I don't recommend practicing unless you are the only on the road....

The first thing I noticed when heel-toe shifting is that my breaking distance is drastically reduced as a result of having my foot on the brake at all times...

I don't use it for daily driving but it allows you to enter turns at a faster speed before downshifting..

 

Thanks XJBayloar and Tmelch! I appreciate the input.

The few times I've tried this, I had a hard time with it so it's not something I've pursued much. Since I don't usually drive the car in a mode that requires heal/toeing, it's not been much of a problem.

I'm 6'2 with a 34" inseam. Last time I tried, I simply didn't have room between my knee and the steering wheel or the center console to rotate my leg to a point where I could get my foot on the brake and throttle at the same time. It hadn't occurred to me to try repositioning the drivers seat as I'm tall enough to really need it a far back as I can get it.

I'll experiment around and see how it goes!

Drive Safe,
Steve R.

 

Some heel-toe 101, for those interested.

1) Technique used to simultaneously brake and downshift to the appropriate gear for a corner. Combining braking and downshifting saves time, especially helpful for track situations, but can be used in everyday driving while not going fast. It just takes good brake pressure and rev-matching skill. It is always good to be in the right gear before a corner, since shifting while turning = higher chance of spinning out.

2) Not the same thing as a double clutch downshift or rev-matching, but is used in the technique. Rev-matching is just blipping the throttle so engine RPM's will match for the driveshaft/transmission RPM's in the lower gear. Double-clutching is a technique to match the RPM's of the transmission input shaft to the engine, transmission and driveshaft RPM's. This is not required on syncho-meshed transmissions, since the synchros are there to match the transmission input shaft RPM's. Double clutching is engaging and disengageing the clutch for the second time while the transmission is in neutral while shifting. This matches the input shaft to the blipped engine speed. Only required when the synchos stop working or you want to save the syncho wear.

3) The classic way to heel-toe is with the ball of the foot on the brake while blipping the throttle with the heel. Some people like to straddle the brake and throttle with foot, using the left side for brake and rolling the right part of the foot to blip the throttle.

4) IMO, you should build up in steps if you are new to this. First just learn to downshift/rev-match without jerking. This can be done on the highway and is something everyone should learn anyways. Then try to brake, downshift and rev-match smoothly in a straight line. The trick is to keep the brake pressure steady while blipping the throttle. Can do this on highway off ramps or just coming to a stop. Lastly, do it with a turn. Brake, downshift/rev-match, then turn.

 

I just use my left foot on the brake and it works perfectly. It needs a lot of practice but once you control the pressure on the brakes, it gives great results!

 

You are working the clutch and brake with one foot??

I've read where if you perfectly rev match you can finesse the gearchange in and out of gear without using the clutch while working the brakes with the left foot and gas with the right -- but I believe this is a rally car method. I would never dare try it.

 

It takes a hell of a lot of practise but once you master it you can do wonders with this method. You will be surprised with the results!

 

You're doing left foot braking, not heel/toe'ing which is for rev matching.

 

If you're learning, I suggest starting out by just learning to match revs while downshifting. Remove the whole "braking" factor. Once you've mastered matching revs, and are familiar with how it feels and sounds, then move on to braking first.

While I heel/toe every day during daily driving, I've found that it's actually easier to do the faster you're going, and the later you brake. (I don't recommend this if it's your first time )

Learn how to do this though... it's one of the rewards of driving a great MT car, and there's no better feeling than nailing a perfectly matched 3-2 downshift while braking. It sounds awesome, and any enthusiast within earshot will turn their head.

 

Its really hard to describe the way am doing it, but believe me it works just fine! And if you find the trick with the proper throttle pressure you dont need the clutch to change gears which is excellent.

 

you don't need to have race pedals to do this, especailly on an s2k (great pedal spacing)

on my eg civic though, I have some razo pedals and I can just roll my right foot over a little.