Left foot braking
Discussion
Does anyone else practice this (apparently) black art of driving?
I always do it when driving a two pedal car, simply as an opportunity to train my left foot into the requisite level of sensitivity; however I've gotten confident enough of my left foot modulation to start using it more regularly when driving three pedal cars too (used it a fair bit this morning in the NSX). It really worked well on a series of bends when I knew I was going to be in the same gear, and I could really feel the benfit of mid corner balance when balancing subtle right foot with equally subtle left foot - very satisfying. Its only taken 32 years to leanr it!!!!
I always do it when driving a two pedal car, simply as an opportunity to train my left foot into the requisite level of sensitivity; however I've gotten confident enough of my left foot modulation to start using it more regularly when driving three pedal cars too (used it a fair bit this morning in the NSX). It really worked well on a series of bends when I knew I was going to be in the same gear, and I could really feel the benfit of mid corner balance when balancing subtle right foot with equally subtle left foot - very satisfying. Its only taken 32 years to leanr it!!!!
I could never master it for years but after a few days track training it started to come together, but driving an auto for a few months totally sorted out pedal modulation and I can now do it properly all of the time on track or off 
An auto really does make it easy to learn the pedal modulation.
An auto really does make it easy to learn the pedal modulation.
Still makes me laugh when I first tried it:
I was like "ey guys! I've been reading some car mags and they give lots of cool racing tips like LEFT FOOT BRAKING!!"
"Cooooo!!" came the chorus of replies.
"Yeah, watch this lads!" and promptly gave myself a bloody nose from the steering wheel and my buddy promptly strangled himself on the seatbelt.
Of course, being totally amazing (har har!) I had the perfect excuse..
"Hmmm, I think my brakes need warming up first!"
I was like "ey guys! I've been reading some car mags and they give lots of cool racing tips like LEFT FOOT BRAKING!!"
"Cooooo!!" came the chorus of replies.
"Yeah, watch this lads!" and promptly gave myself a bloody nose from the steering wheel and my buddy promptly strangled himself on the seatbelt.
Of course, being totally amazing (har har!) I had the perfect excuse..
"Hmmm, I think my brakes need warming up first!"
Yes, I do use this technique alot. It helps balance the car, I feel alot more in control, and feel better, knowing I have the foot on the pedal ready for anything that may block the road ahead. Not travelling at such a speed as I couldn't stop in the distance that is clear, but it comforts me that the time to move right foot to brake pedal is negated.
The first time was "interesting"!!
The first time was "interesting"!!
Edited by LaSarthe&Back on Monday 13th August 00:35
yes i do, frequently! i have a lovely set of sweeping s bends about 5 mins down the road in a NSL. left foot braking (gently!) allows me to load the front of the car into the bends, without taking my right foot off the power. I find that over twisty sections of road that i know reasonably well, i can go a lot faster.
Agree fully about sorting out your pedal modulation in an auto, it is much easier, though i did have a few attempts in the 'B' on a nice quiet bit of road and in a straight line as well ..... took a few months to get it spot on.
Agree fully about sorting out your pedal modulation in an auto, it is much easier, though i did have a few attempts in the 'B' on a nice quiet bit of road and in a straight line as well ..... took a few months to get it spot on.
Spending a bit of time driving two pedal cars helped my learning curve enormously.... I've found the best technique is to locate my left heel at a point below the brake pedal and swivel my foot off and on when needed.I can do it, but until I am completely confident I won't use this techinique. I did a useful demonstration in an auto as to why it's a bad idea. Under normal conditions I can afford enough thinking time to modulate the left leg and smoothly apply the brakes. Unfortunately in an emergency stop situation all finesse goes out the window, and I hammer the brakes like I would My ACT Heavy Duty clutch.
Cue Face/Steering column interface!
I guess if you can do it right all the time everytime then great, but it's ceratainly one of the black arts of driving and I'm not sure that it's a technique that's appropriate for the road.
Cue Face/Steering column interface!
I guess if you can do it right all the time everytime then great, but it's ceratainly one of the black arts of driving and I'm not sure that it's a technique that's appropriate for the road.
