I finally figured out Heel & Toe today!

[jpatino03]

I've been trying to learn heel\toe forever. After months away from my car, I can finally pull it off! Just thought I'd share it with the rest of the world. :D

[TT]

Congrats :) but .. in "car chat" :P

[jpatino03]

Wow, that was quick.

[stracing]

yea i know eh, somehow i think he's got one of those beepers. everytime theres a new post, it beeps him. :P

[godspeed06]

i can barely manage a heel toe in my sunfire. the pedals just aren't set up for it. i have to be at basically threshold braking for the brake pedal to be far down enough to blip the throttle. its awesome the first time you do it; lift the clutch up and there is absolutely nothing! no body jerk, just smooth. after practicing so much and screwing up when you finally get it down the smoothness is great. 8)

[possessed_beaver]

personaly i don't find heel toe downshifting that usefull on public roads, because they all seem to strait, and i can't rely carry that much cnr speed anyway with my car.
althoe it can be usefull, at a set of lights turning when the light is orange.

[jpatino03]

Fortunately, I live somewhere where there are tons of winding roads :D

Godspeed: Its tricky for me in any car because I have a size 15 foot!

[WhiteP]

I've never gone to a track..
What I do in the public road is using the left side of the right foot to brake, and the right side of the right foot to blip the throttle...since it is almost impossible to press the brake pedal hard enough to heel and toe (they've to be the same height for you to do it probably)..

and it isn't comfortable to keep your right foot off the ground to brake everyday..coz for you to heel and toe probably, you should've your right foot off the ground when braking so that it is more flexible for you to turn your foot and blip the throttle...you can do that on the track though coz you need lots of braking... I've replay and replay, slow motion and slow motion to watch how those Best Motoring people did it, they never brake the car with their heel on the ground, they just leave them in the air... which I found very hard to do on public road...

I spent a lot of time to investigate how to heel toe probably :D

[Chingachgook]

when you're not going fast heel and toe is not useful. but when you are going a little bit faster it's very useful. HTe transmission is less stressed and the pleasure of doing it is too much to explain. Matching the revs properly can give you a real, strong thrill of driving. Unfortunately in my dad's car is not possible to heel and toe, the pedals are too offset. I have to buy a set of pedals, i want to heel and toe!!!

LOL WhiteP, I spent a lot time to investigate like you, I always watch in slow motion the feet of BM drivers to understand how make heel and toe perfectly

[kramerman]

I think what I do is the reverse toe and heel, that is top of right foot on brake and bottom of right foot on accelerator. I probably picked it up this way because I learnt in an old BMW, and the accelerator is hinged on the floor rather than hanging from the top, if you know what I mean.

Now i'm in an auto car, so i'm trying to pick up left-foot braking.. but man.. its hard.. i've nearly had a few accidents not because i couldn't stop in time, but because i stop too damn hard! ahahahaha

[Chingachgook]

AH AH I also tried the left foot braking, I have left my teeths on the steering wheel, I stopped too hard..poor me!

[bmwfreak]

Left foot braking can be just as fun as heel-and-toe-ing, although it;s a bitch to get it right the first few times. It's hard primarily becos if you;re used to using your right foot for braking in an auto, your left foot isnt familiar with the feel of the brake pedal, and all the little signals it sends up your nerves. Which is why it feels as though the brake pedal has no feel at all when you use your left foot for the first time. Kinda explains the quicker than normal stops (teeth marks on steering wheel and all, hehe). I learned to heel and toe from watching Tff Needell on Top Gear. there was some footage of him putting a particular car through it's paces on a test rack, and they showed some glorious footage of his feet dancing over the pedals. I didnt understand at first the 'funny' positioning of his feet, but i guess i get it now.

[mrzonda]

I have big feet (13) so I have trouble doing a good heel-toe downshift. I can get it once in a while, but only rarely.

I've tried left side of foot on the brake, and right side on the throttle but sometimes after I've changed gear, I can't get my foot off the gas while keeping it on the brake.

kramerman, I have an 1985 3 series, is this how you did it? Heel (closer to the heel) on the brake and toes on the throttle? Is it effective?

[jpatino03]

Yeah, having big feet is a bitch. I have 15 wides (I think I've already mentioned this). I use alot of ankle rotation to make up for it.

[kramerman]

Ever tried driving a manual car barefoot? ahhah that was a new feeling for me as well.. because your bare feet on the clutch really gives it a new meaning. If left-foot braking left teeth-marks.. this one left burnout marks all over the road.. ahhahaha