who here left foot brakes in their itr, did you do anything to the pedals, i cant seem to get it down in my car cuz the brake is too small any suggestions,

 

Just practice your technique more, it can be done successfully with stock pedals.

 

To me the best way to do it is to get you set of old worn tennis shoes or vans so you can feel the pedal more. This help me alot when I first learned it. Or just buy to set of racing shoes but using worn out shoes are alot cheaper.

 

What Reid & Racer-X said BUT,

You best practice on a track and NOT the road. Incorrect left foot braking can land you in a host of any number of less than pleasant places IE: the woods, a swamp, a lake, a cement wall, another car, some pedestrians.... It is also dangerous if you are just learning or a beginner and don't know how to react if things go awry.

Heel toeing is the one to master...

Oh and OMP pedals do wonders for assisting the fancy footwork.

A.


[Modified by 1GreyTeg, 10:23 PM 4/1/2002]

 

Why would you want to left foot brake?

 

You just decribed my "racing shoes". I auto-x in my old worn out Vans with soles that are worn through in a few spots. Gives me the best feel by far, but man do they stink.

 

I got an old pair of chuck taylors. I tried to get a new pair, but it didn't work out like that. I'll left brake on off ramps and on ramps when a mini van or SUV decides to stop half way down and I'm still turning. It feels more stable then lifting the throttle.

 

When done properly, can help the rear rotate slightly before or during a turn. When done wrong you can spin or just go too slow.

It is almost never necessary on the street, sometimes good during autocross, and usually great for track.

 

Why not just use the right foot?

 

I agree with Euro, and don't understand the purpose to use the left foot at all. Then again, I've never autox'd, so perhaps it is useful there. I honestly can't understand why someone would want to do this on a road course though...

Jason-
who always uses his right foot to brake, track or street

 

Maybe when you step on the gas while braking with left foot you can lock the rear wheels or something. Same as pulling the parking brake....

 

I think it's because lifting off the throttle would cause an upset in the cars weight dist. And it's that much quicker than moving your foot back and forth between acclerator and brake.

 

You don't think stepping on the brakes with your left foot will upset the balance?

BTW Almost all F1 drivers use right foot for braking.

 

And almost all rally drivers use left foot braking!

http://www.google.com/search?q=left+foot+braking

 

Sorry, yes stepping on the brakes will upset the balance but there is a difference. Jump off the accelerator, more of the weight transfers to the front wheels as they are the only thing slowing the car down. Step on the brakes, all four wheels are slowing down the car. And I thought almost all F1 drivers use left foot braking, like driving karts.

 

Heel and toe dude...right foot can cover both the gas and brake while your left foot is used for clutch...why would you use your left foot for the brake?

0401 - who love a good autox!


[Modified by 401-2001, 9:42 AM 4/2/2002]

 

Yeah, it's changing now. Some of them still use right foot braking like Montoya (Barichello, Coulthard....
http://eaglewoman.simracing.dk/gpl/montoya.htm

 

Practice normal left foot braking while driving an automatic until you get comfortable with the pressure applied. Then when you are comfy - move to practice with your stick.

Just like anything else...the more tools you have to work with, the better you will be. Maybe 1 track will not be tight enough to require the use of your left foot braking, but if you have a section of several curves & you don't need to shift - why not use both of your feet & be smoother than "heavy throttle, off throttle, touch brake, off brake, back to throttle"....I'd rather be "on throttle, light lift & left brake, on throttle". Just set the car & be off with you!

jmho - I'm no expert....just decided to start using left braking where applicable last year & I like it.

 

Keeps the boost up, too!

 

good point Crazy - that was even a discussion during the last world challenge GT (speaking of the audi turbos).

So Ed - you going to boost before the expo?????????

 

Bud -- Steve (sgT) said he was looking for boxes to send a couple blocks out for sleeveing yesterday (one of which should have my name associated with it). Don't know if it will be all done for the EXPO though. Looking good at the moment.

