Any DIY gas-pedal-assembly removal? Yes, aluminum pedals are on the way.

[JCtx]

Hey gang. My ultimate pedals are going to arrive soon, and would like to remove the gas pedal assembly to drill and shave the screws on the back; don't want them to interfere with WOT. It's MUCH easier to work with the pedal on a bench than crouched like a banana in there. And a lot less mess as well. Does anybody have a service manual to tell us how the gas pedal is removed???

With clutch and brake pedals we have no choice but to remove the rubber inserts (not hard at all) and drill them in place. Hardest part is to punch locations perfectly... or pedals would be crooked. But if you screw up, drilling the offending hole(s) a bit larger in the appropriate direction solves the problem, especially when tightened properly. However, for guaranteed success when doing that, I always insert a tooth pick and break it flush with the pedal to eliminate any gaps. And yes, I've installed pedals before, but am certainly not looking forward to it . Get ready for some back pain after completing the job .

[JCtx]

Well, nobody helped, so had to figure it out by myself, but since I'm a nice guy, here it is so others don't have a hard time like I did .

First step is to remove the gas pedal. The round cap in the middle of the gas pedal base comes out easily with your fingernails (look at the pic below to see where the bolt goes); it's just held in place by the allen bolt's head. Remove the allen bolt after that. Then push up the pedal assembly while wiggling it; the tab is right behind the pedal shaft, so you know where to grab the pedal. After that comes the hard part. My car had almost no slack on the connector, and nobody helped, so had to figure out by myself how to remove the damn thing. DON'T pull on the wires, thinking the green connector has to come out (like I did); you need to press the tabs at the bottom of the connector (your finger will barely fit between tab and pedal), and at the same time, use your other hand to push DOWN on the BLACK connector with your fingernails. After the initial resistance, it should slide down (that qualifies as your yoga workout for the day folks ). Then you're ready to install the gas pedal. I chose the most appealing screw locations, but your tastes might be different. Just make sure you can drill safely. I used screws on the gas pedal, drilling a 1/16" hole first, then 7/64". The only screw I had to cut with a Dremel is the top one, as it was interfering with WOT; the other ones are invisible, and don't interfere at all. By the way, I lined up the aluminum pedal flush with the plastic one on TOP and RIGHT SIDE; came out perfect. Sorry for the crappy photo, but flash made it worse. Tomorrow I'll install the other 2, and take nicer pictures of the finished job.

As far as the pedals, I chose www.ultimatepedals.com with custom engraving (decided on '///M', rather than 'M3' to better match the dead pedal, which I won't replace), and 'shiny, anti-slip' finish, to also match the shiny dead pedal the best. I chose anti-slip instead of rubber inserts, but you can choose both, or just shiny with inserts; plenty of choices. Hope this helps.

[JCtx]

Next pedal was clutch, since it's PLASTIC on this car, so a piece of cake. The way I do it is to wrap pedal in masking tape first, then duct tape, as pedal slides too easily with the former (and duct tape by itself leaves residue). I chose to line up the bottom of both pedals, center it sideways (it's barely 1mm on each side anyway), and check it's leveled at the top. Same process as the gas pedal: 1/16" bit first, then 7/64", and install screws. You can always use more incremental steps with the drill bits if you need to correct your holes, but mine were aligned fine. Here's a pic of the clutch done, and the brake taped up:



Final, and hardest step was the brake, since it's metal, and 'WAVY', so drill bit tends to go all over the place, even after a punch. Here I couldn't install all 4 screws like on the clutch, since nut wouldn't fit on the bottom left location due to the wider brake arm, so I cut one screw's head and superglued it for symmetry. The pedals look uneven due to the fact clutch's 'pad' is slightly lower and stops higher up than the brake (not noticeable with stock rubber inserts), but they look awesome in person. Pictures don't do them any justice, but you get the idea. They look immensely better than the equally expensive BMW ones. The engraved '///M' looks incredible; very classy, and subdued. And along with the shiny finish, nicely matches the stock deal pedal, which I like. I always prefer the 'anti-slip' finish than rubber inserts, but that's just me. This is how the car should have come from the factory IMO. Here's the finished job (I took the pic before leveling the brake pedal, which was slightly crooked, so you know):

[anthony @ eas]

Nice write up. Those pedals look great.

[jimmyeatsworld]

Thanks for the write up.

I am currently researching to get this installed this weekend.

Why did you decide to take off the gas pedal instead of leaving it on for the install?

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by jimmyeatsworld

Thanks for the write up.
Why did you decide to take off the gas pedal instead of leaving it on for the install?

