I was just going to ask about that... lol.

 

I'd be curious to see how many people actually do this in the car. Someone should make this post into a POLL. I bet far less do it than we think. It takes a LONG TIME to master.

 

I try to do it at any "applicable" corner, which comes out to around twice a day. It's not hard to do a heel-toe (or, something that resembles it), but it is pretty hard to do it well, i.e. braking consistently at exactly the right amount to reach the right speed in the corner while blipping exactly the right amount of throttle to rev match smoothly at said speed.

However, I have come close to losing the rear due to a poorly executed heel-toe: braking too hard in conjunction with blipping too much throttle and overshooting the rev-match RPM range. Be careful out there!

 

I heel-toe all the time. It took about 1 year to master. I just took advantage of opportunities to practice, but did not go looking for practice.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by snowball
I try to do it at any "applicable" corner, which comes out to around twice a day.

 

Actually, there are two methods, depending on the orientation of the pedals. On older cars, the methods already stated work OK.

I have found on most new cars with a "driving" pedigree, the pedals are setup for a slightly different heel and toe, without the heel!

Now, it means you apply braking with the ball of your right foot, and roll over the other side of your foot to use the accelerator to match revs. Instead of being two different events, it should be one smooth operation. The main advantage is it helps maintain balance at high speeds, by not unloading the suspension dramatically. This does not matter at street speeds, but at high speed is the fastest way to navigate a track.

Someone mentioned it allows you to brake later. Trail braking is an entirely different, but related, topic, which may or may not be performed in conjunction with a heel and toe maneuver. When i drove competitively, it was a way to sucker a guy in a fast turn if you had superior braking, allowing you to either dive under him or cut right or left. It takes a lot of skill and is risky, but is a great maneuver late in a race where you have not been able to pass on a straight or the dude or dudette in front of you has not made a mistake on which to take advantage. I have had more than few trail braking attempts end up in a terminal oversteer condition, as the weight transfers to the front of the car, and the unloading of the rear causes a slip angle you had not planned for, and not even a lot of opposite lock can overcome.

I recommend taking a competitive or high performance driving class at Bondurant (where I went), Skip Barber, the Car Guys, etc. They will first teach you vehicle dynamics (the science behind how a car works and its relation to driving). then teach you proper technique: hand position, shuffle steering, heel and toeing, etc. By the time you are done, assuming average to above average skills and a lot of desire, you will be amazed how well you can get it. Plus, learning how to recover from even an apparently hopeless skid can save your life.

When my daughter is old enough, we will both go - it is far better than Driver's Ed, and teaches stuff she will never learn otherwise, and in a safer and less consequential (dents, lawsuits, jail time) situation. I will be getting on in years, but expect that whatever I may have lost in physical reflexes, a lifetime of experience on the street and as an amateur in SCCA "C" will make up for it. Of course, I will have a monitor on her street car, and she had better not hotdog it on the street - too many youngsters end up mashed because their skills and their brains have not been properly introduced.

 

As far as opportunities to practice heel-toeing, I do it every time I get off the interstate. Obviously, I don't finish with a turn, but it helps me practice matching the revs and being able to do it properly when I am setting up a corner.

I'm a ball-of-foot on the brake / pinkie toe on the throttle guy (as opposed to a classic heel-and-toe guy). I just bought some Bell racing shoes off of eBay that fit my size (9.5), but I CAN'T HEEL-TOE IN THEM!!!

Turns out that they aren't quite wide enough and my foot slips off the brake as I try to blip the throttle.

I think things would be perfect if the brake and throttle were about 5 or 10 mm closer. Has anyone tried adjusting the pedal placement on the S2000, or am I stuck buying a set of aftermarket pedals? I had to buy aftermarket pedals for my Civic Si, and they were awful. At least I could heel-toe though.

 

Watch some of the Best Motoring videos on the internet.

They have a camera that shows the driver's feet while racing, it shows proper Heel-Toe Tech.

They make it look pretty easy.

 

I've been practicing for about 2 months and it's a biotch!....

I would recommend that you practice in a straight line before practicing entering a turn.

Basically with all 3 pedals having a foot on them......if your clutch is not engaged when you "blip" the throttle....you will surge vice slow down..... I learned that this timing is crucial and it's dangerous when your first start off.

Definately start off slow motion and in a straight line when slowing down.

Drive safe........

 

man, i am no expert driver and i don't claim to be, but i can heel toe pretty above average nowadays. when i first learned to double clutch i thought it was difficult, now i do it all the time to slow down or to downshift and bone out. then i thought the heel toe on corners was impossible, too much to think about. but after several months of practice i can do it pretty well, and it comes to a point where you don't think about it anymore and just do it. at first i thought my feet were too small (size 8.5us) but with practice i can easily angle my foot to cover both pedals.
as SIIK2NR says practice in a straight line first even though that is not what this technique is for, just to get a feel for the motion. i even practiced at stoplights, it is not as damaging to your car to learn this way. then when your confidence is up, try it on the twisties.
the advantage of this technique is a much smoother and more controlled ride on the twisties.
i am actually thinking of buying the heel-toe race pedal set in the marketplace which has a wider gas, but only if they are direct replacements and not just covers but i don't really need them but it would be nice to have the wider gas as my foot won't have to contort as much.

sorry for the lengthy post.
peace out.