Going Hillman Style! Hillman Style... ;-)
Okay for those that are interested…here is some more information on the Hillman Gas Pedal Spring mod for V2 and (I think) V1 Club Sport pedals. This is for those that want a heavier gas pedal action. I used springs by Hillman sold in pairs in plastic bags at many local big box home improvement centers.
My very recent CSV2 sample shows that the rod over which the stock gas pedal spring lives is just under 10 mm in diameter. This shaft threads into the trunnion which is pinned in place into the gas pedal lever. The working length of the shaft excluding the portion threaded into the trunnion is 90 mm. It has a 1.72 mm thick clear plastic bump stop adhered to the end which lives in the black aluminum guide block. When the rod's plastic bumper hits the end of the bore in that aluminum block, the gas pedal cannot be depressed any further. A longer rod would reduce travel, a shorter rod would increase it. The different holes in the gas pedal lever change not only leverage but also need different rod lengths if the same travel is desired.
My gas pedal came with one spring which lived at a 2.15 inches / 54.62 mm installed length which corresponds to 0% throttle. It is compressed to 1.56 inches at wide open throttle. When removed this spring was found to have a 2.58 inch free length, .061 inch wire diameter, 0.589 inch outside diameter and 11.5 active coils. This leads to a 11.75 pound / inch spring rate.
When compressed a bit in the installed position (from 2.58 to 2.15 inches), the preload at the spring (not the pedal pad) is about 5 pounds. With leverage from the brake lever the initial amount of force needed to start travel will be less than 5 pounds. I am leaving that effect out and simply considering the springs. The percentage changes will be the same in any case.
When fully compressed at 100% throttle the force the spring provides from its rate + preload is then 11.985 pounds.
The Hillman Spring I used (only two compression springs are carried by my local home improvement stores) measured 3.00 inches free length, and had .063 inch wire, 12 coils and a 0.689 inch OD. So that spring rate came to 7.688 #/inch. At 0% throttle (if used alone) the preload is 6.53 pounds. This is more than stock despite the spring rate being lower since the Hillman spring has a longer free length than stock. I am not interested in using this spring alone since after you overcome the preload, the spring rate is lower than stock which was not the direction I desired.
By siamesing the coils I mean screwing them into one another coaxially. This works just fine in this case as there is sufficient room. So you can then add their effects directly as the springs are in parallel with each other. They also tend to support one another's buckling tendencies. You could also mess with preload by not fully engaging them lengthwise (longer assembly) but I did not go there.
With both springs installed the initial preload comes to 11.53 pound at the springs. This is 2.3 times or 130% more than stock. Floored the force comes to 23.05 pounds which is 92% more than stock.
A cool detail is that the magnet for the hall effect sensor lives in one end of the clevis pin. And this pin gets specially located by an indent in its middle into which the trunnion's set screw will press.
To do this mod you remove the Hall effect sensor by unscrewing it's three allen fasteners. Don't lose the white plastic spacers. Then loosen the trunnion set screw several turns. Press out the pin from the end without a magnet. Now the spring loaded trunnion pops out. It can be removed by pushing it in slightly so that it can clear the rod on which all the pedals pivot. So the trunnion would come out the bottom of the device. Make sure things are lubed when you reassemble.
The only tricky part is that the magnet pin needs to be inserted through the trunnion so that the set screw can engage the divot along its center.
HTH.
and hopefully never will.
