Heel-Toe

[fritz_269]

Old PH post (written by fritz_269):

Since it got mentioned:
HEEL-TOE

Heel-toe is the technique that a professional driver uses when she downshifts into a corner. In a race situation, you want to be either hard on the brake or hard on the gas at all times. Coasting in neutral will never improve your lap times.

You will have noticed in your downshifting practice, that when you blip the throttle to rev-match, you are coasting in neutral. So, How do we avoid this?

Simple, we use one foot on the clutch and the other foot on both the brake and the gas. The sequence is something like this (note that items with the same number happen at the same time):

1) You are accelerating at WOT towards a corner.

2) The left foot stabs the clutch all the way in.
2) The ball of your right foot slams on lower right corner of the brake pedal, and you brake at maximum g, just shy of locking the wheels, and giving maximum weight transfer to the front (steering) wheels.
2) The gear selector is moved to neutral.
2) The heel area of your right foot contacts the lower left edge of the throttle.

3) The right heel is used to 'blip' the throttle to rev-match with the expected speed (you are still braking very hard with the right toe).
3) The gear selector is moved to the lower gear. And get that hand back on the wheel fast!
3) You begin to turn the steering wheel as you enter the corner.

4) You approach the apex of the turn.
4) The clutch is let out very quickly (a perfect rev-match is necessary here to prevent the car from jerking and loosing traction resulting in loss of control - remember you're starting to pull hard around the corner)

5)Just at the apex of the turn.
5)Quickly but smoothly, drop the brake and get on the gas.
5) You are just shy of the lateral traction limit of the vehicle.

6) Exiting the turn
6) Wide open throttle.

THIS IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!!!! Do not expect to be doing this well next week. I've been practicing for months now, and I'm still not very good. But you will notice that this technique allows you to hit the brake at the very last possible moment, and be on the throttle, in the best gear, the moment you pass the apex.

Be careful when practicing this, do it slowly to get the feel. In actuality, this should all happen so fast that it's a blur, which means that you have no time to think, it must be a natural motion; instinct, if you will. This can only come about through practice; and lots of it. But make that practice safe, this is dangerous, any error is very difficult to correct in time. You will tend to miss the corner (waaay wide) or spin the car. Don't try this on the street the first time, go to a BIG empty parking lot or such. Do try it in a straight line first, you're less likely to go out of control. Do work up to it slowly, go through the steps when you're sitting on your couch watching TV. And NEVER try it in street traffic.

As you get better, you will find your own style and rhythm. Good luck, have fun, and be safe.

PS> For folks with big feet &/or are pigeon-toed (like me). You can reverse the angle of the right foot such that your heel hits the bottom of the brake and your toe touches the top of the throttle. There is nothing wrong with this style.

[texan]

[Moppie]

Thats a nice little graphic texan.

I use differnt styles depending on the vechile im driving.
In the civic its the left side of my foot and most of the ball that operate the brake, and only a slight tilt towards the acclerator pedal so the right side of my shoe just nudges it is all thats needed.
But in the truck the pedals are a little further apart it requires classic heel toe technique shown in the diagram.
Of course this required practicing in each vechile learning the two slightly differnt techniques. (not to mention that fact that the civic revs a little faster)

[texan]

Yeah, I use the same technique on my Prelude that you do on the Civic.

[Someguy]

By the suggestion of "Going Faster" I heel-toe all the time now. Get lots of practice in the traffic around here too! But I found I have to vary my technique significantly based on the shoes I'm wearing. In tennis shoes I actually heel-toe. In my normal buisness shoes which are stiffer and wider I just use the side of my foot to poke the throttle.

When I first started I also spent a lot of time trying to blip the throttle just right in order to match revs perfectly. I later found its actually more effective to just blip the throttle in the right neighborhood and shift crisply and smoothly then it is to match revs 100% perfectly. Don't look at the tach, its all feel.

[RickDaTuner]

dont forget that the heel toe methode can be used for downshifting during hard braking too if you have you engine engage/in gear when braking hard you have the ablilty to brake hardeer with out locking you wheels

[texan]

Someguy- I've done the same thing since my father taught me to drive stick, he said it was the only right way to do it.

RickDaTuner- Use the engine for going, and the brakes for braking. There's no way to increase your braking threshold by using the engine and brakes at the same time.

[Moppie]

Originally posted by texan
Use the engine for going, and the brakes for braking.

ahhhhh, So thats how it works!
I knew I had been doing something wrong.

[VTEC_boi]

can someone explain Rev matching?

how do u do it? what do u match ur revs too?

[texan]

Rev matching is the process by which one downshifts and gets the engine to nearly the correct RPM it needs to be for the intended gear at the current vehicle speed. For example... of course the engine needs to be at a higher RPM to run at 50 mph in 2nd gear than it does 50 mph in 3rd, so when downshifting from 3rd to second you'll need to blip the throttle to increase engine RPM to near where it's supposed to. By doing this you put less load and strain on the drivetrain upon gear engagement, and more importantly you don't upset the chassis by suddenly applying engine braking or surging when the clutch is relaeased. If you are driving around a corner at max effort and the chassis has taken a nice set, the last thing you want to do is downshift abruptly without rev matching, becuase you risk losing control of the car when you release the clutch.

Unfortunately, what RPM range you need to be in depends upon vehicle, current speed, intended speed, and which/ how many gear(s) you want to skip. Additionally, when to hit the gas pedal, for how long, and how deeply you mash it to get to a desired RPM point is completely dependent on the engine and it's state of tune, as well as it's current RPM point. Translation: it's a pure feel thing, and the only way to initially learn it is to practice every day when you drive. Once you get that feel it's much easier to learn another car, but again it'll be by experiment only and not some formula.

[Jay!]

Another graphic, with slighty more pronounced steps: