Heel and Toe Downshifting

[Just_A_GT]

Just rev match

ditto.

as others have said, heel toe technique is really only needed on a road course/autocross track. for regular driving...just blip the throttle to rev match. shouldn't really be any need to downshift/rev match while braking when you're on public roads unless you're driving like a maniac.

 

[GT Premi]

Ditto. I simply can't do it and I've had multiple people try to teach me. I simply can't contort my foot that way.

Same here. If I try twisting my leg/ankle like that, I just end up over-braking and either under- or over-revving. I've even tried braking with my heel and blipping the throttle with my toes with no success. Try as I might, I just can't get the hang of it.

Just rev match

You know that's the premise of heel-toe downshifting, right?

 

[chao5.0]

I install the extra wide on my Boss 302 and work pretty good for heel-toe. But I would with the medium wide if I was to do it again.
http://www.srpracing.com/

I will order me some of these to replace my modified Steedas. I still have trouble with grip from my shoes and these pedals so the srp ones will hopefully be what I'm looking for.

 

[VenomGTX]

Just rev match

That's what I do, I just wanna learn how to heel and toe for the sake of knowing. I'll play around using the sides of my foot and see how that goes.

 

[VenomGTX]

I install the extra wide on my Boss 302 and work pretty good for heel-toe. But I would with the medium wide if I was to do it again.
http://www.srpracing.com/

Nice! I'm gonna check these out.

 

[Swiss Boss]

I got the grid finish on the clutch, brake and foot rest and a smooth finish on the gas.

The grid really grab onto your shoes and don't slip even when wet.

 

[thomas91169]

I install the extra wide on my Boss 302 and work pretty good for heel-toe. But I would with the medium wide if I was to do it again.
http://www.srpracing.com/

Nice! They have stuff for my car too, those look amazing!

 

[03'Darin]

I heel toe using the ball of my foot on the brake with my heel rotated over the edge of the gas pedal. Just roll my heel down and blip the throttle.

I tried practicing heel toe shifting on the road when I started school for road racing. I had a terrible time trying to shift smooth. Once I hit the track it was a whole different situation and eventually got very smooth. I've been able to smoothly heel toe on my 1990 Fox body road race car, my current 1988 fox body track car (with slightly modified pedals), 97' Cobra, 03' Cobra and 1986 Mercury Cougar Chump Car I drive. The only car I've had trouble heel toeing with is the 1969 Mercury Cougar Chump I've driven. The 69 Cougar has stock pedals also.

 

[CobraRed01]

I learned to heel and toe shift my New Edge by stepping on the brake with the arch of my foot and blipping the throttle with the top of my foot angling to the right. Opposite of what others do. Works well for me. Recently, I have been also using the left side of my foot on the brake and rolling the right side to blip the throttle. Also works for me. The difference between my brake pedal and gas pedal isn't too bad for some reason. Regarding street driving...there are quite a few remote back roads around me where you can really charge the apexes. Using heel & toe, and even left foot braking, on the road (vs. track) is more about feeling how you can get the rear end to move the way you want (negating understeer) and enjoying car control... over out and out speed. It's like playing a fine instrument...with your feet, steering inputs...and seat of your pants. What's a paddle shifter?

 

[Almighty-One]

thread hijacked

[video=youtube;8By2AEsGAhU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU[/video]

 

[natedog_1959]

I heel/toe downshift all the time during regular street driving. Any time I have to slow down more than 10-15 MPH for a corner, I heel/toe. I am considering moving my gas pedal up and to the left about 3/4" in both directions. My SVT focus had perfect pedal locations, the Mustang, not so much.

 

[el jefe 302]

I install the extra wide on my Boss 302 and work pretty good for heel-toe. But I would with the medium wide if I was to do it again.
http://www.srpracing.com/

Yup, thats also the pedals I use. I have the medium width.

 

[vergil]

For those of you who do this in this in their Mustangs - what's your secret? I can't seem to figure out how to pull it off without contorting my ankle in an impossible way. I've had two S197s and two New Edge Mustangs and the story has always been the same. The positioning of the gas and brake pedals doesn't seem conducive to this technique (gas pedal is too low in relation to the brake pedal) and I can't figure it out. Is there a way to raise the gas pedal to make things easier or am I just doing something wrong?

Same here, I've been watching vids on youtube and trying to learn how to do it properly but man it's difficult I don't want to mess with the drivetrain.

 

[10splaya22]

I have been practicing a lot of some back roads just to know how to do it. Going faster in the higher rpm range I find it easier because you are less likely to notice small rpm variations. If you are going slower (around 2k rpm) I find it much more difficult to get smoothly. It takes lots and lots of practice to get perfect but you really don't need to. As long as you give it some throttle so its not as big of a shock to the drive train is good. But then again its not necessary on the street. I just like doing it as a challenge and if I ever do go to the track I want to have practiced it already.

On my Terminators I remember the pedal spacing being very strange and I feel like it would be very difficult to do properly. My 335i was the first car I've actually put effort into doing it and the pedal spacing and placement makes it much simpler.

Pic of 335i pedal setup for reference. I put my heel at the base of the gas pedal and use the ball of my foot on the brake and roll my foot to hit the gas. This technique has worked well for me.



This video also helped me starting at 13:24 ish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqYeusE8ksk

 

[chao5.0]

it is true that its easier with higher rpms but you should still practice during normal driving for muscle memory and foot location, it helps to have that feel on you foot about where it should be to properly gauge how much of your foot needs to be on the brake and how big the gap is between the two pedals.

 

[WutApex]

I still have quite a bit of trouble with the Cobra on the street. I did do the spacer as well as add some Ultimate pedals w/extended gas pedal.

On the race car, I seem to be quite a bit better but still need some work. Racing in the rain a couple weeks ago showed me that I should learn to be smoother. I'm sure being on the brakes a lot harder than the street car makes the H&T easier to perform. I also did the spacer mod on this car and used, of all things, a cheap cutting board to both extend the gas pedal toward the brake and to raise the pedal a bit more. Works surprisingly well.

 

[CobraBob]

I'm just curious. Many cars now have electronic rev matching (C7 Vette, Mini Cooper, etc.). In general, how does the electronic rev matching compare to the conventional heel/toe method? I have it in my '14 Mini Cooper S hatchback. Seems to work pretty well, but I've never done the conventional heel/toe technique.

Here is a video of a C7 with rev matching. [youtube_browser]vLebXxDXjk4[/youtube_browser]

 

[4601S/C]

I keep my heel over the brake and blip the throttle with the ball of foot. The normal way most people do it is too awkward for me.

 

[Voltwings]

^^ its weird. My Dads C7 Z has it, and while i've never taken the z on track i dont like it. I imagine it would be easier for someone to start with it, than for someone who has already developed the muscle memory to try to implement it. Its not bad at what it does, but it screws up my natural rhythm you know.

I also feel like its cheating. Just put in the time and effort to do it yourself, i feel more respect as a driver comes from that, than from basically driving an automatic at that point. Like the people who want some magic fat loss pill instead of just going to the damn gym like everyone else ... /rant.

I keep my heel over the brake and blip the throttle with the ball of foot. The normal way most people do it is too awkward for me.

Im fairly tall, so my knee usually ends up hitting the transmission tunnel ... i may give your way a shot.

 

[VA-Mach1]

Need a hand throttle on the shifter.