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Ok, since it’s so slow, I’ll throw out a question for the experts.
I have just started practicing left foot braking while driving on the streets.
I am wondering if there are any corners (in SE tracks) where left foot braking works well.
I have heard an experienced racer talking about left foot braking at Road Atlanta T5.
Any other corners?
You could technically make an argument to left foot brake at any corner where you don’t have to shift. A lot of it comes down to your comfort level and feel with your left foot, but any time you don’t need your left foot for the clutch you can use it for the brakes. T1 at Road Atlanta is a perfect turn for it (as is T5 if you don’t downshift there).
At our level, I don’t know that you would notice much difference in lap time even if you nailed it.
If you’re not used to left foot braking you will lose more than you will gain. That being said you should give it a shot and see if it works for you.
I’d say that left foot braking works for any corner where a downshift isn’t required. T5 & T6 at RA would be examples of where that’s possible.
Most people are probably shifting at T1 and probably T5 at RA, but yes, you could do it anytime you don’t need the clutch. I think it’s something worth having in your bag of tricks, but that being said, I rarely use it. I’d argue that if you are carrying as much entry speed as you need to, you can’t transition from brake to throttle any quicker than you can move your foot. Now, if you are over-slowing the car, that’s a different story.
I left foot brake every single time that I’m not downshifting. There are a lot of advantages. The least of them is saving time in the transition between brake and gas. The main reason is to be smooth. I’m a big believer in smoothness being the key to speed. The smoother you are, the higher the limit of the tires will be, and the faster you can go. When you transition from brake to gas while RFB, there will always be a slight ‘jolt’ that unsettles the car a little bit. If you LFB you can overlap lifting off the brake and going to the gas to make a seamless transition. That means you are not only getting on the gas earlier (better exit mph) but also enabling yourself to carry more mid corner speed. I’ve tried both and IMHO there is no excuse for not learning how to LFB and using it whenever possible especially in momentum cars.
If you’re fast without LFB (Skeen, D. Franchitti, R. Barichello) that doesnt mean you couldnt be even faster with it :).
Just my .02
I’ve always been curious about left foot braking. I don’t have the same feel with my left foot that I do with my right and frankly I’ve never wanted to burn the seat time exploring that technique.
Seems like the best place to do LFB is where a slight brush of the brakes is all you need (South Bend at VIR?). The times when I have tried it, I can’t get the timing right and if I do ANY slowing with my left foot (ostensibly so I can keep my right foot planted in the gas) as soon as I release the brake, the weight shifts back more rapidly than if I squeeze on the throttle and I pick up a bit of a push.
allenr wrote:
Even with my cheater diff, I had no problem squeezing on the throttle smoothly enough to not have a jolt. :huh:
I’m thinking about Turn 6 at Road Atlanta. That is a turn where I don’t downshift. If I am not feathering the throttle lightly from turn in to apex, I scrubbed off way too much speed. I can’t see how LFB would make me faster there.
I can see where it would help in cars that need gas to stay “on boil” (F500, turbocharged cars?), but with our cars I’m not sure I see the advantage.
That’s pretty good company, Mike!
I’m not saying it can’t help, I just don’t find the stated reasons to be intuitive. Maybe this is something to work on at Roebling in a couple weeks.
Steve D.
+1 for the Left Footers
I use my left foot basically whenever I don’t have to change gear, both in the E30 and the MINI Challenge car. Did take a bit of getting used to, but it works really well on rapid on-off environments at some tracks in Australia, and keeping the car balanced through a corner, or to kill understeer quickly if needs be.
Steve D wrote:
It takes a lot of practice to train your left foot to the same skill level as your right foot. The place to do that is on the street and the best car for that practice is an auto. You can, with enough practice get to the point that left foot braking becomes completely natural, requiring no conscious thought, and is just as smooth and effective as right foot braking.
Speed Secrets #1 has two paragraphs devoted to LFB.
Speed Secrets #? (a later edition) has an entire chapter devoted to LFB. Speed Secrets #? is well worth your read in your quest to learn.
I use LFB on any corner that does not require a shift. But this is advice from an amateur. Consult the Ross Bentley books for insight and adopt a style that best fits your driving.
Do you use a two-handed backhand in tennis?
Regards, Robert Patton
Patton wrote:
[quote]Do you use a two-handed backhand in tennis?
[/quote]
Yes. And I play hockey left-handed. So how hard can LFB be? :laugh:
I have actually played around with LFB on the street, but my car’s stability control cuts the gas when the brake is applied, so it’s not the best training ground… :huh:
Thanks for the Speed Secrets recommendation, Robert!
Steve D.
Robert patton is the King of Left foot braking. He uses it a lot in the carousel at CMP. I left foot brake rarely.
Damion, I use the LFB just to turn on the brake lights hoping that you will slow down. Steve, the Bently book is worth a read. From your results at Road Atlanta in December (a 3rd and 2nd, great job!) we’uns don’t want you to learn much more fast stuff.
Regards, Robert Patton
I use lfb very rarely and only in corners that require a small amount of brake and generally high speed corners. Jeremy Lucas showed me the benefits at one corner at Putnam. I’ve been braking many years with my left foot on the street and can drive 9/10ths on the track braking with my left foot but that last 1/10th is where it all goes a bit pear shaped. In these cars I don’t think it makes a whole lot of difference but definitely a skill that is worth having. But it is not something I would worry about until you are looking for that last 1/10th. Practice it on the street realigiously and then experiment one corner at a time with data acquistion.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I have been trying lfb on my automatic car and it feels weird right now. I guess it will take some time to train the left foot (there is a reason why it’s called ‘left foot’ 
)
If anyone finds which Speed Secret # has the discussion on lfb, I would appreciate a note.
Speed Secrets #2 has several pages dedicated in the Entry Phase chapter, and it’s followed by more info on braking technique, including late braking. Great book.
I too have been practicing my LFB in my street car (which is an automatic tranny). I’m finding that it takes a little time but I can develop enough touch to be comfortable. When I practiced LFB at the track it’s usually just in fast corners where it’s not as busy and I want just a touch to help rotate the car or scrub just a little speed.