What is heel and toe?

[RACER X #99]

For those who don't know and would like a clear explanation look here.

http://www.turnfast.com/tech_driving..._heeltoe.lasso

[rdorman]

I just thought it was a basic tap dance move

Thanks for the link, good one.

Rick

[blubyu2]

I love to watch the road race guys. Nascar has taken away the advantage for the old timers like Ricky Rudd (one of the best ive seen) and Rusty Wallace with the clutchless shifts. Its a true art Ron Fellows and Boris Said come to mind also

Greg

[Satanpez]

Is that the only/normal way of using your feet?

When I heal/toe I keep the ball of my foot on the brake, and use the side of my foot on the gas. Is the method on website the preferred one?

In a stock Mustang with the pedal placement there's no way I can use my feet like shown in that website.

-steve in nj

[RACER X #99]

Steve,
Whatever foot position that works for you is OK. It is the sequence of braking ,clutching, shifting that has to be learned. I also brake like you do and use the side of my foot for bliping the throttle.

[Excaliber]

Steve, indeed you use whatever works with the pedals your car has. In my Healey it was also more like a "roll" of the foot rather than the heel toe thing. Do what you gotta do to get the job done!

The most difficult thing I've found is being able to maintain hard braking whilst nudging the throttle. Inevitably your braking foot applies less pressure during the throttle part.

On the Formula Fords without power brakes this was a significant problem. Like many race cars they were also non-synchro, so it was a double clutch manuever which compounds the problem of lighter braking during the shift.

By the way:
In 1902 Packard was granted a patent on the H pattern gear shift, which eventually became the industry standard.

Ernie

[DonC]

At one time some used a gas pedal that had section that curved around above the top of the brake pedal so the right foot could rotate forward and the upper portion of the foot would depress the gas pedal while the rest of the foot was on the brake.
DonC

[coyled]

Greg, guys like Borris still use the clutch on downshifts for several reasons. It's easier on the transmission. The downshift tends to be smoother and they have less chance of snatching the rear tires. Lastly, if the throttle sticks wide open, your left foot can automaticaly push in the clutch while you are braking with your right foot. The left foot brake guys don't have that option. I have a jerrico and still clutch on downshifts. You can cram it into a lower gear almost at will with very little rev match, so its easy to snatch the rears when not useing the clutch. Scott

[maxrpm]

shucks, I thought it was gonna be a cool video clip...

[flipper35]

Then you have Mark Martin that left foot brakes, but still blips the throttle for downshifts to match the revs.

I do the ball of the foot/edge of foot thing too. It is much easier to be consistent without power assisted brakes.

[a427sc]

I used to use the ball-of-the-foot on the brake pedal on the ERA floor mounts. The gas hangs from the top so it was easier to use my heel. Now I just dream about it and use the slap shift in the wifes automatic car.

D

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Cranky,Coyled,or any other road race/open track guys;;;;;;

When I started my "open track" adventure this past summer at Nashville Super Speedway,I spoke with as many guys that would listen to my "novice" questions to try to gain some insight on what to do and more importantly,what NOT to do on the track,mainly I did not want to get in anyone's way or cause any kind of accident while on track because of my lack of experience.....

With that said,just about everyone I spoke to including a couple of driving instructers and a whole bunch of racers with SCCA licenses or the equevilent in other racing series,told me when I asked about it to "definetly NOT try left foot braking"....O-K, so I did not the first day,but I did the second day,(now I normally left foot brake while driving my car/truck daily,especially in city driving,so I'm good at it and have been doing it for 10 years or more),the lady timing my laps told me,"I do not know what you did different this session,but keep doing it,you dropped your lap times almost 2 full seconds"......

My question is do you guys normally left foot brake on track or recommend it???????? A lot of guys I spoke with told me they NEVER left foot brake...... Just curouis as to what the others do I guess......

I have tried heel/toe a couple of times and I'm not too good at it ,but working on my techique.....

David

[Chaplin]

Just confirmed that it will not work on my Honda Feet too big and pedals at an awkward angle. Perhaps if I dislocated my ankle it would work. Hopefully, I'll have better luck in the cobra.

[RACER X #99]

Dave, I have enough trouble right foot braking with out confusing myself . Sometime I feel like using both feet braking if it would help.
I am sure I did not answer your question.

Cranky

[wilf leek]

Cranky - I posted this elsewhere, probably better here - the pedal separation in my car is such that I have to rotate my foot considerably during heel and toe'ing - have been known to knock the ignition switch to "off" with my knee.

Learning to heel and toe took a while, especially to keep smooth braking effort, but it sure is nice not to lock the rears when I downshift before a corner. To keep in practice I tend to use the technique all the ime, even on the roads. (plus I like the noise of a blipped throttle).

At open track here I always end up in a swarm of Lotus 7 clones - those little cars will always run rings around me in the corners. I always end up showing them what is what on the straights - and thus arriving at the next corner far too fast. Nothing worse than trying to turn in when you are hard on the brakes. Spinsville beckons.

[KobraKarl]

Cranky ..
on some of my old hotrods the heel toe bit worked easily......
It seems like most of us use the side of our foot to blip for shifting...maybe just a Cobra thing......

"Sometime I feel like using both feet braking if it would help"

I find terrified screaming helps.....but it does annoy my passengers....

KK

[a427sc]

Dave, The instructors said don't left foot brake, meaning until you get some experience on track. LFBing when you start and have too much to concentrate on will just confuse most people as it is not "normal" for them. Too Much Input. I used to LFB when a downshift wasn't required, it allows for a smoother transition from throttle to brake to throttle.
Most cars don't have a comfortable heel/toe relationship in the pedals. You just modify the set-up to work for you. Maybe adjust the pedal heights so the throttle is even with the brake when pushed on hard, or add a tab to the throttle to bring the two closer. I extended my brake pedal for more leverage/longer throw. This made the bottom of the gas pedal more available.

Sit in the car and check it out.

Don

[RICK LAKE]

a427sc Hey Don, you had a large spoon on your accell pedal for that heel and toe if I recall. Hope the wife didnot need it. I am going to a rounded pedal for the same reason. Miss that cobra with the periscope. Hope you had a good holiday. Rick Lake

[Okiesnake]

Turnfast.com has a lot of great articles. I recommend them all.
The original pedal configuration on my Unique was not very conducive to the heel/toe technique.
So I went down to a local Auto parts store and bought a set of bolt on pedals for $14.95. You know the type that just slip over and bolt to the existing gas/brake/clutch pedals. I used just the gas pedal only. Didn't use the mounting hardware. Drilled a couple of holes through the new gas pedal cover and the old gas pedal at the top curve of the old gas pedal and the pop riveted the new gas pedal cover in place. The gas pedal is now wider and longer. Works Great!
I threw away the brake and clutch pedal covers. Tried them for a moment but they are too wide. I couldn't depress the clutch very well without clipping the brake pedal.
After this modification, I can simply roll my foot over to blip the gas when braking downshifts!
Okiesnake

[wilf leek]

Okiesnake - the one thing that makes me wary of that mod is that since I have feet sized to match my height (i.e. I can never find a decent set of stilleto-heeled court shoes in my size )
I find that it is too easy to hit the gas pedal as well as the brake in emergency situations. And yet the gas pedal is still a stretch for heel'ntoeing. Go figure.