Post by babaracus on Mar 2, 2007 18:16:10 GMT
In General
Heel and Toe shifting is referring to a technique of changing gear when approaching a corner. When polished it is much smoother than a convential gear change, on a track this can translate to quicker laptimes on a road it can make for a much smoother drive or even something to impress your friends.
Why Heel and Toe?
Imagine Driver Mr Smith approaching a corner in his Ford Focus, in this instance he is approaching a roundabout, he approaches the roundabout at 55mph in 4th gear, he brakes for the roundabout down to approximately 25mph, he then realises the engine revs are dropping too low so depresses the clutch.
Before Mr Smith goes to accelerate away and in turn will release the clutch, he realises he is in 4th gear and therefore he will have little acceleration. So he puts the car from 4th to 2nd gear, lets the clutch out and motors away.
The problem with this is while Mr Smith is decelerating he has the clutch 'in' which drops the revs of the engine to idle. By the time he releases the clutch the mechanical locking effect of the engine and the driven wheels (in this case front) forces the engine to match the rotational speed of the rear wheels. This causes the car to jerk or 'buck' which on the open road creates a lack of smoothness. On the race track this might be enough to unsettle the car, which may follow in you missing the apex of the corner by 1 metre or increase the braking distance by unsettling the stability of the car through unstable yaw or pitch aka. the longitudinal or vertical motions of the car. It also places extra wear and tear on the gearbox, clutch and possibly engine mounts.
How can you counteract this jerkyness?
In this case, 25 mph in second gear would mean the engine has to be at roughly 3000rpm. When Mr Smith releases the clutch after moving the gear stick to second gear, his car's engine must instantly go from idle to 3000rpm. This sudden change causes the car to jerk, ideally the engine speed would match the rotational force of the rear wheels or in this case 3000rpm.
To attain 3000rpm whilst under braking is where the fundementals of heel and toe shifting come in. To get the engine speed to 3000rpm whilst braking and on the clutch seems to technically require an abnormal growth or a third foot! But No, by carefully using the 'heel and toe' (top and bottom) or even left/right side of your braking foot the accelerator can be jabbed allowing the car to reach the required rpm to eliminate this jerk.
Thats the technical side, how do I get out there and do it?
Well like I always say to anyone who wants to learn - practice, practice and practice!!
I must also empahsise that there is no right and wrong way of this routine, in my Seicento I use the two sides of my foot to jab the accelerator whilst braking in those cars often with larger or accelerator pedals further towards the bulkhead I may use heel and toe, only you can decide what is comfortable to you through practice, it obviously varies on what car you drive, the pedal positions and most improtantly how you are comfortable that takes priority. You can't think about your pedal postions when you are approaching at 80mph on the limit of adhesion, it must come naturally and therefore comfortably. But to start obviously do it slowly especially if on the road, you'll feel a natural progression as you feel more comfortable to do it when you go faster. This is something you can practice when stopped in your drive, although balancing the revs to the wheels is just practice and a 'feeling'.
Right here goes
Approach a roundabout or corner you a familiar with so you are familiar with sharpness, camber etc. Lets say you approach in 4th gear again approaching at 50mph.
Start Braking as normal with your right foot.
Before the corner (a good 50 metres to start with) depress the clutch with your left foot whilst still braking evenly with your right foot.
As soon as the clutch is depressed, select for example second gear.
Silmutaneously as you are selecting the gear and the clutch is still down, move your braking foot (right foot) over from the brake and partially place it on the accelerator in whatever way is comfortable. So you can 'jab' the pedal in a way that the engine rpm is lifted lets say around 3000rpm.
Before the engine rpm falls again release the clutch
Believe it or not that is pretty much it, it will probably feel no smoother than usual to start with if not worse but with practice, the later you will be able to brake, balance the revs and smoothly and quickly pull out of the corner.
The same comes to balancing the revs of the engine with that of the non driven wheels, there is no specific rpm for every circumstance a knowlege of the car and more practice will progress you into a much smoother and more accomplished driver.
On the road you will even have the advantage of a nice throttle blip under braking which sounds nice from the cabin under braking but equally impressive to any spectators.
In reality as you become accomplished the gap between braking and the corner will decrease as heel and toe becomes one smooth notion and on the track your laptimes come down, on the road your driving is a much smoother/controlled experience.
Videos will be added soon.
If You Wish To Copy Article Please Seek Permission From Site Owner First
JR Racing 12/02/2007.
