Heel and Toe

[Sam-Son]

How many of you guys heel and toe? I've been practicing and doing it as often as possible. I was wondering if you guys think that there are a certin type of pedals that would be better for it? I seem to think the stock ones aren't close enough or aren't grippy enough

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

I have sasquatch size feet, so it's more "big toe-pinky toe".

[Sam-Son]

I wear a size nine but I've found that I can use basically my big toe on the brake and just rock my foot side to side on the throttle but my foot will slip off the brake which is never a good thing. Are there any better pedals?

[Torque]

I gave up trying in the BMW. I heel and toe in my Subaru ... BMW makes it damn near impossible for me with the huge gap between the gas and brake pedal and the fact that the gas pedal is floor mounted.

[Sam-Son]

The floor mounted gas is the best thing in my opinion. It's not jsut that they're far apart which I think they could be a little bit closer, its just that my foot keeps slipping off the brake

[Torque]

The floor mounted gas is the best thing in my opinion. It's not jsut that they're far apart which I think they could be a little bit closer, its just that my foot keeps slipping off the brake
You're probably right, the fact that it's floor mounted isn't too big of a deal, but when you combine it with the fact that they're spaced too far (even when I wear the widest shoes I own I can't get it), it's simply impossible for me.

In my Subaru I just have to lean my ankle over and I can blip the throttle just fine.

btw, I guess the heavy dual-mass flywheel doesn't help either when I do actually manage to get my foot on the gas and still stay on the brake.

[bimmerd00d]

I heel and toe everytime i drive, nearly all the time. E34 and E39, hell....I even do it in our Dodge Ram 3500 with the Cummins :)

[filip00]

i have large feet so bmw pedals are great if you ask me. i do it only when racing, in normal driving, not necessary.

[Sam-Son]

You're probably right, the fact that it's floor mounted isn't too big of a deal, but when you combine it with the fact that they're spaced too far (even when I wear the widest shoes I own I can't get it), it's simply impossible for me.

In my Subaru I just have to lean my ankle over and I can blip the throttle just fine.

btw, I guess the heavy dual-mass flywheel doesn't help either when I do actually manage to get my foot on the gas and still stay on the brake.
Why would the heavy flywheel cause problems? Revability?

[Torque]

Yeah, it's not really a blip, it's more of a "stand on the gas pedal"

[Sam-Son]

Yeah, it's not really a blip, it's more of a "stand on the gas pedal"
ahh true

[Jon K]

So easy with the e34 pedal setup - vw's and stuff are IMPOSSIBLE.

[RallyD]

its all toe for me. do it all the time like second nature.

[winfred]

i've been known to blip the throttle on the cummins a time or two on down shifts, da shark does pretty good with it's 11# m5 flywheel and nice close pedals (i modded a clutch pedal from a e34 when i couldn't find the right one when i did the conversion, and pretty much built half the pedal box to make it work) , a m42 318 with a m20 325i clutch/flywheel does great, but with somewhat less power


I heel and toe everytime i drive, nearly all the time. E34 and E39, hell....I even do it in our Dodge Ram 3500 with the Cummins :)

[Ross]

Yes, clumsily. Pedal spacing is far from ideal for me, and a convenient excuse.

[Sam-Son]

After some more driving today I think with more practice I'll make due with the pedal positions

[Antrieb]

I heel toe every manual car I drive all the time. It was hard to get used to at first but now I can't imagine driving "normally".

[Jeff N.]

The E34 pedals are fine for heel / toe. I heel toe my car in dress shoes, athletic shoes, even hiking shoes.

The only shoe that I can't do it with are ... driving shoes! Soles are too narrow and the tend to slip off.

For track days, I prefer an indoor volleyball shoe. Wider and has a gum rubber soul. Much better.

[Robin-535im]

How many of you guys heel and toe? I've been practicing and doing it as often as possible.
I do it whenever I can. I'm no good at it, but that's why you practice, right? :)

[puppypilgrim]

I heel and toe whenever I drive. It smooths out the downshifts and rev matching is always better for the drivetrain and mechanical components. I also give it a little gas just before releasing clutch on upshifts. It makes the upshift less jerky (depends on your exact clutch, transmission, flywheel, throttle mechanism). I installed a home-made clutch stop and a Z3M short shifter and the combination works like a charm.

