Heel-toe struggles

[NightmareMoon]

Steeda gas pedal, and then just get used to moving your foot to the left on the brake so you dont hit the accelerator when braking.

Lots of practice, but as you’re finding out, on track its not so easy to be consistent.

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[luc]

Been racing for over 30 years and never did it
Some of my race cars had straight gears box, Hewland, Jericho, etc, for which you never use the clutch and for my other cars such as my present track car, 17pp, i just use the clutch
Never understood why people are so enamored with h&t
Maybe back in the 60 or before when box didn’t have synchronized gears, it was mandatory…?

 

[Spart]

I'm using casual sneakers. Vans or similar.

If you have wide feet, you might try getting shoes in an actual wide size that let you more easily cover both pedals. The width of the actual sole matters for this. I used to just let regular width shoes and boots "break in" until I realized I actually needed a wide size.

You also really need to dial in your brake pedal placement. You have to just hit the perfect spot every time, so you've got enough of your foot off to the right side to hit the throttle.

11.5 W Asics getting it done:

I just don’t. I put the shifter in the correct gear and then add gas and let the clutch out when the turn transitions from braking to accelerating. My friends absolutely despise this method and say I am extremely wrong. You can see me using the forbidden method a few times in this lap:

You are extremely wrong and your friends are right to roast you.

Helps that you barely need to use more than one gear on that track.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

Not fast at all. I'm new to track driving. But I've driven manuals all my life and can't comprehend why this technique is so difficult for me to learn. It's not the timing; it's syncing my foot placement in relation to the pedals.

I haven't been able to decide if the important people at Ford were actively trying to prevent heel-toe downshifts, or if there was something else on their minds that made them place the pedals badly. (Unintended acceleration?)

I learned heel-toe downshifts in a Nissan 240SX. I can do it in normal street driving, turning into my neighborhood.
The pedals are placed differently in my Evo, and heel-toe is more difficult in that car. I can do casual rev-matching, but to push the brake at the same time is a bit of work.
My Mustang's pedals are the worst for heel-toe downshifts. It requires twisting my leg in a way that hurts my hip. I just let the automatic rev-matching do most of the work for me.

So, everyone here saying they don't do heel-and-toe: I don't blame you.

 

[Anyone3505]

I just don't do it in this car for all the reasons already mentioned. I'm sure i could MacGyuver something I'd consider passable, but I gave up for now and have been using the automatic rev match for a while.

I'm just glad I got this car shifting properly now. Only took a clutch pedal return spring, new trans fluid, a better shifter, and a new, slightly heavier shift knob. It's actually an enjoyable car to row.

 

[BlueHPP]

So my BMW and Porsche pedals had about 80-90 mm spacing between the brake and gas pedals. The Mustang has about 120 mm spacing. I guess the Ford engineer had EEE width feet. I added the Steeda pedal cover and set the spacing to 90 mm. It was too tight(?) so I have slowly widened the spacing by filing or dremel to get the best spacing for my foot (11D). Seems to be about 105 mm. Getting correct spacing and practice should eventually get you there. I do not have a big issue with the height disparity since with full threshold braking the levels get closer.

 

[SHOdaddy68]

On the racetrack, smooth is fast. A driver proficient in heel/toe use avoids "dumping" the clutch and spooling the engine with the decelerating tires on a downshift and unsettling the car. Rev-match downshifting Still uses engine braking but not applied in a way that upsets the car. This is also is easier on the pressure plate at the higher RPM since the engine and transmission are "rev-matched" when the clutch is engaged. Anybody who's ever broken a PP strap on a downshift can tell you how bad that sucks.
With practice, it will get easier. Like other's have said, you need to develop the "muscle memory". It can take years to master the technique. Practice, practice and more practice. Even on a regular street drive.
With my GT, I have the Steeda plate on the gas pedal only. It's easy for me because it's an unconscious action that's just part of how I drive any manual transmission.
Of course every car will be a bit different and there will be a little learning curve. Ask me about the turbo-diesel racecar I drive......

 

[luc]

On the racetrack, smooth is fast. A driver proficient in heel/toe use avoids "dumping" the clutch and spooling the engine with the decelerating tires on a downshift and unsettling the car. Rev-match downshifting Still uses engine braking but not applied in a way that upsets the car. This is also is easier on the pressure plate at the higher RPM since the engine and transmission are "rev-matched" when the clutch is engaged. Anybody who's ever broken a PP strap on a downshift can tell you how bad that sucks.
With practice, it will get easier. Like other's have said, you need to develop the "muscle memory". It can take years to master the technique. Practice, practice and more practice. Even on a regular street drive.
With my GT, I have the Steeda plate on the gas pedal only. It's easy for me because it's an unconscious action that's just part of how I drive any manual transmission.
Of course every car will be a bit different and there will be a little learning curve. Ask me about the turbo-diesel racecar I drive......

You don’t “dump “ the clutch
The clutch is not an off/on switch
No different that when you start from a dead stop
As a matter of fact when i take a passenger for some hot laps, they can’t even feel when i downshift
Got my national scca license back in 93, so i know a couple of things about racing
I remember some of my fellow competitors telling me that i would never be fast if i didn’t h$t, well after a few races and quite a few wins, never heard from them again
As for the wear on the pressure plate, it’s nonsense, you put way more load on it when you accelerate, especially coming out of slow turns

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