My pleasure.
Yes, I removed it. Don't worry; it'll be easy now that you have instructions. I didn't know what I was dealing with, plus didn't have any slack on the wires.
Reason I removed it is because I wanted the screws in the location I chose, and the top one needed to be cut to clear WOT. Plus it's MUCH easier to position the pedal and CAREFULLY drill in the comfort of your desk rather than being curled up like a pretzel down there in a hot garage (didn't have a choice with the other pedals, but they can be reached easier than the gas pedal). I used screws on both plastic pedals, and I don't think they'd ever get loose, but you can use bolts and nuts if you prefer. Just make sure you ask Rob for extra screws as he only sends for 1 pedal (our clutch is plastic); I had some extra ones laying around from my previous order. Good luck man.

[Crydaddy]

what kind of rubber mats do you have? does it have the rears also? thanks! nice write-up

[JCtx]

They're the OEM all-season rubber floor mats for E92s buddy. They're sold in front and rear sets, and yes, I have both. And all 4 have 'BMW'. I mention this because they're not listed for the M3, so don't confuse them with the ones with a carpeted heel pad and no 'BMW' (which I didn't like).
These are much better than carpeted ones IMO, will always look new after cleaning them, and you don't have to worry in case you ever drive your baby in the rain . I'd buy them from Tischer; they should be less than $100 shipped. By the way, I also bought the trunk mat in gray; it's not a perfect color match, but again, much better than the carpeted 'M3' IMO (and yes, it has 'BMW' on it as well). Hope this helps.

[Crydaddy]

thanks man!!

[niqui]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

They're the OEM all-season rubber floor mats for E92s buddy. They're sold in front and rear sets, and yes, I have both. And all 4 have 'BMW'. I mention this because they're not listed for the M3, so don't confuse them with the ones with a carpeted heel pad and no 'BMW' (which I didn't like).
These are much better than carpeted ones IMO, will always look new after cleaning them, and you don't have to worry in case you ever drive your baby in the rain . I'd buy them from Tischer; they should be less than $100 shipped. By the way, I also bought the trunk mat in gray; it's not a perfect color match, but again, much better than the carpeted 'M3' IMO (and yes, it has 'BMW' on it as well). Hope this helps.

do you mind posting the link for that trunk mat you were talking about it, quite a few popped up, do u have a pic by chance, nice pedals, just got a set yesterday, gonna install tmrw,
not ultimate pedals but bmw ones, the ones that are rubber outlined in steel...i like yours

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by niqui

do you mind posting the link for that trunk mat you were talking about it

Happy to oblige . Here's the only one I found pictured, but mine is gray. I have to say the gray doesn't quite match the carpet, but looks better than black IMO. And this mat covers more than the M3 one. Hope this helps man.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-3...Q5fAccessories

[Boost3dm3]

I removed the gas pedal before and I have to say that it was the biggest pain in the rear. I pushed the black tabs and it refused to come out and of course I broke the thing. Good thing that the part is only $4.

[niqui]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Happy to oblige . Here's the only one I found pictured, but mine is gray. I have to say the gray doesn't quite match the carpet, but looks better than black IMO. And this mat covers more than the M3 one. Hope this helps man.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-3...Q5fAccessories

great, thanks a lot

[isugoo]

Most of common DIY are available in E90Post area. Since there are a lot more members are there, a lot more DIY are available. (Shares exact same ID from here so no need to re-register types of hassle) So make sure to check there for your next DIY project.

[SUB-ZERO]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Next pedal was clutch, since it's PLASTIC on this car, so a piece of cake. The way I do it is to wrap pedal in masking tape first, then duct tape, as pedal slides too easily with the former (and duct tape by itself leaves residue). I chose to line up the bottom of both pedals, center it sideways (it's barely 1mm on each side anyway), and check it's leveled at the top. Same process as the gas pedal: 1/16" bit first, then 7/64", and install screws. You can always use more incremental steps with the drill bits if you need to correct your holes, but mine were aligned fine. Here's a pic of the clutch done, and the brake taped up:



Final, and hardest step was the brake, since it's metal, and 'WAVY', so drill bit tends to go all over the place, even after a punch. Here I couldn't install all 4 screws like on the clutch, since nut wouldn't fit on the bottom left location due to the wider brake arm, so I cut one screw's head and superglued it for symmetry. The pedals look uneven due to the fact clutch's 'pad' is slightly lower and stops higher up than the brake (not noticeable with stock rubber inserts), but they look awesome in person. Pictures don't do them any justice, but you get the idea. They look immensely better than the equally expensive BMW ones. The engraved '///M' looks incredible; very classy, and subdued. And along with the shiny finish, nicely matches the stock deal pedal, which I like. I always prefer the 'anti-slip' finish than rubber inserts, but that's just me. This is how the car should have come from the factory IMO. Here's the finished job (I took the pic before leveling the brake pedal, which was slightly crooked, so you know):

Same mats that I have...their great. I bought them at the dealer for $35 (fronts only).

-SZ

[NYCMCBM3]

damit, i need to know how to put in the deal pedal , any other write ups?