Alternative Heel-toe shifting method

[PTskater]

One thing I've always wondered about heel-toeing...everybody always teaches to do the brakes with the ball of your foot and the gas pedal with the edge of your foot or your heel. I've always thought that if your pedals are spaced right, it would be better to use your heel for the brake and your toes for the gas. For one thing, its easier to turn you leg that way than it is to go "pidgeon toed". Also, since adjusting the throttle takes more precision and finesse than hitting the brakes, it would be easier to make the precise adjustments with the ball of your foot rather than your heel or side of your foot. Also, since the ball of your foot would be up at the top of the gas pedal, it would give you better leverage on the gas pedal, another advantage making it easier to control the RPMs. Why isn't this method used more often? Is there something I'm missing?

[docjohn]

You are incorectly assuming that finess is needed for throttle blipping with the heel,but it is not.The actual delicate throttle modulation while track driving is still done with the ball and toes(mostly done between rounds of heel and toe).Most heel and toing is done under braking and downshifting,usually in a fairly straight line,no finess needed.

[92 white 0650]

Agree with DocJohn. The farther I go into performance driving and racing, the more I appreciate the finesse of modulating the brake pedal. And that requires the ball and toes of the foot. The timing of the throttle blip is more important than the "feel".

I hear what you're saying about the pigeon toe awkwardness, and I was there once too. But I bought some "helpers" (pedal extensions) so that the pedals were close enough that the pigeon toe angle was pretty minimal and not too tough. The problem is that having the pedals that close in a daily driver can be dangerous if someone unfamiliar or with big shoes gets in and drives it. They'll be stomping on all the pedals at once.

[OLDE GUY]

Originally Posted by PTskater

.....I've always thought that if your pedals are spaced right, it would be better to use your heel for the brake and your toes for the gas.....

As illustrated in these sketchs, any of the three techniques can work depending on the pedal locations, length of your legs, the size of your shoes, etc. I find that the middle sketch works best for me with stock NSX pedals. Actually, the part of my foot on the right half of the brake pedal is the back of my arch/front of my heel with the outer ball of my foot blipping the throttle. In the Formula Fords previously used by Skip Barber's racing school, they taught us to use the right sketch technique whereby you rotate your knee to the right to make the right edge of your shoe blip the throttle. A Spec Racer Renault that I rented had adjustable pedals; the mechanic adjusted the brake pedal (as I practiced blipping) so I could use the same technique as with the Formula Ford. I continued to use that technique in my 944 turbo for 10 years but my shoe is too small/pedals too far apart to make that technique work with the stock NSX pedals.

I am not argueing that the middle sketch is the ideal method - only that it is workable and can be learned, much like left foot braking. It is a matter of practice. IMO the right sketch is the ideal setup.

[IMG]

[Russ]

Originally Posted by PTskater

One thing I've always wondered about heel-toeing...everybody always teaches to do the brakes with the ball of your foot and the gas pedal with the edge of your foot or your heel. I've always thought that if your pedals are spaced right, it would be better to use your heel for the brake and your toes for the gas.

When I first started heel and toeing in an MR-2 that's exactly how I did it and got pretty good at braking with my heel. Later I bought Senna's book and saw I was doing it "wrong" so I changed my technique. Now I can do it either way. from experience I can say it is easier to smoothly brake by heel & toeing the "right" way (toe on brake, heel or side of foot on throttle) than the "wrong" way.

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by PTskater

One thing I've always wondered about heel-toeing...everybody always teaches to do the brakes with the ball of your foot and the gas pedal with the edge of your foot or your heel. I've always thought that if your pedals are spaced right, it would be better to use your heel for the brake and your toes for the gas. For one thing, its easier to turn you leg that way than it is to go "pidgeon toed". Also, since adjusting the throttle takes more precision and finesse than hitting the brakes, it would be easier to make the precise adjustments with the ball of your foot rather than your heel or side of your foot. Also, since the ball of your foot would be up at the top of the gas pedal, it would give you better leverage on the gas pedal, another advantage making it easier to control the RPMs. Why isn't this method used more often? Is there something I'm missing?

Wow I been thinking and doing this for awhile already. I didn't think anybody else out there did it this way! My reason for doing it this way, I'm too tall (6'6") and I just can't do it the "right" way

[Jeff A]

Here's a fun little Heel/Toe animation.

[mskrotzki]

Originally Posted by Jeff A

Here's a fun little Heel/Toe animation.

Thak's great -- now do it for a double-clutch!