Putting the "Woah"
to all your "Go" !  After
you went out and mortgaged your children to buy the biggest set of tires
you could possibly wedge into the fenderwells of your rig, you proceeded
to add that extra several hundred lbs. of rotating mass to your vehicle.
Pride filled you, as every kid in the neigborhood thought you were part
of a monster truck racing team. Or mabye you own a Baja or desert car.
Big rubber is a must for off-roading, as the stock tires are barely
adequate for pavement duty.
In either case, you quickly discover a couple things. 1.
- your brakes become less effective. A lot less. 2. - You smell burning
clutch plate a lot more often. So like any red blooded , dyed in the
wool off-roader, you do the only logical thing. "I'll put in a
9800lb pressure plate with a 2 puck hyperferamic carbon-fiber alloy
clutch disc and a set of 4 wheel disc brakes with 19 in. rotors, dual 8
piston calipers and 90 weight gear oil for brake fluidarg argh ARGH"
! (apologies to Tim Allen ;-) In all honesty, after upgrading
the clutch and brakes, we rarely give a thought to the pedals, then
wonder why our legs feel like thier ready to fall off after a couple
miles on the trail, or that our "state of the art" braking
system doesn't have the stopping power it should. The fact of the matter
is that stock pedals, wether the manual brakes of a VW, or the
hydraulics of a Toyota were designed to carry stock loads under
"normal" driving conditions. Hard core Off-roaders with
upgraded vehicles do not meet this criteria, and that's putting things
mildly. When ORC's Rail recently underwent a massive upgrade,
Hydraulic Pedals were a must. The big rubber made locking the brakes up
impossible, and in fact, the car was unsafe to drive, as maximum leg
effort resulted in minimal slow down. On the clutch side of the
equation, the stock cable clutch pedal would have made life less than
enjoyable with the Kennedy pressure
plate, in the tight, twisty trails where the rail spends much of it's
time. The final selling point was the position adjustablity. As the rail
has several drivers , ranging from 5'7'' to 6'1'', we could never settle
on a "happy medium". CNC Inc., manufactures a wide variety of high
performance / extreme duty hydraulics, for the automotive aftermarket.
In fact, they offer over 1000 combinations of slave, pedal and master
cylinder combinations. Their pedal assemblies have graced everything
from the lightweight sand rails of the dunes and Baja 1000 winning
trucks, to the rock crawling Jeeps of the Rubicon. There's a good reason
for their popularity. They work. Here's just a glimpse of the options CNC
makes available to you High strength precision aluminum castings Steel pedal arms Spring return Adjustable balance bar (for dual cylinder apps.) Polished aluminum, chrome, or red / blue / gold
Anodizing Standard or metric fittings Easy fill covers Non-skid foot surface Lightweight adjustable mounting brackets T6 7075 non corrosive pistons Total seal rubber boots
Initial Impressions Hydraulic clutch and brake pedals - The pedals are built
to last. Period. They are lightweight, yet solid. All hardware and
fittings (my pet peeve) are definitely top notch, as are the gaskets.
The foot pedal rubber is thick and looks like it will provide a long
service life. Chrome plating appears quite thick, and looks like it will
last indefinitely. Cable Throttle Pedal - The pedal is a rugged unit with a
built in 12 degree angle (to the right) and side foot rest. The built in
return spring is strong, and will lessen the load of the carb/injection
side-springs considerably. Adjustable Mounting Plate - This machined aluminum plate
provides a secure mounting method with a relatively quick method of
adjustment over a 3 position / 4 in. range. Mounting - Sand Rail
While other companies offer a quicker method of adjustment (fore and
aft), the CNC system is far stronger. The solid machined plate must be
flush mounted to the floor. For our application (Johnny's Speed &
Chrome "Warrior" chassis) an aluminum plate was fabricated in
the
"floorboard" area to serve as a secure mounting site. Once
aligned, and fitted to the drivers positions, the floor was drilled and
the adjuster plate installed using the supplied hardware (4 bolts, nuts
and lockwashers). With the plate securely in place, the pedals were
installed with CNC's mounting system. CNC uses "Feet"
adjusters to slide below the holes of the mounting plate. When the
pedals are pushed forward into thier "locked" position, the
"feet" are tightened down (via 4 - 7/16 in. head
bolts. Rubber or braided steel brake hose must be installed
between the master cylinders and the hard line, in order for the pedals
to be allowed to move. Our choice was braided stainless steel line.
While considerably more expensive than "normal" brake line, it
provides for a longer service life, and better pedal "feel",
and braking effectiveness . When a rubber brake line swells under pressure, less
force is applied to the brake shoes. Braided steel lines have minimal
"swell" and thus, make better use of the fluid pressure.) ) Next up was the installation of the clutch slave
cylinder. The cylinder mounts on the transmission with supplied
hardware, and is a straightforward procedure. Run a hard line up to the
flexible line at the pedal assembly, and you are ready to add fluid and
bleed the system normally. With all the air out of the brake and clutch
lines, the clutch can then be adjusted to specs via the threaded shaft
of the slave cylinder. The Cable throttle uses the same plate as the hydraulic
pedals, and mounts in the same fashion. Cable adjustment comes from a
drilled hexagonal rod (3 position) that hooks to the throttle cable. The
rod is secured to the pedal by a clevis pin, making for quick and easy
adjustments when necicary. Conclusion The difference is incredible! The clutch action is
incredibly smooth, and pedal effort for the 1700lb. pressure plate is
minimal. Once on the road, (off the road ?) the increase in braking
force was astounding. For a second, I forgot that these aren't power
brakes. Now the brakes are smooth, controlled, powerful, and you won't
injure your leg using them. All in all, the car is much easier and safer
to drive. In High performance driving conditions, they are a dream to
use, and add to the drivability of the car. Where we used to fight an
ongoing battle with the VW pedals, the CNC's are smooth, responsive, and
easily controlled. We have over 1000 miles on the assembly without a
problem, and have no reservations in recommending CNC products to you on
any level. CNC's pricing is reasonable, their quality is excellent, and
most importantly, they work as advertised. Your money is well spent with
CNC products. CNC Inc.
1221 West Morena Blvd
San Diego CA. 92110
Phone : 619-257-1663
Fax : 619-275-0729
Catalog available | 
