all my normal shoes are fairly "clunky" but i don't want to spend a lot on a driving shoe as a beginner. what exactly is important?

 

wrestling shoes are perfect,,,,,,,and cheap too.

 

what are the characteristics that make a driving shoe? it seems like the outsole extending up the inside of the right foot for brake-pedal touching...

is the basic idea to have the shoe as thin and snug as possible? what is the advantage of a high-top? most wrestling and a good chunk of driving shoes appear to be hightop. but i would think ankle flexibility is important...no?

thanks,

 

I personally want a shoe that is tight and form fitting.......plus good grippy sole.

high/low top doesn't matter to me but some need the flexability in the ankles to heel-toe

 

As one of my fellow competitors (rumored to be a Nissan driver) recently suggested, a nice platform heel or strapless pump will do wonders for your heel-n-toe!

 

My thoughts are snug-fitting, smooth sole so it doesn't hang on the pedals, rounded heel so it'll rotate smoothly, thin sole for good pedal feel, and rounded edges of the treads so those don't get hung up either. Soft grippy sole for traction. Just don't walk around too much in wrestling or good racing shoes for that matter, since the lack of padding will make your feet numb and painful after a while.

 

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~timothpy/Shoes.html

 

I assume you mean for HPDE. For RACING the shoe must be made of "nomex" or leather or combinaton of two. NO OTHER MATERIALS. (Plastic, rubber, canvas, etc.)

 

I was just going to say...a wrestling shoe is good if you are autocrossing, but as Grumpy stated, for road racing...nomex is required.

 

Oh yeah, he just said DRIVING shoe, not RACING

 

I use some cheap *** wrestling shoes that can be found for around $25,30 at Sports Authority. They are sweet! No Nomex though...obvisouly.

 

Asics Medalist Wrestling Shoes Mens $31.98 from the Sports Authority

I swear I saw some drivers wearing Asics or Adidas wrestling shoes when I was at the Rolex?? could have been the crew but I looked at the Simpson and OHP shoes that were for sale but giving up $90-$150 for a pair just wasn't what I had in mind on spending. Get the wrestling shoes and be happy.


Oooowwwhhhh!!! AAAhhhhhhh!!!!!!

=> theSportsAuthority.Com

 

I dunno if they still have them... but Eastbay was selling those Nike pit shoes a while back for dirt cheap. They're shaped fairly well, are fire and oil proof, are more thickly padded than wrestling or driving shoes but still provide good pedal feel IMO. At $20... they were a steal. Plus, you can be like me and get weird looks by wearing them to the local video game arcade to play F355 Challenge.

 

that first pic is exactly what I have... works great.

 

I bought a pair of those, hoping they would make good driving shoes (Dale Jarrett #88 woooo!!), but alas, the soles are too thick, IMO. They make *perfect* garage and worker shoes, but I don't dig them for driving. The best shoes I have for driving are a pair of 5 year old addidas Gazelles - no tread left whatsoever. Great pedal feel

 

Yeah, I have an old pair of vans that I use. The same deal...The tread 9not that there was much to begin with) is all worn off.

 

Invest in a decent shoe that is fire resistant - Piloti makes a few models of shoes that meet the requirements (lined with Nomex) and are less than $100, I'm pretty sure.
I use Pyrotect boots - they were around $75 I think. The bad thing about the wrestling shoes is that they usually have plastic/nylon/polyester, which if you happen to ever have a fire or something would melt around your feet - not good.
My .02

 

I second nc-rsx-s...
Go ahead and pay the lil extra money now...it will save you from the hassel later
my .04

 

I know a guy who uses climbing shoes, since they create alot of friction but don't stick to the pedal.

 

I looked at Piloti's website and like these for $95

However, the site says they have a rubber outsole. Is that ok as long as it is nomex lined? I thought other posters above said nothing but leather/suede/nomex may be used. But it wouldn't make sense for Piloti to sell racing shoes that couldn't be used at races...

 

For autox I use a pair of Sparco Speedcats. I got them on sale at Eastbay for $30. There basically a low top striped down version of a race shoe without the flame resistance. But hey if your feet catch on fire when you're autocrossin' then you're doing something wrong. I looked on the Puma site and they sell the same thing (w/o the Sparco logo) in black and yellow for $55.
http://www.sparcousa.com/psport_shoes.asp?id=295

 

do you like them? are they fairly comfortable?
that sparco logo better add a few hp for the $44 it adds to the cost....




[Modified by Philbert, 1:12 PM 2/25/2002]

 

Yeah they work well for autox. Just bring another pair of shoes for course walking and corner working, they have very thin soles and no padding. This of course makes them good for driving. If I'm running first I'll show up with them on and go ahead and walk the course in them. If I'm running second I'll wear my other shoes to walk/work and change right before I drive.

I wasn't wearing them for a few events because a pair of shoes weren't goin to make up the amount of time I was down from the leaders, but I'm doing much better now and I'll probably wear them at the next event. (this weekend, along with my fresh set of Azenis)

 

What size Azenis did you get? Which wheel are they mounted on? I'm trying to decide between 14s on existing wheels or 15s on new wheels. The details are here: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=135463

I'd appreciate any advice you have,
Phil