Heel and Toe shifting is referring to a technique of changing gear when approaching a corner. When polished it is much smoother than a convential gear change, on a track this can translate to quicker laptimes on a road it can make for a much smoother drive or even something to impress your friends.
Why Heel and Toe?
Imagine Driver Mr Smith approaching a corner in his Ford Focus, in this instance he is approaching a roundabout, he approaches the roundabout at 55mph in 4th gear, he brakes for the roundabout down to approximately 25mph, he then realises the engine revs are dropping too low so depresses the clutch.
Before Mr Smith goes to accelerate away and in turn will release the clutch, he realises he is in 4th gear and therefore he will have little acceleration. So he puts the car from 4th to 2nd gear, lets the clutch out and motors away.
The problem with this is while Mr Smith is decelerating he has the clutch 'in' which drops the revs of the engine to idle. By the time he releases the clutch the mechanical locking effect of the engine and the driven wheels (in this case front) forces the engine to match the rotational speed of the rear wheels. This causes the car to jerk or 'buck' which on the open road creates a lack of smoothness. On the race track this might be enough to unsettle the car, which may follow in you missing the apex of the corner by 1 metre or increase the braking distance by unsettling the stability of the car through unstable yaw or pitch aka. the longitudinal or vertical motions of the car. It also places extra wear and tear on the gearbox, clutch and possibly engine mounts.
How can you counteract this jerkyness?
In this case, 25 mph in second gear would mean the engine has to be at roughly 3000rpm. When Mr Smith releases the clutch after moving the gear stick to second gear, his car's engine must instantly go from idle to 3000rpm. This sudden change causes the car to jerk, ideally the engine speed would match the rotational force of the rear wheels or in this case 3000rpm.
To attain 3000rpm whilst under braking is where the fundementals of heel and toe shifting come in. To get the engine speed to 3000rpm whilst braking and on the clutch seems to technically require an abnormal growth or a third foot! But No, by carefully using the 'heel and toe' (top and bottom) or even left/right side of your braking foot the accelerator can be jabbed allowing the car to reach the required rpm to eliminate this jerk.
Thats the technical side, how do I get out there and do it?
Well like I always say to anyone who wants to learn - practice, practice and practice!!
I must also empahsise that there is no right and wrong way of this routine, in my Seicento I use the two sides of my foot to jab the accelerator whilst braking in those cars often with larger or accelerator pedals further towards the bulkhead I may use heel and toe, only you can decide what is comfortable to you through practice, it obviously varies on what car you drive, the pedal positions and most improtantly how you are comfortable that takes priority. You can't think about your pedal postions when you are approaching at 80mph on the limit of adhesion, it must come naturally and therefore comfortably. But to start obviously do it slowly especially if on the road, you'll feel a natural progression as you feel more comfortable to do it when you go faster. This is something you can practice when stopped in your drive, although balancing the revs to the wheels is just practice and a 'feeling'.
Right here goes
Approach a roundabout or corner you a familiar with so you are familiar with sharpness, camber etc. Lets say you approach in 4th gear again approaching at 50mph.
Start Braking as normal with your right foot.
Before the corner (a good 50 metres to start with) depress the clutch with your left foot whilst still braking evenly with your right foot.
As soon as the clutch is depressed, select for example second gear.
Silmutaneously as you are selecting the gear and the clutch is still down, move your braking foot (right foot) over from the brake and partially place it on the accelerator in whatever way is comfortable. So you can 'jab' the pedal in a way that the engine rpm is lifted lets say around 3000rpm.
Before the engine rpm falls again release the clutch
Believe it or not that is pretty much it, it will probably feel no smoother than usual to start with if not worse but with practice, the later you will be able to brake, balance the revs and smoothly and quickly pull out of the corner.
The same comes to balancing the revs of the engine with that of the non driven wheels, there is no specific rpm for every circumstance a knowlege of the car and more practice will progress you into a much smoother and more accomplished driver.
On the road you will even have the advantage of a nice throttle blip under braking which sounds nice from the cabin under braking but equally impressive to any spectators.
In reality as you become accomplished the gap between braking and the corner will decrease as heel and toe becomes one smooth notion and on the track your laptimes come down, on the road your driving is a much smoother/controlled experience.
Videos will be added soon.
If You Wish To Copy Article Please Seek Permission From Site Owner First
JR Racing 12/02/2007.