Hey all.. just wondering..

I know what the heel/toe technique is and all and i guess then i should know how to do it.. but just wanted abit of help..

First, how exactly do you do it? when do you do it?

Second, simply... why? What does it do?

Thanks ALOT =)

I wanna start using heel/toe and whats funny is i donno what it does..

Heel-toe is useful for bringing the engine revs up to match the new gear when you downshift. It's called heel-toe because typically you use it while braking, which means your other foot is operating the clutch so your right foot needs to work both the brake and the throttle at the same time.

In my personally car typically I use the ball of my foot to work the brakes, then I swing my heel around to blip the throttle.

Basically it smoothes out your downshifts. If you downshift and pull out the clutch very quickly it upsets the car, and may even reverse lock the driven wheels. If you heel-toe correctly you can let out the clutch quick and it will be perfectly smooth.

I always like to use this video for an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j-3xIZK-Bk

You heel and toe so that when you downshift your engine doesn't brake too much (engine compression). If you don't heel and toe and are threshold braking, your tires might lock up, or you can have a shift of balance in your car which is not that ideal when going into a corner.
I have a collection of pedal camera videos here which shows some nice pedal techniques, so feel free to browse through it.

http://www.youtube.com/profile ... user=somestupidusername84

Try practicing it in your real life car (preferably on an empty road) - you get much more feedback that way.

Quote from undertech :

Try practicing it in your real life car (preferably on an empty road) - you get much more feedback that way.

Agree - I find it easier to heel-toe IRL than in LFS for the following reasons:

a) you can feel the bit point of a clutch IRL
b) LFS car flywheels are too light and the revs rise and drop too fast
c) Seating position is different IRL (compared to my rig anyway)

It can be difficult to do in simracing, even with the right equipment. I haven't quite put my finger on it but either:
- I suck
- The brake G forces in reality and seat of pants feel help you stay near the optimum brakes easier in reality
- I really just suck..

Not sure about that..

I can drive fine using heel&toe but I'm just at least one second slower as braking doesn't happen as smoothly as the throttle blips always influence the brake pedal force a bit.

In LFS you can 'cheat' somewhat by deliberatly weaking the brakes so they mostly don't lock up under 100% braking.. Thats not the way I want to do it though.

Quote from Niels Heusinkveld :

In LFS you can 'cheat' somewhat by deliberatly weaking the brakes so they mostly don't lock up under 100% braking.. Thats not the way I want to do it though.

Ah yes, the backbone of hotlap setups! Still, I find it extremely tough to modulate braking with a brake pedal that has very little resistance. Maybe I should try that squeeze-ball under the pedal trick.

Quote from undertech :

Ah yes, the backbone of hotlap setups! Still, I find it extremely tough to modulate braking with a brake pedal that has very little resistance. Maybe I should try that squeeze-ball under the pedal trick.

Damn I still haven't got a squash ball under my pedal. I keep meaning to! Two years of squishy brake pedal, I feel like such a noob...

Technically that is not a good thing though. Brake pedals are force sensitive in real life (pressure sensitive if you will).. so if you press twice as hard, the actual force with which the brake disc is clenched by the calipers doubles. When you introduce 'rubber' type things to pedals that use motion detection (potentiometers) you can quite seriously f$#$k up the brake sensitivity. This will be most notable with downforce cars where you can / have to brake a lot harder at speed with high downforce levels.

I'd say, either do it properly and get a real force sensitive pedal or leave your default springs in the pedal. Squashballs just mess the pedal response up quite a bit!

I used a squash ball with my momo black pedals fine. It was great in fact. I just set the brakes to lock at the point where the squash ball starts to add resistance.

Now I have a G25 there is the same kinda feel I had with the squash ball and the momo pedals. The resistance increases slightly at the bottom of the pedal travel. Again I set the brakes to lock just as the resistance increases.

I find if you set your brakes so they never lock, even into slow speed turns then that results in you not having enough braking force for high speed braking and your braking distance increases. I find you need to lift off the brake slightly as you take second gear to avoid locking in many cars.

Quote from Niels Heusinkveld :

I'd say, either do it properly and get a real force sensitive pedal ...

I hear the CST pedals are awesome, but wouldn't know since I'm not going to spend that much money on gaming gear and don't have the time nor the skill to build my own, but they're supposed to be really great.

Yep, they use the Force(sensor).. Not quite the pedal force I want to use but a big step up from just about all other pedals, including the more expensive ones.

No point in getting really expensive pedals... especially a brake pedal. You could get world records and fast times even on a crappy set of Logitech Wingman pedals... All these progressive springs, sensors, and other gimmicks are really just for feel, and as with any pedal you have to get used to how they feel. In the end, every pedal can brake just as good as another. It's just your foot that has to know what to do.

True heel/toe is useless in LFS IF you are actually doing the proper maneuvers with your feet (just too slow to compete with). It is just that the majority of players use paddle shifters and everyone's shifting is incredibly fast. I wish there was a penalty for such things, then I'd have a better use for the numerous shifters I have owned. Because the shifting is so fast, and the throttle blip on downshift aid is too quick (doesn't give more throttle earlier), you are better off sticking to paddle shifting and using left foot braking. By doing that you can keep you left foot on the brake at a consistent pressure, while just vigorously pressing the throttle each time you downshift... or give more throttle if you change down a couple gears at once. Works especially well in the RAC and similar cars where braking distance needs to be short and stable.

That's all well and good if all you want to do is try and set world records, but there are many drivers out there much more interested in getting the most accurate driving experience, even if it means going slower.

I'm currently adjusting to proper unassisted manual shifting with my G25 and it is going to take a lot of practice. I'm currently much slower than I was on my DFP using left foot braking, but it's a great challenge and much more realistic.