Really enjoyed the write ups and glad to see the oil cooler and urge rotors are working out for you. Was curious to hear some feedback on those. Also great video at the track, looks like you had a pretty quick lap for sure. I also have an issue with over braking into turns and it doesn't help that I'm always using different pads and going to the same tracks at different times of year. The car is looking good man, can't wait to see some more!

 

Thx man. If you got any questions feel free to ask. The oil cooler I really don't have too much to comment on besides that it seems to be working fine , and I noted the pressure drop. The urge rear rotors I can't comment too much on either as I've only run them for 1 day. I'd like to get more track time but it's hard these days and I'm hoping I can get progressively more track time in as the year progresses.

Regarding braking I really just need more seat time for sure, as I've really only done 3 track days now with the move to a square setup and new brakes. It's definitely a bit of an adjustment because the brakes were very inconsistent on the OEM front brakes which caused me to lose some confidence, but I'm slowly learning to trust them. As I noted before, I love the square setup for multiple reasons and actually much prefer the feel of it over the oem staggered setup. The car just responds so much faster to steering inputs and turn in is amazing. Sometimes I wonder if I could run a larger staggered tire setup (like 255/285) if I'd actually prefer how it felt over the 255 square. While I think the bigger rear tire would obviously help in terms of getting on the throttle earlier, I'd think it'd basically just be an augmented oem setup, where the front responds more slowly. Maybe, maybe not..? The "obvious" solution to settling down the rear (especially at speed) is certainly a rear wing. I will certainly go that route before trying any high dollar staggered wheel setup as it should provide more rear grip at speed yet keep the responsive nature of the square setup.

I'm happy because the car is really at a point now where I just need seat time and enjoy driving the car.

 

Oh ya, I realize I haven't commented on actual driving a whole lot and figure it's not a bad idea for new track goers. I'll talk about heel toeing..

Heel-toe

I've come a long way from when I started, and while it's still not completely seamless, I'm very comfortable w/ it on track now and relatively smooth (I think). When you first try to learn this new skill no one tells you how they do it. All they say is, you press the brake and blip the throttle. Ok great, but how exactly. Well, I'll say for anyone wondering the answer is "it depends" and "your results may vary." I'll go through my progression so people can get an idea of what I went through and come to realize it takes time and isn't learned overnight.

When you first start heel toeing it will feel awkward, that's just how it is. When I first started I put too much of my foot over the brake (people say to use the ball of your right foot) which left me barely/unable to reach the gas pedal to blip. I didn't want my foot to slip off the brake and everyone said to put the ball of your foot on the brake so I thought I must need a pedal extender. I bought a nice pedal extender and installed it and after a few days of track usage I found the pedal too close and I would inadvertently blip the throttle (no bueno). I came to realize I really didn't need it and decided to learn w/o the pedal extension, so I removed it. I'm a size 10 shoe for reference.

Here's a picture of the SRP pedal extension installed:


I figure I ought to comment on track shoes since it's a similar tangent. I'm a big fan of my slip on (forgot the brand I'll add later) shoes because they're comfortable, fit well, and have a relatively flat bottom. I'm also a fan of Chuck's, but they're not as comfortable for me. You definitely don't want bulky sneakers that don't have flatish bottoms. I've never bought racing shoes and didn't want to because I don't like being "that guy" with all sorts of gear/stuff, yet I'm slow as a snail. Not saying there's anything wrong with it, and if you're committed to learning it might not be a bad idea, it's just not my thing. Maybe someday I'll buy some, but having one more thing to deal w/ on a track day isn't something I care to bother with. I'm not actually racing, just running the HPDE cup.

Anyway, back to heel toeing.. So with the pedal extension removed I realized I just needed to man up and not make lame excuses for my inability to heel toe and just practice. I asked a few fellow track goers exactly how they did it and a light bulb went off, you just gotta do what feels comfortable for you and practice. I've always been a fan of rev matching and double clutching on the street (yes, double clutching does help the syncros, GTFO if you disagree I don't care , and it's quite easy to do when putzing on the street), but never did a whole lot of heel toeing. I'll say spending time heel toeing on the street certainly helps. Most importantly you get used to turning your foot during ANY braking so it becomes second nature. I'm pretty much there unless I'm just putzing around.

