Sim racing heel toe has become a trending buzzword in the virtual racing world. Today, many pro sim racers use this real-world racing technique to protect their vehicles during intense races and improve overall performance.
Unfortunately, most newbies and even some intermediate racers remain blissfully unaware of heel-toe downshifting, let alone know how to do it. Even those who regularly tune into motorsports events don’t get to see it in action as most modern racing cars are equipped with a throttle auto-blip. Therefore, professional racers don’t need to employ this technique.
In this post, we’ll share everything you need to know about this downshifting technique and how to heel and toe in sim racing.
A Race Down Memory Lane
Back in the day, racing and rally cars lacked most of the sophisticated electronics found in their modern counterparts. Hence, rally legends like Ayrton Senna and Walter Rohl used a special technique to smoothen downshifts when braking around corners.
This technique helped overcome the limitations of older gearbox technologies that couldn’t work with the engine ECU to increase the RPM. As a result, it couldn’t return to the bite point as soon as the driver shifted. This technique isn’t something you need to learn necessarily for real-world driving done for leisure unless you drive stick. However, it’s among the many things you can do to improve your sim racing skills.
Since simulation racing involves the use of paddles while racing classic cars, every sim racer should know heel-toe shifting. So, if you like racing the old-fashioned way using a gear shifter and a clutch, let’s dive deeper into heel-toe downshifting.
What are Heel and Toe?
At its core, sim racing heel toe is a technique used to help maintain a car’s balance while downshifting around corners or in traffic. The technique matches the engine’s RPM to the approximate wheel speed, thus, preventing drivers from decelerating suddenly as soon as they release the clutch. However, the main purpose of heel-toe downshifting is to maximize grip and pace on turns and prevent sliding.
If you don’t apply this technique, your car slows down and the engine speed naturally drops when approaching corners. To compensate for this deceleration, drivers shift into a lower gear by depressing the clutch. However, this only makes the car slow down faster and practically idles the engine. As a result, you lose crucial lap time.
Heel-toe switching involves applying the brakes with your heel while pressing the accelerator with your toe simultaneously. Using this advanced technique, you can also provide engine braking and smoothen the deceleration while in intermediate gears.
On the surface, heel-and-toe is nothing more than fancy footwork during shifting. However, it offers a lot of performance enhancement benefits. For instance, it reduces some strain on the engine’s transmission, balancing the car’s center of gravity during shifting. It also helps prevent wheel locking and ensures more powerful acceleration around corners, especially in endurance races.
How to Heel and Toe in Sim Racing
Now that you’re up to speed with the concept of heel-toe downshifting, you can apply this advanced technique in your virtual races. Of course, you’ll need a clutch pedal and gear shifter, so make sure you have all the necessary gear ready.
Here’s how to heel and toe in rim racing:
1. Approach the Corner
Most sim racers typically slow down when approaching corners by laying their foot off the throttle. This is a great alternative to hard braking but comes in second place compared to heel and toe. So, when approaching the corner, floor the accelerator until a few meters from the corner.
2. Brake
Naturally, when you approach the corner at full speed, you need to brake and downshift. So, be prepared to depress the clutch and place the ball of your other foot on the right side of the brake pedal. This way, your heel can easily rest on the throttle. The trick here is to brake without depressing the throttle, which can take a lot of practice.
3. Depress and Shift
Once the car has slowed down on the turn, depress the clutch and disengage from whatever gear you were into an intermediate one. You need to be quick at this stage, as research suggests shifting speed can impact your overall performance. Bring the clutch back up again once you’ve selected your new gear.
4. Blip the Throttle
Now, this is the hardest part. Just as you’re about to lift the clutch after braking, press on the throttle gently with your heel. The idea here is to match the RPM with the approximate engine speed. You also need to maintain braking during this process so make sure you practice this multiple times when doing practice laps.
As you get better, you’d be able to twist your foot’s so that its outer edge touches the accelerator pedal. You might also need to invest in sim racing shoes or boots to maintain a firm grip. The last thing you need is for your foot to slip at the last second.
Alternatively, you can keep your heel on the baseplate and tilt your foot towards the brake. This technique is smart but requires more practice.
5. Clutch Up and Trail-Brake into the Corner
Once the downshift is complete, you can apply another technique called trail-braking to keep the weight transfer forward and maintain maximum grip. Once you’ve completed the turn, wait until your car settles before flooring the accelerator again.
Remember, the key to max acceleration lies in the gear selection. Shifting to the second or third gear (or vice versa) could make a huge difference to your overall time.
If you’re racing with a classic European racing car in a simulated environment, you’ll notice that the throttle is in the center, whereas the brake is on the right. This configuration was made to simplify the heel and tow process as drivers could use the ball of their right foot to brake and heel for acceleration by rotating it clockwise – which is more natural. a
However, since modern cars don’t require using this technique, the pedals positions were changed and standardized accordingly.
Conclusion
Sim racing heel toe downshifting might sound complex, especially to beginners who don’t know how to drive a stick. They have to use all three pedals and the shifter within seconds, which can be overwhelming. However, it gets a lot easier if you practice heel-toe shifting regularly on your rig.
This technique might be a little old school, but it serves an essential purpose to enhance your overall performance. By effectively matching your engine speed to wheel speed, you can reduce vehicle wear and tear, improve control, and finish laps faster than ever before.
