Heel toe driving?

panthro · 9 Oct 2006 at 23:05

I have this down to a tee in my clio, but the bmw is different. I havent actually tried it, but the floor mounted accelerator pedal puts me off.

austinpowers · 9 Oct 2006 at 23:08

I heel and toe all the time, along with blips on non braking down changes, not because i drive a fast car or drive on a race track all the time either.

It's something a friend did/does and i thought i'd try it, that was 13 years ago and is force of habit now, just like indicating or giving way to the right on roundabouts.

Showed my little little brother how to do it and actually had to think about not doing it to show him the difference.

It does help in normal driving as the clutch lasts longer, more so on a track.

The_Dark_Side · 10 Oct 2006 at 00:26

this topic must be boomerang shaped, bearing in mind how regularly it comes up time after time.

BigglesPiP · 10 Oct 2006 at 01:20

cleanbluesky said:
The only applications i have found for it are...

1) Maintaining absolute maximum speed while taking a corner

2) Keeping revs up if you have a car with a autochoke problem

If you take a corner at anything less than max speed you will have time to take your foot off the brake and rev-match shortly after leaving the corner. If you really need to shave that much off, you can rev-match while breaking for the corner - which is where heel to toe comes in...

I have also heard rumour that it is good for certain methods of drifting...

3) Noise

4) Fun

5) It confuses americans

jimblowscash · 10 Oct 2006 at 10:29

Smiley Man said:
no nozzer is right

although in my car its more like big toe on brake little toe on throttle

erm no im right, 14 years racing and 9 years instruction at major circuts says i know what im talking about, either that or i have weird feet, wich i dont

merlin · 10 Oct 2006 at 10:32

jimblowscash said:
erm no im right, 14 years racing and 9 years instruction at major circuts says i know what im talking about, either that or i have weird feet, wich i dont

Freak tbh. That's totally backwards.

:confused:

Snow · 10 Oct 2006 at 10:40

merlin said:
Freak tbh. That's totally backwards.

ya know, in my first car (micra) i could brake with my heel and blip with my toes. i have smallish feet though and lots of ballet helps with flexability

merlin · 10 Oct 2006 at 10:46

You need sensitivity, minute control and feel on the brake, hence you use the ball of your foot. On the gas pedal you dont need any feel at all, just to be able to hit the damn thing.

Very odd and definately backwards.

Serj · 10 Oct 2006 at 10:54

I think it would be quite difficult to put the correct amount of pressure on the brake using your heel. There's just not enough feeling or control there imo :confused:

GlasgowTitan · 10 Oct 2006 at 10:59

Senna did it the opposite way in the above video from you jimblow, and I'd be willing to bet he was better at it than you.

merlin · 10 Oct 2006 at 11:03

GlasgowTitan said:
Senna did it the opposite way in the above video from you jimblow, and I'd be willing to bet he was better at it than you.

Download any driving vid with a recongised driver on board and they will be doing it the right way around.

So either jim was put together using spare body parts, or maybe he's pulling our leg, no pun intended.

Dolph · 10 Oct 2006 at 11:08

jimblowscash said:
erm no im right, 14 years racing and 9 years instruction at major circuts says i know what im talking about, either that or i have weird feet, wich i dont

Strange, every racer or instructor I've ever been taught by/discussed this with has said the exact opposite, for the reasons that have already been cited. You need your best control on the brake, not the accelerator, and the best control is provided with your toes/ball of your foot, not with your heel.

You may do it that way, but it's not the normal way, nor is it the way the technique is taught by the vast, vast majority of people.

Lopéz · 10 Oct 2006 at 19:30

On most cars if you brake with your heel you can't actually touch the throttle pedal itself with your toe because they are lower than the brake unless you have inverted feet

Snow · 10 Oct 2006 at 19:57

Serj said:
I think it would be quite difficult to put the correct amount of pressure on the brake using your heel. There's just not enough feeling or control there imo

did i mention? when i tried it, i ended up in a hedge outside my house

thankfully, no damage done

Housey · 11 Oct 2006 at 11:04

jimblowscash said:
erm no im right, 14 years racing and 9 years instruction at major circuts says i know what im talking about, either that or i have weird feet, wich i dont

Your technique is different to anyone I have seen, no matter how long you have been racing or educating drivers. It is not common to use your heel for the brake and your toe for the throttle and I would go as far as to say you are the only person I have heard of who does it this way, no matter how experienced you feel you are. If you are talking about sliding your right foot then that is different, but to pivot using only your heel on the brake and your toes on the throttle is at odds with published and commonly practiced techniques, a simple search in Google will probably demonstrate this.

And one final point, 14 Years of racing experience makes you a mere beginner to some of us.....

merlin · 11 Oct 2006 at 11:06

Bit of BS me thinks.

Housey · 11 Oct 2006 at 11:29

merlin said:
Bit of BS me thinks.

I did wonder...

merlin · 11 Oct 2006 at 11:34

You and many others

Snow · 11 Oct 2006 at 12:09

so, judging by his profile, he's been racing since he was........*thinks*........16? that's impressive!

Ron Burgundy · 11 Oct 2006 at 12:40

merlin said:
You and many others

Got to say, i've done my fair bit of Rallying back in a time when men were men and you believed everything you heard on television, and you most certainly do not use your toe on the gas while heeling the brake, its the other way around, or at least it was when I had the chance to be a passenger with RB (r.i.p) three years ago.