poopeter-el sigthief

Ok, lately Ive been practicing alot on my down shift, and some ricers have told me to heel-toe but
A) I dont listen to ricers
B) My foots too big
and C)the pedal configuration is not efficiently designed for this maneuver.
So I became creative and figured a much easier way to do the same function (rev match before the corner or whatever). Check out the proffesionally done illustration:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/36951/illustration.jpg">

As you can see in the picture, the brake is slightly depressed to the appropriate point with one side of my huge foot (size 14) then released as my foot "rolls" around an imaginary pivot line and the right side of my foot pushes the gas to rev the engine while the clutch is being depressed (this the image doesnt show). whew. ok, catchin my breath. So, my revs are matched and the down shift has become really smooth.

So anyways, the point of this post was to share with you my driving style and get opinions/critiques/comments/directions for improvements.

Thanks you all for reading my jargon.

QuattroRocket

That is heel and toeing, the name is a bit of a misnomer these days.

SameerP

they roll their foot left/right side. The only thing i can think is that originally pedals were much farther apart then today...

Cheers

poopeter-el sigthief

fit. ahh, how naive my young mind is.

Hokie_Audi

Professional drivers (REAL professional drivers) that still use manual clutches often use a similar technique. Some drivers rotate their foot to either the right or left while others operate the brake with one side of their foot and blip the throttle with the other as you've described. That's the way I do it (size 10.5 feet). Also many people comment that the pedal heights are out of whack on the A4 because the brake is much higher than the gas. I find this to actually help heel-toe downshifts, particularly with the "big foot" method, once you're on the brake the pedals are at the same height making it very easy to slide your foot over on the gas while still braking. Clever Germans :-)

Phishie [K04]

exactly what is the point of heel toeing?

Hokie_Audi

You need to slow down for the turn, downshift, match revs, and clutch out to negotiate the turn. You never want to be on the brakes *in* a turn. You should slow down before the turn, select the gear you'll need coming out of the corner and then start applying power as you exit the turn. Heel-toeing lets you slow down and blip the throttle to match revs at the same time. Otherwise you have to brake first, then switch to the gas pedal to make a smooth downshift.

Phishie [K04]

why dont you want to be on the brakes?

Hokie_Audi

Turning uses up a lot of the tires grip. Braking does as well, combine the two and you can easily be asking for more adhesion than what the tires can provide and you'll drift.

ScottAW

I do that all the time in my car.