Left foot braking

[Silver-Arrowz]

What are the benifits from being able to left foot brake?

[Duncan]

gives your left foot something to do if you've got a sequential box :bahaha:

[Duncan]

Maybe I should try again.

Firstly, if you've got a car where you need to use the clutch to downchange, its of limited use most of the time....

Some benefits are:

* Faster and smoother transition between brake and throttle

* Can be on both at once....eg you don't want to lose boost on the turbo and you only need to slow slightly...

* Particularly while keeping foot on throttle, you can manage the balance of the car better - reduce understeer or encourage oversteer.

Downsides:

* Can't be used in a corner where you need the clutch (unless you have some horrible, unexpected understeer after you got well into the corner and you had already got off the brake)

* If you have to stay on the brakes right to a stop, you'll stall (eg a car spins in front of you or you go off track)

LFB is particularly useful in the daewoos as

1) Can't afford to get off the throttle much

2) Most braking is short, and is as much about changing the balance of the car as slowing down...in particular the top of the hill at Wakefield and into the esses at Oran Park. A quick dab on the brakes can bring the tail around nicely.

But there are plenty of ppl who will argue which is better.

[Targa Tom]

My Spin... if it floats your boat.

Do twenty laps of your favourite track LFB... then do a flyer. Do two laps with RFB then do a flyer. If your best LFB is better then you are at the point where you decide does this come natural.

If your RFB is quicker... just stay that way.

After cutting my teeth in Karts years ago, LFB comes natural to me. In fact I only LFB when driving an Auto. But after getting behind then wheel last year after a 15 year layoff, during the 45 Targa Tas stages I only used the left a couple of times.

And I bet it didnt make me quicker simply because I remember doing it (to much thought process). Murphy V8Supercars is about the only quick guy I know of you would call a LFB... and there are heaps of x karters in those things - Skaife, Ambrose, Seton, Owen Kelly etc...

But if like Duncan Deawoo, or leaping off huge crests, then dable for sure

Ciao

[EnricoPalazzo]

I think LFB is most useful on a front wheel drive car. It can be used on high speed corners, where it is likely a FWD will understeer. LFB tappin while still accelerating will shift the balance of the car to a nuetral position where u can keep goin around the corner very fast. This technique is easier said then done thou.

[Duncan]

Totally agree, this is a wierd feeling technique at first, takes heaps of practice, I think the biggest issue is getting sufficient practice so that you can brake as hard with left foot without locking up as you can with the right.

Still all else being equal, it must be theoretically better to LFB where possible....

[Silver-Arrowz]

At the moment I'm experimenting with LFB on the Echo. Pretty simple because it's an auto. I feel that through fast corners I can balance the car better. I'm thinking because by lifting off the throttle suddenly through a corner causes the car to become unsettled.

[Clint32]

as other have said for most left foot braking is only used to steady the car when you are still on the gas, other than that there is not much benefitt, but many still do it a lot. I struggle as i have big feet and getting two feet close together with the padal close is nearly impossible.

[Craved]

HEHE, i learnt to left foot brake on the weekend, not by choice it was my mates car, and the biggest POS VK commonwhore that needed left foot braking so it didn't stall

havent really used LFB on the track yet!!

[Kinks]

Have tried it, but prefer to stick with RFB. If you know you won't need the clutch it might be alright, but you gotta be careful about getting crossed up in the heat of the moment

[fatz]

i use it to straighten the car up mid corner whilst maintaining boost

just to tighten the line advantages/disadvantages dont know but it does kill understeer without getting of the power

also bloody handy when smoking up a good drift and avoiding a massive uncontroled tank slapper

do it cause it sounds cool i say

lol

and get sump baffels

[EnricoPalazzo]

I also noticed today that it is necessary when driving the forklift. U have to left foot brake whilst shifting the forks up and down.

[Mick Trainer]

As stated above the real benefit of left foot braking in a classic style manual car is that you can balance the car out with it as well as creating more turn in and bite especially on bumpy surfaces with harder suspension/rebound set up. There are few if any circuits that I have been on that do not benefit from left foot braking. Any corner that hold the same gear from the braking point to the exit will benefit from LFB.

But for me the truest benefit is that LFB provides is the abilty to set the car up firmer for mid corner speed and the rear slightly softer for out of corner acceleration but still be able to hold the front down under turnin. WIth LFB you can be placing power to the rear to start the car tightenig to the inside of the corner and keep the nose turned in and weight biased towards the front without pushing the car through the corner. Does that description make sence?

In the end left foot braking is a real asset to those that do it well.

Mick.

[fatz]

yea i ment what mick said

lol