Clutch - heel & toe

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jcochrane
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby jcochrane » Fri May 11, 2018 9:41 pm

kfae8959 wrote:
jcochrane wrote:David. I take my hat off to you. It never occurred to me that was what was meant.


Help! I no longer understand who doesn't understand, and who is deliberately misunderstanding for comic effect. I think I'd better keep my own counsel from now on.

David

Sounds like you and I should get out on a drive together to get all this out of our heads. How long has it been since we drove together? Must be a few years now.

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jont-
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby jont- » Sat May 12, 2018 7:56 am

Strangely Brown wrote:You can't expect to use the well known name of a bona-fide technique out of context to describe something completely different and expect not to cause confusion... however much you protest that your OP was clear. If you mean to talk about foot placement or foot position on the clutch when changing gear then why not just say that.

One should aim not at being possible to be understood, but at being impossible to be misunderstood. The onus is on the writer to make it as easy as possible for the reader. Not the other way round.

HTH.

Sorry, it's been a long week.

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GTR1400MAN
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby GTR1400MAN » Sat May 12, 2018 8:09 am

Some of us understood what Horse meant, but then I read the title AND the detailed explanation. ;)

This happens a lot on Facebook where people comment, rage, and like things based on the title and never read the detail. The spammers, click baiters, and those with other motives, use this to great effect.
Mike Roberts - Now riding a Triumph Explorer XRT. My username comes from my 50K miles on a Kawasaki 1400GTR, after many years on Hondas of various shapes and styles. - https://tinyurl.com/mikerobertsonyoutube

Gareth
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby Gareth » Sat May 12, 2018 8:18 am

Perhaps titles aren't given the consideration they deserve?
there is only the road, nothing but the road ...

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Horse
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby Horse » Sat May 12, 2018 8:47 am

Gareth wrote:Perhaps titles aren't given the consideration they deserve?


See my question earlier ;)

RTF, eh? :)
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

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Horse
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby Horse » Sat May 12, 2018 8:48 am

GTR1400MAN wrote:Some of us understood what Horse meant, but then I read the title AND the detailed explanation. ;)

This happens a lot on Facebook where people comment, rage, and like things based on the title and never read the detail. The spammers, click baiters, and those with other motives, use this to great effect.


My (now late) in Laws were both deaf. The used to sit, discuss, and violently agree!
Last edited by Horse on Sun May 13, 2018 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

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jcochrane
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby jcochrane » Sun May 13, 2018 5:06 pm

Right, now getting back to the original question. Stig may be talking of racing, in which case there would be a metal floor (allowing some heel movement) rather than carpet (which would cause the heel to stick).

t may be that he only pushes the clutch far enough to separate the clutch plates and not to the floor. This is often favoured among professional racing drivers as it helps with rapid gear changes. Those who knew John Lyon and John Whitmore might remember they both advocated this technique. Possibly the only thing they ever did agree upon. :D

If pushing the clutch pedal all the way down it usually requires allowing the toes to flex backwards at the fullest extent of clutch travel. The toes come into play and not just the ball of the foot. Try this to see of it works for you. With the engine off experiment with foot placement on the clutch so that with a fully depressed clutch the toes are flexed towards you. Place the heel down and see if you have sufficient flexibility in the ankle to bring up the clutch all or nearly all of the way up.

When we taught learners to hill start we would get the learner to set the throttle, slowly bring the clutch to the bite (I think I got the spelling right this time :) ) point, hold it there, place the heel down, then slowly bring the clutch up with extra throttle. The idea of the heel placement was to help control the clutch through the plate engagement process.

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Horse
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby Horse » Sun May 13, 2018 5:42 pm

Thanks, John, I'll have a play. The book, while it has asides including everything from police response driving to stunts via Bond films, is aimed at road driving.
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

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jcochrane
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby jcochrane » Sun May 13, 2018 6:25 pm

I did read the book when it first came out but remember little of what I read. I had high expectations of what it might contain but for me there was nothing new about driving and I felt he might have had more to contribute about road driving. There was quite a bit of information about others things, like those you mention but again nothing new. So for me it was a disappointment but I'm sure there would be many that found it interesting and helpful.

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Horse
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Re: Clutch - heel & toe

Postby Horse » Sun May 13, 2018 6:58 pm

I had low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised.
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.


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