rithsleeper

I got new racing shoes because it's required for the driving school I am going to attend in February. they are the generic G Force hi top shoes. They are very stiff and I don't want to wear them out just wearing them around to the store or around the yard. I don't really get the chance to be home where I can break them in just wearing them around the house. I remember as a kid breaking in baseball gloves by putting oil on them and running over them with the car and leaving them under the tire overnight.

does anyone have any tips on how to break the shoes in without wearing them out? The high top it's just too restrictive to properly heel toe.

RaleighSS

well i think i have the same exact shoe and directly opposite what you were you asking for I am going to say ... I wore mine out to stores / around the house through the airport lol ... mine are a suede / leather type and ended up being very comfortable for heal toe use. I would not apply any chemicals to them. sorry not much help but figured I would let ya know what I did...

Jatterbu

I wouldn't apply any additives to the shoes, but I would simply wear them around. I had to break in a new pair of Sparco shoes at Daytona the other week during test days and I just wore them everywhere at the track for 3 days straight and they were broken in for the most part. Racing shoes are a bit uncomfortable at first if you've never worn them before, the more you wear them the more comfortable you get in them.

jamesNewman

I wear the same shoes/boots I had when I drove my shifter kart, they dont require breaking in, and if possible, I didn't wear them anywhere else but when I was getting into a vehicle for an event, as they wear out quickly.

Kubs

Just put 'em on and drive!

986_C6

+1

Wicked Weasel

+2

Bill32

Then you're not doing it correctly.

Bill Dearborn

If you are trying to use your toes on the brake and your heel on the throttle or your heel on the brake and your toes on the throttle don't do that. Moving the heel requires moving the whole leg while moving the toes requires just part of the foot thus you have finer control of the toes. Use the toes for both the brake and the throttle.

Then all you need to do is roll the right side of your foot onto the gas pedal while the left side of the foot is on the brake pedal. On first application of the brake pedal it should drop to the level of the gas pedal and you shouldn't need much rolling of the foot to blip the throttle. That shouldn't affect how the top of the shoe fits on your ankle.

Bill

brkntrxn

I wear them karting to soften them up.

rithsleeper

That sounds all fine and dandy, however my pedal set is stock and the distance is far too great to do this. It's my RX7 not the vette. My vette is impossible because how low the gas pedal sits. So I do have to actually use my heal to punch the pedal and need my ankle to do this. I have been meaning to get a longer brake pedal but you know how it goes, it's on the list....

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'll start wearing them whereever I can and just do the best I can when at the track.

if you fast forward to 56 sec, you get a good look of what my motion has to be to heal toe. Its not pretty but it's effective. This was a DE on only half of CMP.

Bill32

What Bill says works well on any C4. Your heel should be on the floor and your knee moving towards the shifter when you blip.

I do H&T on almost every downshift on the street (where the distance to the gas pedal is even greater because of lighter braking).

It's even easier on the track when you're hard on the brakes,

I've done it in both early and later C4's when I was teaching my students how to do it.

YYZ06

You can use pedal covers and shim the pedals to get them to the right height. I have the CCA "block" pedal set and have shimmed my gas pedal approximately 3/8" to get to the right height to heel toe.

As far as breaking in driving shoes, I agree there is no substitute for wearing them... a lot.

63Corvette

ALL driving shoes are NOT created equal! I wear Simpson SFI driving shoes on the track. They are so soft that I could roll them up and stick them in my pocket. They are VERY comfortable (for driving) and very fragile, so I wear them ONLY for driving the car on track. On the other hand, I have some Piloti SFI driving shoes which I got free at Monterey. They are stiff as a board, look pretty substantial, but are so uncomfortable that I can't walk very far in them 'cause they hurt my feet, and yet, they are so stiff that I can't track the car with them either, so to me, they are worthless

FNCG

What school requires you to wear race shoes?

John Shiels

good shoes need no break-in time. I have Simpson also.

1ED1

I think the big thing is to make sure they fit properly and don't make your feet sore.

Bill Dearborn

Don't know about your RX7 but I have had 1 C4, 2 C5s and 1C6 and on every one of them the brake pedal has dropped to the level of the gas pedal on first application of the brake pedal. When they are right next to each other the distance between the two pedals isn't very large. I put the left side of the ball of my foot on the brake pedal and the right side on the gas pedal and I pretty much have my heel on the floor. My shoe size is 11C so my foot isn't particularly wide. I can't imagine how difficult it must be in a Corvette to twist your right leg so your heel is on the gas pedal and your toes on the brake pedal. I can't twist mine that way.

Bill

froggy47

I also do it street driving & with whatever shoes I happen to have on.

It's good to practice. Just use the ball of the foot and side I never tried it with my toes or heels.

Bill32

Yep, I found myself doing it without thinking about it when I first got the car, was a bit supprised.

The only car I've been in that I couldn't do it the correct way was a vintage Nascar where the pedals must have been positioned for a guy with size 14 Wingtips.