Pierre

e-gas cuts the throttle when you apply the brakes, yes. So if you're on the gas pedal and brake with your left foot, the gas will be cut.

But if you're on the brakes and then push the gas pedal, e-gas won't intervene and will let you apply more throttle. So heel-toe shifting is no problem. I do it all the time. (At least I try to!)

Greetings,
--Pierre

ypshan

I've tried the Left-right technique but they don't work as well as the Heel-and-toe on my stock TT. You can stab a lot harder when you have to down shift more than one gear (e.g. from 5th to 3rd).

The Japanese driver in this video shows the technique that I am using now. It took me about 3-4 months of weekend driving to be able to do it consistently though.

http://www.racingflix.com/getvideo.asp?v=343&p=6


A safety note, Do Not skip H&T and just rev match at the end of the breaking zone. If you miss the match and the timing a bit, you'd be turning while the mismatch happens instead of in a straight where the car is stable.

FixedWing

Les,

You are totally correct but what kind of cars are you talking about? They're formula cars with racing transmissions -- not street cars with syncros. Those transmissions are designed to be used that way. You're not talking about our transmissions. The drivers are also willing to sacrifice their transmissions in the name of lower lap times.

As for left foot braking, they do it because they can. They save a fraction of a second on the time it takes to go from throttle to brake. But in rallying they use it to balance the car. I don't think anyone is using it to balance the car. Am i wrong ?

Stephen

1AS

Are the guys who are having a hard time consciously shifting their right heel closer to the base of the gas pedal before starting to brake? Angling your foot definitely makes it easy. It's also smoother the harder you brake. If it's not going well in a tt, you're not doing it properly. AS

Les Quam

Fixedwing, Mario Andretti once said that when he arrived in F1 he was surprised how many drivers thought the brakes were for slowing the car. Left foot braking is a great help to balance a car or Kart.Paul Tracy told me this at a shifter Kart event and I have followed his advice ever since. It works on SUV's also I use it all the time in my Cayenne. And you are right always use the clutch on your street car. You live in Florida why don't you consider going to Skip Barber racing school at Sebring. It's the most fun you will ever have with your clothes on and it may save your life.You will most definately appreciate your Porsche much more. My analogy is that owning a 911 and having no training is like owning a grand piano and never learning how to play it properly. As a matter of fact until I got serious about racing I never had owned a Porsche I did not understand what all the fuss was about. After racing I understand the incredible handling and braking. The stock Porsche brakes on my first 911 turbo were better than any racing brakes I had ever experienced. Porsche brakes finally showed me what proper brake bias should feel like.

Fozzy

Can't quite see that double-declutching has any relevance to heel-toeing, simply because you can't brake at the same time. The pace of the car is only reduced by gearbox braking after you've shifted, leaving you to brake before / after the actual gear shift in any event. As Fixedwing mentioned, all it really serves is to marginally speed up the change from 3rd to 2nd gear once you're particularly practiced at it (following several years at college with a 1963 MGB with no syncro and a faulty drivers door catch, going round a left-hand corner and having to steer, double-declutch and hold the door shut is multitasking you wouldn't wish on anyone)

Buggered if I see quite how anyone can twist their foot round to comfortably use actual heel and toe in a 996. Have to try it later. I'm with the toe / side of foot group on this - much more fluid motion and easier to control degree of throttle.

Bob M

I use the same technique as Dock. And also I agree with Oak and John, the pedal set-up makes it easy to do this. Regarding the throttle somehow being prevented from inputting to the motor by the EMS while braking, I have not found this to be true. I have never had any problems at all being able to control the rpms while blipping the throttle and braking at the same time.

Colm, I have been thinking about left foot braking as a means to control balance for smooth brake to throttle transitions during certain types of corners. I have friends who use this technique to good effect and have no problems doing it.

Bob

tcracer

Colm and list,

You can left foot brake and use the gas in the current 996 based cars. However you will only be able to do so for 2-3 seconds. After this time the engine management will significantly cut power. This is usually enough time for the circumstances where this technique may be applicable. You will find a lot of auto-x drivers using left foot braking quite a bit while NOT being on the gas. Normally this is for quicker reaction time from brake to throttle and vise-versa.

-Tony C

86944turbo

Yes, Skippy school still teaches that the brake is a weight transfer lever and this is true. The brake is also used to slow. The blipping and downshifting serves to complicate, especially if you're anywhere near threshold braking. If you race a go-kart you get no choice and it's wonderful. And in the future, as someone else mentioned manual clutches will go the way of the carriage. My input is that threshold is far more important than the downshift, but both are necessary with todays clutches. Double clutching takes too much time. A good upshift alone, takes .25-.40 sec. (all this while vehicle is slowing). A lot of very competent drivers speak of threshold braking, of which they have no conception. Watch Michael Schumacher or, the one I'm rooting for, Montoya, under hard braking. When you see their tires rotating at a rate that is slower than the vehicle allows for, they are modualting their feet (sans ABS) at an incredible rate to prevent lock up. Michael is said to perfrom this @ 10/per. sec. It is very difficult, almost impossible to threshold brake and blip and downshift at the same time, turn after turn. But, if we're using manual clutches, get the initial braking out of the way, use the heel/toe or rolloing of right foot, late, but before turn in. Too late and it won't blip to proper RPM readily. Too early and you're giving up braking force. Just right (if you're one of the blessed) there's nothing quite like it. I'll be sorry to see it go.

ypshan

86944turbo,

I am with you. We bought a stick car not to be the fastest racer, but to have a toy that we can enjoy. The stick and the techniques needed to make everything work add to our challenge and enjoyment. I've driven a tip as well. Somehow I felt less fulfilled as everything seem so easy and I had less control and felt less connected to the car.

Hard to describe the feeling....