Left Foot Braking
Discussion
I think Max Torque sums it up for me. I find it hard to explain why LFB works for me. It's something I've done since I was about 13 in my field car. It just feels right when the situation dictates. If I'm driving an auto then I do it all the time. I did test drive a DSG Golf R32 a few years ago and it really got upset when I overlapped the throttle and brake. The salesman wasn't too impressed either.
I "developed" LFB as a technique to outrun the police when I was banned for a month in 1987.
I was driving the slowest car in Ireland (an Opel record diesel with a pump fault)
I had 5 different a ways of commuting on very twisty roads, so I figured if I braked with my left foot I'd save a second (or more) on every bend. I could also trail brake to the apex and power up in advance (to get the turbo going - except it didn't have a turbo 😆😂😂)
When I broke my leg in 1988 I was able to drive a manual car with just my left foot (and refuse to get out when the police stopped me by indicating the steel scaffolding on my right lower leg) "Drive on good sir" with your untaxed, uninsured rusty Mk111 Cortina
98% of my braking is with my left foot on manual cars
Another benefit is one can "ride" the brake pedal (w/o contact) ready for instant application so one can drive faster amongst hazards
It takes about one month to acclimatise accurate modulation of ones left foot
I was driving the slowest car in Ireland (an Opel record diesel with a pump fault)
I had 5 different a ways of commuting on very twisty roads, so I figured if I braked with my left foot I'd save a second (or more) on every bend. I could also trail brake to the apex and power up in advance (to get the turbo going - except it didn't have a turbo 😆😂😂)
When I broke my leg in 1988 I was able to drive a manual car with just my left foot (and refuse to get out when the police stopped me by indicating the steel scaffolding on my right lower leg) "Drive on good sir" with your untaxed, uninsured rusty Mk111 Cortina
98% of my braking is with my left foot on manual cars
Another benefit is one can "ride" the brake pedal (w/o contact) ready for instant application so one can drive faster amongst hazards
It takes about one month to acclimatise accurate modulation of ones left foot
jimf671 said:
In off-road situations with simple 4x4 chassis, left foot braking can be used to enhance traction when the limits of the chassis' compliance is reached. Typically, in a Landrover Defender, you can get it up some serious rocky slopes that would normally only be possible with more complex vehicles.
The LR's achilles heel is that it has a lockable diff only in the centre and no LSD. Therefore, when one wheel at each end is off the ground, as happens when diagonally opposite wheels leave the ground on very uneven rocky ground, the vehicle simply stops.
If you are in a sufficiently low gear to have plenty of spare torque left (to overcome the braking effect) then left foot braking will stop the two spinning wheels and see the vehicle regain grip and make progress.
Normally, only the very modern and expensive 4x4 vehicles have the ability to recover from that situation. With left foot braking in your 'toolbox', any cheap 4x4 suddenly becomes far more capable.
Very useful to know. Thank you! On the newer puma defenders I was taught (by LR experience) to progressively hammer the throttle, as they now have traction control that effective does the same as hitting the brake on the airborne wheels to overcome this problem on axel twisters. I will try braking and applying gentle accelerator next time I'm out in he mud!The LR's achilles heel is that it has a lockable diff only in the centre and no LSD. Therefore, when one wheel at each end is off the ground, as happens when diagonally opposite wheels leave the ground on very uneven rocky ground, the vehicle simply stops.
If you are in a sufficiently low gear to have plenty of spare torque left (to overcome the braking effect) then left foot braking will stop the two spinning wheels and see the vehicle regain grip and make progress.
Normally, only the very modern and expensive 4x4 vehicles have the ability to recover from that situation. With left foot braking in your 'toolbox', any cheap 4x4 suddenly becomes far more capable.
Nanook said:
Fighterpilot said:
I "developed" LFB as a technique to outrun the police when I was banned for a month in 1987.
I was driving the slowest car in Ireland (an Opel record diesel with a pump fault)
I had 5 different a ways of commuting on very twisty roads, so I figured if I braked with my left foot I'd save a second (or more) on every bend. I could also trail brake to the apex and power up in advance (to get the turbo going - except it didn't have a turbo ??????)
When I broke my leg in 1988 I was able to drive a manual car with just my left foot (and refuse to get out when the police stopped me by indicating the steel scaffolding on my right lower leg) "Drive on good sir" with your untaxed, uninsured rusty Mk111 Cortina
98% of my braking is with my left foot on manual cars
Another benefit is one can "ride" the brake pedal (w/o contact) ready for instant application so one can drive faster amongst hazards
It takes about one month to acclimatise accurate modulation of ones left foot
I was driving the slowest car in Ireland (an Opel record diesel with a pump fault)
I had 5 different a ways of commuting on very twisty roads, so I figured if I braked with my left foot I'd save a second (or more) on every bend. I could also trail brake to the apex and power up in advance (to get the turbo going - except it didn't have a turbo ??????)
When I broke my leg in 1988 I was able to drive a manual car with just my left foot (and refuse to get out when the police stopped me by indicating the steel scaffolding on my right lower leg) "Drive on good sir" with your untaxed, uninsured rusty Mk111 Cortina
98% of my braking is with my left foot on manual cars
Another benefit is one can "ride" the brake pedal (w/o contact) ready for instant application so one can drive faster amongst hazards
It takes about one month to acclimatise accurate modulation of ones left foot
Been a while since I read such nonsense on here!
It's great to get it once in a while though isn't it?I would agree with this one point though,
Fighterpilot said:
It takes about one month to acclimatise accurate modulation of ones left foot
That was about how long it took me in an auto Toyota Land Cruiser to really find the 'feel' and then also use it in a regular 205 GTI. It is a great feeling when you finally get it, it must be right up there with learning to write with your opposite hand, kicking a rugby conversion with the wrong foot - neither of which I can do reliably, but the LFB kicked in well.Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff