gmjr82

what exactly is the heel and toe technique, could someone explain it?

Lan Evo

From what I understand, Heel & Toe (H&T) is a technique to maintain/increase rpm while decelerating when drive.

Normally, when you're going in a turn, you brake, downshift, step on the gas when you exit. This way there will be a lag time for you car to fully accelarate (back in power band, say 5,000+ rpm).

However, in H&T, when you're going in a turn, you brake and step on gas at the same time, therefore, you can maintain your engine in the power band.

Step 1: going in turn, brake and step on clutch at the same time.
Step 2: downshift, step on brake & gas (on right foot only using "heel & toe) ,release clutch and keep your eyes on the rpm (AND the road ahead of you, of course).
Step 3: reach Apex of the turn, relase brake, fully accelerate and exit

In this way, you can exit a turn accelerating hard The more practice you have, the better you'll get. Yeah, I did that to my poor Mirage as well doesn't make it any "faster"

I'm sure I'm not the best person to tell you all this, but this should be general idea

NeX

Yes they tell u in drivers education that you should always accelerate half way into the turn. Hence without me knowing i learned the "heel and toe" method with out ever realizing it.

codemunky

Let me add to the technique. Upon executing heel-toe, 100/200 yards, depending on how fast you are going, start braking. As you start to slow down, pivot your toe on the brake pedal, and move your heel outward. Don't let go of the brake while doing this, keep braking. While your left foot is on the clutch, blip the throttle with the right foot with your heel, hard, while your toe is on the brake. At the same time, downshift. Takes some practice. You need to hold that brake consistently. Then accelerate on the apex. You'll find yourself jerking forward at first, but keep practicing, and you shall get the sweet spot. Do this on right hand turns. Watch out for cops, they'll give you a hard time, depending on where you live.

ez4me2c3d

i've seen some really good videos that demonstrate this... ok well its more like a race between two or three cars and there is a huge amount of footage taken in car and also there is a camera down by the driver's feet. this little window will pop up while inside the "in-car" view so you can watch the road, the hand motions and the foot motions all at the same time to get a good idea of what the driver is doing/ trying to accomplish. but yes, these other people have explained it very well. next step is to watch the video. if you are interested in seeing it, e-mail me and ill see about getting it to you.

fatcat

codemunky, wouldn't it be very difficult to turn you foot/leg in this way? I am not sure, never tried it like that. I read somewhere that you don't actually use your heel and toe and that you do it like this: Brake going into the turn as usual, with the ball of your foot on the brake pedal. When you want to downshift, (clutch is depressed of course) slide your right foot on the pedal slightly to the right so that only the left half of you right foot is on the brake. Then blip the gas pedal with the right side of your foot, kinda have to turn your foot a little. When the RPMs are increased you can let out the clutch after you have downshifted. With this method your heel is on the floor or in the air or whatever and it never touches the gas. The whole point is that you continue to brake, and downshift to assist your braking going into the turn without upsetting the weight transfer of the car, and of course so you are already in a proper gear to exit the turn.

codemunky

You probably could do it that way. But I wonder if you could hold the brake consistently with that method, since you are rolling your foot laterally, more like a twist. But do experiment on both techniques. When I was just starting out, I saw the pros doing it with the other method, even in the videos. Perhaps try driving with some thick socks on to get the pedal feel, and try both methods. I'm not kidding...

Oh yeah, it's not really difficult, it just feels weird at first. But you'll get used to it. It's not what you consider it to be "normal" driving. Besides, the E-brake isn't just used for holding the car in place when you are going to go get groceries, right?

Hooby

Some cars aren't really built for it tho, or at least take a littlw while longer to get used to....

Take my Saturn for instance. I've had a lot of issues with H&T in that car, where as I don't have very many issues AT ALL doing it in my friend's Celica.

Every car is different, so obviously just test it out and see where your comfort level is.

Hooby

codemunky

Also, it's hard to heel-toe in a Mini Cooper.

x4nrg

http://www.modernracer.com/tips/heelandtoeshifting.html

ez4me2c3d

Well i had the videos i mention above. then i lost them and now i have them again. the videos are huge, like 80MB - 100MB, so i edited one of them and made it smaller. i took out every part that is not an in-car shot. it's now 14MB and you can download it here.

PLEASE RIGHT CLICK AND SAVE AS (you will get faster downloads - 300MB/sec+)

EDIT: actually i change my mind, if you want it e-mail and ill send you the link. I don't want to go over my bandwidth limits on this one with 20 people downloading at once. Sorry, but thanks for your understanding.

rgmxp

iTrader: (1)

they also made those pedal sets that makes H&T easier, its wider than normal sport pedals. but they are expensive, like $60-$80 range.

Doc-Doc

The video on this forum (The ACD demonstration) show clearly what is heel and toe. Just view them, and pay attention to the small window that show the movement of driver's feet. Notice when he turn, he will brake, turn his feet and touch the gas pedal with his heel.

ez4me2c3d

yep, thats a good video, i saw it like a month or so ago.

MaXx_BoOsT

just watch initial d!