It has been touched upon on these pages before - I 'converted' after reading an LJK Setright article about 20-25 years ago in which he enthused over Automatic vehicles and suggested that braking distances could be significantly reduced by Left-foot braking just through being able to keep the left foot constantly hovering over the brake pedal thus reducing the time taken both to react and move the right foot off the accelerator and over onto the brake pedal. I thought it a reasonable argument and pursued the logic (having an auto at the time) -never looked back and now second nature- and instinctive-in both autos-and manuals.
Edited by maddog993 on Monday 13th August 11:06
WeirdNeville said:
I can do it, but until I am completely confident I won't use this techinique. I did a useful demonstration in an auto as to why it's a bad idea. Under normal conditions I can afford enough thinking time to modulate the left leg and smoothly apply the brakes. Unfortunately in an emergency stop situation all finesse goes out the window, and I hammer the brakes like I would My ACT Heavy Duty clutch.
Cue Face/Steering column interface!
I guess if you can do it right all the time everytime then great, but it's ceratainly one of the black arts of driving and I'm not sure that it's a technique that's appropriate for the road.
Surely in an emergency stop your not looking for finesse, but quick and strong braking?Cue Face/Steering column interface!
I guess if you can do it right all the time everytime then great, but it's ceratainly one of the black arts of driving and I'm not sure that it's a technique that's appropriate for the road.
trackdemon said:
WeirdNeville said:
I can do it, but until I am completely confident I won't use this techinique. I did a useful demonstration in an auto as to why it's a bad idea. Under normal conditions I can afford enough thinking time to modulate the left leg and smoothly apply the brakes. Unfortunately in an emergency stop situation all finesse goes out the window, and I hammer the brakes like I would My ACT Heavy Duty clutch.
Cue Face/Steering column interface!
I guess if you can do it right all the time everytime then great, but it's certainly one of the black arts of driving and I'm not sure that it's a technique that's appropriate for the road.
Surely in an emergency stop your not looking for finesse, but quick and strong braking?Cue Face/Steering column interface!
I guess if you can do it right all the time everytime then great, but it's certainly one of the black arts of driving and I'm not sure that it's a technique that's appropriate for the road.
If I had free access to a track so that I could train myself to do it properly, then maybe I'd get to the stage where I'd be comfortable to use Left Foot Braking on the road, but as I don't have an appropriate place to practice I choose not to use it! All this is just my experience. I'm not saying it's a no-no, or trying to tell others not to use it, but explaining why I choose not to use it on the road. Also, I have to swtich between manual and autos on a daily basis at times, which adds to the confusion factor. God forbid I ever find myself in the wrong car, battering the wrong pedal through the bulkhead with the wrong leg!
Edited by WeirdNeville on Monday 13th August 11:13
Can't see this at all.
Always regarded it as the biggest red-herring you could ever throw a beginner.
I can just see settling the nose on a very powerful racecar for a very high speed kink maybe.
Apart from anything else I'd be keen to maintian my left foot as a brace especially on high speed stuff.
Always regarded it as the biggest red-herring you could ever throw a beginner.
I can just see settling the nose on a very powerful racecar for a very high speed kink maybe.
Apart from anything else I'd be keen to maintian my left foot as a brace especially on high speed stuff.
Only good reason I can see to do this is to let you apply brakes and throttle together. There are a few situations where that can be used to control the handling characteristics of the car (make a rwd car understeer or a fwd car oversteer) but these wouldn't be applicable on public roads. Downside is that once you have started LFB you have locked yourself out of using the clutch unless you come off the brakes. The only place I can see this being sensible is on the track, and I've never encountered the sort of problem that would need this. It seems to me a completely inappropriate technique for public roads if your car has a clutch pedal.
GreenV8S said:
Only good reason I can see to do this is to let you apply brakes and throttle together. There are a few situations where that can be used to control the handling characteristics of the car (make a rwd car understeer or a fwd car oversteer) but these wouldn't be applicable on public roads. Downside is that once you have started LFB you have locked yourself out of using the clutch unless you come off the brakes. The only place I can see this being sensible is on the track, and I've never encountered the sort of problem that would need this. It seems to me a completely inappropriate technique for public roads if your car has a clutch pedal.
