Heel Toe Downshifting

[HKz]

I vote for foot replacement surgery so you can wear at least size 10 shoes. I have pretty average sized feet and I think the 86's pedals are very easy to heel-toe, even more so than my G27 Logitetch gaming pedals!

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by theneptune86

Also, I feel like I'm ripping myself off by not developing and selling my own pedal spacer kit for the next 86 platform, which inevitably won't have a "good enough" pedal spacing setup when it comes out

Electric motors don't need heel toe shifts.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by HKz

I vote for foot replacement surgery so you can wear at least size 10 shoes. I have pretty average sized feet and I think the 86's pedals are very easy to heel-toe, even more so than my G27 Logitetch gaming pedals!

That's probably closer to the truth than the rest of the thread! The only static variable here is the car (pedals), the rest varies between people - shoe size, specific shoes, heel-toe technique, experience with past cars, expectations from the Twins, etc.

I'd mention that for cars with the accelerator pedal coming from the floor the "classic technique" (angle foot right to left) works much better than the "roll your foot right technique", and still works for cars with the accelerator pedal coming from the "ceiling". As one who always did the later with manual cars, I find the "classic technique" superior - it is less affected by shoe size and style and allows better brake pedal action.

[Th3rdSun]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

This car has one of the worst pedal layouts for heel/toe of anything I’ve driven.
That being said, the Verus Engineering throttle pedal spacer makes it absolutely sublime.

Hop into a Chevy SS then come talk to me. My friend has a '17 SS,and it's pretty much impossible to heel toe,the pedals are so far apart.And that would be fine if the car had auto rev matching,but it doesn't.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Electric motors don't need heel toe shifts.

Or CVT transmissions.

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by Th3rdSun

Hop into a Chevy SS then come talk to me. My friend has a '17 SS,and it's pretty much impossible to heel toe,the pedals are so far apart.And that would be fine if the car had auto rev matching,but it doesn't.

Ew gross. No thanks!

[TommyW]

The ease or difficulty in heel toeing comes down to technique and shoes. It's best to leave your heel secured on the floor and just rock your foot over. A pedal extender that adds with to the throttle on the left side is cheap and easy. Puma makes a really wide training shoe that I used before doing the extension.

[Th3rdSun]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

Ew gross. No thanks!

Seems like a bit of an overreaction. Even without the ability to heel toe,it's a well appointed vehicle and pretty fast,though it's as big as a tank.It's pretty much a sleeper.

That being said,I tried to convince my friend to get something else,but one of his previous cars was a '06 GTO with the 6.0 liter,that he loved,and he said the SS was the closest thing to that.

[Windycitystig]

Originally Posted by TommyW

The ease or difficulty in heel toeing comes down to technique and shoes. It's best to leave your heel secured on the floor and just rock your foot over. A pedal extender that adds with to the throttle on the left side is cheap and easy. Puma makes a really wide training shoe that I used before doing the extension.

Which Puma shoe model?

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by TommyW

The ease or difficulty in heel toeing comes down to technique and shoes. It's best to leave your heel secured on the floor and just rock your foot over. A pedal extender that adds with to the throttle on the left side is cheap and easy. Puma makes a really wide training shoe that I used before doing the extension.

I can't use that technique, even with the extended pedal. I have tried in the car, works fine in the Xterra

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by TommyW

The ease or difficulty in heel toeing comes down to technique and shoes. It's best to leave your heel secured on the floor and just rock your foot over. A pedal extender that adds with to the throttle on the left side is cheap and easy. Puma makes a really wide training shoe that I used before doing the extension.

I definitely do not anchor my heel and would never advise it.
I wear OMP racing boots that are as slim as possible. I'd never advise WIDER shoes either.

Originally Posted by Th3rdSun

Seems like a bit of an overreaction. Even without the ability to heel toe,it's a well appointed vehicle and pretty fast,though it's as big as a tank.It's pretty much a sleeper.

That being said,I tried to convince my friend to get something else,but one of his previous cars was a '06 GTO with the 6.0 liter,that he loved,and he said the SS was the closest thing to that.

Yeah, no. Ew.

[N_Raged]

I have the Verus spacer and it's been a godsend for daily driving. I have size 8.5 wide-width feet and while I can heel-toe for days on an ND MX-5, I cannot do it on my BRZ or on my buddy's STi. I think I prefer floor-hinged throttle pedals for that reason. I actually turn my heel upward to blip the throttle - I can't do the "toe-toe" method without slipping off the brake.

I like how the Verus spacer brings the throttle in-line with the brake pedal, but I don't like how it shifts the throttle pedal to the left - closer to the brake pedal. If I'm wearing shoes with a really wide sole, I'll sometimes hit the edge of the throttle when stepping on the brake. So I basically had to replace all of my shoes with something more driving-friendly.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

I definitely do not anchor my heel and would never advise it.
I wear OMP racing boots that are as slim as possible. I'd never advise WIDER shoes either.

To each his own I guess. I've seen both. You look at data from pulling your foot off the floor and stabbing the throttle and you'll usually see a more erratic braking graph at the point of the downshift. I know there's a vid out on Senna's technique and it was the roll the foot technique and this is also taught by Ross Bentley etc. Personal preference though

[Tokay444]

I definitely roll my foot, and you can certainly be more precise with less shoe in the way.
I would never try to put MORE material between my feet and the pedals. I just bring the pedals closer together.