Heel Toe - Sports Driving Glossary - Sports Cars
Heel Toe - Sports Driving Glossary - Sports Cars
Il heel - in English "heel and toe»- a technique used in sports driving during the climbing phase. This is called so because during the maneuver you need to simultaneously press the gas pedal and brake with your right foot, and for that you need to use the tip and heel.
This is only possible in vehicles equipped with Manual Transmission, and mainly serves to smoother downshifts and maintain vehicle stability when braking (especially in the case of rear-wheel drive vehicles).
Go and effect
La toe-heel maneuver held during braking: When braking with your right foot, you press the clutch with your left and prepare to downshift. When the gear is engaged (and the clutch is still pressed), you must continue to apply the brake - with your toe - and tap the pedal with your heel (or rear), allowing you to raise the engine speed to the desired one. Once the revs are up, the clutch is quickly released, always keeping your right foot on the brake. If you downshift multiple gears during one braking, each release of the clutch corresponds to pressing the gas pedal with the heel of your right foot.
that
We said that the tip of the heel is a lot useful for sports driving, especially when braking hard and especially with rear wheel drive vehicles. In fact, abrupt climbs without a toe maneuver tend to block the wheels and thus destabilize the vehicle. This is because the engine speed and the gearbox speed are not synchronized.
Il heel on toe provides a softer liftto keep the vehicle stable and protect the mechanics. It takes a little practice to master this technique, and usually sports car pedals are positioned to facilitate movement.
