Driving shoes

[Skinwarrior]

I’ve had my Emira for about 3 months now and I love it.

I haven’t owned a manual in 12 years so I no longer have my old driving shoes.
I’m not an expert in heel-toe but I’m trying to get better. I’m not planning on tracking the car.

I’ve been mostly wearing some leather sneakers but I don’t love them because the sole is studded.

What is your preferred shoe with the Emira?

Any opinions about the following types of shoes:
- indoor soccer shoes
- boxing or wrestling shoes
- “barefoot” shoes (Xero, Vivo)
- Piloti driving shoes
- Puma speedcats or other Pumas

 

[gwman]

I don't recommend the modern Speedcats, the sole is too thick. My preferred right now is a pair of Onitsuka Tigers with a very thin sole.

 

[cyanmauve]

Xero barefoot “running” shoes are my favorite for driving.

 

[tnbuilder]

I was looking at getting some Piloti shoes to try soon.

 

[Eagle7]

I have some Piloti's, but so far I've just been using a pair of slip-on driving loafers ala Ayrton Senna. One of my favorite videos is the one of him driving an NSX while wearing a pair of loafers, and putting on a master class of heel and toe technique.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

For racing I have the Sparco Race 2 Racing Shoe and they’re great. So much more room by the pedal box - the amount of foot travel is huge. Highly recommend.

Otherwise I just wear my converse-like sneakers

 

[crestima]

I’ve had my Emira for about 3 months now and I love it.

I haven’t owned a manual in 12 years so I no longer have my old driving shoes.
I’m not an expert in heel-toe but I’m trying to get better. I’m not planning on tracking the car.

I’ve been mostly wearing some leather sneakers but I don’t love them because the sole is studded.

What is your preferred shoe with the Emira?

Any opinions about the following types of shoes:
- indoor soccer shoes
- boxing or wrestling shoes
- “barefoot” shoes (Xero, Vivo)
- Piloti driving shoes
- Puma speedcats or other Pumas

I've found Piloti driving shoes to be the right compromise for driving and casual wear.

 

[cyanmauve]

Just to be on the safe side, and make sure my recommendation was reasonable, I took my car for a 45 minute Sunday afternoon drive, with lots of heel and toe and throttle blips.

The I can vouch for the Xero HFS II.

It’s kind of like recommending a candy to my kids during Halloween. I have to test it again to make sure nothing in the recipe has changed since I ate it last.

 

[scc.131.fe]

I have a pair of the light grey Icona by Piloti. Great build quality, and something different than your average Puma, Samba, Etc. I wear a US size 10/10.5 and the Icona is just wide enough to apply steady braking and use the little-toe side to blip the throttle. But a run-of-the-mill Asics sneaker (Contend 8 running shoe) is just a bit wider and covers the brake a bit more confidently while rolling on to the throttle.

I also have a pair of Puma Sparco's and they are a great shoe, but require a more literal heal/toe as they are too narrow to span both pedals for me.

 

[VL3X]

Love my Puma Sparcos, but I always bring another pair of comfy sneakers to walk around in whenever I get where I'm going. They aren't bad for quick walks from the car to a restaurant or something but your feet will hate you if you try to spend a whole day in them. I think most Piloti shoes are a good compromise, but they're expensive and I've been hearing mixed reviews on quality lately.

 

[morphious]

I just use my: nike dj0999-003

 

[Strmshdow84]

I'm a fan of Piloti's. I have around 4 pairs right now, all generally comfortable and walk all day in them.

 

[Tokion]

Piloti size 14 (US) (48 European) here. It is a problem to have too large feet when driving a sportscar, especially when you live in Japan

I drove lots of manual cars with clutch, including three Mazda RX-7, receiving driving lessons from Japanese Le Mans drivers Yorino and Terada. But this time around I chose the Emira Turbo with AMG engine and DCT gearbox. Luckily most of the early «snags» have now been corrected by software updates.

And the issue with too large feet is still there even with two pedals only

 

[Skinwarrior]

I'm a fan of Piloti's. I have around 4 pairs right now, all generally comfortable and walk all day in them.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I'm considering the PIloti Shift model. Is there any store to try on Pilotis? Or is it all online? Do they tend to run big, small or true to size?

 

[Strmshdow84]

I believe their all online, bjt i never had an issi returning because of a size mismatch. They run a little big, I generally wear a size 13 and depending on the shoe, I had to drop down to a 12 or 11.5.

 

[Aero]

I wear a 13 and had probs sometimes with normal width shoes hitting the gas a bit when i was trying to brake. The offset gear box doesnt help on where to keep feet. It takes getting used to for sure.
I bought a pair of basic Amazon driving loafers/shoes but found them very uncomfortable to walk in and seemed flimsy. I ended up trying my older pair of Converse Chuck Taylor's and they seem better. I still will take them off if going to do a lot of walking though.

 

[kitkat]

Personally I’m never going to wear driving specific shoes, it’s just too cringe for me. Same level as ferrari owner with ferrari jacket.

 

[ADC]

Just to be on the safe side, and make sure my recommendation was reasonable, I took my car for a 45 minute Sunday afternoon drive, with lots of heel and toe and throttle blips.

The I can vouch for the Xero HFS II.

It’s kind of like recommending a candy to my kids during Halloween. I have to test it again to make sure nothing in the recipe has changed since I ate it last.

Thanks for chipping in here... these actually look really close to my favourite now-sadly-departed shoe for driving, Merrell Bare Access (version 1 or 2). I wore those things everywhere, for everything, all the time for many years, until my better half declared them dead and made me chuck them out I like the feel you get with thin-soled "barefoot" running shoes, and prefer a wide toe box. Going to check Xero out

Piloti Icona looked interesting, but not sure I want to eat the cost of returning from the UK to the US if they're not to my liking :|

I'm currently giving some Adidas MK2's a try, but haven't done any vigorous driving in them yet.

 

[JimH]

Remember the difference between UK and US sizes too (at least European sizes are obviously different!)...

International Shoe Size Conversion Chart - Women & Men

Discover your perfect shoe size with our international conversion charts for men and women. Easily convert between US, UK, European, Australian, Chinese, and Japanese sizes. Learn how to measure your feet and understand shoe widths for the ideal fit. Start finding your size now!

www.size.ly

 

[tnbuilder]

Well this thread pushed me over the edge lol. I got these the other day. I have not driven in them yet, but as far as fit...I wear a 12 US in most tennis shoes like Brooks, but my dress shoes are 11.5 and so I figured these would be move glove like in fitting so i ordered the 11.5 and yes they fit well, but I would not want them any smaller. I have a pair of trail running shoes that fit like this too, have to wear very thin socks but can hike in wet or dry and will not get any blisters cause they fit perfect.