learning to heel and toe...any ideas???

[Whisky]

i haven't touched anything yet but when i put my foot on tha brake heavy, its about the same distance as tha gas(gas pedal is untouched)...i barely have any room to turn my foot sideways. i got like no room down there. But what if i don't want to brake heavy on tha turn, that would mean i can't reach tha gas without mashing on tha brake....know what i mean!!??!?

Hmm, it sounds like you should learn threshold braking before you worry about heel and toe. Heel/toe is a downshifting method designed to allow the driver to place the car into the best gear for power on corner exit without disrupting the balance of the car or shocking the drivetrain, generally while braking into the turn. It is generally, although not always, a threshold braking ("mashing on the brake" as you say) technique. If your pedals are close to even at full brake, then it sounds like you should be able to heel/toe to some degree.

Be careful practicing this on the street. Its more important to brake safely then it is to shift smoothly. Smoothness comes with practice. So for now just make sure that the ball of your foot is firmly on the brake pedal when you practice.

If you really want to learn to drive, I would suggest an HPDE event or a beginner autocross or something similar where an instructor can show you what your car is capable of. Its an eye-opening experience your first time!

[RMS13kid]

seat time

heel-toeing at first sounds complicated but it comes to you very easily after a good amount of seat time. You have to deal with every situation differently. If you don't have enough space then adjust the contact point of your right foot and the brakes... Usually you are supposed to brake with the ball of your feet or more towards your toes... but you can easily move your foot up before you heel-toe and then you can easily kick the gas pedal as you execute.

Other technique used in smaller cars + bigfoot drivers is to not even move your right foot sideways. You can brake with the left side of your foot and 'lean over' to the gas pedal as you down shift.

As for beginners... just keep practicing... no matter how much you read up on this stuff... nothing beats actual experience.... that's how all of us learn

[Whisky]

As for beginners... just keep practicing... no matter how much you read up on this stuff... nothing beats actual experience.... that's how all of us learn

I agree. Heel/toe is easily explained and demonstrated, but its a skill. Like any other skill it only becomes second-nature with practice, nobody is born with the innate ability to heel/toe or threshold brake. There is no better practice than on-track seat time.

[malcolm]

...nobody is born with the innate ability to heel/toe...

funny side note.... when I was born, my right foot was sitting at a 45 degree angle to where it should have been. my mother was horrified, but my father just said "LOOK!!! He was BORN to hell-and-toe!!!!"

(it grew out to be normal, however... so I'm not as much of a freak anymore)

[85Celica]

lol

thanks guys i keep all that in mind