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For those of you who have manual transmissions...have you found that the pedal positions for the brake and accelerator are placed at a weird distance apart? I've been trying to get this heel-toe downshift thing down as of late, and I find that when I'm braking, I've having a hard time hitting the accelerator with my heel. I've also tried "rolling my ankle" as was suggested to me, but that's not working either. The main problem is that as I'm breaking, the gas pedal seems too far back to hit with my braking foot. Anyone else find this? Any suggestions? Any help you can give me would be really appreciated.

 
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you brake with your left foot your right foot is only for accelerator, do you do a lot of racing around the track?

 
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^^^ I think you have the wrong idea.
what size show do you wear? It is true and many feel the pedals are far apart. I have an aftermarket gas pedal cover thing. It certaintly doesnt help when the brake point is so low and many times for me, the brake pedal is way past the gas pedal. Try using the ball on your foot, the point below your big toe as the "toe" in heel and toe instead of actually using the big toe.

 
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It just takes time to get used to.

 
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sorry to be a retarded noob, but what exactly is heel-toe downshifting. If this question is a repost could some1 point me in the right direction for the original threads.

 
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Heel toe is not easy by any means. The ability to apply the correct amount of brake pressure, and blip the throttle (a compleatly different type of pressure) with the same foot all while downshifting and letting off of the clutch at the perfect moment is hard to think about let alone do. If you have not already I would dry rev matching via double clutching to get a "feel" for revmatching. There are a few guys on here that know a good bit about it, but most has been posted

 
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you use your toe to brake and put your heel of your foot on the gas to rev match the motor to the lower gear... shortening the time you have the clutch engaged.. check out the latest sport compact car magazine april issue

and it is pretty hard to do it in a civic but can i suggest big toe on brake little toe on gas technique ( helps if you have a bigger foot ( say size 10+) it works better ofr me any way.. even if i still suck at this type of shifting

 
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**** youre right... i got it all ****ed up i dont know what i was thinking i appolagize, and i drive a stick... IMA MORON

 
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it is more for drifting (rally,street), isnt it?

 
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^^^ it's for anything, auto-x, road course, rally..... all except for drag I guess

 
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ill have to test it out, my brakes seem weak as well.

 
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everyone that is any good at anything but drag heel toes

 
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try dbl clutching first or just rev matching

 
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yeah, and you use your third foot for the clutch.

i just use my d!ck, but not everyone is gifted.

to the dude thats having problems with it...if you have stock pedals, get pedal covers that get the edges of the pedals closer together, it might make it easier.

also, play around with your seating position. i found that it was hard for me because my knees kept hitting the steering wheel. also, have you ever heard the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention" ?? you dont have to do it exactly the same way everyone else does it. experiment with techniques and find one that works well with your driving style. it doesnt have to be heel-toe to accomplish the same goal. and then the most useful advice i can give, practice practice practice.

 
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i used to try it, but then i figured im too tall/fat, so my leg keep hittin the steering wheel and whatnot.

 
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Thanks for all the responses guys, perhaps I should clarify. I agree that the seating position is key, but I think I'm out of options there. I've got the seat at the height and depth to allow the best visibility and still allow for me to hit the clutch fully. (not something I wanna lose). I've also got the hitting the knees on the steering column problem. For me its not a timing issue with releasing the clutch. I had a WRX in my posession for about 2 weeks last year and the pedals were perfect for heel-toe downshifting. I'd come to a corner, start on the brake, hit the clutch and shift, and the gas was always hovering just below where my heel would naturally fall for the throttle blip. In the civic, either I hit my knee on the steering column, or if I adjust to not have that problem, the pedal is way too far down for my heel to reach. I saw some of you say that when you brake, the brake goes so far down that the throttle is to high (far from the floor). For me, the brake is set so tight that I barely touch it at all and the brakes are fully engaged. ie) At full braking, the throttle is still too close to the floor to reach. I was just wondering if I was the only one who noticed that the position is weird for this technique. I guess if I bolt a pedal cover to the throttle, it'll make it more accessible. Any other suggestions? With regards to why I do it....I'm trying to get on the SOLO II circuit here and I've been able to do it on other cars so its a combination of force of habit and practice for the course. Someone once posted a message of 10 things to master before you die and the heel-to downshift was on the list....that made me smile and I've gotta get it right.