Upshifting and Downshifting

[wombat7]

wow great write up SD... I agree with everything you said except for positioning of the driver.

I was at an autocross and was having significant trouble keeping the car stable during downshifts. I was rev matching very well, I was holding the shifter correctly... I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I had someone ride with me and they said the problem was I was sitting too far away from the wheel and pedals. The guy who rode with me, a very experienced road racer and autocrosser, said that the optimum position for the driver is the one where you can press the clutch pedal completely in with your RIGHT foot. I adjusted my seat accordingly and have found driving on the street as well as the track much easier. By moving my seat that one position forward, it put everything where Porsche designed it to be. The shifter was more accessible and easier to operate as were all 3 of the pedals.

Secondly on the rev match/ heel-toe topic, I have found that in most modern/ semi modern cars, the pedals are not spaced for proper heel-toe shifting. Most are now placed for more of a side step technique. This is when you use the brake with the ball and inner half of your right foot, when you are ready to rev match and downshift, you roll your foot toward the outside and shoudl come in contact with the gas pedal. I've found that if done properly, this makes rev matching much easier than trying to completely turn your foot and heel-toe. It will definately take some getting used to and some practice to learn when to apply the throttle and with how much pressure, but when mastered, this technique will help improve your cornering speeds as well as car control.

[BuffaloBoxster]

Originally Posted by wombat7

Secondly on the rev match/ heel-toe topic, I have found that in most modern/ semi modern cars, the pedals are not spaced for proper heel-toe shifting. Most are now placed for more of a side step technique. This is when you use the brake with the ball and inner half of your right foot, when you are ready to rev match and downshift, you roll your foot toward the outside and shoudl come in contact with the gas pedal. I've found that if done properly, this makes rev matching much easier than trying to completely turn your foot and heel-toe. It will definately take some getting used to and some practice to learn when to apply the throttle and with how much pressure, but when mastered, this technique will help improve your cornering speeds as well as car control.

That's the way I've found it to be easiest to do as well, although you may run into problems during very heavy braking with your foot coming into contact with the gas pedal when you don't want it to.

The technique also makes the ride more pleasant for the passenger as downshifts are smoother and less obtrusive.

[eslai]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBoxster

That's the way I've found it to be easiest to do as well, although you may run into problems during very heavy braking with your foot coming into contact with the gas pedal when you don't want it to.

We discussed heel and toe techniques in this thread here too.

I remember when i first started heel/toe downshifting--I was so confused because I was trying to actually do as I had seen in the diagrams--heel on pedal, toe on brake. Thank god no one was ever behind me during those times...