No shoes.
 

How many of you take your shoes off to drive, and has it proven to improve fuel efficiency? By how much?
I'd consider it for long journeys, but it seems a hassle for anything less than an hour behind the wheel.
Take it you have to keep the footwell spotless? No grit and gravel!

My dad likes to wear moccasins while driving, but I really don't know if it does lead to any improvement in the fuel-savings. I usually drive wearing boots, but when I'm using snickers I don't feel any difference in fuel-efficiency.

My first vehicle was a manual with no tach, and I often had the music up. I drove barefoot so I could feel the revs of the engine, and I've carried the habit over.

I feel I have better fine control of the throttle - many struggle with staying in lean burn in the Insight, because after a certain throttle position it drops out and you have to feather it back in, but I've never had a problem.

I learned to drive in an Opel Corsa with no tach, and I honestly don't remember having ever driven barefoot to figure out if it makes any difference in the feelings of the revving of the engine. But anyway, it makes me wonder if a disabled driver who uses hand controls would be able to have such an improved feeling of the revving.

I drive barefoot all summer long. Wear flip flops so u can kick them off. I only really wear shoes during winter so don't have a baseline for mpg. Mpg drops like a rock during winter months anyways. I do have a lot better feel for the throttle and seem to get better milage shoeless easier to shift as well. Every once in a while slip the clutch due to boots getting stuck due to tiny pedal space.

I have an old pair of thin ballroom dancing shoes in the back of the garage. I'll maybe give them a try.
There’s a great level of uncertainty surrounding whether or not it’s illegal to drive barefoot in the UK, with numerous reasons cited as to why you’re breaking the law if you do so.
Here is the law in a nutshell: it is not illegal to drive in the UK without shoes on and the same applies for wearing flip flops - there is a catch though.
You can get behind the wheel of a vehicle barefoot or while wearing flip flops, provided you are able to operate the controls safely. If you do so with wet feet, for example, you might be putting yourself, your passengers and other road users at risk by not being able to drive the car safely. This is illegal.
And while it's not illegal to drive without shoes on, that doesn’t mean it’s right.
According to the Driving Standards Agency – the body that regulates the UK driving test – “suitable shoes are particularly important behind the wheel. We would not recommend driving barefoot because you don’t have the same braking force with bare feet as you do with shoes on.”

I find wearing shoes that there is a lot more slipping on the pedals. And how does a shoe dictate how hard u can hit the brakes? Lol killin me smalls I can lock up my breaks with just my big toe so I'll call that a mute point.

Perhaps not with a piece of sharp gravel between the pedal and your foot!
Driving Standard edict probably dates back to 1935 and the UK's first driving test. Back in the days of no discs, no servos and rod and cable brakes.

Lol good point on the dating of laws. Maybe an update is in order. I don't know of anyone who has ever received a ticket for driving barefoot though. Fyi my floor mats look like crap a little gravel keeps ya alert.

I tend to use CC a lot so my car doesn't care what my right foot is wearing.

But I do DWL from time to time, mostly accelerating with just enough pressure to prevent the revs from rising.
When I hit the sweet spot I gently slide my foot against the center console to keep the pedal steady in position.
Not all shoes are equally fit for that. I doubt I could do that barefoot(ish) in any comfort.

2nd car forum in a week to bring this up. They do a report on it or something?

I don't drive without shoes...wouldn't want to, on the old beasts in my garage. You need a lot of force to brake in a hurry, that I'd never get without spreading the force across more of my foot.

Heck, I can't really drive my Miata with it's super hard clutch in my "skater" shoes, because they're so thin and soft. The ball of my left foot hurts after a short drive. (right foot is fine, as is driving any other car of mine in them)

I don't know how driving barefoot could interfere with the foot strenght to press the pedals, but anyway, I'd rather not drive barefoot.

Ah, we're pampered these days with those shoe thingies...

Oldtimers drive hardcore:

https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/...p.1086x613.jpg

If I'm wearing shoes, I'll keep wearing them. If it's a long drive I'll take them off for the comfort of my feet.

Flip flops though, must come off. They seriously interfere with the pedal movement and driving with them on is dangerous.

Yeah, I'm the same as Pale. Shoes for short distance, just socks for long trips, and nothing if I'm wearing flip flops. Yesterday the shoes came off because I had used them walking around in the creek and going down a natural water slide. I'm not wearing soaked shoes in the vehicle.

