What is involved in the process of the heel and toe driving technique?
Jim Dressler explained this technique back in April of ’98 on the Maxima mailing list. Downshifting – In order to accelerate quickly out of a corner, the car must be shifted to the appropriate lower gear before the corner. Naturally this should be done as late as possible, preferably at the same time that you are braking for the corner. This presents a small problem. If you are braking and shifting, your right foot is on the brake, and your left foot is on the clutch. Without throttle input, the engine RPM’s will drop quite low and when you let the clutch out, you will ‘pop’ or jerk the rear wheels. This sudden jerk acts as an additional brake, but could cause the rear wheels to exceed their traction limit and cause a skid, to say nothing of the potential damage to either the engine or drivetrain! The solution lies with “heel and toeing”. This technique during downshifting helps us achieve smoothness, while eliminating possible clutch slippage and extending the life of the transmission
