996 heal and toe

I am trying to learn to downshift more smoothly. I have read much about heel and toe technique. I know I need in car instruction but I have a problem with blipping the throttle in my car. MY THROTTLE DOES NOT BLIP. If I just stab the peddle the engine barely revs. I have to slam the peddle down to get it to rev. This cannot be done with just the side of my foot or heel while the rest of my foot is on the brakes. I am looking forward to having someone show me how to do it. Short of that, does anyone else experience this? I have read that the E gas is a problem. What do the rest of you race car drivers do?

I have an 01 996 which has the e-gas. It is no harder to heel & toe than any other car I've had.

Really. How many rpms does your motor rev when you blip the throttle?

normally I can get a 3-4K blip. On a hard decel downshifting into 2nd I often hit 5k blips.

i have a 2001 C4 with egas and i can heel toe no problem. mine usually revs to about 3-4 k just like patrick if i blip it. on the same subject, what do you guys do? do you heel/toe or toe/toe? i use the right side of my right foot towards the top of the gas pedal and the left side of my right foot on the brake pedal at the same time. i started doing this long before i ever knew what "heel/toe" was.

I'm pretty sure that the only time e-gas quits (other than PSM) is if you mash the brake and gas at the same time with the clutch out. This is why left foot braking is a problem. If you are having trouble with heel & toe blips, try just blipping to downshift without the brake. If that works OK, maybe the clutch switch is stuck?

It's all about timing. You have to hold it down just a wee bit longer than just a stab. How long depends on how high you want the revs to go. When and how fast to release the clutch depends on the rev match. Timing is essential. Anyway, you have to find and practice your own technique. Different strokes for different folks with different feet. At full braking, the gas pedal is higher than the brake pedal. If you just keep the inside part of the foot on the brake, your outside part will already partly depress the gas pedal. I do more of a roll-over than heel and toe. To get the revs up high, my knee sometimes contacts the center console as I roll my foot. I can even over-rev it this way. It takes a bit of practice. Try different ways with the car at a dead stop, left foot depressing the clutch, full push on the brake with the ball of your right foot behind the big toe, and roll that foot over. Once you get the technique right, you'll be surprised at how easy it is. Sorta like the difference between first time you tried to balance the clutch and gas in first gear vs how second nature it is to now. Have fun!!!

Took me a couple of weeks to get used to the throttle on this car, but I can heel/toe fine now. So egas shouldn't be an issue for you. I do the left part of foot on the brake and right part on the gas. I can reach 5k+ rpms easily.

Thank you guys for the response. I have tried to practice it in my driveway to just feel the technique. I am not very coordinated and have stiff ankles. It seems very hard to get the engine to rev. I actually have a lot to learn about performance driving and this is down the list, but I have heard people do this and it is so COOL. I would like to learn to be a lot smoother also and I know this helps.

Practice every time you drive the car.

Keep practicing. It will come. You do have to depress the throttle more than a little and you have to "hold" it for a split second. Timing is key. I find that on light braking, I end up releasing the brake a little bit when I blip. I'm working on that. But under heavy braking it's a lot easier.

Yes keep practicing, I get about one out of three really nice and smooth, it used to be 1 in 10.

Bruce --- There's a bunch of variations on heel-toe and you'll find the one that works best for your body type and driving style. You mention that you are stiff-ankled; to clarify what I think Palting was saying about his style is that when he is rolling his foot (while mashing on the brake w/ the ball of his right foot), he is actually rolling his entire right leg, pivoting at the hip w/ little overt knee and ankle rotation (his right knee contacting the center console), enabling him to maintain steady pressure on the brake pedal while firmly blipping the gas. I've found this method to be the simplest for me as well, and I am apparently too ill-coordinated to use the "pick up my heel and press on the accelerator while the ball of my foot is mashing on the brake" method of heel-toeing. They teach both methods at PDE, but at the end of the day tell each student that they'll find their own individual style with practice. Lots of practice is definitely where it's at, good luck. Jeff

techniques also evolve going between different cars, different seating position, peddle position (remember the 'old' 911?). practice makes perfect.

So, if you disable the clutch switch so you can start the car without depressing the clutch (and get rid of the annoying accompanying clicking sound), does that mean the heel-toe shifting won't work?

The clutch shift should have no effect on this.

Bruce, if its still hard due to the ankles maybe you should go for some aftermarket alum pedals such as Techart, Ruf, etc they make heel-toe easier than stock pedals. I find I preffer to use the "roll over" or the "heel" method depending on which type of shoes I'm wearing (stock pedals). E-gas is not problem and the only time the e-gas cars is cut off the throttle when braking while de-clutched is when you apply the brakes AFTER you are already on the gas, if you brake and then apply throttle, the throttle is not cut off.

Bruce, off to PDE with you! "Doc" will show you how to do it, and do it right!

This thread has inspired me to practice my technique and get smoother, especially under light/medium braking. I've only had this car for 3 weeks and 900 miles. My whole life (BMWs mostly) I've used the roll method. But tonight I tried more of a heel move and I think it works better for me in this car. I got a couple of good ones in there tonight. I'll have to practice more this weekend.

I really do want to go to the PDE. Just have to rationalize the $. Even my great wife tells me I should do it. Man, am I lucky!