I use rev-matching. Should I bother learning to heel-toe?
Discussion
For many years, I've been using the rev-matching technique advocated by IAM and RoSPA. I think it's one of the most important things for adding finesse to a driver's technique.
But I'm beginning to wonder if I should refine it further and add heel-toe to my "kit-bag" of driving techniques. Is it worth it in normal driving, compared to the rev-matching technique that I already do? How hard would I find it to convert my current technique into heel-toe, and is there enough benefit?
To summarise my current technique, it's roughly as follows...
How would you suggest I go about changing my technique, and is it actually worth the effort in normal road driving?
But I'm beginning to wonder if I should refine it further and add heel-toe to my "kit-bag" of driving techniques. Is it worth it in normal driving, compared to the rev-matching technique that I already do? How hard would I find it to convert my current technique into heel-toe, and is there enough benefit?
To summarise my current technique, it's roughly as follows...
- Foot on brake, and increase pressure up to a steady maximum.
- Near the end of braking when I'm able to choose which lower gear I'm going to want, declutch and select the gear whilst tapering off the brake pressure.
- Transfer my whole foot onto the throttle for a blip-and-release.
- Raise the clutch pedal to engage the new gear. This can be done very swiftly because the revs should be correct.
- Back on the power, if appropriate.
How would you suggest I go about changing my technique, and is it actually worth the effort in normal road driving?
I think "giving it a go" is the thing that scares me! 
It's one of those things that will be a huge distraction while I'm trying to get my head around it, at precisely the moment when a distraction could be A Bad Thing.
Mind you, I must have learnt rev-matching somehow. I just can't remember how I did it.
It's one of those things that will be a huge distraction while I'm trying to get my head around it, at precisely the moment when a distraction could be A Bad Thing.
Mind you, I must have learnt rev-matching somehow. I just can't remember how I did it.
I'm not quite sure how one could drive a manual 'box and not use rev-matching. It would be a bit like trying to walk through a doorway without first opening the door.
H&T is intended not to facilitate rev-matching, because the latter is a given. Rather, it's intended to enable you to change gear (which includes rev-matching) and brake at the same time. In road driving, its most common use is to enable a gear change when you're going downhill and want to control your speed continuously, such as when you're turning into a side road or driveway. In racing, it's used for almost every downshift, and its purpose is to shorten lap-time.
It can be awkward to do in most modern road cars because you need a stable fulcrum in the brake pedal. Most road cars have over-servo'd brakes, which reduces the pedal firmness. Compounding that, on the road you're almost never using maximum retardation (in contrast to racing). You're using partial pressure on the brake pedal, so when you rotate your foot/ankle and add a new pressure element to the throttle, that tends to affect the pressure you're applying simultaneously to the brake pedal.
The best way to get a feel for the process is to sit stationary in your car with the engine running. Keep it out of gear, and forget about the clutch. Get a feel for what it's like to have light/medium pressure on the brake pedal and then, whilst not changing that pressure, with the right side of your foot blip the throttle. A few minutes of that, perhaps in 2 or 3 separate sessions, will begin to train your body in what's required.
H&T is intended not to facilitate rev-matching, because the latter is a given. Rather, it's intended to enable you to change gear (which includes rev-matching) and brake at the same time. In road driving, its most common use is to enable a gear change when you're going downhill and want to control your speed continuously, such as when you're turning into a side road or driveway. In racing, it's used for almost every downshift, and its purpose is to shorten lap-time.
It can be awkward to do in most modern road cars because you need a stable fulcrum in the brake pedal. Most road cars have over-servo'd brakes, which reduces the pedal firmness. Compounding that, on the road you're almost never using maximum retardation (in contrast to racing). You're using partial pressure on the brake pedal, so when you rotate your foot/ankle and add a new pressure element to the throttle, that tends to affect the pressure you're applying simultaneously to the brake pedal.
The best way to get a feel for the process is to sit stationary in your car with the engine running. Keep it out of gear, and forget about the clutch. Get a feel for what it's like to have light/medium pressure on the brake pedal and then, whilst not changing that pressure, with the right side of your foot blip the throttle. A few minutes of that, perhaps in 2 or 3 separate sessions, will begin to train your body in what's required.
I agree completely with Flemke above. Rev matching is essential to good driving. It's not essential to driving, but you'll never be more than average if you can't rev match. Now, as for heel and toe, this is a solution to a problem, as described by Flemke above, where you need to control speed with the brakes such as driving down a hill, or I would add to that take a turning up ahead at a speed and gear that the car won't handle in the gear you begin the deceleration at, so you need to take an interim gear (e.g. 60mph in 6th in my BMW 320d down to 20mph in 2nd for a turning or roundabout - you can't pull 6th at less than 30mph in my car because the car will start coughing and jerking very badly, so you need an interim gear). Ergo, I would say that heel and toe is an essential part of rev matching if you want to be a good driver in all situations. Learn off road or on a quiet well sighted back road though. Thankfully, I found that it came naturally to me the first time I tried it - within a few minutes I was competent. For some people it can take longer though. Just depends how your brain is wired I suppose.
