I do hell-toe in most cars but not my FD. The reason is that I can't move my knee. Since the seat is so high and the steering column is not adjustable, I can't rotate my knee toward the inside in order to properly blip the throttle with my heel. I have tried to do the side foot thing but I always end up getting a cramp in my foot.

I know that a racing seat and steering wheel spacer will help but as for now, it's damn near impossible for me to pull it off in that car being as big as I am. Our cars are made for tiny Japanese people, I don't qualify.

 

^+1. The 8 is fun to do it in though.

 

The standard driver dosen't race and most people don't know any better

 

Video of me with some heel-toe footage, just doing, ya know, 'average 5 speed driving' ;-)

hehehe





http://videobookmark.net/www/Windows...-2007_test.wmv

 

Damian, I have to say, I love watching your videos man. Hopefully I'll get my 7 running some time this century and start making some track videos of my own.

But back on topic, In my WRX I usually rev match to 4th, and then heel and toe to 3rd and 2nd gear. Usually do it everytime I drive a manual car, but only as practice for when I get the 7 running and take it to track events (although obviously they will be a little different).

 

I got over the "look at me, I shifted" stage a couple decades ago. I've never needed heel and toe driving to keep me out of an accident. If it's keeping you from having an accident on the street, then get the hell OFF the street, as you're an idiot. I've also never worn out a transmission from letting the synchros do their job.

Like crossdrilling, heel and toe driving and rev matching on the street does a job that simply stopped being necessary in the '60s. If it makes you feel better about your driving skills, by all means, go ahead, and yeah, it's fun to do occasionally. But please, don't act like it's the right way, or even the only way, to drive a manual trans car.

 

Heel toe driving doesn't use your heel to press any pedals.
It's merely a pivot point to have one FOOT covering two pedals.

While technically speaking you could use your heel and toes to work two pedals, F1 drivers aren't doing it your way, believe me.

As for the cramp in your foot, I'd guess that the brake is too high or the throttle too low. Maybe it's time for rx-7 adjustable pedal boxes like I can buy aftermarket for my summer beater.

In regards to what merc has said, I agree that it'll never be needed for street use but am inclined to think rev matching would make synchros last longer.

There's an interesting article in the summer 2007 magazine of High Performance Driving called "foot loose" that deals with heel toe. I'd scan it and put it here but I'm guessing it's a no-no for copyright reasons.

 

Actually run a youtube search for heel toe and you'll see many drivers doing it this way. Most of the videos are from well-meaning ordinary folks who want to educate others, but the few in-car race videos I saw definitely showed the driver using the heel for the blip.

The shape of my legs, the space under the steering column, and size of the center console all encourage me to make a blip with the outside of my foot near the toes. I know I'm not the only one who finds this to be the best way. It might be different if I had full control over the cockpit design of my cars, but I doubt it since my legs tend to be duckfooted and turning the toe in is more difficult than toe out.

If you quote it I doubt anyone will be upset. Is it on their website?

Dave

 

Oh I agree, people do use their heel to press pedals. I see a lot of it in the jap race vids that have the foot/cockpit split screen or picture in picture.

I'm looking through the mag right now for a web addy, but it was their debut issue so maybe they have no online presence yet?

I'll keep looking, failing that get it scanned and up here to read. I really wish I could do the entire magazine because it's a facinating read for fast driving wannabes like myself. The theories of trailbraking, proper apexing, weight transfer for turn-in etc are all discussed.

 

F1 Drivers don't rev match anymore..........

I think I posted it before:

There are currently two schools of thought being taught: the classic method, and the modern method.

Classic is simple, toe on the brake, heel on the gas. That's the method I prefer.

Modern is left side of the foot on the brake, right side of the foot on the gas. Works better for the lazy and people with big feet.

There's always the toe-heel method, but I don't like it for the same reason I don't like the modern method. To actuate the throttle fully to downshift as quick as possible, you need to relieve pressure off the brake.

 

*shrug*

I'm so used to throttle blipping with right foot only [clutchless] (I drive flatdeck super-b) for downshifting I don't think my brain would learn a new trick anyhow. Due to the fact that hundreds of thousands of miles have trained my foot that way, I'd likely try blip shifting and left foot braking.

 

On the track, most likely. On the street, I've gotten 250-300k out of stock transmissions shifting normally.

Most people these days that know about the existence of rev matching don't realize that it wasn't done as the best/proper way to get a car around a track, but as the ONLY way to get those old gearboxes to work fast. It was necessity, not because it was better than good synchros. They simply didn't have good synchros like we do now.

Just like crossdrilling let brake pads outgas, which they don't do anymore.

Hell, just the use of manual transmissions in sports cars was out of the necessity of being able to change gear ratios to match the enigne and the track. Can't do that with the planetary gearsets in the old school automatics.

I mean, we used to hand crank engines, too, to get them to start, and manually adjust the timing.

 

Maybe your syncro's are good, but in my FC I have to at least wait into the revs (or speed) are in the ballpark for the gear, especially 2nd into 1st I don't think my tranny was broken in very well.

On the other hand, the gearbox in my brit car is like a dream. I could be doing 60mph and pop it right into 1st as smooth as silk. It's a lot quicker shifting than my fc. It seems to shift smoothy every time as fast as I can possibly move the lever. I wish the FC did that.

 

i'd hate to see the results of pulling the clutch at 60mph in 1st gear lol