Surely if you are in the correct gear for the speed and corner (having read the road correctly) you don't need to worry about the clutch pedal until it comes to change up?To what purpose exactly?
Sorry, I don’t mean that to sound so abrupt, but what is the advantage over a simple lift (of the accelerator)?
I understand perhaps that there is the odd occasion on a circuit where all you are basically trying to do, is keep the throttle open for the longest period possible and want to ‘settle’ the nose aerodynamically for a high speed change of direction.
But on the road, what is the point of giving the car an internal haemorrhage and only half the effect of weight transfer, when arguably a 'lift' feels better anyway? It’s less efficient for the driver (and car); opens up more possibilities of a cock up. Sorry, really can’t see it.
Sorry, I don’t mean that to sound so abrupt, but what is the advantage over a simple lift (of the accelerator)?
I understand perhaps that there is the odd occasion on a circuit where all you are basically trying to do, is keep the throttle open for the longest period possible and want to ‘settle’ the nose aerodynamically for a high speed change of direction.
But on the road, what is the point of giving the car an internal haemorrhage and only half the effect of weight transfer, when arguably a 'lift' feels better anyway? It’s less efficient for the driver (and car); opens up more possibilities of a cock up. Sorry, really can’t see it.
Edited by ph123 on Monday 13th August 14:41
LaSarthe Back said:
Surely if you are in the correct gear for the speed and corner (having read the road correctly) you don't need to worry about the clutch pedal until it comes to change up?
This is left foot braking just mid-corner where acceleration is expected to follow then? There are plenty of situations (some planned, some not) where braking is accompanied / followed closely by a gear change. I see LFB as a technique to be used occasionally to trim the car's attitude rather than for any heavy braking, and if you used it routinely I imagine you would end up having to swap feet very frequently.Edited by GreenV8S on Monday 13th August 20:33
Left foot braking was initially developed as a high performance driving technique by rally drivers in the 1960s when there was a transition from RWD to FWD. Drivers such as Rauno Aaltonen and Timo Makinen in the works Minis and Erik Carlsson and Stig Blomqvist in the works Saabs developed left foot braking as a way to "loosen" the cars rear end when entering a corner whilst still allowing them to keep the throttle open with their right foot. This meant that there was less loss of the engine's momentum through a corner if they wanted to alter a cars line, than there would if they lifted off the throttle and then re-applied it.
Amongst rally drivers, the technique has been honed and perfected over decades to a point where todays rally drivers use it in their £300,000+ 4WD WRC cars.
In circuit racing, and particularly in single-seaters, the accepted route up through the various formulae has changed slightly over the years and karting has become a starting point for many up-and-coming (and already established) F1 stars. Karts have a two-pedal setup with a steering column in between, which leaves no other option other than LFB. Combined with the rise of the two-pedal semi-auto sequential racing gearboxes, it's understandable that LFB has become an accepted technique in circuit racing.
Is it a good technique for the road though? No, I don't think so, and here's why...
Firstly, in competitive driving, shortening lap times / stage times is an absolute priority. Shaving a few hundredths off a lap time by reducing the time between accelerating and braking through LFB is therefore very useful.
On the road, timings are completely irrelevant. There are thousands of more important considerations for a good road driver to deal with before they get anywhere near "how long Will the journey take?"
Don't forget that competition cars and road cars are set up very differently too. A brake bias control is very important in a rally or race car, as it allows the driver to set up the distribution of braking force between the front and rear brakes. This is vital in setting up a rally car as it allows the driver to make the rear end "loose" under braking, which assists in setting a car up for a bend with LFB. It's also important in a race car as it allows the driver to get a good balance between their front and rear brakes, which is essential when they're honing their threshold braking.
In a road car, a brake bias control isn't (usually) available, and even if it is, I wouldn't advise you to mess about with it much. Braking in a road car is heavily biased towards the front brakes, and your technique should always reflect that.
Those of you who say that you drive automatics and you find it useful to "hover" over the brake pedal, think about this. If you're genuinely not placing any pressure on the pedal whilst "hovering", then all well and good, but I know from years of teaching that people who hover over the clutch pedal usually just rest their foot on the pedal just slightly, rather than hovering over it. I teach students to take their foot right off the pedal to reduce wear on the release bearing.