To the OP, yes of course give it a go, it should be in your armoury of techniques.
To Rob, what you are saying is technically (or technique-ly) understandable, but it's just overkill and not actually needed in the real world. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get your intermediate gear (what, 3rd gear at 30mph?) smoothly without rev-matching.
Bert
To Rob, what you are saying is technically (or technique-ly) understandable, but it's just overkill and not actually needed in the real world. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get your intermediate gear (what, 3rd gear at 30mph?) smoothly without rev-matching.
Bert
BertBert said:
To the OP, yes of course give it a go, it should be in your armoury of techniques.
To Rob, what you are saying is technically (or technique-ly) understandable, but it's just overkill and not actually needed in the real world. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get your intermediate gear (what, 3rd gear at 30mph?) smoothly without rev-matching.
Bert
Oh yes, I'm sure you could. But the fact is if you can heel and toe than you don't need to abandon your rev matching principles just because you happen to be braking at the time, which is useful in not just this situation, but in a number of situations (as described above in Flemke's post and mine).To Rob, what you are saying is technically (or technique-ly) understandable, but it's just overkill and not actually needed in the real world. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get your intermediate gear (what, 3rd gear at 30mph?) smoothly without rev-matching.
Bert
RobM77 said:
BertBert said:
To the OP, yes of course give it a go, it should be in your armoury of techniques.
To Rob, what you are saying is technically (or technique-ly) understandable, but it's just overkill and not actually needed in the real world. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get your intermediate gear (what, 3rd gear at 30mph?) smoothly without rev-matching.
Bert
Oh yes, I'm sure you could. But the fact is if you can heel and toe than you don't need to abandon your rev matching principles just because you happen to be braking at the time, which is useful in not just this situation, but in a number of situations (as described above in Flemke's post and mine).To Rob, what you are saying is technically (or technique-ly) understandable, but it's just overkill and not actually needed in the real world. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get your intermediate gear (what, 3rd gear at 30mph?) smoothly without rev-matching.
Bert
I find H & T both useful and satisfying.
1. I get the impression you think your current technique is in line with IAM/Rospa teaching. AIUI the IAM/Rospa preferred technique is full seperation, where you do not touch the clutch until braking has been completed. That is different from what you are doing. I am not going to make the argument for full seperation in this thread - just pointing out that what you describe is not IAM orthodoxy.
2. When you use H & T, you will find it easier with an earlier gearchange - because it is much easier to apply throttle with the right side of the foot while still braking firmly, rather than trying to apply throttle with the right side of the foot at the same time as reducing pressure on the brake pedal. Using block downchanges, you often do not know what gear you will need until after you have finished firm braking. If you want to stick to block downchanges, this probably means that you will only use H & T in situations where you know well in advance what gear you will need for the upcoming hazard.
3. As Flemke suggests, it is a good idea to practise the foot movements while the car is not moving. Different drivers use different foot positions in different cars. The next stage IMO is to practise H & T downchanges on an open road, while not approaching a hazard - that way you can get used to the feel and the timing when your braking is not critical.
4. Braking is vital; the throttle blip is not. Make sure you position your foot so that there is no chance of it falling off the brake pedal.
5. H & T is easiest when you are braking firmly. Practise that first, then develop your touch so that you can do it with moderate braking.
Enjoy!
1. I get the impression you think your current technique is in line with IAM/Rospa teaching. AIUI the IAM/Rospa preferred technique is full seperation, where you do not touch the clutch until braking has been completed. That is different from what you are doing. I am not going to make the argument for full seperation in this thread - just pointing out that what you describe is not IAM orthodoxy.
2. When you use H & T, you will find it easier with an earlier gearchange - because it is much easier to apply throttle with the right side of the foot while still braking firmly, rather than trying to apply throttle with the right side of the foot at the same time as reducing pressure on the brake pedal. Using block downchanges, you often do not know what gear you will need until after you have finished firm braking. If you want to stick to block downchanges, this probably means that you will only use H & T in situations where you know well in advance what gear you will need for the upcoming hazard.
3. As Flemke suggests, it is a good idea to practise the foot movements while the car is not moving. Different drivers use different foot positions in different cars. The next stage IMO is to practise H & T downchanges on an open road, while not approaching a hazard - that way you can get used to the feel and the timing when your braking is not critical.
4. Braking is vital; the throttle blip is not. Make sure you position your foot so that there is no chance of it falling off the brake pedal.
5. H & T is easiest when you are braking firmly. Practise that first, then develop your touch so that you can do it with moderate braking.
Enjoy!
waremark said:
And in Rob's situation you don't need an intermediate gear - you can declutch before the engine labours, and take the new gear after completion of braking.
