Heel N Toe

[Adam]

Hey guys I want everyone to answer this poll just for curiousitys sake and to get input. I am still having a hell of a time trying to get the heel and toe thing down. Today I was out doing an unofficial autocross and it just isn't working for me. I can match revs ok when coasting, but braking and matching revs is very hard...for me at least. Is anybody else having difficulty mastering this proccess?

[David N.]

The boxster (IMHO) doesn't have a very good stock pedal arrangement for Heel-and-Toe. Compared to my friend's 300zx, the pedals are quite offset and not nearly as easy to do. Maybe I need to try one of those custom pedal sets or something.

-David

[kabel]

I find the pedal placement much easier to attempt heel toe in my Boxster (over my Miata) In fact when I first got the Boxster, on several occasions when I was hard on the brake pedal, I was depressing the accelerator pedal too.
It is just not practical (or safe) for me to practice on public streets. I bet with just a few hours on a closed course I could get over the initial learning curve though.

[Perfectlap]

h & T? that's too complicated LOL
I'm working on left foot braking.

h&T just doesn't go smoothly for me in the Boxster like it did other cars.

[racer_d]

I do it. Most of the AX venues I run are 2nd gear ones, so I haven't worried about it in an AX evironment. Track - absolutely. Spirited driving - yup.

It takes a lot of practice. Some folks get different pedal pads to better align the pedals, or make them feel closer. Never bothered with them though. Just practice. It will come to you. Then, try Left Foot Braking like PerfectLap. That is one I just can't do. Tried, but not enough to get the delicate feel/balance that my right foot already provides.

I heel and toe every chance I get on the street. I guess that just being an 18 y/o though, lol. Ive gotten pretty good, I dont do hard braking with a flick of the gas to match it, I do regular brake with a slight press down on the gas to match revs. Fun fun...

[Boxter]

The irony of this pole for me is that I own a tiptronic...

I learned the heal/tow or "uprev" technique on a race car and I felt pretty comfortable with it after one complete day at the track.

That said I am not sure how proficient I would be with a street car and it's pedal layout.

[Paul]

35 years experience, is there any other way to drive?

It's really the ball of your foot on the brake and the right side of your foot on the gas (at least the way I do it--Quad E shoe size).

[jsceash]

I don't really heel toe. I brake with the ball of my foot and flip the gas pedal with the toe and edge of my foot. I am very consistent but mostly only use it on the track.

I can't left foot brake the car accelerator doesn't work if the brake is pushed in any amount.

[Perfectlap]

^ that's pretty cool. Although have you considered getting a 996 GT3 seat? It's a direct bolt on for your 987 (no need for extra rails) so you can swap in it in 5 minutes at home. Based on your driving position now it seems like you'd be able to keep your shoulder blades relaxed and pinned back against the GT3 seat so that only your arms are moving.


Here's a great in cockpit video of a former ALMS pro driving another guy's GT3

[Jim Rockford]

Like many, I have found my 986 to be difficult to heel and toe with. Driving my car about once per week at best though isn't helping practice time.

I find the engine is sluggish to build revs quickly during the blip, and the throttle pedal (at least mine) almost has a stickyness and stiffness to it. The other difficulty is that the pedal placement only seems to work when you're deep into the brakes. Which I can appreciate and understand that Porsche took that route when deciding how to set the pedal relationship up (hard driving / track use). So the harder I drive it, the easier the H&T becomes.

For me the shoes that work the best are something that is wide but has thin soles. I find that my Sparco/Puma driving shoes are too slim and rounded. I have found Adidas Gazelles to provide a good combination of width and thinness.

Easiest car I've driven to accomplish smooth and consistent and crisp H&T are Mazda RX-8s. They build revs quickly, the throttle has a very direct response, and the pedals are well placed. It seemed also to somehow work equally well in light driving and hard driving. Even better with a Mazdaspeed exhaust fitted, as it provides sharp audible feedback that barks nicely when you rip off a few crisp sequential downshifts.

[steved0x]

6 Months ago I would have been "only occasionally" but just recently it clicked for me. One thing that helped was getting a pedal extension (that I am about to take off, I don't need it anymore) and the other thing was getting a Fanatec Porsche GT2 wheel and pedals and 6 speed shifter and practicing on the Xbox. Before I went down to Sebring in May I ran a ton of laps, and while many things are different in a simulator, one thing that it helped me with was doing lots of heel toe downshifting and getting lots of repetition to help me get the groove. And if I messed up there are no consequences in the simulator. And I did spin a time or two when I popped the clutch off without getting a sufficient rev.

Before this I had a hard time getting my left foot to lift off the clutch while my right foot was still down.

[kk2002s]

I'm working on it. I can get the pedal coordination but getting the Revs matching high enough on the first punch is the problem. My throttle response some times takes two taps to get revs to match

[san rensho]

The harder you push on the brake, the better the heel/toe feels. On the track its almost perfect, since you are really pushing the brake hard, but on the street the gas pedal is still too low relative to the brake.

[Perfectlap]

Hurley Haywood teaching a newbie.

[thstone]

Practice. Practice. Practice.

I do it similar to jsceash - ball of foot on brake and hit the gas with the outer edge of my foot. Its more of a roll of the foot than heel and toe.

[Fintro11]

I always do it when i am down shifting to a stop, very easy to do

[crooster]

If I'm coming to a stop I don't bother with heel and toe. Just more clutch wear. If I am downshifting for a corner I h&t.

[ekam]

Wearing the right shoe is key.

Get some driving mocs or Puma Speedcat or Piloti.

[jimk04]

Lwfw helps as you need less of a blip to raise the revs quickly. Or a cheaper way, do the clutch switch mod, gives sharper throttle response.