How to Heel Toe Downshift

When you master the technique of heel toe downshift you can downshift smoothly. You also lessen the wear and tear on the engine by eliminating the "bucking" caused by the low idle RPMs and the high revolution of the wheel speed. Here's how to master the heel toe downshift.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Car with manual transmission
• Closed track or open paved area with no obstructions

1. Set up a practice session in your garage with the engine off and step through the process a few times until you are comfortable with the action.
2. Ask the owner of a closed track or large parking lot or if you can practice your skills on their property. You may need to sign a waiver. Once you have the action down, try it out on an open road that is free of traffic.
3. Try navigating a gentle curve at about 40 mph. As you come to the apex of the curve, while braking and with the clutch depressed, practice raising the engine revs up to about 2,000 RPMs by using the heel toe method. Do this by keeping your right foot on the brake while tapping the accelerator with any part of your right foot.
4. Experiment with different parts of your right foot tapping on the accelerator. Find the best right foot position to easily tap the accelerator enough to raise the RPMs of the engine while maintaining proper braking and control of the vehicle.
5. Practice the heel toe downshift repeatedly. This technique takes time to master and you will notice yourself improving with each practice session.