Surely though that would be coasting, which is not advised? If you're driving along with the clutch down you're not in full control of the car should you need to take evasive action. 6th to 2nd in my diesel is quite a big ratio jump, and would result in a fairly significant period of coasting if you were to declutch. The revs would also fall to idle, making the necessary blip very large, and with a turbo engine, it would have to be quite a prolonged squeeze of the throttle to manage it.RobM77 said:
waremark said:
And in Rob's situation you don't need an intermediate gear - you can declutch before the engine labours, and take the new gear after completion of braking.
Surely though that would be coasting, which is not advised? Now, always having a gear engaged in case some unforeseen emergency acceleration is required has been discussed before I seem to remember.
Just remember, use with caution. If you crash and end up in court and the words "heel and toe" turn up anywhere in the file of evidence you'll be in trouble. Even if you're the slowest, magic-carpet riding IAM driver around, the prosecution will seize on this and it'll be presented to the court that your use of racing techniques has contributed to your involvement in the crash.
At the end of the day, rev matching should be enough if your goal is making smooth progress. Yes, maximum progress is great for rally drivers and police officers but just remember, you're not posting times in the WRC and no-one is going to be overly impressed with your heel toe efforts.
At the end of the day, rev matching should be enough if your goal is making smooth progress. Yes, maximum progress is great for rally drivers and police officers but just remember, you're not posting times in the WRC and no-one is going to be overly impressed with your heel toe efforts.
H&T is very useful with a low powered car, it enables you to keep the engine "on the boil". It's surprisingly handy at junctions, since it allows you to be in the correct gear for your speed a lot more of the time on the approach, so that as soon as you have verified that the exit is clear you are in a position to accelerate away, where using block changes you may waste a bit of time slipping into a gear.
It's also useful for going down hills, when on a constant grade it's much more relaxing to shift down a gear or two and let the engine braking do the work.
The other crucial thing about H&T is that you can then drive a vehicle with a non-functioning clutch because you can slip the car into gear on downshifts without crashing the gears.
Definitely practice on a quiet road, as you will muck it up a lot at the beginning, either shifting down too early (very high revs; on a track this will "shift lock" which is amusing in a very long geared BMW E30 at the nurburgring...), not giving it enough revs, or braking too hard.
It's also useful for going down hills, when on a constant grade it's much more relaxing to shift down a gear or two and let the engine braking do the work.
The other crucial thing about H&T is that you can then drive a vehicle with a non-functioning clutch because you can slip the car into gear on downshifts without crashing the gears.
Definitely practice on a quiet road, as you will muck it up a lot at the beginning, either shifting down too early (very high revs; on a track this will "shift lock" which is amusing in a very long geared BMW E30 at the nurburgring...), not giving it enough revs, or braking too hard.
Vaux said:
If you're braking you're not coasting.Now, always having a gear engaged in case some unforeseen emergency acceleration is required has been discussed before I seem to remember.
What use is a gear though if you popped the clutch during the deceleration and the engine either spluttered and died (the higher gear), or suddenly roared up to about 5,000 revs (the lower gear).You are coasting if the engine is not connected to the driven wheels. The point is that if you're cornering or taking avoiding action you don't have control over the car without an appropriate gear. To be honest, the situation's even worse if you suddenly pop the clutch up in a completely inappropriate gear. Just a completely messy, and dare I say it wrong, way to drive.
Edited by RobM77 on Thursday 17th March 22:31
does no harm to learn it on quiet roads
there aren't a whole lot of circumstances where I find it beneficial to H&T on the road, but I don't think using it causes any problems either
I am still at practicing it to get it right and a natural component of driving - for now I have to make a conscious decision to do it still
there aren't a whole lot of circumstances where I find it beneficial to H&T on the road, but I don't think using it causes any problems either
I am still at practicing it to get it right and a natural component of driving - for now I have to make a conscious decision to do it still
Baryonyx said:
Just remember, use with caution. If you crash and end up in court and the words "heel and toe" turn up anywhere in the file of evidence you'll be in trouble. Even if you're the slowest, magic-carpet riding IAM driver around, the prosecution will seize on this and it'll be presented to the court that your use of racing techniques has contributed to your involvement in the crash
Can I ask about the source of this information please?Bert
davepoth said:
The other crucial thing about H&T is that you can then drive a vehicle with a non-functioning clutch because you can slip the car into gear on downshifts without crashing the gears.
I've driven a vehicle with a non functioning clutch through the middle of Birmingham in the rush hour without either crashing gears or H/Ting.Dr Jekyll said:
davepoth said:
The other crucial thing about H&T is that you can then drive a vehicle with a non-functioning clutch because you can slip the car into gear on downshifts without crashing the gears.
I've driven a vehicle with a non functioning clutch through the middle of Birmingham in the rush hour without either crashing gears or H/Ting.flemke said:
Dr Jekyll said:
davepoth said:
The other crucial thing about H&T is that you can then drive a vehicle with a non-functioning clutch because you can slip the car into gear on downshifts without crashing the gears.
I've driven a vehicle with a non functioning clutch through the middle of Birmingham in the rush hour without either crashing gears or H/Ting.Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff