How To J-Turn - The Video
If you would like to read about how to do it, see our text article here on TwoGuysRally.
How To J-Turn (James Bond Reverse to Forward)
Performing the J-Turn
- Shift to Reverse
- Go in a straight line backwards at a good speed(higher speed for more grippy surfaces)
- Take your foot off the gas abruptly
- Jerk the steering wheel Right or Left (Left for an actual J as seen from above)
- Clutch in
- Move the gear selector to Neutral (BE SURE YOU’RE IN NEUTRAL!)
- Clutch out and then Clutch in (This step is the double clutch, it will make the reverse to 1st/2nd gear transition easier on the transmission)
- Move the gear selector to 1st/2nd gear (keep one hand on the wheel!)
- Once the car starts pointing in the direction of travel bring the Steering wheel to straight ahead
- Clutch out and Gas! GOGOGO
The speed required for a J-turn increases with grip. The faster you’re going in reverse, the easier the car will whip around, but also the easier it will be to lose complete control of the car. The first few times it is attempted, don’t worry about forcing the transmission into 1st or 2nd gear, focus on the speed and steering inputs (also safety!).
J-turns are not like the other how-to articles on this site, they are jerky and not smooth. Quick pedal movements and quick steering inputs upset the balance of the car making it possible to complete the 180 degree rotation.
Why Perform a J-Turn
Why not?! You get to look like James Bond doing it. While it is mostly a for show technique it does have a legitimate use: spin recovery. After a spin, you might be facing the completely wrong direction, and a J-Turn is a fast and dangerous way to save some recovery time.
So go out and find a safe place to practice a J-turn. A safe place means somewhere you are allowed to do this and has lots of space so you will not hit anything. Keep in mind it is much easier on loose stuff or wet tarmac than the grippy dry pavement we find all over. I would not suggest doing this in high center of gravity vehicles such as an SUV as the risk of rollover is huge.
Here’s a video version: How To J-Turn - The Video.
How to Left Foot Brake
*WARNING*
DO NOT TRY THIS FOR YOUR FIRST TIME ON A PUBLIC STREET
If you’re used to using the Clutch Pedal with your left foot, you will slam on the brakes the first time you try this.
*WARNING*
Performing Left Foot Braking
- Press the Throttle with your Right Foot
- Apply Pressure to the Brake with your Left Foot
Left Foot Braking (LFB) is, in theory, very simple. With your Right foot on the gas you use your left foot to brake and that will change the balance of the car. The trick with LFB is the technique changes from car to car and from surface to surface. When I was learning how to use LFB one of the cars I drove “preferred” a stab at the brakes followed by firm pressure, while another one preferred smooth application of the brakes and far less pressure than the first car. My WRX, in the snow, prefers throttle to pitch the car with light and short LFB to upset the balance and flick the car.
In order to succeed at LFB you should practice normal braking with your left foot in an EMPTY parking lot. The first time you try it, you will probably apply a bit too much pressure and abruptly stop. Once you’re comfortable braking with your left foot use it while driving normally. You will develop better control over your left foot.
Why Left Foot Brake?
Left Foot Braking can be used in a few ways, and those ways are surface dependent. On Tarmac it is primarily used to reduce the time from throttle to brake. On gravel, snow and dirt it is used to pitch the car into a slide. In turbocharged cars it can be used to keep the turbo spooled through corners,.
On the loose stuff it can be used to slide front wheel drive cars (FWD), and very easily rear wheel drive cars (RWD), without using the handbrake. It does this by un-weighting the rear end of the car and giving the front wheels more traction. Try it out: find an empty lot of loose stuff (parking lot with snow, field you have permission to be in, gravel parking lot you’re allowed to wreck) and start driving in a circle. Start with little steering input (so that means not full lock!) and with your right foot on the gas (keep it at a decent pressure), apply the brakes slowly and smoothly with your left. If your car just slows down, keep trying, but use less braking pressure. You might find your car enter a slide. Maybe, if you still aren’t sliding, try stabbing at the brakes with your left foot. Experiment, it is one of the best ways to teach yourself anything. You will eventually see the effects of weight transfer, and you will be a safer driver because of it. This is very hard on your brakes and your engine, so be warned and be safe!
It sports yet another nifty use: Left Foot Braking is a poor man’s limited slip differential. A car with a normal differential will apply no power to the ground if one of the drive wheels (assuming 2WD) is spinning freely. Adding braking forces to the wheel will cause the differential to act as if both wheels are gripping and will apply power to both wheels. So next time you find your dirt launches to cause a one tire fire, or one of your drive wheels is stuck in a ditch and the other is in the air, apply a tiny amount of brake pressure.
How To Heel-Toe
Performing a Heel-Toe Down Shift
- Start braking with your right foot
- Clutch In when the Engine is in/below the low end of the power band
- Move the Gear Selector into the next lower gear
- Blip the throttle with your heel by rotating your right foot while keeping pressure on the brakes with your toes
- Clutch Out smooth and easy
- Keep Braking
Step 4 is what makes the Heel-Toe a Heel-Toe. Its name comes from the fact that the toes of the right foot and the heel of the right foot are on separate pedals. Specifically the toes (balls of the feet) are braking while the heel blips the throttle. Depending on the pedal setup of the car a Heel-Toe becomes an Inside-Outside where the Inside of the right foot brakes while the outside blips the throttle.
Steps 3 and 4, after practice, happen simultaneously. The six steps end up taking very little time to execute with practice. To make it even more complex steps 3 and 4 can also be expanded to include a Double Clutch to be easier on the transmission. Double Clutching during the Heel-Toe procedure adds 3 steps to the process:
- Start braking with your right foot
- Clutch In when the Engine is in/below the low end of the power band
- Move the gear selector into Neutral
- Clutch Out
- Blip the throttle with your heel by rotating your right foot while keeping pressure on the brakes with your toes
- Clutch In
- Move the gear selector to next lower gear
- Clutch Out smooth and easy
- Keep Braking
Why Heel-Toe?
Under braking and cornering a sudden load on the drivetrain (because of a failure to match RPMs in a downshift) could cause the drive wheels to lose traction. The Heel part makes the downshift smooth while the Toe part keeps the braking pressure on. A properly executed Heel-Toe also keeps the car balanced while braking.
Keeping the drive wheels loaded with the engine’s torque will also make braking lock-ups of the drive wheels harder to do.
Just as with Double Clutching the point of a Heel-Toe is smoothness and it gets easier and easier with practice. Remember, keep it smooth and the speed will come.
How To Double Clutch
Performing the Double Clutch
- Clutch in
- Shift gear selector to Neutral
- Clutch out
- ‘Blip’ throttle
- Clutch in
- Shift gear selector to lower gear
- Clutch out
The hardest part of those 7 steps is figuring out how much to raise the engine revs in step 5. It all depends on how fast you’re going and your transmission’s gearing. In my WRX I’ve noticed it is about 2-2.5k RPM increase during a downshift.
Don’t worry about how quickly you’re double clutching, speed comes with practice what matters is smoothness.
Why Double Clutch?
Double clutching was once a required technique. It was used to sync the engine and transmission speed. In older cars without double clutching you were unable to shift (you even had to double clutch to up shift). However, in new transmissions synchromesh gears do most of that work. While the synchromesh gears reduce the need for double clutching, they don’t handle the large changes in speed that go with down shifts very well. Double clutching makes the downshifts smoother and saves wear on the transmission by reducing the amount of work done by the synchromesh units. So go out and practice a double clutch down shift (in a safe place), it’ll save you precious money on your transmission.
Here’s the video version: How To Double Clutch: The Video.
