Heel and Toe, anybody do it?

B

bigshurv

Senior member
 Northampton
Does anybody use the heel & toe technique when driving on track or for road work?. I tried it the other day ( practising for my trip to the 'ring in May) and found the pedal spacing too far to get a comfortable technique going, so I gave up.Not very sporting of BMW to space the pedals in such a way to make this so difficult.Alternatively, you do it all the time and I just have a crap technique!?....... :driving:
 
I can do it but the pedals aren't spaced optimally for me either. Ironically the 1 series pedal spacing makes this a doddle in comparison to the BMW Z4sports car!

I find it easier in my work shoes than trainers because of the width of the soles. So, you could try different shoes?
 
All the time...
Practice makes perfect for when you really need it. :thumbsup:

I don't find the pedals bad at all.
It's not really heal & toe; it's mainly a side rocking motion with the ball of your foot on the brake.
 
I've got a 2.0...there is absolutely no need to save miliseconds of time by heel and toeing when uve got a 2.0 under the bonnet :driving:
 
I found it easier on the e34 M5, but I think that's because the pedal had a direct link to the throttle bodies unlike the electronic throttle on the Z4.
 
Woots said:
I've got a 2.0...there is absolutely no need to save miliseconds of time by heel and toeing when uve got a 2.0 under the bonnet :driving:
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We need to save every millisecond we can because we only have a 2.0.
 
un1eash said:
Woots said:
I've got a 2.0...there is absolutely no need to save miliseconds of time by heel and toeing when uve got a 2.0 under the bonnet :driving:
Click to expand...

We need to save every millisecond we can because we only have a 2.0.
Click to expand...

HOW DARE U SAY WORDS TO THAT NATURE!!
Dont let these ///M owners bully us into makin us think weve got an underpowered car!! :|
 
Needs to be in sport mode ideally, then throttle is more top heavy.

Rather than big toe/toes and rolling foot to right, z4 needs toe on brake and heel down at 45deg to blip. Just a different way of doing it, all cars are a bit diff in my experience. Caterhams and old pugs can do left/right of foot but z4 at least is true heel/toe.


Dave
 
I use left foot on brake and right foot on accelerater in car with auto box (like racing drivers in F1 car) :driving: .
 
The main use I have for it is when braking and down shifting. Left foot reserved for the clutch then!

I shall never forget the maxim that the way to drive a powerful car is to drive it like it is underpowered. With an underpowered car you will naturally use the racing line to preserve the speed at all times. Smoothness is the other great goal. Heel Toe braking allows me to slow smoothly and have teh right gear for the acceleration. A 2.0 would need the right gear more than a 3.0.

Keep practicing. It is a skill worth having. When driving a front wheel car you can switch to left foot braking which can yield the effect of using the handbrake!

Regards

Sceptre
 
I do heal toe quite often on down change without even thinking about it, ever since I had an mr2 with 2nd and 3rd syncro's gone.

Out of gear off the clutch, blip the throttle whilst braking, back into gear, you get much smoother down changes. :driving:
 
I have big feet, so can do a right-foot-roll to double declutch in the Z... Though it is still a little tricky.

I'm trying to make it habit, but fairly often find that I'm not doing it!
 
I do it most of the time on the road (well, if it's needed for a smooth gear change) but weirdly I've not had the balls to try it on track, where it's actually needed.

By the time I get to the braking zone, I'm too concerned with getting the braking right to worry about rolling my foot across to the accelerator (this is in a mazda where it's easier than the BM).

Sport mode definitely helps, it makes that first few cm of pedal travel equate to a decent throttle blip.
 
ksher said:
I use left foot on brake and right foot on accelerater in car with auto box (like racing drivers in F1 car) :driving: .
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Left foot braking in an Auto :o brave man that normally means a face full of dash for most Auto drivers :D
 
Raify said:
I do it most of the time on the road (well, if it's needed for a smooth gear change) but weirdly I've not had the balls to try it on track, where it's actually needed.

By the time I get to the braking zone, I'm too concerned with getting the braking right to worry about rolling my foot across to the accelerator (this is in a mazda where it's easier than the BM).

Sport mode definitely helps, it makes that first few cm of pedal travel equate to a decent throttle blip.
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I was the same at the track the first few times.
After you get more comfortable, it's easy.

re sport mode
At the track, I found the opposite to be true.
Because you brake harder & deeper with the pedal, sport mode makes the throttle too high & much too sensitive.
 
I need bigger feet I think, my size nine's struggle to spread across the 2 pedals. I'll have to try it wearing my wellies!!!! Looks like I just need to practice,lots................ :D
 
I do heel-toe pretty much everytime. I do think the spacing is a bit far apart for those of us with smaller feets, but it's doable. I Heel-toe more to keep the car balance for downshifting. Plus it's nice to be in the right gear when you need to make a quick entry into that roundabout that has just enough of a gap for z4's :P
 
bigshurv said:
I need bigger feet I think, my size nine's struggle to spread across the 2 pedals. I'll have to try it wearing my wellies!!!! Looks like I just need to practice,lots................ :D
Click to expand...
If you twist your heal over a bit towards the throttle, THEN roll your foot sideways;
it's easier to bridge the gap.
 
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