Heel Toe?

Does anyone find it difficult to heel/toe in the 996? I even install aftermarket pedals and it's still tough. Coming from a Honda S2000, you just need to tap the gas to match/revs. But with the 996, it seems as thought you need to keep your feet on the gas for a split second for the rev to climb. Anyone have any advice, as I'm so used to heel/toe everyday with the S2000, now that I drive the 996, it just doesn't seem smooth if I don't heel/toe. Does anyone know if there's anyway to make the gas pedal little loose and more responsive? Thanks

That's E-gas for you. It's just something I learned to get used to.

Sreet driving where braking is easy it's a bit of a pain, tho doable. On track where braking is heavy, piece of cake. It's an acquired skill

I would suggest contacting some of the chip makers to see if their products increase the engine's response to throttle inputs.

OK I know I am going to seem like an idiot to most on this site but could someone explain the heel-toe concept?

Heel-Toe is the technique used to blip the throttle to match RPM's on downshift so that when you let the clutch out, you do not upset the car. Classic Heel-Toe, the ball of your foot is on the brake, and you twist your heel over to blip the bottom of the gas pedal. This is why a lot of aftermarket gas pedals are wide to the left at the botttom. Those with ample feet like myself can comfortably position their feet so that the left side of the foot is on the brake bedal, and a simple roll to the right wil catch the gas with the right side of the foot. No real "heel" involvement.

Bob try this: Find an open road, go all the way to third gear.. Now, brake slowly and **** to second gear while braking... Ok at this instant you will notice that the rpm's have reduced and engaging the clutch is going to rev the engine up apbrubtly and decelarate the car so much (many times you need to downshift whithout decelarating, that's why there's heel and toe).. Now try the same but only this time, while braking, roll your right foot a bit on the accelarator to take the revs up so that second gear downshifting becomes as smooth as upshifting.. WHILE BRAKING! Try it many times and you will get used to it so much it'll be your daily habit.. Let us know! Waz

hey! it's supposed to be SHIFFFFFFFFFFFFT.. with an F!!! Sorry!!! Waz

I suppose the other is what you do in a panic stop...

You guys may also be interested to know that 'heel & toeing' is actually only half the story. Double declutching is the other half. Back in the days of no synchromesh (or recent race car gearboxes which have no syncromesh), the other half of the trick is - as you slip the gear lever out of the gear (say 3rd) into neutral, blip the throttle ('heel') to speed the gear shaft up WITH THE CLUTCH RELEASED, dip the clutch a second time as you slip the lever into the next gear (2nd) ... while maintaining an even brake pressure. Not only does this speed the engine revs to the point where when the clutch is released, there is no jerk threatening to lock the rear wheel up, there is no expensive graunching of gears either as you do so. Us old farts can't break habits of a lifetime. It's much easier to do than to describe and you can't drive an old London bus any other way!

In the US they call this double clutching rather than declutching. Same thing though. I was taught to double (de)clutch (my dad is in fact a bus driver, though they're mostly semi automatics now) and will still do it, but tend to heel and toe more often. I taught myself to h/t and I've never really gotten the knack of doing both at once, and frankly with modern synchro gearboxes I don't find I need to. Double (de)clutching is, however, extremely useful for being able to put the car into first gear while still moving forward fairly quickly and I use it a lot approaching hills (my driveway) and in stop and go traffic. C. (Brit expat living in Texas, suffering from sunburn today)

aron, It's easier if you move your heel to the base of the gas pedal when you start to brake. Then, use the right side of your foot to roll over onto the gas pedal. It's harder to do at street speeds because you aren't braking hard. On the track, under heavy braking, it's much easier. Still, the 996 is much easier than most cars, excluding the Lotus Elise. ASA

I found I can heel/toe much more naturally and reliably with this car than my BMWs. It's one of my favorite parts of the upgrade from M3s to the 996.

Check into powerchips they told me that the throttle will be quicker when they reprogram the ecu. I have not tried this upgrade though. They do give a 30 day trial period though.

Aron, Just keep practicing. I have both an S2000 and a 996TT and you simply can't shift the TT anywhere near as quickly as the S. Your brain is programed to the instant revving and direct shift linkage in the S and you need to slow down and retime your throttle blip on downshifts. Going back and forth between the two can be a challenge but both are a blast to drive! -Glen

Years ago, I drove a Mack concrete mixer one summer. (My family was in the building materials business.) 28 tons, fully loaded. It had 15 forward gears and 3 reverse. Two shift levers--one for the gears, the other for the L-M-H changes. Straight gears, no synchros. If you EVER got the hang of shifting two levers at once while somehow steering the beast at the same time, you earned the drivers' highest possible accolade: they'd refer to you as a "Double-Clutching-Mother-F***er."

I had bad syncros on my 1991 nissan truck when I was 16...I used to double clutch on every shift and I learned to do it very fast...churped thrid gear once in a while..There is no reason to double clutch my 996...is there?

IMHO no not at all. No question it helps things along in terms of decreasing wear, but things are so much better designed and built nowadays.

There is no reason to double clutch a synchro box. None of the pros do it. On modern non-synchro racing transmissions, most don't even use the clutch. The downshift blip however is important in both types. AS

Interesting thread. I must say the only dissapointment I have with an 2002 C2 purchased last October is the e-gas feel coming off idle, very slow reponse over a wide range of pedal motion. My 89 964 was much more responsive off idle, but had no where near the low end torque once going. Is the only option a reprogram of the box?