Argonaut

If there are any road racers out there who are expert in the Heel-Toe downshift, I'm wondering if you could answer a few questions. I'm new to this, first high-performance car I've owned. I've always been able to do a nice little throttle blip to match the engine revs to the road speed when downshifting but I've never tried to add braking into the process. So I've been giving it a go. Pretty hard, I can see it takes a lot of practice. A few questions:
[ul][*]In general are the stock pedals and their placement in a S197 good or bad for doing a Heel-Toe? Compared to other sports cars?[*]If the placement of the pedals is not ideal, is there anything that can be done to improve it?[*]How to place my right foot: I'm putting the heel of my foot on the floor board and then placing the left half of the ball of my foot on the brake and blipping the throttle with the right half (not to successfully yet). Is this correct or should my heel be off the floor board?[*]I don't have driving shoes so what would be the best type of shoe to wear that I do have - running shoe, court shoe, loafer, etc?[/ul]
I'm going to plan on enrolling in a drivers course or two in the spring but for right now I'm on my own, any help or pointers you can give will be much appreciated.
Thanks.

Yonco

I think this may all depend on the driver/sittong of them. I do it fine, but i lean a bit torwrads the console cause my leg doesnt like to bend that much. Shoes- PUMA driving shoes for 20$a at the champs( sports)store by my house, cant dg wrong. My feet placement: left fully on clutch, right foot heel on the mid of brake( this way if i mess up my foots still on it, id rather slip off the gas pedal than the brake) and turn my right foot to a 70*ish angle to the right and tap the gas. Im size 11 mens so i haveto turn my foot at more of an angle because they are not as thick.-Jon

Argonaut

Only $20 bucks for shoes...I'll have to look into them. So your right heal is off the floor...that makes sense.I actually have tried it this way but I found myself not having enough control over the pressure on the brake. Probably just takes practice. Thanks for the reply.

Another question - do you 'double clutch' (push the clutch in twice per downshift) or just single? I've been blipping the throttle with the clutch in but I heard someone else mention this causes excessive wear on the clutch...maybe I should just get a book and read it.

CataclysmGT

Double clutching while braking/shifting is the correct way. My right foot is placed like yours. I do it both ways, but always end up going back to using the left 1/2 of my foot on the brake, and twisting my foot to give the throttle a blip with the right 1/2.

RodeoFlyer

It's kind of a tough answer you're looking for. I did fine wearing a pair of flat-soled Airwalk skateboard shoes for quit a while.

Then I got my Alpinestars race shoes and was all F'd up. I damn near went around at the track. I had to pull in to the hot pits and shake it off lol.

Having said that - it's been my experience that you need to get shoes that are comfy and have a dedicated purpose and then learn to drive in them. I wore my Alpinestars on a 4 hour road rally and got used to them. My first track weekend after that was great.

Argonaut

Thanks for the replys guys - I'm going to look into those shoes. Sounds like a good idea to have a pair dedicated to driving...so you always get the same feel.

sleeper2

Argonaut, here are my two cents:
1. The s197 pedals are actually set up pretty good for heel-toe shifting.
2. There are many ways to set your right foot, but my own opinion is you need to keep your right heel planted on the floor for safety and control, then rolling it side to side between the pedals like you mentioned.
3. Double clutching won't hurt anything, but is not necessary with this transmission. If you enjoy doing it, go ahead. Matching revs is definitely worthwhile, whatever you decide to do.

Sleeper2

frodaddi

I find the pedal placement in the Mustang to work really well for heel-toe shifting, but then again that's probably because it's what I am used to. I find my wife's Z3 much harder to shift this way.

There are any number of ways to accomplish this technique - I use the ball of my right foot on the brake and pivot off the ball to jab the throttle with the heel of my foot, like in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuoZeuSgEj4

Other folks find it more comfortable to place the right foot kind of "hanging off" the right edge of the brake pedal and then hit the throttle with the right side of the foot - kind of big toe on the brake, pinky toe on the gas. Whatever is most comfortable is OK.

Heel toe shifting is fun and is actually good for the car! Reduces transmission and clutch wear. Plus it's a must for road racing and open track.

Kevin.

Argonaut

Thanks guys - I really appreciate the advice. I can see that each person tends to develop there own style. I think its just a matter of practice. By the way, I went and bought some shoes today. At my local sporting goods store they don't have "driving" shoes...but they did have wresting shoes. Thin sole, very flexible, slight high top. So I got a pair and tried them out, not bad...lots more feel of the pedals than my other thick soled shoes.

frodaddi - That video clip is awesome, I'm going to try it that way next chance I get. I really like you sig pick, color car, b&w background - cool.

PayDay99

These are the pedals I got. They are great and I can heel toe no matter what shoes I have on.

http://www.autovationparts.com/store/fordmustang.html