Are any of you large footed people able to do it? I wear a size 14 shoe. I am not sure if my lack of mastery of the technique is due to my lack of coordination, lack of patience, my big feet, or all of the above. Some cars are a lot worse than others, but my feet seem to whack all kinds of stuff under the dash in most cars.
i could do it with my size 12 foot pretty well. The Jetta sucks because the petals are so spread out and the Puma racing shoes just flop in between the petals, but with my wide skate shoes, it works great...
On track or on the street? I ask because my Sprite is easy to do on the street as it has non-assisted brakes which require major pedal pressure, and a small firm throttle pedal . My e36 BMW M3 (and I mean a car) is very difficult to modulate brakes while blipping the throttle and downshifting at street braking levels, but while threshold braking on track is much easier.
I'm learning to do it in the E30 on the track and street. It's way easier with my Vans then with my Pilotis.
Otto_Maddox wrote: Are any of you large footed people able to do it? I wear a size 14 shoe. I am not sure if my lack of mastery of the technique is due to my lack of coordination, lack of patience, my big feet, or all of the above. Some cars are a lot worse than others, but my feet seem to whack all kinds of stuff under the dash in most cars.
That car in your avatar is pretty tough to get used to... the 911 with its floor hinged pedals and odd spacing took me a bit of time - it helps if you pull off the rubber pads and use racing pedals + make the gas a little wider at the top with a plate. Even so - it ain't no BMW. They might have the perfect ergonomic pedal spacing in the E30/E36 cars.
It also helps to wear narrow racing shoes or a narrow track running shoe.
I know this may be a stupid question but:
Are you rolling your foot outside/inside? Or are you actually trying pivot it to heal/toe?
The first is the better way of doing it. I hate the pedal spacing of my Miata where I actually need to use my heel to work the gas. Makes it damn near impossible to apply consistent brake pressure.
Ya'll need to watch some Initial D. Especially the girls in the Sil-80. They have some really good heel-toe shots. Best "How To" I've come across.
Salanis wrote: I know this may be a stupid question but: Are you rolling your foot outside/inside? Or are you actually trying pivot it to heal/toe? The first is the better way of doing it. I hate the pedal spacing of my Miata where I actually need to use my heel to work the gas. Makes it damn near impossible to apply consistent brake pressure.
Try this. That's what I'm asking Santa Claus for this year.
Otto_Maddox wrote: Are any of you large footed people able to do it? I wear a size 14 shoe. I am not sure if my lack of mastery of the technique is due to my lack of coordination, lack of patience, my big feet, or all of the above. Some cars are a lot worse than others, but my feet seem to whack all kinds of stuff under the dash in most cars.
Do you do the "split foot" or "classic" method? Street or track? Splitting the pedals at the front of your foot is probably best for the street. A little knee rock is sometimes required depending on the pedal setup. A soft sole (sneaker) helps to feel what's going on down there. With a size 14 it's probably pretty tough to keep from overlapping the gas when you're on the brakes. If so, try shifting your heel to the left.
On the track, a stiffer sole (like a Piloti) doesn't distort and slip off the brake under the increased pressure. A long pedal will force you into the classic H&T style whether you like it or not.
I'll nominate the Mini as having a great pedal setup too, must be the BMW connection.
With big feet the ankle roll can be VERY easy. Ball of right foot on brake, roll ankle and pivot heal towards gas, adjust foot towards the left or right until it "fits". Some part of Sasquatch foot will hit the go pedal and help match the revs. Best way for me to practice was on a nice straight stretch of road. Going 45-60 mph, keep your speed constant but rotate through the gears. That will get you speed matching the rev to the wheels. Once you have that, add braking in a straight line. I used to heal-toe the mini for every stoplight, stop sign in town. Once you got that nailed, go for the corners.
In the end you are attempting to put you pinky toe between the brake and gas.
I wear size 12 puma's and usually do right foot gas/brake via rolling my foot around an axis paralell to the pedals, left foot clutch only... Seems to work pretty good. :)
It's 'heel'. If you use the H-T technique, then modify the car to allow you to do it very well, because if your foot slips off at the wrong time, well, then so will you ... Widen the pedals, put friction coverings on the surfaces (anti-slip tape), and reroute or relocate any under-dash restrictions. Find a pair of shoes that work for you, and then practice, practice, practice. H-T should become second nature, so you don't even have to think about it. When the Red Mist descends, be ready!
Carter
Yes, "heel" is the correct spelling. You'd think that it would be easier with larger feet, especially the "roll-the-ankle" style that I use with my size 11's.
That's just great - can't believe I spelled it "heal". Now I am on par with all the Craigslist people who refer to the "breaks" on their car.
In any case, the ankle rolling technique described seems to work best for me. I could probably use a little more practice.
Yah, I do that sometime too (damned stubby fingers), just be sure you keep track of the 'cluth peddles' and 'break peddles'.
Sorry this won't help you any, but I've got one of these to help with the pedal spacing when they're too far apart. They come in short (for foot rollers like me) and long (for heel-toe pivoters) but are only available for RX7.
Another alternative is to get some "racing" pedal covers that make the pedal surface area larger so it's easier to pick up both at the same time. I've got some of those on my Galant and they work well. you can adjust the height of the pedal covers with spacers so that the brake and throttle pedals line up nicely as well.
I think that I'm pretty good at it. But not in a 911. I hear that the pedals are adjustable, though...
Isn't the ankle-pivot method just a way of opening the door for foot slippage? Haven't you ever had your foot slip right off the brake and hit the floor while doing that? I do it anyway when I'm on the street (at least when I had the BMW) but with the Miata, I find it easy enough to pivot and nab the gas pedal with my heel.
Edit: there's a video online somewhere of a racer in a BMW 3 series of some sort. He left-foot brakes. As for the clutch, well, that was used on the grid to launch the car and that's about it. Upshifts and downshifts (all of them) were done without the clutch. It was really cool.
confuZion3 wrote: Isn't the ankle-pivot method just a way of opening the door for foot slippage? Haven't you ever had your foot slip right off the brake and hit the floor while doing that? I do it anyway when I'm on the street (at least when I had the BMW) but with the Miata, I find it easy enough to pivot and nab the gas pedal with my heel. Edit: there's a video online somewhere of a racer in a BMW 3 series of some sort. He left-foot brakes. As for the clutch, well, that was used on the grid to launch the car and that's about it. Upshifts and downshifts (all of them) were done without the clutch. It was really cool.
I just found a video amost like that, ececpt that its a 'stang, not a bimmer. <a href="historic trans-am racing 'stang with camera view of peadelstrans-am stang video with peadel view I wonder what kind of gear box he is using because I only saw the clutch used once, very early in the video. Can a "historic" race car use a sequential gear box?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4iQM9P044Y
Here is some in car video of some one with very wide spaced pedals in a 944. It seems that you need some degree of flexibility. I can do that in my little honda, but I never look at my feet when I do it. Also watch the shift to left foot braking at 0:40. That seems very smooth.
Sorry, but i have to share this one because this is Senna doing heel toe footwork in and NSX wearing penny loafers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6mCgPajjn8
Sorry, but i have to share this one because this is Senna doing heel toe footwork in and NSX wearing penny loafers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6mCgPajjn8
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