Mechanical over-revving

[Lux]

No. The ball of the foot (toe) is on the brake and the heel blips the gas. You want maximum control for the braking. Another way is to use the foot in a slightly toed-in position for braking and roll your foot over to blip the throttle. I like the latter method.

Search for some Best Motoring videos on the net. They'll sometimes have a camera in the footwell showing how the drivers heel/toe.


-

[ntmatter]

The basic idea on heel-and-toe is to blip the throttle to sync the engine with your downshifts. Good HAT technique will save wear on your engine and clutch by preventing that forward "lurch" if you downshift hard and the motor has to rev up to speed. You want to use the ball of your foot on the brake to have the best control and modulation of the brakes, and then use some other part of your foot to blip the gas while downshifting. Some pedal spacing (and feet) make it easier or harder to use different parts of your right foot - there's no one perfect answer. I tend to wedge my foot between the brake and gas, put the ball of my foot on the outside edge of the brake pedal and squeeze the top of my foot onto the gas to blip the throttle. You can try this, or your heel, but I'd recommend using the "toe" part of your foot on the brake because you'll get the best control.

Properly done, you should be able to brake hard and downshift from 5th to first with absolute smoothness. Practice this in your every day street driving, it's a good habit to get into that is also a good track skill.

A

[Adam]

I tried the "heel and toe" thing the other day just to see what it was like and it felt really awkward. It doesn't seem like I have good control of the brakes or the gas and it was especially difficlut to reach the gas with my heel. I guess it takes lots of patience and practice.

[Adam]

One more thing I realized about the 3-4 shift besides rotating my hand was to keep my elbow at a near 90 degree angle so I don't inadvertantly pull the shifter torwards me. When practicing those two things it is very hard to miss 4th gear when shifting fast.

[Tool Pants]

Here is a 1998 owned by a local guy, Ed. 253 range 2. I took the picture at a tech session in 2002. The owner was at another tech session we had a few months ago. Sould have hooked the car up to a PST2 to see what he has been up to.

He has the original engine.

[Adam]

Thx TP....That makes me feel a whole lot better about the whole ordeal considering I only have 2 that I know of.

Adam, I was searching for another old thread, when I stumbled across this one. Interesting. Any thoughts in light of your current situation?