How to proper heel-toe in a 350Z (Video)
03-17-2006, 04:05 AM
#41
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i wear 13's in puma and i measure just above 12.5 (47 EU?); i am able to do it just fine wearing any type of shoe (puma race cats, ecco dress shoes, old school nike's from sophomore year in highschool - 1997, etc). i sit pretty close to the wheel as well so my right foot actually sits at what would appear to be 1 to 2 o'clock.
it's not as hard as people think, it does take practice though. i have too many memories (in previous cars as well as when i first got the Z) of the car lurking forward pretty hard, missing the gas pedal, too hard on brakes, gears grinding, you name it, it's happened!
i think it's more consistent under extreme driving conditions (driving closer to the limit) as opposed to daily driving...but when you get really good at it, you can bust it any where at any speed.
what i found works for me is using just under the ball of my foot for the brakes and using my heal on the gas, i try to get my heal as high on the gas pedal as possible to avoid missing the throttle and i've been much more consistent that way.
it's about knowing your car...and yes, i'm still getting to know mine
it's not as hard as people think, it does take practice though. i have too many memories (in previous cars as well as when i first got the Z) of the car lurking forward pretty hard, missing the gas pedal, too hard on brakes, gears grinding, you name it, it's happened!
i think it's more consistent under extreme driving conditions (driving closer to the limit) as opposed to daily driving...but when you get really good at it, you can bust it any where at any speed.
what i found works for me is using just under the ball of my foot for the brakes and using my heal on the gas, i try to get my heal as high on the gas pedal as possible to avoid missing the throttle and i've been much more consistent that way.
it's about knowing your car...and yes, i'm still getting to know mine
03-17-2006, 04:05 AM
#42
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Originally Posted by imseksy
just wondering bro, were you really bored?
???no i asked a couple ppl if i should make a vid and i got good feedback so i did it
and as Kolia mentioned, practice to learn where the blip point is, the catch point is...
03-17-2006, 04:29 AM
#43
Originally Posted by Bee Ess Pee
thanks B...
i think you can try to bend the gas pedal towards the brakes a little bit?
or use pedal extenders?
i think you can try to bend the gas pedal towards the brakes a little bit?
or use pedal extenders?
Not a good idea. You might bend something important in the electronic throttle sensors. I know somebody that did that.
03-17-2006, 06:08 AM
#44
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o they do make pedal extenders though
anyway ... people say the pedals are too far apart in the Z... but check out other cars ... i think the Z is not that bad... but it isnt the best like the S2000 (Heel-Toe King with the worldest smoothest manual shifting mechanism)
anyway ... people say the pedals are too far apart in the Z... but check out other cars ... i think the Z is not that bad... but it isnt the best like the S2000 (Heel-Toe King with the worldest smoothest manual shifting mechanism)
03-17-2006, 09:49 AM
#45
Originally Posted by Bee Ess Pee
... people say the pedals are too far apart in the Z... but check out other cars ... i think the Z is not that bad...
the pedals in the Z are perfect (which was a big sigh of relief when I went to test drive it)
unlike the Boxster S, where the pedals are made for a woman or something...
the Boxster S is really fun to drive but I would never own one, my legs and feet are just too big for it.
03-17-2006, 11:14 AM
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A little trick that I found to help me match revs when I downshift is to disengage the clutch about 90% as you're putting it into gear, and then just apply a little pressure to the shift lever, just a little less than it would take to put it in gear. As you blip the gas and the RPMs come up, as soon as the gears match speed it'll slide right into gear, and then you can let the clutch out at that moment. It takes practice to get it down into one smooth movement, but it makes for pretty smooth shifting.
03-17-2006, 11:18 AM
#47
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Originally Posted by Bee Ess Pee
Side note: I am asian so i dont wear american sized shoes such as 14EEE and I wore socks so the process can be clearly captured on video.
03-17-2006, 12:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Bee Ess Pee
???no i asked a couple ppl if i should make a vid and i got good feedback so i did it
and as Kolia mentioned, practice to learn where the blip point is, the catch point is...
03-17-2006, 01:12 PM
#49
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Originally Posted by Wired 24/7
Not for me
the pedals in the Z are perfect (which was a big sigh of relief when I went to test drive it)
unlike the Boxster S, where the pedals are made for a woman or something...
the Boxster S is really fun to drive but I would never own one, my legs and feet are just too big for it.
the pedals in the Z are perfect (which was a big sigh of relief when I went to test drive it)
unlike the Boxster S, where the pedals are made for a woman or something...
the Boxster S is really fun to drive but I would never own one, my legs and feet are just too big for it.
now u got me thinking
03-17-2006, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Rickdogg
I heel toe with my right foot bent like the video. The Z's pedals are still a bit far for me to roll my foot.
on another note, zhan you watch too much Keiichi Tsuchiya (same scene just you recreated it in the Z)
03-17-2006, 08:57 PM
#53
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Originally Posted by seanlaw
+1 ... i find the pedals too far apart to roll too
on another note, zhan you watch too much Keiichi Tsuchiya (same scene just you recreated it in the Z)
on another note, zhan you watch too much Keiichi Tsuchiya (same scene just you recreated it in the Z)
03-18-2006, 11:52 AM
#55
Originally Posted by pedroosan
Now question is whether you put the gear in before the blip or afterwards.
