<br>Has anyone tried changing the at-rest position of the gas pedal to make downshifting easier?<br>With the brake pedal depressed for moderate braking, the gas pedal is too low for a quick stab with the side of the foot to bring the revs up. I'd rather not add a pad to the gas pedal to even up this height difference. Any ideas?<br>'99 QMS

I had the same problem too initially, but after some practice, you will get the hang of it. Wonder why Audi does this, considering it is a Sport luxury car.

First Subject:<br>Yes, we looked at doing this on my A4qm when we installed the MOMO pedal set. The problem lies in the design of the accelerator arm. Being plastic it cannot be modified/bent etc. As it was, we had to completely redesign the actual pedal base to install the MOMO pedal beacuse of the plastic, hinged design. We felt it would be too risky and unstable to block it up in order to better match it to the height of the brake. It really would require a completely new arm....to angle it properly. We decided not to work on that project for now.<br>Second Subject:<br>I think they redesigned the placement after the unintended accel. incidents where people were accidentally hitting the accel. pedal instead of the brake when the car was lurching at start up. The way they are now, it makes it next to impossible to mistake the two pedals. Yes, the unintended accel. issue was on the automatics, but you have to have a universal design for all the cars for cost reasons. If you check older model Audis, pedal placement was much more conducive to the heel-toe action with a much closer placement.<br>They have to be conservative, we driver enthusiasts may be able to handle a closer brake/accel. placement...but your average American driver is not so adept, as we have witnessed.<br>-Cathleen <p>

please explain increasing revs while braking...

This all has to do with downshifting while breaking. For a smooth down-shift you need to "blip" the throttle so that you can match the wheel and engive revs for a smooth shift. The reason you do this while breaking is so that at all times you're in a gear that will allow you to accelerate in case you need to make some sort of emergency maneuver. Remember, that you have the most control and traction while accelerating. This technique is called Toe-and-Heel. One uses the toes of your right foot to engage the brake while simultaneuously operating the throttle with the heel of your right foot. Your left foot works the cluctch as usual. This takes some practice and may take some getting used to.<p>Hope this is a good explanation.<p>Marcin R.<br>---<br>'98.5 A4 18Tqms

I believe I read somwhere that one of the responses Audi made to the "problem" was exactly what you described.<p>The lawyers who brought those suits are probably driving around in their automatic Cadillacs and using the cupholders! <br>

I used to have a 1987 Coupe GT that was an automatic (yeah, I know). The pedals on this car were exactly the same as the manual, sans the clutch. The very first day that I had the car, a friend of mine wanted to take it for a drive. At the time, ha had an automatic Beretta. The very first time that he tried to use the brakes he hit the throttle at the same time.<p>Marcin R.<br>---<br>'98.5 A4 1.8Tqms

Also a good idea while driving in slippery/winter conditions. Allows you to use less brakes, less chance of locking up, despite having ABS.<p>Marcin R.<br>---<br>'98.5 A4 1.8Tqms

This is only useful when braking and downshifting at the same time, as when turning a corner. For a smooth downshift, it is necessary to try and match the engine speed with that of the transmission input shaft before the clutch is engaged after shifting. Audi pedal design requires that the outside of the right foot be used to blip the gas while braking and depressing the clutch to shift.<br>

<br>I can understand Audi's concern here but a simple adjustment for gas pedal height would have been nice. There is at least 3/4" of additional upward pedal travel available but the accelerator cable would need to be shortened to take advantage of it.

