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  • Tips on Heal and Toe

    I would like some advice on heal and toe. I've been practicing and can pretty much do it on the street but on the track it has been hit and miss. I heal and toe by braking with the base of my foot not planted on the ground and then I blip by slanting my foot and hitting the gas. I find this is ok on the street but when on the track I tend to overbrake or brake twice when trying to get that blip in. As in when I go for the blip I accidentally apply additional pressure to the brake pedal. The other reason I find my heal and toe is not carrying over to the track is because on the street you're not required to brake as hard.

    I've tried planting my foot on the ground when I brake and just rolling on the ball of my foot to get that blip in but have had not much success with that. Any tips would be appreciated
    "Racing makes Heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty." -- Peter Egan
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  • #2
    Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

    I'd say get the basics down first man.

    It's your first season, hell of a lot to learn, much juicier lower hanging fruit to take down first.
    Barry

    Citizen Cone Dodger

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    • #3
      Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

      Lol but I find that is the main hole in my game. I'm not going to say I can do the other stuff well but in comparison, the heal and toe portion is the weakest.
      "Racing makes Heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty." -- Peter Egan
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      • #4
        Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

        I won T1 and came 6th in regular season overall without heel-toeing once.

        Totally up to you, but still I'd advise there's a lot of better things to master first.
        Barry

        Citizen Cone Dodger

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        • #5
          Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

          I know its probably different from person to person but what did you work on during that season?
          "Racing makes Heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty." -- Peter Egan
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          • #6
            Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

            Originally posted by haikara2308 View Post
            I would like some advice on heal and toe. I've been practicing and can pretty much do it on the street but on the track it has been hit and miss. I heal and toe by braking with the base of my foot not planted on the ground and then I blip by slanting my foot and hitting the gas. I find this is ok on the street but when on the track I tend to overbrake or brake twice when trying to get that blip in. As in when I go for the blip I accidentally apply additional pressure to the brake pedal. The other reason I find my heal and toe is not carrying over to the track is because on the street you're not required to brake as hard.
            I was taught that the method you describe above was the "proper" method, however I had the same problem maintaining even brake pressure while moving my heel over to hit the gas. Still haven't got it 100%...as always practice practice practice!! Maybe pick a lapping session and focus solely on heel-toe at a certain corner...?
            "Asking the front wheels of a car to do <more than> their normal job of steering ... is like asking a man to wire a plug while juggling. Penguins. While making love. To a beautiful woman, while on fire, on stage, in front of the Queen. It's all going to go wrong." - J.C.

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            • #7
              Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

              You could always find a deserted back road with no people around to practice under heavy braking as well (same situation I use to bed my brake pads).

              It'll help to learn by isolating just the braking and heal toe instead of trying to focus on it while hitting a braking point and turning correctly.

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              • #8
                Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                I was actually doing that today and then using like signs/trees as indicators of the start of braking zones to simulate brake points.
                "Racing makes Heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty." -- Peter Egan
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                • #9
                  Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                  What size / width of shoe do you wear?

                  Find a way to adjust your pedal heights so that normal techniques will work. Raise the brake pedal height, move pedals closer together, etc
                  Last edited by Slowpoke; 05-17-2014, 09:55 PM.
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                  Stephen, SPDA VP, OTA Director, CCC Member
                  OTA: SGT1 ! -=- CSCS: SSA #842

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                  • #10
                    Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                    My feet are size 10 and the width is about 3.7 inches, I think this is a pretty average size.
                    "Racing makes Heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty." -- Peter Egan
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                    • #11
                      Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                      Ditto to what Steve said. This just takes practice, practice, practice! There is no way you can simulate on the street what you're doing on the track, but it's definitely great practice! So just keep on doing both. I would say heel and toe definitely takes more practice than any other skill. And Barry, noes the time to start!
                      sigpicFrank - OTA #259 retired. I'm in BC now!

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                      • #12
                        Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                        I find it easier on the track at threshold.

                        But then again I devoted a couple track days to learning on the track and had never done it on the street previously.

                        I'd say its an absolutely critical maneuver and if you cant do it you must devote your track time to learning it until you've got it. You absolutely cannot brake without upsetting the balance of the car unless you can do this smoothly.

                        It's just as you've said although the best trick I've learned is make sure you place your foot nice and high on the brake pedal. I missed the gas pedal a couple times low and I realized very little lateral movement of your foot is needed if the ball of your foot is nice and high.

                        This is a primitive video I took of teaching myself in 2012.

                        Also place a camera so you can see your screw ups. I used this video to make several improvements to myself. I should make a new video.
                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbEk95GMc_w

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                        • #13
                          Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                          Michael, are those pedals stock? They seem to be at a weird angle, but it may be due to the camera angle. That's a good idea, filming my feet at work to see what I'm actually doing. I noticed that you are wearing high ankle shoes (mine are too), was wondering if you find there is any diff between lower ankle shoes and higher ankle ones when doing heal and toe. I was tempted to try using lower ankle shoes but haven't done it yet to see if there is any diff.

                          I've also been watching this as a reference of what to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFoKDKpTbwA as his gas pedal is floor mounted like mine.
                          "Racing makes Heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty." -- Peter Egan
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                          • #14
                            Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                            Originally posted by haikara2308 View Post
                            Michael, are those pedals stock? They seem to be at a weird angle, but it may be due to the camera angle. That's a good idea, filming my feet at work to see what I'm actually doing. I noticed that you are wearing high ankle shoes (mine are too), was wondering if you find there is any diff between lower ankle shoes and higher ankle ones when doing heal and toe. I was tempted to try using lower ankle shoes but haven't done it yet to see if there is any diff.

                            I've also been watching this as a reference of what to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFoKDKpTbwA as his gas pedal is floor mounted like mine.
                            Yeah the camera did tip over. And the gas pedal is a replacement with a wing on it to make heal toe easier. But I'd say it's irrelevant now. But I'd say a camera is the best tool. As soon as I watched this and listened to it I realized my clutch action was still weak on the release and could be smoother and faster. I also learned I should brake more before blipping coming from the top of a gear. etc etc. It's second nature now. I don't even think about doing it. I couldn't not do it, it seems. These are just sparco racing shoes. I don't think the ankle would make a difference. But you'd want a nice snug fitting shoe with a thin sole.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Tips on Heal and Toe

                              Btw it seems that you've come pretty far since that vid, from practicing heal and toe to global time attack in less than two years. Nice save when your battery came loose.
                              "Racing makes Heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty." -- Peter Egan
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