I think this is somewhat elementary, but I have been known to state the,
somewhat, obvious. Heel and Toe works best when the gas pedal is next to
the brake at the level of braking that the shift happens at. Well if one
shift is made under threshold braking (maximum) and another is made under
light braking the pedal will be in two vastly different places on a street
car. If you recal, race cars are non-syncro gearboxes so the RPMs have to
be matched to downshift, if you are in the heat of racing, chances are you
are gonna miss more shifts if the pedal relationship changes with every
corner. If the brake pedal doesn't move then the relationship is always
the same so it takes the same muscle movememts to get the revs to the same
place every time. --I think--
James Nazarian
'71 B roadster
'71 BGT ever so slowly turning into a V8
'63 Buick 215
"Aerodynamics are for people who cannot build engines"
Enzo Ferrari
On Wed, 2 Aug 2000, Simon Matthews wrote:
> If you want to feel stiff brakes, drive a Citroen with the Hydropneumatic
> (or whatever they spelled/called it). The pedal is rock solid because there
> is a feedback mechanism which equalises the pedal position. As you push
> harder on the pedal, you get more pressure in the brakes and more pressure
> pushing back on the pedal.
>
> I would not say however this gives any greater feel for the brakes, but it
> does give a possibly mistaken feel of confidence.
>
> Modern cars, with ABS, servos, etc., all have brake pedals much softer than
> they used to be. I find the ABS brakes on my '97 Voyager most disconcerting
> -- the fact that I cannot stomp on the pedal and lock up the wheels laves me
> feeling uncertain about their stopping ability.
>
> Stiffer brake padals may make heel-and-toeing easier? Otherwise, so long as
> it does not hit the floor, or cannot trap somthing (the driver's left foot),
> I don't see any advantage to a stiff pedal.
>
> Simon
> ________________________________________________________________________
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