What is heal / toe downshifting and how do I do it? Is it even important?
Heal / toe downshifting is simply a method of using your right foot to actuate the gas and brake pedals at the same time. This is necessary to smoothly downshift, while braking, for corner entry. In short, while the left side of your foot applies continuing firm brake pressure, the right side of your foot “blips” the gas pedal to raise the RPMs just as your left foot disengages the clutch pedal. When done properly, this allows you to brake at the limit of adhesion and downshift simultaneously — without locking up the rear wheels of the car. Another way to do this, that I am less familiar with, is left-foot braking. Left-foot braking is most applicable in high-speed corners where trailing off the brakes deep into the corner can be the key to speed. Heal / toe should be practiced on the street first! You can find a great discussion on heal / toe on the BMW Puget Sound bulletin board.
