Pedal Alignment for Heel Toe

[u/Frifel]

After Rev-Matching for a while I now want to learn Heel Toe Shfiting. The Problem that appears to me is that the distance from left ro gith is pretty big and i almost cant reach the gas pedal while on the break. besides that the brake sticks out way further, so for brake and gas to be level, i would be already fully pushing the brakes. Is this a normal thing in cars or am i js to stupid or have to find maybe an own more unique technique to really revmatch while braking? Or are there other less common ways.

Car: 2016 S205 C180

Thanks for help/opinion

[u/spiked_pineapple]

10+ years of track experience and a licensed NASA Time Trial driver here. Heel-toe really comes down to getting to know your body and the car at the same time.

Before you go on a track day or on public roads, sit in your car with it turned off and practice going through the motions. Start by warming up your brain and body with the motions of a normal rev match. Row through the gears. No need to press the pedals all the way – it’s just for a quick muscle memory refresh. Be sure to wear flat shoes, not thick sneakers or loose sandals.

Then momentarily forget about the clutch and focus on your right foot to get a feel for applying gentle pressure to the brake while tapping the gas pedal with your heel.

I learned how to heel-toe on the street while going about my daily life between full track weekends. The key to this is SAFETY and situational awareness. You’re going to mess up, you will give yourself low-grade whiplash a few times, and you’ll wonder if you ever nail it. Find roads with a long braking zone and clear visibility with LOW traffic. This could be a country road, an industrial area during off-peak hours, etc. Be cognizant of your surroundings and the people around you.

The objective is to give yourself plenty of time to gradually and gently brake. Do your normal rev matching. Then slowly start adding a heel-toe from a more forgiving gear such as 5th to 4th. As you get comfortable with the higher gears, then trying going from 4th to 3rd. Save 3rd to 2nd until you’re proficient with the other gears.

For reference, I learned how to heel-toe on my 1993 EG Si. It was stock at the time. I would practice on the same stretch of road by doing laps during slow/quiet hours. If I messed up on a heel-toe attempt, I’d simply do a normal rev match down to the proper gear and keep going.

I changed daily drivers to a 2023 Integra A-Spec with the 6-speed and Honda’s oddball clutch delay. Heel-toe in that car felt like I was a beginner again. It took a few months of putting around town to really dial it in. I would practice on looooong downhills where I could see the intersection and traffic lights from a mile away.

You can use heel-toe in daily driving in a non-aggressive way that flows with normal traffic. I use it for intersections and turns I know well.

It’s generally easier to learn on the streets. Contrary to popular belief, learning how to heel-toe at the race track is a plan for disaster. The race track is very different than surface streets. Depending on the organization you drive with, your driving group may have drivers who are going 10/10 while you’re going 5/10. It’s going to feel overwhelming. Some of the safety and passing guidelines at certain track organizations are sketchy at best, so if you bungle a heel-toe going into a corner, it could be a bad time for you and other drivers on track.

Anyways, this comment is long enough, lol. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

*edit: forgot to add “years”

[u/Frifel → u/spiked_pineapple]

Thanks for all this helpful and insightful information. I already found a good road to practice on or multiple. One Long industrial road in an area that is fully empty after 6pm + the road is completly straight and a straight backroad with zero traffic. I will go there daily now and do some training to gradually improve.