I know that the cleaner way is to do it after the blip. But I don't think it makes such a difference as you are depressing the clutch anyway?
I found it easier to have already moved the gear lever and then do the blip and then immediately let the clutch out.
Also if you look at all the Best Motoring videos, it looks like they do it simultaneously. They are so fast, that basically you cannot tell whether the gear lever is moved before the blip or afterwards.
What do you think?
I know that the cleaner way is to do it after the blip. But I don't think it makes such a difference as you are depressing the clutch anyway?
I found it easier to have already moved the gear lever and then do the blip and then immediately let the clutch out.
Also if you look at all the Best Motoring videos, it looks like they do it simultaneously. They are so fast, that basically you cannot tell whether the gear lever is moved before the blip or afterwards.
What do you think?
To answer your question, for me it's simultaneous. As I'm leaving one gear and moving through neutral I'm blipping the throttle at the same time. The rpms are shooting up as I'm going into gear and the clutch gets let out a little before the revmatch point.
I also agree with beyjer that it's easier to do when you're closer to the limit. It's more consistant. If you're always downshifting very close to redline each time, the timing is always the same. When doing it in daily driving situations you have to adjust. Of course you can probably see the problems with trying to learn a new technique while pushing the limits. One thing you can do is forget about corning. Don't add to the complexity of everything. Just find a straight stretch of road with no traffic and get up to a respectable speed and just work on braking in a straight line and downshifting.
The worst thing you could do is downshift too soon. That's how people float valves. When you downshift to a lower gear too soon the rev limiter will not stop an over-rev situation. Always make sure you're going slow enough not to exceed redline in the lower gear, unless of course a valvejob is on your list of things you would really like to do.
03-18-2006, 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by roast
You're on the right track. Let me first say that sitting here trying to type it out is harder than actually doing it. When I heel toe I don't think about what I'm doing, I just do it. It's also hard to do when you first learn because you're thinking about it way too much. It needs to come natural because there is a lot going on and it all happens fast.
To answer your question, for me it's simultaneous. As I'm leaving one gear and moving through neutral I'm blipping the throttle at the same time. The rpms are shooting up as I'm going into gear and the clutch gets let out a little before the revmatch point.
I also agree with beyjer that it's easier to do when you're closer to the limit. It's more consistant. If you're always downshifting very close to redline each time, the timing is always the same. When doing it in daily driving situations you have to adjust. Of course you can probably see the problems with trying to learn a new technique while pushing the limits. One thing you can do is forget about corning. Don't add to the complexity of everything. Just find a straight stretch of road with no traffic and get up to a respectable speed and just work on braking in a straight line and downshifting.
The worst thing you could do is downshift too soon. That's how people float valves. When you downshift to a lower gear too soon the rev limiter will not stop an over-rev situation. Always make sure you're going slow enough not to exceed redline in the lower gear, unless of course a valvejob is on your list of things you would really like to do.
To answer your question, for me it's simultaneous. As I'm leaving one gear and moving through neutral I'm blipping the throttle at the same time. The rpms are shooting up as I'm going into gear and the clutch gets let out a little before the revmatch point.
I also agree with beyjer that it's easier to do when you're closer to the limit. It's more consistant. If you're always downshifting very close to redline each time, the timing is always the same. When doing it in daily driving situations you have to adjust. Of course you can probably see the problems with trying to learn a new technique while pushing the limits. One thing you can do is forget about corning. Don't add to the complexity of everything. Just find a straight stretch of road with no traffic and get up to a respectable speed and just work on braking in a straight line and downshifting.
The worst thing you could do is downshift too soon. That's how people float valves. When you downshift to a lower gear too soon the rev limiter will not stop an over-rev situation. Always make sure you're going slow enough not to exceed redline in the lower gear, unless of course a valvejob is on your list of things you would really like to do.
its like say cruising towards a stop sign at 30mph in 3rd, i just heel-toe into 2nd ...
it takes more patience and timing and sometimes if ur not careful u overblip
03-18-2006, 01:31 PM
#57
Yup, me either. It just takes an adjustment, thats all. When daily driving you're not hard on the brakes. You're not downshifting to redline every time. It's much more variable and requires plenty of adjustments. When daily driving you can accomplish the same basic thing by just rev matching a downshift, because there is little need to brake hard and downshift at the same time. The urgency to heel-toe is just not there. It's still fun to do nonetheless.
03-18-2006, 05:41 PM
#58
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i think i have A.D.D. for the reason that i do alot of shifting and foot work while driving, i cant stay idle while driving ... which is why i cant use Cruise Control
lol...
lol...
03-18-2006, 08:11 PM
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Nice video.
I'll admit that I suck at the heel-toe. I don't drive my car on road courses or autocross, and I can't think of a reason why I'd use it much in daily driving. Maybe I'll have to force myself to learn at the risk of looking like a retard in the corners for a while...
I'll admit that I suck at the heel-toe. I don't drive my car on road courses or autocross, and I can't think of a reason why I'd use it much in daily driving. Maybe I'll have to force myself to learn at the risk of looking like a retard in the corners for a while...
03-19-2006, 09:39 AM
#60
^^ If you're going practice, don't mess with the corners until you figure it out. That will just make it harder and more dangerous. You can practice heel-toeing without any corners involved. When you heel-toe you should be stopping in a straight line anyway.