cometb

I am ending my first season in DE's. Picking up some speed and technique thanks to a few patient and talented DE instructors. My hurdle is to learn ohow to smoothly heel-toe-shift. I feel like a feel klutz! Any advice form you more seasoned drivers on how you learned? Thanks

V225

Practice as much as you can on the street. It'll become second nature after awhile.

Scootin159

+1

I don't even realize I'm doing it half the time anymore.

U4EEAH

+1
At a minimum, make a point of blipping the throttle to match revs every time you downshift on the street, even if not braking. Go down through each gear every time you are slowing or stopping to increase the frequency of your practice. As said, it will quickly become second nature.

M758

+4
Street is actually harder since the pedals will not match up as well. Even so you have plenty of time to practice.

eric523

+5...PRACTICE!
I learned how to left foot brake in my automatic truck on the street too. Just needed the practice and experience to get my left foot to do what I wanted.

cobrien

Yep, practice is the only way. If you get a chance, any highway exit/interchange with a full cloverleaf is a great way to practice....brake/downshift to exit, accelerate back on, brake/downshift to exit again, etc. You can keep running the full cloverleaf as long as you want, you get a lot of practice, and you never have to stop the car.

sbelles

It also depends on your car / pedals. I don't use my heel at all, I just roll the ball of my foot over.

RickBetterley

I first practiced in the garage (which my wife of course thought was a bit loony), then on the street, which some have noted above is challenging, since you aren't usually braking hard on the street, so the brake is not depressed enough to simulate track braking. But, it gets you some practice and makes the leap to track heel/toe easier.
Do you have your pedals adjusted and/or a throttle pedal that makes heel/toe easier?

aj986s

Practice does make perfect. But as mentioned, some pedal configurations don't lend themselves quite as well to practice on the street. Often, you need to press the brake pedal really hard in order to reach the gas pedal. Not always easy/possible/safe to do on the street. But, as also mentioned, if you have a late model car with fuel injection or throttle by wire, you can actually safely practice in the garage/driveway with the car off (not so much with carburated cars because the accelarator pump will squirt gas into the plenum).

Lots of info and videos available online. And, as mentioned, there's several methods, including rolling the side of your foot onto the throttle. Pedal placement, shoe size, etc. will all be contributing factors.

cometb

Firstly- thanks for all the input. The pedals have been adjusted. No problem with the car (81 911SC); spastic driver. I am going to sit in the car tonight and start practising my footwork.

DM993tt

The hard part is figuring out what works best for you. actual Heel/Toe toe on the brake, and heel on the gas or as some have said using the ball of the foot for both. When you have a 13EEE shoe the latter is generally the way to go. Since heel/toe is effectively a way to threshold brake while blipping the throttle for shifts, the right pedal configuration is important. Once you get comfortable blipping the throttle while putting some good force on the brake in your driveway, try it on the road under braking. The part that needs practice is making it smooth.

Bob Rouleau

Cometb - I teach newcomers Heel and Toe as follows:

- Park the car with he engine running
- Gearshift in neutral
- Right foot press hard on the brake pedal
- Roll your foot and blip the gas.

Keep doing this until you are comfortable doing it - ideally you want to acquire muscle memory.

Now the only task you'll need to practice is how much to blip to match revs. If you blip too much, delay your clutch release a bit. Not enough? Clutch in and blip again. eventually it becomes second nature.

I also agree that it is very hard to practice this on the street since H/T is easiest when pressing hard on the brake pedal - as you would on a track. I can't H/T my RS on the street to save my life, nor would I want to brake *that* hard on the street either.

Best,

himself

The way I instruct my novice students is to first practice being consistent with their brake foot placement - the right part of your foot should be hanging off the pedal a bit. Do this parked first, then on the street for a few days (or a couple weeks) on the street. Then practice rolling onto the throttle a little. Do this for a few days (or weeks) on the street. Then you'll have a skill set to work on rev matching under braking.

In any event, it is good to practice, but you need a foundation to work from otherwise you aren't going to get much out of the exercise.

-td

cometb

Thanks!