Wood would work. I guess I could put it between the
stock pedal and the aluminum plate I have attached
to the pedal (currently).

That could start a whole new thread because
we'd need to find the lightest wood available
with the highest resistance to compression, etc. etc. :wink:

I think you need to get McGeever to work on that -- some kind of aluminum/wood/lexan honeycomb made out of parts found in the k-mart parking lot.

Or our local McGiver - Kurt!

Charlie,

DOAH!!!! :oops:

One problem with practising H&T on the street is the amount of force you need to put on the brake pedal in order for it to hold up your leg and act as a fulcrum when you blip the throttle. Especially with power brakes, this may get you decelerating much more than you wish. This is not a problem on the track, when you need to brake as hard as possible anyway.

I think that people tend to botch it up when they try on the street b/c they get concerned about the braking (understandable) and hitting the gas too, but they don't know/realize how much of a blip they would actually need.

Even before you get to contort your foot, you should try to blip/match the revs while downshifting WITHOUT using the brakes. That way you will know how or when you did it right, ie. smooooothly.

Since 3rd to 2nd may be a bit tricky for beginners, (I think the spacing on the ratios may be a bit much initially) I think it would be easiest to do a 4th to 3rd downshift. That way, even the gear lever motion is at its simplest, allowing you to focus on matching the revs and not much else.

Approach a curve, exit ramp, even a traffic light that's at a distance, in 4th. (This is just as "doable" in a straight line, no need for turns) To keep it simple, let the revs drop to one half of your total range, for most 3K rpm would be fine. Then just press the clutch, downshift to 3rd, blip, release the clutch..... and see if the car shudders (too little revs) or lurches forward (too much). Once you get those to be smooth (you CAN get to the point where it will feel smoother than an automatic tranny downshift) try it at different speeds and different gear combos as well. (If your car revs quicker up high in the range, you may have to blip for a shorter period etc. which is why it's nice to try out different rpms later.) Eventually you'll have no problems recognizing how much revs you need, even for a 4th to 2nd downshift. Hint: make sure your car is carrying 2nd gear speed when you blip/release the clutch, you don't want to pull an Eli and have metal meet metal w/ an overrev. ;)

Keep in mind that not everyone can just get into a car and perform them perfectly. I guess it's described as "learning the car" which is just as relevant to figuring out the foot/pedal position as it is to the type of motor you have and how quickly it revs etc.

good luck!

This is what is looks like with an 8K+ redline and a light flywheel

Cory Friedman - Grand AM Rolex series GT Qualifying

I thought it was pretty slick that he could hit -2G without hitting the brake, just down shifting. ;)
Sorry, Tony. :oops:
It would have been interesting if the braking indicator was working as it looks like he was using quite a bit of trail braking.

Autometrics run Stack data loggers on their cars. For some strange reason, they have not instrumented brake data. I left the brake pressure indicator on the TrackVision dash to gently nudge them to fit a brake pressure channel. It really interesting to see the brake technique some of these guys use. I'm trying to get clearance to post clips from teams that have brake data. Will do so as soon as I can.

Thanks. Guess those guys have their trade secrets.