Can anyone recommend some good driving shoes?

I don't want to spend an insane amount of dosh, but i'd love a pair of nice shoes :)

Are the nike/adidas race shoe lookalikes any good, or should I just save my money and get a pair of sparcos/other brand later?

I personally have always like sparco's.

But I actually don't think i've ever used any other brand, so I'm probably not qualified to answer.

I know that every pair I've had, has been fabulous to drive in though. It's amazing what a difference it makes, but possibly not worth the expense unless you're doing a lot of limit handling, etc.

All the best

Simon

Thing is, if it increases the (driving) feeling and makes it more fun without costing an arm and a leg, i might get it although i'm probably one of the worst drivers around :) Trying to improve though, will have to do a driving course this year if wife lets me...

I assume you don't have a problem with the sparcos sort of sticking or catching onto the edge of pedals doing toe-heel stuff? This is a major head-ache with my current trainers and this is the real reason i'm switching..

Henrik

As they're purpose designed shoes for driving, they have all that sort of thing covered :)

All the best

Simon

Bought some of these recently .....

http://www.ompracing.it/prod/images/ic763_02.jpg

Just 45 euro ! Just perfect for occasional trackdays, not fireresistant but we ain't going to bbq on track do we ?

OMP IC763xxx

I've got Sparco driving boots for the times that I've been on track - very nice. You do look a bit of an idiot driving down to the shops in them though :)

For everyday driving my favourites are my Puma Mostro trainers - these have very slim soles, like a proper running shoe and are great for driving. Given the light weight soles, they have been surprisingly strong. Recommended.

Chris

I've got a pair of Puma Speed cats, which are like racing shoes (not Boots) which i got in All Sports and only cost £59.99 apporx! they are realy comfotable.
I had to have a pair as i have size 12 feet and normal trainers are too big to cotrol that...cluch pedal. i have no trouble wearing them! ...and you can feel the pedal through the soul of the shoe, so u know what the pedals are doing and u feel more in control!

hope this helps :cool:

Failing all of the above you could try deck shoes, Airwalk, Vans or quicksilver.
These are designed for skateboarding so have a sole suited to feel rather than comfort. Well i rate them any way. Oh and you can wear them out as well. LOL

But if your a real pikey u could have some dunlop greenflash. LOL :)

I bought some of the OMP's above like Bart did too!

First time i've ever bothered with 'proper' driving shoes, and boy you can tell the difference betweeen them and trainers. With the boots you get alot more feel through the pedals, and also, which i never imagined, through the heel of the shoes. You can feel what the car is doing, the feed back is so much more than with trainers.

HIGHLY recommended! (and less than £30 from Demon Tweeks IIRC!)

Just bought the Pumas also - they have a proper heel pad and i have found them excellent for feel, and half the price of the Sparcos (although you get what you pay for). If I did track days all the time I would have bought the Sparcos, but for about three or four a year the Pumas are fine. I can also wear them to meets and not look silly! (Well not sillier anyway)!

I've got a pair of driving shoe-alikes from George at ASDA for £15 which have a really thin, flexible sole and offer loads of feel.

I didn't buy them for driving, I just drove in them and liked them a lot. ;)

Pikey, moi? :D

Cool, thanks for all the replies guys :) Looks like Demon Tweeks or *shudder* Asda for me then :)

Henrik - Not pikey but married :(

Puma speedcats are great but only really an advantage insomething like a Cateryham or Peugeot 106 with really close together pedals.

For a scooby, any old trainers with thinish soles will do the job as well as any driving shoes.

N1 span, I agree with you entirely. I had the Puma Speedcats and went back to a set of airwalks. I found when heel toeing (or more precisely ball of foot, little toeing) they had a tendency to want to slip off the brake due to the curved side of the sole and the less than grippy rubber. I had one major moment where I went for the brakes to correct a slide, foot slipped of the brake and hit the firewall...*panic* Just managed to grab it as I sidled up to the barrier.

I find the wider footprint of the airwalk and the square edge of the sole gives you better grip on the pedals and allows a wider margin for error in that if you dont quiet nail the pedal spot on, you still likely to hit the flat surface of the sole and stay on the pedal rather than the curved edge of the sole on narrower shoes.

I prefer bare feet, but it's frowned on at quite a few events.....and, lets face it, pretty irresponsible. I still drive in bare feet when I can :)

Richard

I prefer bare feet, but it's frowned on at quite a few events.....and, lets face it, pretty irresponsible. I still drive in bare feet when I can :)

Richard

An amazingly bad idea, if your car sets on fire you will never walk again. I have seen burns from not wearing suitable flame retardant clothing and its not nice.

I quite like OMP - have used them for the last 7 years or so. I also prefer OMP race suits as they seem to have a better fit IMHO.

Try and get black as if you go for red/yellow/blue and have to go to a public place you will get quite a few people sniggering at your pixie boots :D

Undoubtably, I never said otherwise :)

anyone know of any size 15 driving shoes. lol
sucks being 6'10" sometimes......


Si

currently using Alpinestars bbots, exceptionally comfortable and loads of feel through the pedals.

however, two probs-

1. feet turn black if you walk round a wet paddock in them, and
2. you feel like a right tw*t if you still have them on when you call in for a post-track pint on the way home on a saturday night;)

the new trend of puma shoes with the waffa thin soles work best 4 me

I have 2 pairs of the Sparcos, one pair high cut the other low. Found them the best fit for my feet. Re the black feet, I use that silicon spray on them, no wet feet yet.

not sure I like the idea of spraying my feet though....;):D

apart from on a friday night, and that's with re-cycled stella:rolleyes:

I wear an old pair of Adidas Samba trainers on track. The sole is that worn that I can determine a spiders sex when I stand on it :D

I thought about buying some boots but didn't want to fall into the "All the gear, no idea" category ;)

Steve

aaaahhhhhh, taxi drivers shoes;)

edited to say 2nd part of your post is spot on- have gloves and bootys, but still had to take an early shower with a knackered wheel bearing and a buggered hand:(

aaaahhhhhh, taxi drivers shoes;)

He took the bait :D

Steve

Ps How's the thumb ;)

Blue/White or Red/White Suede Puma Speedcats advertised on net sites for £24.99. Look nice and being suede may be a bit more flexible, - but maybe these are not the real deal? I've got an oldish pair of Adidas Sambas but I wish I had kept the really old pair where the soles were worn through to wafer thin - they were like a pair of old worn comfy slippers. Might wear down the new-old Sambas by going down a long steep hill on my bike with feet to the ground :p

Personally, i`ve just got a pair of Adidas Tuscany's (the ones with the goodyear logo and F1 style tyre tread sole), really nice and comfy, soles are nice and thin for a good feel, and more importantly.......they look good so i dont look like a tw*t when stopping in the pub or petrol station :D

The downside is the cost....cheapest i've seen is £50

Good choice Andy ;) :D

http://www.asos.com/images/prods/4ACSH0021/image1xl.JPG

i wear addidas monaco if i go far a blast similar to the tuscanys i think