Learning heel'n'toe - suggestions?

[Andy G]

You definately want to be pretty confident before you start doing it on track, as you'll be going harder, and any chance of cokcing up will most likely result in an off.

You want to practise till it is second nature, before taking it to the track.

Perhaps on the entry to the hairpin, you could try braking harder, and leaving the gear change later. Less chance of locking the rears.

[Modena Scotland]

Rev match on down shift = minimum clutch slip = less strain and wear

As many people down shift during braking, why not H&T (if can be done properly) on road??????

[alicrozier]

Scotty liked my heel n toe in the van...with the trailer on.

[Chucks]

Get yourself an old Triumph in need of a carb rebuild. Thats how I learned initially, my old Spitfire would stall at every junction when cold irrespective of choke position, hence I invented heel & toe for this reason. It was only years later I realised someone else had already come up with the idea

Just takes practice, as already mentioned it's very easy to come off the brakes so don't be practicing when heading full speed for a tight bend. BMW organ type pedals aren't the easiest, some days I have the knack, others I just can't get it. Did find it came instinctively the one time I've driven an Elise though.

[Scotty C]

Scotty liked my heel n toe in the van...with the trailer on.

[Tommy Twist]

Thanks very much for all the helpful suggestions, especially the tips on foot control

The racing drivers' application of heel'n'toe to avoid driven-wheel locking is well understood. However, my interest in using this technique on the road is simply for smoothness and the satisfaction that comes with stringing it all together nicely. Double-clutch rev-matching (vs traditional single-clutch down-shifting, but without the heel'n'toe) is almost a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned – better for the synchros, clutch, smoother, etc... however, it does force you to make your gear selection before or after (usually after) the braking phase... unless you want to come off and back onto the brakes... but it would be nice to perform the whole shebang inside one phase of braking

Hope to have the opportunity soon to give it a go, although that BM accelerator pedal is quite low in relation to the brake pedal...

P.S. Apologies for not relying sooner - hectic lately

[steve_weegie]

It's a good technique to learn, and becomes very natural once you're used to it. As others have indicated, there's more than one way to do this, so you may have to experiment to find out what works for you and the car you're in at the time. If you're learning from scratch, i'd suggest learning to control the throttle while keeping a constant pressure on the brake would be the first place to start. Dont even worry about changing gears to start with - practice coasting to a halt using a constant brake pressure, while learning how the throttle responds to what ever part of your foot you're going to use.

Also remember never to compromise your position on the brake pedal!! Gear changes become much less smooth when your foot slips off the brake

Once you've got the hang of throttle modulation then bring in some gear changes. Once you're doing this a lot you'll get a feel for how much throttle to bring in to rev-match your shift points and the whole process will become second nature

Good luck

[robin]

I can only reiterate that it is IMHO vital that you do not cover both brake and throttle with the flat of your foot - i.e. "heel and ball" or "heel and toe" are ok but "toe and ball" or "ball and ball" are not.

The reason being that it is too easy to drag the throttle when you don't want to - e.g. one of your smooth downshifts (pointless, but each to their own ) needs to turn into an emergency stop due to unexpected obstacle; your instinct should be to apply maximum brake, but can you now roll the right side of your foot off the throttle completely? If not, you'll undermine the available braking force.

Cheers,
Robin