What did you learn to heal-toe in?

"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond) 08/01/2014 at 23:23 • Filed to: None

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I learned to drive in an '81 VW Jetta diesel. I learned to shift up. I learned to rev-match a downshift. All without lurching. I learned to bend the left front suspension. I forget that car. I learned to fully heal-toe in a Volvo.

The one pictured is pretty much identical to what I had from college until it turned twenty-one, shortly after I turned twenty-seven. I learned to "heal-toe" as they say but my methods were and still are a bit different. I look at it as driving properly to save the clutch and transmission synchros. I learned right away that a downshift without rev-match at anything other than the most lowly RPM will cause the rear tires to make loud noises as they try to force the engine to spin faster and catch up. Being eighteen I called that a compression skid. Rev-matching prevented that and also removed the forces on the drive-line. I later learned how to do that braking for and in mid-corner on a fun road.

My altered method of the heal-toe: Where you wold see a driver turning their foot painfully pigeon-sideways to press the brake and gas at the same time, my instep of the right foot is on the right side of the brake pedal and rocks over to the gas pedal where the outsole/outstep presses the left side of the gas pedal. So it's really right in the middle of both pedals. It might not be as optimal as what you see true drivers doing with foot-cams, but I have a size twelve foot and some cars weren't built for my heal to go everywhere. So that's how I do it. I drive every time like that still. I rev-match downshifts. Doing it right saves any drag on the clutch and no loads on the gearbox. I don't know how to drive any other way. The Volvo clutch lasted 100,000 miles of total hooning, which was the only way to get 3,000 pounds to do anything fun with 105 horsepower.

So what car did you learn the total heal-toe package in?

PowderHound > Grindintosecond 08/01/2014 at 23:29

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we'll this is he only decent pic I could find... But his 99 legacy 2.5gt wagon. I want to swap a wrx motor in one now that I have some turbo power.

Axial > Grindintosecond 08/01/2014 at 23:39

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I haven't learned it, yet. :x

To be honest, street driving is not a good place to learn heel-toe. Heel-toe works best when you are depressing the brake-pedal all the way, else it's really hard to hit the accelerator at all. In street driving, you almost never have to depress your brakes more than a third to half-way.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Grindintosecond 08/01/2014 at 23:44

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It came instinctively, but slowly to me. I bashed my toe on a table leg a few weeks ago and it's still healing.

That was awful.

Clown Shoe Pilot > Grindintosecond 08/01/2014 at 23:49

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Heal toe? I learned that in podiatry school. I learned to heel-toe in a MINI.

iamstucklockedout > Grindintosecond 08/02/2014 at 00:01

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v70r '04

pedal were really well placed for it too

G/O Sucks > Grindintosecond 08/02/2014 at 01:13

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Learned on my 22 year old 1965 Plymouth Valiant. Also learned how to smoke a J, have sex, sweet-talk my way out of tickets, do burnouts, fix damage from burnouts gone awry, and most of the lyrics to early Rush songs.

I learned all wrong (heel brake, toe gas) but it worked really well and it was pretty awesome looking theatre given the shifter — had a 3-on-the-tree gearbox! Bought new by my grandmother the same day my dad bought a '65 Mustang fastback w/271hp K-motor and four-speed. Naturally, I got the Valiant. Sigh...

promoted by the color red > Grindintosecond 08/02/2014 at 02:25

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I learned how to blip the throttle in an '85 Toyota pickup but I started toe-heelin' with my Acura Integra. There's a protected turn area that is perfect for a three-two downshift without braking (assuming no cyclists or pedestrians) and that's the best place to do it.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > iamstucklockedout 08/02/2014 at 02:46

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I am totally