Does anyone have any experience with driving shoes in the TSX? I'm wondering if the rounded heels reduce wear on the carpet. My running shoes' heels have an edge to them that isn't present on driving shoes.

I know a lot of people just get the all-weather floor mats, but I don't like them.

I wear running shoes every day, and I don't run. I do drive, so I was thinking about wearing driving shoes instead. The built-up heel on running shoes makes throttle action a little odd as my foot's fulcrum is so far from my heel.

Wearing something like this, daily, wouldn't look too bad (casual office):

 

I say just wear regular shoes and in a few years if/when you sell your car just pay the $80 or whatever for new floor matts if they are worn. The miinor cost is well worth not stressing over it. Unless you like to do the whole "Mr. Rogers" deal and change your shoes every time you get in. T.E.H.O!

 

One of my friend made a hole in his floor mat because he rubbed it a lot when he pressed the cluth. But he got all weather ones, then he was fine.

 

You could always just take them in to a seemstress and have them sew in a stronger material in that area for like $2. Then you could add it to your mods list

 

"casual office"..hmmmm

 

Geez.......they make shoes for everything these days....... Never heard of driving shoes.

 

XBox/Playstation console game studio

 

Yeah, they're really important for racing (and have been for decades). On top of the improved pedal and floorboard interface, they have thinner soles and transmit a lot more road and car feel through the brake, clutch, and dead pedal. Some have extra lateral support on the outside of the right shoe for heel-toe action. The higher-end race shoes are also fire resistant.

Schumacher's not wearing cross-trainers here:

 

Those shoes are just a spin-off what race car drivers wear. Just adapted for everyday use.

They even have "race-socks" for people who race simulation video games online.

http://www.driversemporium.com/

 

You too? Which studio?

I'm at Crystal Dynamics. /wave to fellow industryperson.

 

Midway-Austin (formerly Inevitable)

hello!

 

If you mind the looks try to find hybrid between racing/casual shoes. If I remeber Puma made one back then. It had Goodyear sole just to promotes the brand. It does make your driving more pleasurable compared to my gym shoes. The shoe you'd want to look for the the one with thin sole. Heel should be too high either, because during heel-toe shifting it just feels really weird to me.

 

The curved heel makes a big difference, at least to me it does, when driving aggressively on the track with all the foot movement, heel/toe etc. But I also like that design idea just for everyday driving around so I was attracted to that ad I've seen lately, mainly in the NY Times, for GEOX shoes ...you might have seen it with what looks like smoke blowing out of the vent holes on bottom of the shoe to emphasize how they "let your feet breathe". Here is the shoe pic but not the smokey one from the ad:



A while back I also found a full leather slip on shoe, I think they look very nice, very soft leather, well made, hand stitched and with the curved heal feature, they were made by Cole Haan. I think they'd be expensive (way over $300) but I found them discounted for way under $100.

And the curved heel does less damage digging into the carpets too if that's important to anybody.

 

Thanks! That's the kind of info I was looking for. I think I could deal with wearing something like that daily.

Should be cheaper than all the $225 Sidi shoes I own for cycling

 

i've worn shoes with thin soles, such as puma sprint's, etc... shoes with thin soles really hurt my arches when i'm driving, especially my left foot when i'm shifting. i'm pretty sure a big reason is because i have really low arches on my feet. but, i do agree, you do have a greater sense of pedal feel with these types of shoes.

so now, i basically wear a pair of running shoes, air max, etc., and i find them comfortable for my driving style...

 

I bought a pair of Puma speed cat m's for a day I had at the bridgestone racing academy driving open wheel F2000 race cars. The head instructor said they were perfect for racing and showed me his shoes,........pretty much the same (but his went higher up). The shoes only cost me like 100 Canadian. There is more feel for driving that is for sure,.....I dont think I would ever wear these out as normal shoes though,.......not my style, but some ppl seem to like them cause I have seen them on ppl.

Here is a pic of some other model of the speed cat's from Puma,.......http://www.zappos.com/n/p?dp=2327037
Here are the ones I have
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...51122?v=glance

You could also look at Oakley shoes. They have a low cut pair of "race shoes" driving shoes that I looked at,.....they look more like an everyday type of shoe and have the benefits of being thin on the bottom etc. They are called the "thirteen twenty".
http://oakley.ca/o/o1690d

Hope all those links work if you check them out. If not,...just type in the names I put down or go to the Oakley site and you will find them.

I like my normal shoes for driving (etnies low cut II's) because they have pretty good feel and I find my foot pivots etc fine (for a normal shoe). They would not be good for heel toe stuff,....but I dont drive like that normally (pedals too far apart in my TSX for that anyway I think).....so. The puma's were GREAT in the race car,.......good feel, pivot, heel/toe action etc. In essence, the puma's are my driving shoes but I dont wear them often. The puma's and oakley's are not really office shoes though,.......so if that is a concern they might not be a good idea. If only for driving,......might want to check them out.
Hope this helps.

Steve

 

in teh summer I drive barefoot a lot

 

Interesting. Your feet have enough traction? I'd hate to slip off the brake pedal if my foot was in a sweaty mood.

When I lived in Colorado, you had to wear shoes to operate a motor vehicle, and I thought that was the law everywhere. A quick Google turned up no references though :-/

 

...so you're a 35 year old cyclist from Austin, TX? I would think Nike wouldn't like you wearing Sidi Genius 5's.

So driving a TSX is what you do during retirement? j/k

 

It's pretty funny actually, that when I started racing in 1991, I was occasionally training with some of Lances future teammates in Colorado. Jonathan Vaughters for instance. Back then, we all knew Lance was going to tear sh*t up, and he was just an ameteur (Vaughters was still a Junior). There was one time he was supposed to go out with me, Vaughters, and a couple US Nataional Team members, but Lance's bike was delayed by the airline.

Then it turns out that a decade later, I moved to Austin, and have ridden with (well, near) Lance several times. He does hill repeats on some of the 22%-grade hills that I use. Now, my 3-year old son's best friend in his preschool is Kevin Livingston's daughter (former USPS teammate).

It's a pretty small world.

Note that I in no way compare my cycling ability with the likes of Lance, Kevin, or Johnathan. I was mildly talented, but nobody was ever going to pay me to ride. It was fun to watch those guys rise to the top over the years.

 

Always cool to run into roadies. Looks like you're connected with some pretty elite cyclists. I actually met Lance's buddy Floyd Landis (cough cough) out here in San Diego at a bike shop. Cool guy, would have loved to get dropped by him.

22% grades huh? Not sure if a TSX can climb that (auto or manual)

 

The TSX does awesome on those climbs! They're really twisty too, but I don't go too fast in the car. The speed limit on all of them is 30mph. I'll go faster down on a bike than in the car...

 

I wear only DIESEL shoes that are all low to the ground and most are flat at bottom. Which are basically 200 dollar driving shoes. But with style. Diesel owns!!!

 

I wear $30 wrestling shoes for driving schools and lapping days. They're thin soled, very comfortable, and inexpensive.