[Zeuk in Oz]

How many of you guys heel and toe? I've been practicing and doing it as often as possible. I was wondering if you guys think that there are a certin type of pedals that would be better for it? I seem to think the stock ones aren't close enough or aren't grippy enough
Correct me if I am wrong, but the only reason to heel & toe is when you need to brake and shift down at the same time.

I find that in normal driving this is rarely required.

What I do as a matter of course is to meet the lower gears with some revs to make it smoother, occasionally as a heel & toe manouver, but usually just with a blip on the accelerator pedal.

[e34.535i.sport]

I've been giving it a go since reading this thread, but i've got about as much coordination as a drunk monkey.

Check this guy out, like poetry in motion...

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

[Sam-Son]

I've been giving it a go since reading this thread, but i've got about as much coordination as a drunk monkey.

Check this guy out, like poetry in motion...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IuoZeuSgEj4
god that sounds like ****


now this is how its done
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts29KKhKXds

[neil_004]

Some people find that their pedals are in just the right place and just the right size and some do not. It is totally personal preferance. Race cars have adjustable pedal boxes so they can be tailored to the drivers preferance.
The proper solution for people that dont like their pedals would be to adjust your pedal size or location in order to make it work for you. I wouldnt put an extension on the brake pedal for saftey reasons but extening the size of the gas pedal would be a safe alternative. Just make sure that it will not fall off and/or get in your way.

[Sam-Son]

Some people find that their pedals are in just the right place and just the right size and some do not. It is totally personal preferance. Race cars have adjustable pedal boxes so they can be tailored to the drivers preferance.
The proper solution for people that dont like their pedals would be to adjust your pedal size or location in order to make it work for you. I wouldnt put an extension on the brake pedal for saftey reasons but extening the size of the gas pedal would be a safe alternative. Just make sure that it will not fall off and/or get in your way.
hmm good advice...oh yeah, your car looks hot. The 16's and the drop are a nice combo not to mention the red is refreshing compared to all the dark colors

[e34.535i.sport]

god that sounds like ****


now this is how its done
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts29KKhKXds

It aint about the sound there chief, he's just demonstrating the movement!

Big Walter's got it down there though, but don't forget those pedals will be designed for that sort of business unlike normal road cars.

[Sam-Son]

It aint about the sound there chief, he's just demonstrating the movement!

Big Walter's got it down there though, but don't forget those pedals will be designed for that sort of business unlike normal road cars.
True but I can think of a number of road carsthat have pedals that are properly designed

[VentoGT]

I heel-toe all the time. It's a good habit to have [and fun to practice]...you can take a good deal of speed into sharper corners with the skill as well. In addition, I always blip before a downshift. Once you get really used to your car's RPM versus speed tables it is very satisfying to execute a perfect heel-toe shift MANUALLY without any stupid computer trying to do the work for you!

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

A good test of whether you are getting it right is to try a car with dog clutch syncro`s,get it wrong and it hurts! You should`nt really need to do it on a modern box and it wont really make the baulk rings last longer,that said its good practise for when your clutch gives up.

[Nick.Hay]

My feet are a size 12, but I always heel and toe when driving my old Corolla. Mainly, coz the gearbox is so old that I can't swap cogs quickly without doing it!!

I used to left-foot brake in my 323 GTR rallycar, which was also thru necessity, as the thing had chronic understeer... But I've lost the ability to do that!!

[Sam-Son]

Thank fck somebody said what I've been thinking for the last few days. Was beginning to wonder if I should be be taking early (very) retirement
Why not say it yourself?

[whiskychaser]

You should`nt really need to do it on a modern box and it wont really make the baulk rings last longer,that said its good practise for when your clutch gives up.
Thank fck somebody said what I've been thinking for the last few days. Was beginning to wonder if I should be be taking early (very) retirement