No noticeable difference in MPG. I tend to be very steady regardless of what I'm wearing.

Yeah. Flip flops are bad biz. The risk of them getting tangled in a pedal during an emergency is not a risk you should be taking, however carefully you drive (and as this is Ecomodder, I'm sure we all drive more carefully (and slower! (triple parenthesis!)) tham most!).

I do drive barefoot sometimes, but it feels strange. I've got wide feet and wideset stubby toes, so I can heel and toe with my big toe and my pinky. Which is entertaining, but the rest of the time, my toes are wriggling all over the place.

My favorite driving shoes are indoor soccer shoes or wushu shoes (thin, flat soles, flexible uppers) or aqua-socks. Aqua-socks are the next best thing to naked feet.... better than socks, because they have good grip... and they protect your feet from the cold, to boot.

My only issue is they suck for walking around in, and you look like a dork wearing them.

(Well, I am a dork, so sue me)

I tried driving barefoot exactly ONCE. The first time I went to brake(and i needed to brake hard by the way) I jerked the brakes a lot hard than I was expecting and caused the tailgating PICKUUUUUUP TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC K (i had to) behind me to lock up his tires and almost crash into me.

On a couple of occasions, I have driven an automatic after months of driving a manual, and accidentally slammed on the brake. My muscle memory has me pushing the clutch in to coast. Stupid muscle memory.

The first time I went to do an emergency stop with an automatic I used both feet and went for the clutch and brake! And it was one of those ones with a big pedal.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...s-dsc02735.jpg

I caught it with both feet, and boy did it stop!!

Luckily all my recent automatics had standard size brake pedals so no chance of a repeat.

Flip-flops and other loose, open footwear, are the only thing explicitly forbidden to wear while driving in my country. Barefoot is accepted instead.


It might be easier to do the punta-tacco while barefoot, but I'm not really willing to try.


Had to Google-check it to see what an aqua-sock is. Have already seen a handful of surfers (and wannabe-surfers too) wearing those.


My grandfather told me he had similar reactions when he drove automatics from his friends a couple of times before he got his first automatic. I have never experienced this when I drove automatics.


Even in those "semi-automatic" manuals with a fully-automated clutch, the only one with a standard-sized brake pedal I saw was an Opel Corsa C. All others had that wider pedal.

I drive my Mazda3 barefoot with socks on. I think it gives me a more precise feel for finessing the accelerator. I believe this can help fuel economy a bit.

I do keep my carpet clean, and knocking off dirt and mud from the shoes before putting them inside helps too.

I drive barefoot a lot, more because I don't care for wearing shoes than anything else. I do, however, find it really difficult to drive with boots. So maybe I'm onto something being able to finesse the pedals a bit better.

I am now driving wearing an old pair of thin, suede sole, ballroom dancing shoes (just for long trips where it is worth changing them), and they feel great. Haven't noticed any improvement in fuel efficiency so far!

I have a cousin who also doesn't really care for shoes and would instead wear flip-flops even when I would feel like my feet were frozen if I were also wearing flip-flops. I have only seen him wearing boots once when we went to Uruguay.


I'm more used to drive with boots, so I would rather blame the pedal layout of some cars instead of looking for some footwear that would be supposed to enhance the feelings on the pedals.

I use soled moose-hide moccasins to drive the KW. Third pair in twenty years. Kick off the steeltoes and use these otherwise. Breathe better than some pairs of socks I’ve owned. Feet cool off almost instantly, and stay dry.

I enjoy them just as much in the pickup, but tend to use other footwear when off duty. Keen sandals when hot, and roper style boots when not.

My feet are too big when shod with work boots. That wide sole is great for stability when standing, but hell behind the wheel.

I don't know about efficiency gains from taking shoes off, but I do know when I put my work boots on (vs any of my other shoes), I lose some.

It still sounds quite pointless to me that changing the footwear could lead to any mileage improvement.

In my work boots, my ankle is at least partially immobilized. So instead of just resting my heel on the floorboard and using my calf muscles to rotate my foot at the ankle, I have to use my quads to lift my whole leg slightly while moving the pedal. Larger muscle group, located on a longer lever.

Seems pretty obvious to me that this results in a significant loss of precision?

Even though your point is valid to some extent, I never actually experienced any decrease in the fuel-efficiency while driving with boots compared to snickers. Never drove barefoot BTW.