Driving shoes - learn me

[Type_Yarr]

Here's my perspective on pumas vs sparco race booties since I use both.

Puma racing inspired shoes (Future Cat or Drift Cat IIRC, the narrowest ones without a foam midsole on the front half) use the same thin rubber sole and construction as their FIA rated racing counterparts (like Chris'). In my experience they have the thinnest sole and best pedal feel among street shoes. But the sole is slightly stiffer compared to the sparcos.

The sparco race shoes are the same narrow width, but have a softer and slightly thinner rubber sole, and thin leather insole. The difference is you can walk around a parking lot in pumas, but wearing the sparcos you can feel every tiny pebble and surface change to the point of it being uncomfortable. The rubber is soft enough that you can make out the brake pedal in the wear on the bottom.

I'm not saying that the sparcos are the ticket to make anyone faster, but the difference in pedal feel between the pumas and the sparcos is noticeable.

For street driving, a wider converse style shoe is much easier to heel-toe with, especially during mild brake inputs.

[94boosted]

Went into sport chek in market mall  (had the misadventure of dropping by for the dermatologist appointment, only to find out I'm a week ahead of the appointment ) asked for driving shoes and they thought I was speaking Korean. The hunt will continue.

Sport Chek carries piloti but online only. If you wait for a friends and family sale (usually once or twice a year) you can get 25% off them which isnt a bad deal. I also have a set of Sparcos as well which i picked up from the border on my way to packwood last year and they are quite attractive price wise. However I prefer the Piloti's to the Pumas and Sparcos that i've used previously.

They're doing 20% off right now on online stuff. 'DEAL20' is the promo code. I just ordered a pair of the Piloti's, my G-Force shoes are fine for racing but terrible for walking.

[94boosted]

And now all of the Piloti stuff is 50% off

https://www.sportchek.ca/search.html#q=piloti&lastVisibleProductNumber=4

[Reijo]

Just a little note:  If I was working course, I would actually change to my regular walking or hiking shoe/boots in between heats as to not wear out the driving shoes or to not experience discomfort from stones, ripples/bumps in pavement and other imperfections. ... cost of having "feel" in the pedals.   

[kaho]

The prototipo model looks fairly budget friendly. Anyone had it before?