Heel-toe technique 2018 Golf R

[2015WhiteGTI]

All, this will take practice. Try it while sitting in the driveway with the car running to get a feel for it. It absolutely can be done and you can do it (even without the extension).

As I said, I have a B width foot and can do this. If I can do it with these narrow feet, anyone can.
Yes, it's easier at first to do it under full braking. Anything less than that will be dicey to start with as you won't be able to modulate partial braking right away. It will come in time.

 

[acorazza]

Hey, I had the same problem when I bought my GTI. First manual car but I already learned how to drive manual and did it occasionally, but never learned how to heel and toe. I tried on the car stock for about a month but couldn't overcome the space both side to side and up and down between the brake and gas.

I ended up getting racing pedals from a company called SRP Racing and I honestly feel that it was one of the best additions to the car for me.

I used longer screws and washers to space the gas pedal how I wanted. Right now the pedal might be a little high for track work, but it makes it effortless on the street since I'm not usually braking that hard. The best part is that its a few screws and probably about 10 minutes and I can adjust it lower if needed. You do have to drill through each pedal and putting the stock covers back might be difficult if I ever have to because they squeeze over the pedal tightly but the SRP pedals have been completely solid since installed. You can also choose which pedals to get if you want just the gas or a full set plus the dead pedal to complete the look. If I was to do it again I would skip the dead pedal because the other one was fine but I wanted everything to match.

 

[datmark]

Sorry to hijack this but I think my inquiry is in the same premise.

How can one actually practice heel-toe (or in the R's case ball-twist)?

Anyone have videos on how I can do it in a parking lot?

I have tried following one and I keep lurching the car.

Thanks in advance...

 

[victorofhavoc]

Sorry to hijack this but I think my inquiry is in the same premise.

How can one actually practice heel-toe (or in the R's case ball-twist)?

Anyone have videos on how I can do it in a parking lot?

I have tried following one and I keep lurching the car.

Thanks in advance...

When I first started heel toeing I took the car out in the late evening, found streets I knew well, and practiced turning right at green lights with an aggressive brake and 3-2 shift. After getting that down, I started practicing more on track. Once I was quick on track with it, I added left foot braking into the mix with some foot shuffling. Getting on track is really the best way to practice skills soecific to track driving.

 

[acorazza]

Another thing you can try which helped me was to practice heel and toe revving without the shifting as your coming up to a light or stop sign. This way you foot gets used to the rolling action but since your not shifting it's just practice. Then you can move to trying to do it while shifting. I liked to do this later at night also on streets I was very comfortable with and without a lot of cars around. It helped me to be able to Rev and hold constant brake pressure because the first attempt I did, I hit the brake so hard I almost went through the windshield.

Also, its easier to start with a 4-3 shift than a 3-2. You don't have to be aggressive all the time so you can be driving in fourth if you have a nice open road (highway service roads work well) and you can practice braking moderately with a little blip and a downshift.

 

[AR11]

I rely very heavily on the "toe" part of "heel toe" in that I can only really execute the technique if I'm basically toeing the brake pedal. This technique works fine on the street but I know my technique won't carry over to track, where I need to get much more of my foot on the brake pedal (and thereby dramatically reducing my ankle mobility. We shall see. Pedal spacer arriving today supposedly.

 

[victorofhavoc]

I rely very heavily on the "toe" part of "heel toe" in that I can only really execute the technique if I'm basically toeing the brake pedal. This technique works fine on the street but I know my technique won't carry over to track, where I need to get much more of my foot on the brake pedal (and thereby dramatically reducing my ankle mobility. We shall see. Pedal spacer arriving today supposedly.

That's a good point... I use the ball of my foot on the edge, so that when I rotate my ankle out, my first three toes and ball are on the brake. I use puma fast cats that are designed for feel and have extra grip around the heel. Shoes make a dramatic impact. Driving a manual in Nike air force is like driving an suv... You can't feel a thing, lol.

 

[AR11]

OK - I installed the spacer and it has shifted the pedal position dramatically. Have yet to try some heel toe as I didn't have appropriate shoes on. My throttle foot calibration is way off. I moved the seat back slightly but I think my left foot is still sending false signals to my brain about where the gas should be based on where the clutch is. It seems like it will definitely make it easier to blip the throttle but it will also make it much harder to transition cleanly from brake to gas because of the concerted foot lift needed to get up and over the gas pedal from a braking position. Will give it a week and see how I adjust.

 

[reverend_sean]

I installed the WCT pedal spacer. I love it for daily driving and for practicing heel/toe on the street, but I found the gas pedal to be way too high this past weekend at a 2 day Mid-Ohio event. This was especially evident coming down the back straight and needing to get into the brakes extremely hard to set up for turn 7. I would reach for the gas pedal and could feel it hitting my ankle above my shoe (low top sneaker). I am going to pull it out and see how it feels at my next event on 9/20.



It is DEFINITELY great as a training tool and to get you comfortable with the motion.