If you do the same thing with your left foot in an automatic - just rest your foot on the brake pedal slightly - then you'll just apply the brakes slightly when you do. Not enough to notice, not enough to slow the car down at all, but just enough to press the pads against the discs slightly. Over time, this generates heat in the pads, discs and fluid, and as we well know, heat is the main thing which will cause your brakes to fade or even fail. If you think that by hovering over the brake pedal, you're reducing the time it takes you to press the pedal, then I'm afraid you're making a false economy. Any tiny gains you make in brake application time will be more than lost if you've inadvertently heated your brakes to excess.
Another good reason not to LFB on the road has already been identified in this thread. Your left foot has become accustomed to pressing the clutch in a very binary fashion. Re-teaching your left foot to have the sensitivity of your right is difficult and time consuming, and not something I recommend on the road.
So, in summary, it's a useful and effective competition driving technique, but totally unnecessary on the road.
Amongst rally drivers, the technique has been honed and perfected over decades to a point where todays rally drivers use it in their £300,000+ 4WD WRC cars.
In circuit racing, and particularly in single-seaters, the accepted route up through the various formulae has changed slightly over the years and karting has become a starting point for many up-and-coming (and already established) F1 stars. Karts have a two-pedal setup with a steering column in between, which leaves no other option other than LFB. Combined with the rise of the two-pedal semi-auto sequential racing gearboxes, it's understandable that LFB has become an accepted technique in circuit racing.
Is it a good technique for the road though? No, I don't think so, and here's why...
Firstly, in competitive driving, shortening lap times / stage times is an absolute priority. Shaving a few hundredths off a lap time by reducing the time between accelerating and braking through LFB is therefore very useful.
On the road, timings are completely irrelevant. There are thousands of more important considerations for a good road driver to deal with before they get anywhere near "how long Will the journey take?"
Don't forget that competition cars and road cars are set up very differently too. A brake bias control is very important in a rally or race car, as it allows the driver to set up the distribution of braking force between the front and rear brakes. This is vital in setting up a rally car as it allows the driver to make the rear end "loose" under braking, which assists in setting a car up for a bend with LFB. It's also important in a race car as it allows the driver to get a good balance between their front and rear brakes, which is essential when they're honing their threshold braking.
In a road car, a brake bias control isn't (usually) available, and even if it is, I wouldn't advise you to mess about with it much. Braking in a road car is heavily biased towards the front brakes, and your technique should always reflect that.
Those of you who say that you drive automatics and you find it useful to "hover" over the brake pedal, think about this. If you're genuinely not placing any pressure on the pedal whilst "hovering", then all well and good, but I know from years of teaching that people who hover over the clutch pedal usually just rest their foot on the pedal just slightly, rather than hovering over it. I teach students to take their foot right off the pedal to reduce wear on the release bearing.
If you do the same thing with your left foot in an automatic - just rest your foot on the brake pedal slightly - then you'll just apply the brakes slightly when you do. Not enough to notice, not enough to slow the car down at all, but just enough to press the pads against the discs slightly. Over time, this generates heat in the pads, discs and fluid, and as we well know, heat is the main thing which will cause your brakes to fade or even fail. If you think that by hovering over the brake pedal, you're reducing the time it takes you to press the pedal, then I'm afraid you're making a false economy. Any tiny gains you make in brake application time will be more than lost if you've inadvertently heated your brakes to excess.
Another good reason not to LFB on the road has already been identified in this thread. Your left foot has become accustomed to pressing the clutch in a very binary fashion. Re-teaching your left foot to have the sensitivity of your right is difficult and time consuming, and not something I recommend on the road.
So, in summary, it's a useful and effective competition driving technique, but totally unnecessary on the road.
An article/interview with (60's rally ace) Rauno Aaltonen on LFB from back then. Things don't seem to have changed much, a lot of his comments are similar to those being made now. Mostly based on the rallying applications though.
http://www.ahsdc.org/goblins/tech/left_foot_brakin...
http://www.ahsdc.org/goblins/tech/left_foot_brakin...
Edited by GravelBen on Tuesday 14th August 06:51
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