in a Ford Mustang street car to handle “top mounted down swing” pedals, I found that I could not use old Porsche “bottom mounted bottom swing” pedals.”

A: I think that if the pedals are set up right for the driver, it doesn’t matter if they’re top- or bottom-mounted. And practically every purpose-built race car has bottom-mounted pedals, so there are good reasons for that (some has to do with stiffness and ease of mounting). But ultimately I think it comes down to having them set up to match the driver. I’ve driven cars with top-mounted pedals that are bad, and some that are perfect; and the same is true for bottom-mounted pedals. So I think it has more to do with having the pedals adjusted/set up right than with whether they’re top- or bottom-mounted. And I’ve driven some Porsches where I hated the pedal arrangement… and some I loved.

Having said that, every person’s body is different, and the way one’s foot pivots at the ankle, and the length and angle of the leg can affect this as well. But the main point you bring up is just how important it is that we have the pedals set up correctly for us – and not someone else. I see way too many drivers dealing with pedals that are not adjusted to their body, and it really hurts their driving. Take time and effort to make the pedals fit you. It’s amazing how many times I’ve helped a driver I was coaching by simply getting their pedals fitting better – that helped more than any skill or technique we were working on improving.