5 ms·

Heel-and-toe: a totally lost art. Not comfortable or even possible in a lot of cars.

spike021 4y ago
It's honestly not really necessary unless you're on the track. I will say I blip rev-match downshift on the street almost all the time, that's definitely useful for smooth driving in most scenarios.
- hallway_monitor 4y ago
  I hope every manual driver does this. Forcing your clutch to rev match for you on every downshift seems like unnecessary wear. Plus it's so satisfying to just give a little blip and slip it in.
  - tempestn 4y ago
    And fun to practice getting them just right on the street anyway. It's something to do, if nothing else.
  - tempestn 4y ago
    My first car was a manual, but my parents never taught me about rev matching (probably didn't know themselves), so I had no idea. (This was in the 90s, before the modern internet!) Drove for years like that, until stumbling upon this "heel toe" thing online about 15 years ago. So I started just practicing on the street every time I drove. Which ended up being awesome, because around 5 years I got into track days, autocross, and time attack, and it ended up being an extremely useful skill. Once the muscle memory's there, it's almost easier on the track than on the street since you're deeper into the brakes. (Good on the street too though, to make your clutch last though.)
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  what do you guys mean by "blip"? I'm not familiar with that term.
  - joecool1029 4y ago
    it means, in this context, to tap the accelerator (gas) pedal briefly to increase engine rpm's.
    - pindab0ter 4y ago
      With the clutch pedal pressed to match RPMs on a downshift.
  - spike021 4y ago
    A quick stab of the accelerator to get the revs up to match the gear you're shifting into. The closer your "blip" gets your engine rpm into the right range for the gear you're shifting into, the smoother your shift will be.
NikolaNovak 4y ago
On most cars I drove it's possible to toe and toe. So it's not a lost art, and many performance oriented drivers learn it, though it's certainly not necessary on daily basis.
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  I had a very old BMW once, and the pedals were close enough that you could brake and blip with different sides of your foot, not really heel and toe.
  - Wistar 4y ago
    This is correct. "Left bit of your right foot and right bit of your right foot." https://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-advice/top-gears-guide-driving-well-how-heel-and-toe https://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-advice/top-gears-g...
  - NikolaNovak 4y ago
    Yes - that's what I meant by "Toe and Toe" :) Most modern cars I do different sides of my top foot rather than heel and toe.
dtgriscom 4y ago
Mandatory reference to the Audi unintended acceleration, probably caused by the brake and accelerator being closer together than naive drivers expected. [0]: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/history/the-audi-500-unintended-acceleration-debacle/ https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/history/the-audi-500-un...

It's honestly not really necessary unless you're on the track. I will say I blip rev-match downshift on the street almost all the time, that's definitely useful for smooth driving in most scenarios.

hallway_monitor 4y ago
I hope every manual driver does this. Forcing your clutch to rev match for you on every downshift seems like unnecessary wear. Plus it's so satisfying to just give a little blip and slip it in.
- tempestn 4y ago
  And fun to practice getting them just right on the street anyway. It's something to do, if nothing else.
- tempestn 4y ago
  My first car was a manual, but my parents never taught me about rev matching (probably didn't know themselves), so I had no idea. (This was in the 90s, before the modern internet!) Drove for years like that, until stumbling upon this "heel toe" thing online about 15 years ago. So I started just practicing on the street every time I drove. Which ended up being awesome, because around 5 years I got into track days, autocross, and time attack, and it ended up being an extremely useful skill. Once the muscle memory's there, it's almost easier on the track than on the street since you're deeper into the brakes. (Good on the street too though, to make your clutch last though.)
AlbertCory 4y ago
what do you guys mean by "blip"? I'm not familiar with that term.
- joecool1029 4y ago
  it means, in this context, to tap the accelerator (gas) pedal briefly to increase engine rpm's.
  - pindab0ter 4y ago
    With the clutch pedal pressed to match RPMs on a downshift.
- spike021 4y ago
  A quick stab of the accelerator to get the revs up to match the gear you're shifting into. The closer your "blip" gets your engine rpm into the right range for the gear you're shifting into, the smoother your shift will be.

NikolaNovak 4y ago

On most cars I drove it's possible to toe and toe. So it's not a lost art, and many performance oriented drivers learn it, though it's certainly not necessary on daily basis.

AlbertCory 4y ago
I had a very old BMW once, and the pedals were close enough that you could brake and blip with different sides of your foot, not really heel and toe.
- Wistar 4y ago
  This is correct. "Left bit of your right foot and right bit of your right foot." https://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-advice/top-gears-guide-driving-well-how-heel-and-toe https://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-advice/top-gears-g...
- NikolaNovak 4y ago
  Yes - that's what I meant by "Toe and Toe" :) Most modern cars I do different sides of my top foot rather than heel and toe.

dtgriscom 4y ago

Mandatory reference to the Audi unintended acceleration, probably caused by the brake and accelerator being closer together than naive drivers expected. [0]: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/history/the-audi-500-unintended-acceleration-debacle/ https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/history/the-audi-500-un...