jmr,<p>You may or may not have understood from these explanations why you might want to do this. This is a technique that is used in racing. I don't doubt that some people do this on ordinary streets, but I will attempt to explain the reasons to do this is a racing situation.<p>Assume that you are on a race track on a straight section that leads into a sharp turn. You will want to accelerate for as long as possible up to the turn, and then use your brakes as late as possible leading up to the turn, which means you are going to do some really hard braking.<p>When you have slowed down enough, or completed the turn, you will want to accelerate again, except the gear that you are in is no longer a good choice since you slowed down so much. So, while you were in the turn, it would have been nice to change to a lower gear, in preparation for your next chance to accelerate.<p>This is why you want to <b>heel-and-toe</b> the pedals and increase the revs. While your right foot is pressing the brake pedal, you will take the transmission out of gear, and before engaging the lower gear, you need to "blip" the throttle to increase the engine RPM so that it matches the speed of the rest of the drivetrain. Remember, though, that your foot was on the brake pedal during this. Your right foot needs to serve double-duty here. It is applying the brakes and simultaneously blips the gas pedal.<p>Whew! Still with me here?<p>If you didn't blip the throttle, then when you changed to the lower gear, the car would jump as you let the clutch out and definitely get off-balance, which is something to avoid at all costs in racing. So this is a technique for achieving a smooth downshift while simultaneously using the brakes.<p>Now, I said that this is a racing technique because in the context that I have described it, I hope that no one is driving on regular streets like this with traffic.<p>By the way, did you catch the discussion on <b>double-clutching</b> a few weeks ago?! :-)<p>Drew S.<br>

My size 13 feet make it really hard to drive with my toes on the pedal... especially with the Audi upper pivot accelerator (as opposed to BMW lower pivot accelerator, which I prefer). Im actually better off doing something more like "ball-and-edge", where the balls of your feet control the brake and the right edge of the foot pivots over to blip the throttle. It depends on foot size and on how the pedals are laid out on any particular model. The smaller your foot is, though, the easier it is to swivel your heel over. <p>The best way to start learning the technique is to practice downshifting without using the brake. On a long straight stretch of road get up to 45-50mph in fifth gear. Then as you clutch-in, blip the throttle to match the engine speed with the drivetrain as you shift to fourth gear. You should now be going the same speed in fourth gear at about 1000rpms higher. The goal is to make the change as smooth as possible, without upsetting the balance of the car (important when cornering). Once you get a hang of 5-4 try 4-3 and 3-2. Then try it braking coming into a corner. There is a much better explanation of shifting technique at http://home.earthlink.net/~rponiarski/shifting.htm check it out (just ignore the BMW references don't go for that sort of thing). Another source for driving tips is http://integra.vtec.net/driving/driving.html (same as above for Acura references). <p>It takes a bit of practice but works pretty well once you get the hang of it. The best opportunity to experiment is a drivers school on a controlled course. Im still getting used to how my A4 behaves and cant wait to try it out at its limits at Summit Point next spring. <p>Be careful out there....<p>Kosta

After the last discussion that had many people saying double-clutching was a relic I went out and did my first 3-2 downshift without heel-toe in years. There is no way that this is easier on your car than heel-toe. My 3-2 shifts have a constant rate of deceleration. Without heel-toe it felt like I'd tossed out the anchors. Once again for new posters; I have taken vehicles to 145,000 and 165,000 with no clutch,engine,or transmission service,and not much brake service either.<p>If you are new to heel-toe and it seems like too much trouble,believe me,you wont even notice that you are doing it after awhile.<p>Sorry I did not answer your question Tyrone<p>Bill Shaffer

Drew,<p>Good post but your statement -<p>> "So, while you were in the turn, it would have been nice to change to a lower<br>gear, in preparation for your next chance to accelerate."<p><br>I always thought you wanted to do your braking and shifting before the turn?<p>yea, I know, everyone is a critic ;-)<br>Bert

at the same height, and were about the same size. I have no doubt that this caused operator error but the excuse was always "Hey I didn't do any thing. Just started it up and it took off." I got a lot of ribbing about about my car, "death trap" and such. One thing I can say though -- I never had a problem, that was a great car.

With fully syncro meshed gear boxes (all modern ones) double clutching is not necessary, though it does allow for an even smoother shift.<p>Marcin R.<br>---<br>'98.5 A4 1.8Tqms

who are used to General Motors cars and therefore don't know how to drive."