 

I used it at the track on sunday...

consistenet 2:13's on saturday and couldn't figure out a way to go faster.

Then something kinda good happened on sunday.... brakes went to mush. So I pumped the brakes w/ left foot going into the braking zone. Found myself pushing in the corners so I tapped the brakes w/ the left foot instead of letting off the gas. This felt really slow, but timing revealed 2:10s in the last two sessions on sunday. 3 sec improvement

yshi - whose glad he can play f00tsies w/ the pedals

 

Most people use left foot braking to get a front wheel drive car to rotate...trail braking, while also keeping the revs higher. Since understeering is common in front drive cars, that's usually where this technique is used.
Have you ever applied the brakes while the wheel was turned on your car? DO NOT TRY IT ON A BEND ON THE ROAD! This is one of the most frequent reasons you see R's (and other cars) wrapped around trees on the sides of twisty roads...only apply brakes in a straight line!...If you apply the brakes while the wheel is turned, the car WILL rotate quickly. The *** end will want to come around. So where do you use left foot braking?
Let's say you're approaching a tight left hand hairpin at autoX...as you are coming into the turn you apply the brakes as you normally would, except with your left foot. Your car slows down...but rather than shifting your right foot from the brake to the gas as you normally would, you just modulate the left foot on the brake, while applying some throttle with the right foot. What this allows you to do is find an optimal balance with your two feet. Your left foot is using the brakes during the turn to give the car more rotation, while your right foot can be used to pull the car out of a spin, and keep the revs up...how does this work?
...as your car brakes, weight is shifted forward over the front of the car. When you brake in a straight line, weight shifts over the front of the car, and the car stabilizes with a lot of pressure on the two front wheels. When you turn your steering wheel during this weight shift, the front end of the car essentially 'moves out of the way' of all of the forward weight shift...therefore, the *** end starts to come around, because your weight and momentum are still going in somewhat of a straight line, while your wheels are moving off to the side as they grip the road and try to turn. Therefore, braking while turning will get the the car rotating in a hurry.
Here's where the right foot comes into play...the right foot can save your *** from coming around, and keep the revs up. If the car rotates too much, you can get OUT of the brake a bit, and get ON the gas a bit...in a front drive car, getting into the gas with some counter steer will drag the back end back in line. Also, while your're braking with your left foot, you can apply throttle to keep the revs up (particularly useful with not much torque on tap). Therefore, you can balance the car and be ready to come out of the turn on the throttle. To complete the turn once the car is rotating well...you have to get off the brakes and apply the throttle SMOOTHLY.
I'm no master at this, but I have dabbled with it at autoX. People who do it well can really save some time. To practice with your left foot modulation, you CAN practice on an empty road. Just get a feel for braking in a straight line with your left foot on the road...your leg will learn pedal feel, but it will take practice. DO NOT practice trail braking into a turn on the road...you can very easily spin...leading to many bad things. Save the trail braking for autoX or the track eventually. When you try it, you'll be amazed at how understeer is a lot less of an issue when you use the weight shifts of the car. You will most likely spin the car the first few times, etc. Just practice on working the two feet together and being smooth. A great place to practice this is on Karts...you really get a feel for when to get off the brakes and on the gas, and vice versa. I hope this helps a bit.

 

Let's hear it for playing f00tsie with the pedals!!! jujuju

 

Almost all F1 drivers...the better ones (Schumi, Fisi, Rakionen included) especially left foot brake exclusivley....listen at the fast turns,,,they never lift all the way yet the rotors are red hot....they do this because they can trail brake (unstable @ speed) and use throttle modulation to adjust the attitude of the car and keep it from having a shunt....ANY and ALL good road race schools will teach you this....then heel toe, and then how to go back and forth. Saves time from switching pedals too! Most top end race cars F1, rallye Btcc F3, F3000 F2000 etc, do not even require clutch leaving the left foot free.