2017 Honda Civic Si ‘heel and toe’ driving tips shared in video

O.K., frankly, while driving Civic Si on the street, shifting speed doesn’t matter much. However, on the race track every millisecond counts in recording an improved lap time. In this video we’re taught a race-proven method of heel and toe, brake to throttle roll. Check it out.

Back in my 911 Porsche days, it wasn’t uncommon for me to get my size 13 clod hoppers wedged between the peculiar offset pedal control sets when power shifting. The trick then, as it is today, when driving Civic Si or any manually shifted car or light truck, is to keep your right shoe heel in a stationary position while transitioning the toe from brake to gas pedal. It sounds easy enough doesn’t it?

Success in power shifting Civic Si comes from conserving shoe movement

Honda engineering’s done much to civilize the manually shifted, 6 speed 2017 Civic Si. The 10th generation offering is without question the most comfortable and powerful Civic Si offered to date. I called Civic Si the best value found today in the compact performance segment. You can’t buy Civic Si with a conventional or CVT transmission. You won’t find paddle shifting mounted to Civic Si’s leather wrapped steering wheel, Si is manually shifted.

The tips learned in Motormouth Canada’s video are generally applied to “rev matching,” something that Honda builds into every 2017 Civic Si. However, the methods explained will reduce driver fatigue, as well as the occasional missed shift. As easy and forgiving as Civic Si’s 6MT is, it does come with a bit of a learning curve for those drivers that did not learn on a manual transmission.

Believe me, within 30 minutes of dropping in behind the wheel of Civic Si, and practice shifting a bit, manual shifting becomes second nature and fun. In watching the following video, you’ll learn a race proven quick shift, brake to throttle shoe transition, that will not only improve lap speeds, but take some of the fatigue out of driving a manually shifted car or light truck.