Pinski 1

At my last autocross event I was watching a guy driving a grandsport (pro class) and it was obvious he was braking with his left foot....I could hear him on the throttle and see his brake lights come on at the same time... Is this a common practice ? If so, what is the purpose other than not wasting time going from the gas to the brake. They didnt teach it at the novice schools I went to....

ScaryFast

This:

not wasting time going from the gas to the brake

Quick corrections, trail braking, rev control, etc. etc. Might as well LFB whenever you are not shifting.

Turbo guys need it to stay in boost.

fmcokc

It doesn't unsettle the suspension like right foot throttle and brake. It allows you to smoothly pre-load the front suspension in the braking zone.

I LFB all the time, even during downshifts.

ErnieN85

if you are going to be one of the fastest it is a thing you will need to learn.
is it common .......not really, it takes lots of practice, and can mess up things until you have it mastered.

Pinski 1

thanks for the info guys ! It makes a lot of sense, going to have to try this.

Supercharged111

This is something I continually neglect to teach myself, mainly because I don't know how/when it's best utilized. It's just not talked about that much.

strano@stranoparts.com

I don't left foot brake. It has advantages and disadvantages both. I see alot of folks do it badly or think they can bend the laws of physics somehow.

Nothing against it beyond the fact most folks have bigger issues to fix first.

And I teach, a lot. For every one person who does it well enough it doesn't allow them down there are 25 that are nothing but hurt by trying.

Soloontario

I have tried it but if you don't have at least a 5 point harness, it is very difficult as your weight shifts forward as you apply the brakes which means you have to adjust your left foot at the same time rather than using your left foot as a brace.

I totally understand how it would work well but with no harness, it becomes crazy difficult and not worth it.

BTW, if you do chose to try it out, make sure you do it on a flat open track with lots of run off. While you are learning it is a great way to guarantee some embarrassing spins.

Gordy M

If you want to learn how to left foot brake, drive your daily driver like that and when you go to the track/autocross, then it becomes natural. For us who live in winter cold weather by the time spring comes around it is an old habit.

Captain Buddha

Once I got a race car and was strapped in with a 6-point harness, LFB was one of the first skills I learned, it makes a huge difference when done right - it helps you balance the car.

ScaryFast

I agree with Gordy, I used it on the street long before in the race car. You need to calibrate your left foot for the amount of pressure to use. My truck is an auto, I drive it around almost exclusively with two feet...like old people

Bill32

Better way to learn it:

jesup16

I do it in sim racing, but that really lacks the pedal feel of reality. I've tried it a few times autocrossing this year. I'm actually faster (but not by much) right foot braking.

I'd definitely practice it before trying it at speed in an autocross. The first times I did it, I found myself constantly stomping the brakes and usually scrubbing too much speed. I just don't have the sensitivity developed in my left foot yet.

flash911

I've tried it and will keep doing so. So far I've matched my best time of the day once. As above, I guess it takes some practice / calibration.

GZire

Good information. FWIW this is only something that has realistically can be used with the improvements to the transmissions of the cars of today with the better automatic and DSG gearboxes.

BTW yup, DSG gearbox and all I'm not able to use my left foot to brake because I'm either coming out of my seat or feeling like I'm coming out of my seat so the left foot is bracing my body.

JerryTX

We have a track in Dallas with a perfect turn to demonstrate this: it is a 45 degree left hand turn and at the Apex it goes from 0 camber to negative camber as it turns downhill. It is called Ricochet and aptly so as cars appear to do that off some magical point in the road that they can't quite adhere to. The great thing is there is nothing to run into, you simply have to grass clippings to clean out of your car

As you build speed and confidence into Ricochet inevitably you find that you are going in too hot and your current speed and trajectory will have you past the rumbles on the outside of the turn. If you lift you are gone.. usually. If you can gently LFB (while maintaining your throttle position of breathing off the throttle slightly) you can calmly scrub some speed and set the car on all 4 tires versus moving your foot from gas (it's over) to brake. HTH.

Captain Buddha

Ricochet at MSR Cresson is FUN!!

Another local track where LFB is key - T8 at ECR, it's off-camber to the left (and it's a 90 degree right-hander)....I just tap the brake (while on the throttle) and it helps to keep the nose planted.

Solofast

When I had my RX-7 I did it all the time. I'd brake with the left foot first, share the brake pedal with left and right to transition to right foot braking and then use the left foot for the clutch and downshift under trail braking.

Once you get used to it, it's an advantage in some cars. In Corvettes I've found that it just induces a lot of understeer, and when I tried it in my first event in a C4 I almost went over some curbs with huge push... Lesson learned...

I did try it a couple of times in my C5Z and it still induced a lot of push, wasn't faster so I haven't done it in a long time...

For front wheel drive cars it's a necessary tool to get the back end to rotate in some conditions. In RWD cars it induces push because you are braking with the front at the same time you are trying to rotate the rear tires. If the car is set up with way too much oversteer then it can help, but if that's the case you're doing something to get around another problem.

If you're just trying to save some time between gas and brake that's not a big gain since you'll maybe lose a couple of hundredths of a second. If you are doing it to smooth the transition to braking (applying the brakes more smoothly as you transition), well then maybe I can see it, but there are plenty of folks who don't do it and are faster than I'll ever be doing it (ie Sam)... (and when I was doing it I was in the top ranks)..

Captain Buddha

BTW - I LFB with an ASA/GTA car (running in GT2), clutch is only used to start/stop the car).

AUTO_X_AL

I've done it for about 10 years in a C4. The harness is a real advantage.

Without a harness in my C7, I've gone to right foot braking. It's really easy to bleed off all of the vacuum in a c7 and lose the power assist quickly.

I've seen some really fast people do it left and right. I've focused more on smoothing and timing my inputs. I've had the good fortune to have an incredible driver work with me on my driving and I think it's easier to be smooth using my right foot than left. I also went from 315 a6's in the front to 245 re71 R's that require a great deal of attention to keep from overdriving.

A common mistake you'll see is someone staying on the brakes well after the braking zone. Pay attention to brake lights. Some peoples lights never go off!