So on to the actual techniques.. After failing with the ball of foot on brake pedal method, I moved to the "big toe" method of heel toeing. I would basically do my braking with my big toe only and a little more of my foot. It felt iffy at first, like my toe would slide off (getting just the right amount of your foot on the brake is tricky), but I figured the only way to get better was to keep trying. My foot did in fact slide off a couple times which botched the turns but nothing got hurt but my ego.. Eventually I learned to trust this positioning and felt somewhat comfortable. The issue for me came later.. with this technique I'd lift my heel to blip the throttle w/ my heel, which meant a release of pressure. I learned to apply the brake pressure somewhat steadily w/ the blip, but I just couldn't be super consistent. Also, the one thing about track vs street is that you might very well need a lot more pressure on track on the brakes so it's harder to simulate/practice on the street. When I was learning I started with HP+ pads and ran them on the street. This actually didn't help me as the pads had too much initial bite on the street to be able to simulate heel toeing at the track. On the street I needed very little pressure on the brake, but at the track I need a lot more. I run street pads on the street now with less initial bite and I prefer it and find heel toeing more similarly mimics the track.

So after struggling w/ the big toe method, I somehow transitioned to the "rolling foot blip" for the lack of a better term. I probably use a little more of my right foot than the "big toe" method on the brake pedal, but now I keep my heel on the floor (which helps w/ leverage and consistency) and just pivot my foot. I simply "roll" my right foot a little to blip the gas pedal, and that does the trick. It really just takes time and practice to where your foot goes exactly where you want it to go. I'm no Ayrton Senna, but it's come a long way for me and I feel pretty comfortable with it now. I've tried several different methods and had many screw ups but that's all part of learning. For those starting just keep at it and you'll get the hang of it. Heel toe ftw!

If anyone else cares to share their heel-toe technique please post up. I'd be curious to hear it as sometimes the finer details often get left out.

 

Really enjoyed reading this . I like your measured approach to everything .

 

Hey man I used to have problems heel toeing when I first started driving too. I use the ball of my foot on the brake pedal and then roll my ankle to blip the throttle with my heel. The thing that helped me, which it seems like you're doing, was to just consistently practice it all the time in my normal driving. True, you do use less brake pedal pressure during street driving, but that allows you to practice the finesse of the movement, i.e. at low street speeds maintaining a constant pressure while blipping the throttle , not so easy to do with light pedal pressure. Practicing that will pay dividends on track when you have to downshift and then transition to trail braking. Being able to downshift and then tapering off the pedal pressure during trail braking will help maintain your intended weight shift and yaw. As you pointed out your shoes could be a big factor. I really like to use old, beat-up Vans shoes because they are flat-bottomed and have a really thin sole, which gives me good pedal feel. I wouldn't worry too much about having racing shoes in HPDE, who cares what the other guys think. I've had a set of sparcos that I picked up on Ebay for over a year now. Whatever helps you improve your driving is a win for you.

 

Thanks man.

 

Thanks Brian, always helps to have others chime in and throw their 2 cents in. I heel toe a lot of the time on the street now during braking because it's just fun and good practice. I think what's worked best for me is I keep my heel on the floor (and maybe only scoot it slightly) and pivot on my heel when braking/heel toeing, and going back to the gas pedal. Keeping my heel on the floor is critical to being able to apply consistent pressure and I just roll my foot to blip the gas. It's just taken time to get comfortable with it but I'm very comfortable now.

Oh ya regarding the shoes.. my favorite shoes are my Vanns slip ons (forgot to edit my post). They're super comfy and probably one of my favorite shoe off track also.

 

Haven't done any track days lately which sucks but have been working on the garage and organizing it which makes me feel a little better. Still got a lot to do but got plenty of storage now. Also, the air hose reel is awesome, makes using air tools a breeze as cleaning up is fast. Looking to do a TNIA next August at Dominion. Looks like it finally won't be cancelled.

 

I tried PMing you, but it said you could not receive them for some reason.

I am thinking about purchasing a set of TSW Interlagos 17x9 wheels with 255/40R17 tires all around.

Two questions:
-Do you know if this will cause any fender rubbing?
-What center caps did you purchase for your wheels to give it the OEM looks?

Thank you in advance!

 

Good read on heel toeing. For years and years (and I am still not perfect at it) I struggled to heel toe. I tried the traditional method you see everyone doing with the toes on the brake throwing your foot up in the air and blipping the throttle with your heel. I also picked up the pedal extender from SRP and have begun using the rolling the foot method with my heel still on the ground. I tend to use my little toe and the one over (roughly) on the brake the other 3 toes on the gas. I recommend it for anyone who has the same issues.