Just curious what technique folks on this forum tend to use. Also, why do you think it's an advantage/disadvantage?

As an autocrosser, I LFB religiously. I feel it's very beneficial for keeping the suspension set, shortening time from throttle to brake (and back), controlled oversteer, and earlier throttle coming out of turns. What are your experiences with it?

How about "trackies"? ;-) Is Left Foot Braking fairly common amongst road racers?

 

Depends entirely on the turn and conditions. For example, LFB into 12,13, and 14 at CMP was very helpful in keeping the car smooth, but it tended to cook the brakes a little much. (see botched non-post and non-pics that were non-attached)It also keeps me busier during those turns. The last couple of sessions there were a lesson in being less busy, and consequently less drama. I was actually not LFB'ing at all by the end of the first day. At Road Atlanta, a quick brush in 7 will help tighten the line if I need it-no where else on that track would I risk it...but then again, I am far from the fastest guy out there, and am always learning.
In an autocross, it is one of my favorite tools to rotate the car. There is such a thing as too much of it, though, and I am probably slower for it...

 

I used to left-foot brake but I stopped because I was using the brakes too much. I was using it as a crutch to get the car to rotate where all I probably needed to do was lift.

 

Personally, I never left-foot-brake. I tried it one year a while back and went slower. Theoretically, you should be faster with LFB since you don't have a delay between gas and brake. However, the gap is less apparant in practice. Some of the fastest autoxr's in the country do NOT LFB (Steve Brolliar comes to mind...winningest ProSolo driver in ProSolo history).

David Fauth
98 ITR #561
2000 G-Stock Solo2 National Champion

 

I first tried left-foot braking (LFB) last year at a track event at Putnam Park. I was only using it in one corner, which was basically a right-left combination. So there was only a need for a slight "tap" of the brakes to settle the car before turning right, therefore I used LFB. That same weekend I rode with an instructor who was a very big advocate of LFB. I rode with him for about 25 minutes and watching his foot work the entire time. This experience really opened my eyes to the advantage of LFB. Afterwards I tried using LFB in a couple other areas on the track, but I needed to work on the modulation of the brake pedal with my left foot (it has only been used to "mashing" the clutch pedal, not modulating the brake pedal). After that weekend, I found a very good article on LFB on the web (I will try to find the article and post the link). It suggested practicing on an automatic transmission car, because it allowed you to only focus on 2 pedals and not 3. Afterwards, I started practicing LFB on my wife's Honda Odyssey. After a few weeks of practicing I notice that I was improving on the modulation. So for the entire fall/winter/spring season I practiced. This also allowed me to pratice modulating the brakes and gas simultaneously.

Well after several months of practicing LFB, I was finally able to put it to use on the track at Mid Ohio (this past July). What I found was that I was able to use LFB a lot around Mid Ohio. I feel that it really helped because I was able to transition faster and smoother between accelerating to braking and braking to accelerating. So needless to say, I have become a firm believer in LFB. Also, after initially meeting my driving instructor and being asked the usual questions (how may driving schools have you done? is this your first time at this track?), I told him that I was going to be LFB. He suggested starting off slow on LFB and working up to it. Well, I atleast listened to his suggestion, but I started using LFB almost immediately. At the end of my second session my instuctor signed me off to go solo and he made several comments about my LFB. He said that my footwork and LFB were very good and that my transition between accelerating to braking and vice versa was not even noticeable.

So, needless to say, I think there is an advantage to LFB . I would suggest atleast trying is a couple of times.

 

My car is woefully underpowered, so the more I can flat-foot it, the better. This would probably cause a lot of overdriving if it weren't for my sub-100hp car. I do think though that the "achilles heel" of the LFB technique is a tendancy to be on the brakes too much. But, that's where seat time comes in... Maybe it's more beneficial in some cars than others.

 

Good topic. I think left foot braking works for some while others never do it, so it's hard to say if it is better. (I know of at least a couple of F1 drivers who do not left foot brake - uncommon for a formula type racecar.)

Like some people do themselves, I also left foot brake everywhere at an autox where a downshift is not required. I prefer the quick inputs you can do by having one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. On the tracks, it varies. At Road Atlanta for example I never left foot brake anywhere while at Roebling Road I do it almost everywhere. I don't know how to better explain why other than that it just feels better doing it sometimes.

Basically doing what seems most natural is best. I don't think spending too much time planning ahead a lap or an autox course by memorizing where and where not to LFB is a good idea. This just calls for unnecessary thinking while driving the course and takes away from concentration. The same thing also goes for downshifting frequently on course - thinking hard about which pedals to press with which feet and making sure to get the timing just right while driving the course will inevitably result in a slower time. LFB (and also downshifting) should come instinctively - which will not take away from focusing 100% on the course - in order for the technique to be effective.

 

I've rarely found a need for it. Usually if I want to get some rotation I just lift. Or simply cast an unwary glance at the car . I think most of why I don't do it is habit - I started playing with it last November at Summit. I found it to be very effective for turns 4 and 6 - but had to make myself do it. Adding it to my regular repetoire is a project for this year.

 

At the SVWC race in Portland only one FWD driver could be observed to be left foot braking - where that term is limited to meaning simultaneous application of throttle and brake beyond the corner turn in point. That driver was not among the fastest on the track. In discussing this observation with some of the other drivers they suggested that such a technique was not necessary or beneficial with a properly setup car. As time moves on the technique is becoming recognized as an anachronism from the early days of FWD race car development. Of course it might still be useful where rules or other restraints prevent setting the car up properly. And of course left foot braking - where the term means simply braking with the left foot, assuming you have sequential clutchless downshifting, or you're working a section in one gear - is another thing altogether.

Scott



[Modified by RR98ITR, 11:26 PM 8/18/2001]

 

Has anybody here seen the Best Motoring vdos? Lately, almost all the drivers *lightly* left f00t tap the brakes before cornering. The neat thing about BM is that they usually show the f00twork of the drivers. The left f00t tap is so light that it makes me wonder why even do it? My only guess is to "clean" or heat up the pads or prime the master cylinder for the upcoming corner.

yoshi - who learned to heel'n'toe watching BM vdo's

 

Typically before a big braking zone, I do tap the brakes with my left foot - only to see if they're still there. Maybe that's what they were doing?

 

They showed lots of footwork when NASCAR was at the Glen to compare heel-toe versus non, and all of those guys were doing a quick left foot brake check before the braking zone. I'd probably do it too with 750hp in a 3400lb car.