Heal toe shifting.....anyone do it?
 

I never used to throttle blip in a downshift before I got this car, now I've been reading about blipping the throttle while you're on the brakes in a downshift (heal toe shifting).

Anyone do this? If so how hard was it to learn? I'm thinking that I'll probably mash the brakes and look stupid the first couple of times, but it honestly doesn't seem that hard.

I rev-match a lot when I'm coming up to a red light from 5->4->3, but not past 3rd gear since I'm not good enough. I only heel-toe at a couple of turns when I drive to work, just to practice. There really isn't a good reason IMO to heel-toe on the street -- I only do it at the track.

Rev-matching is good for saving your clutch...

I do it all the time through turns or sometimes when I just feel like driving hard :)

I picked it up rather quickly, just practice and you'll get it down pretty good.

IMO it's not hard at all. I saw my firned who raced INDY do it while driving my STi, and then I just tried it. It took about a week of constant practice to learn to do it well.

Good reason to do it on the street= Its one of those racing techniques that you can practice on the street. (Along with looking ahead, and hand position)

Just start with finding where to put your foot for the brake and gas, and start giving the throttle blip, dont even have to put it in gear as you do it, you can add that later as you feel comfortable, or just stay on the clutch as you do it coming up to lights and get the timing down without the extra clutch use.

What it does for equipment is save the synchros and makes shifts smoother, and by keeping the revs up when you let out on the clutch it will keep the wheels from locking up from the shock of fast car/slow engine. (can cause a spin quick in rwd)

Jon K
www.seat-time.com

I agree with everything you say, but I'm unsure about the synchro part. Synchros just help you engage the desired gear, so whether or not you blip the throttle or not doesn't matter, since you're clutching in either way. Now if you're talking about shifting without using the clutch by somehow rev-matching, then I'd agree that you'll save the synchros. However, I don't think this is the case?

Like shifting without a clutch you have to have in the right rev range, bliping the throttle puts it in that "sweet spot" and is going to help ease the stress on all the parts.

Jon K

It is now just a natural reaction for me. I started practicing it about a year agao, but I didn't do it everytime. Now I do it everytime I downshift (exept into 1st, I don't downshift into first). When I drive a non-performance stick, its hard for me to remember NOT to do it.

http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/3...ltoegif4ty.gif

The sequence of events is personal preference, I guess. The picture is not how I do it. I brake first (split seconds before the following), then clutch, gas, and downshift all at once.

This should all be done BEFORE you turn into a turn, and you should be on throttle through the turn.

Nice diagram! Needs numbers tho...can't see the blip really....

Anyway...

I do Heel and Toe downshift religiously. ;p Even in an Automatic (i forget i'm in an automatic.....i stabbed the brakes thinking it was the clutch once........yeah...shut up ;p). Google "Heel and Toe" and there should be a bunch of step-by-step tutorials. ;p Good luck and remember to practice!

Happy New Years!

There's also lots of good info on this just a few threads down...

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=143285

I will almost always do it when I have to stop at a light, and I will rev match down shift before turning on the street from 5-4-3 then heel toe to 2nd for the turn so my revs are nice and high.

you should be gassing while your in neutral though to get engine speed up to where it should be before you select your lower gear. Your animated picture is actually incorrect if you want to save your syncros.

He's right... if part of your aim is to save synchro wear, you don't want to put the gear selector into the gate of a gear until you have blipped the gas and raised the engine speed to match the wheel speed of the new gear. It's possible that the version of HT demonstrated in the diagram could be accomplished in less time with some drivers, deeming it appropriate on track, but don't expect your synchros to last any longer than they would without HT. This is a really good technique to practice on the street, especially when coming from 5th or 4th to a stop on a straight-away. Even if you don't track the car, you can put your skills to the test by putting it into a lower gear before taking a right-hander on a green and see if you can make each transition smooth. This aids greatly when the speed and pressure is multiplied.

the evo is by far the easiest car i've ever driving to heel toe in! Although really in the evo it's more of left half of the foot and right half of the foot. Just try to use it on the road as often as possible.