When on track, how many of you approach a turn or corner by simply braking hard and downshifting? Did you ever get the feeling that you were light on power or a little rough when exiting the corner? One way to enhance your exit speed is to start practicing the “heel & toe”, a technique using your toes to apply the brakes and your heel to add throttle. This should help eliminate that concern once and for all.
When approaching a braking point, follow these few steps in a fluid manner:
- position the ball of your right foot over the brake pedal
- apply pressure to your brakes with your toes
- hold the required brake pressure, position your heel over the accelerator
- press the clutch, hit the throttle with your heel to bring the RPM’s up (throttle blip)
- change down to the desired gear
- release the clutch
- accelerate smoothly
I know this is a lot to digest so I made sure to find a simple clip which shows the technique in a clear and effective manner. Once you watch it over and over, you will start to see that it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Please make sure not to practice this technique on public roads.
Stay tuned! Pun intended.
elwehbi@brakebanzeen
This post was written by guest blogger, El Wehbi, from the automotive blog Brake Banzeen! To read more of his work, visit http://brakebanzeen.wordpress.com.
Kuwaity
Sep 30, 2009 -
Any one drives a manual must use this technique. I use this all the time on both bikes and cars on the road, there is no danger to use it on the road when you are speeding around turns.
elwehbi
Sep 30, 2009 -
It’s a great technique, but it should still be mastered with caution and away from crowded roads. What’s hard about it is getting the proper balance between brake and throttle. Some people tend to be too hard on the brake which can be dangerous when people are in close proximity.
Tracker
Sep 30, 2009 -
I totally agree with elwehbi
Khaled
Sep 30, 2009 -
Great write up .. I have found that for some cars, you can pickup a heel/toe extension kit if the pedals aren’t easily accessible.
Here is an amazing video of heel/toe on the Carrera GT (beautiful pedals):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ULS7pnxyg
elwehbi
Sep 30, 2009 -
Great video Khaled!!!!
It shows a different technique of heel & toeing… usually you need closely placed pedals for this method; hence the “beautiful pedals” of the Carrera GT. Thanks!