re: Matching revs

[Dana Loomis <dloomis@domain.elided>]

Paul, who has an '87 Spider Graduate, wrote: 	
>I can't seem to "heel and toe" downshift on the Spider, and it's bugging me...
>And "heel and toe" is generally a misnomer for the approach I typically use,
>which could be better described as "right and left side of the foot".  But
>when I apply the brakes in anger, the brake pedal ends up considerably
>closer to the bulkhead than the throttle,  making it impossible to get the
>right side of my foot back up to blip the throttle. 

I'm not sure I've ever driven an '87 Spider, but the earlier SPICA-injected
cars present the same challenge, with the gas pedal significantly higher
than the brake.  The technique I use in these cars is to do the throttle
blip with the top of my right foot, about where the shoelaces would be.
Instead of stepping on the gas, I roll my foot to the outside while keeping
firm pressure on the brake, blip the throttle, do the shift, and roll back
onto the brake.  The motion is hard to describe, but it's a bit like
kicking a soccer ball.  It takes some practice to get the hang of it, but I
find that with varying this technique I can do heel & toe shifts in almost
any car, regardless of the pedal configuration.  Sometimes I even blip the
throttle with my ankle.  

If changing technique isn't a viable option, then I'd think about modifying
the car.  

Dana Loomis
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