do any of you have any problems heel-toe downshifting in the maxima? i can never seem to get my foot around without the dash getting in the way.

I'm pretty good at double-clutching. it's actually the only way i feel confident downshifting, but i'd like to incorporate heel-toeing into my daily drives since i spend a lot of time on backroads and hate having to downshift prematurely so i can brake safely.

do any of you guys have any tips? i guess i need foot placement suggestions. my car has stock pedals if that makes a difference.

 

Get smaller feet

 

lol i only wear a 10 and i generally wear vans and other small-form skate shoes.

 

Yup the center console does get in the way.

Solution? Put in an I30 dash

The I30 center console is more vertical and allows your right foot more movement.

DW

 

hmmm...this almost sounds like a good idea. definitely will consider. and it would be something a little different. i have a dash swap in the works soon anyway. i might even cut out part of the stock dash i have in there now since i'm getting rid of it anyway.

 

The i30 dash is identical to the Maxima dash except for the center AC vents.

 

silly noobs... and why you braking in corners anyways! messes up the turn!

SHIFT_Slow Down

lol never heard that one

 

i don't brake in corners. i generally brake before the corner, light throttle through it, and power out of the corner. i would like to heel-toe so i can brake for the corner more efficiently. without how i shift now, i have to take my foot off of the brake to double clutch when i downshift for the corner. if i could heel-toe i wouldn't have to stop braking just to downshift.

but i guess i'm a noob and that's just a bad idea...

 

you do realize you can shift without a clutch. or lifting from brake or gas... and you dont need to double clutch... thats what syncros are for... sure those tiny things might slightly prolong the life of the trans, but when the life of the trans is probably longer than the life of the car, do you really need to be concerned?

 

i do realize this. i'd prefer not to when there are other techniques that can be used that are easier on the drivetrain. clutches exist for a reason and they're not expensive to replace.

 

Easy, drive faster, heel toeing either becomes easier or you'll hit a tree being a n00b.

Win-win

 

Sorry but are you guys talking about rev matching to downshift while braking into a corner? If so, I've always just used the side of my foot (half on brake/half on the gas. and tilt my foot) If that is not what your referring to, disregard this post lol

 

that's what we're talking about.

 

A different pedal setup with a heel/toe extension might help. I've seen a few of them on track prepped Porsches before.

Something like this...

 

thanks for the suggestion. i've always noticed aftermarket pedals being shaped like that but never considered the reason behind it. makes a lot of sense now.

 

T-burrr delivers TEH WIN

 

That's exactly what I did in my Maxima when I was having trouble performing some heel and toe action, I removed the rubber pads and mounted some new properly formed aluminum pedal covers directly to the metal by drilling holes and installing stainless hardware to avoid rust.

Just position them where you would like and be sure to be aware of the thick bar behind the pedal to avoid having to reposition the pedal cover and redrilling.

I moved the gas pedal cover a little closer to the brake as well so I could get better contact when rolling the side of my foot over, just be careful not to move it to far as your foot will catch on the brake pedal when applying pressure to the gas pedal in any normal circumstance.

Good Luck..you'll wonder why you didn't do this simple mod. sooner!

 

Heel toeing doesn't actually have to involve your heel. You can just as easily and effectively do it with the side of your foot. I used to do it all the time when I had my 5-speed 5th gen and it's actually hard not to do once you get used to it.

Heres a good video explaining it.

http://youtu.be/cPj9XXW25GA?t=2m12s

 

No prob

 

Why thank you, sir!