mikemessi

But, you can't deny the physics. Nobody thought clutchless shifting was faster 20 yrs ago but you know what, it is. Those milliseconds add up. It takes time, however short, to move your right foot back and forth.

drdonger

I can only do it in a go kart because there is something between my crotch.

Scrappy1972

Makes total sense and I fully agree with the incrementally higher benefits in non threshold corners.

I'm very dependent on my dead pedal - especially in high speed (>120 mph) corners where my track car pulls multiple G's. I dislike the feeling of my left foot floating in the footwell in these circumstances.

vantage

When I had a dual clutch car I got decent at left foot braking by practicing every day during the commute like CJ suggests.

Unfortunately, driving is not at all like riding s bike for me and I have not had any dual clutch cars for two years. Forgot how.

rsierra

Definitely faster in SIM racing, going to try in real life soon.

MaxLTV

I LFB 100% in sims, even in cars without ABS, so the left foot sensitivity is there, but I still cannot do it in a GT3 - my back cramps up, my leg goes numb etc. I blame pedal box placement so far to the right. LFB in a GT3 requires twisting the body or tilting the lower part of the left leg, neither of which is natural or comfortable (for me). Pedal extensions could help, I guess, but I'm too lazy to do it.

isv

Depends on the pedal positioning. On the Mclaren it's perfectly setup for left foot braking so I do. Not quite the case on most other cars.

ilovecarbs

I always left foot brake unless my left foot is busy.

malmasri

LFB, yes, anytime I don't have a third pedal, even on the road, I believe it is safer because you have no transition time. I am actually teaching my son who just started to drive to LFB exclusively.
I also found it very helpful during Enduro races with 3 pedals because it kept the right foot fatigue to minimal.....you just have to remember to move your foot back to baseline " dead pedal" anytime you are not using it, rather than forgetting which pedal your left foot is touching . nothing worse that an emergent breaking at LS turn 6 while you are trying to upshift
As far as lap time....I just don't think it makes a difference, but it does make the transition to power much smoother.

Archimedes

I got really good at it in go-karts but never focused on it in a car. Always wondered if most drivers did this on the track.

stpatsday

Great thread CJ. I don't know what happened since the birth of the 991 GT3 RS --- but it seems like the forum has turned into a maternity ward of newborns: with our crying for the latest and greatest Pcar versions becoming more and more annoying.

Your point about street driving practice with the left foot brake I like. Will have to work on that in my new to me GT3 PDK. Thank you.
I got a laugh recalling some of the old beat downs we used to put on rental cars in the past!

John

Zulu Alpha

Max, I can't remember if you have a 6 point harness or not?... if you have one, I found a little trick that I can do to stabilize my self in the seat. Most important is to singe the lap belts as hard as possible, I mean singe on them tight, if it hurts, good. Then the shoulder belts can be as tight as you like. This way you will not need brace on the dead pedal or keep your self in the seat. Reasons your probably getting the cramps it's because you are trying to keep your self upright in the seat. Found this little trick to be useful to let the seat and the belts hold me in, so I can focus on driving. This way LFB will be a breeze. For this reason, LFB doesn't work so well with a 3 point seat belt.

shiraz

Master at work, apologies for the music

boxer-11

The first post mentions rally school... I got my first exposure to left foot braking when I went to Dirtfish for the 3-day intro school. Pretty much the first thing they tell you is left foot braking is mandatory -- yipes!!

To a degree in rally on loose surface driving the brake is almost more the steering control than the wheel is. I think that was an eye opening experience for me with respect to the effects of weight transfer on how much the car will turn and when.

I struggle a bit though thinking that the same left foot braking approach would be good for the track...I'm thinking it's probably a different set of tactics to get something good going on tarmac. On gravel it's lift...turn...brake -- surely that's not how you'd want to use brake on the track is it??

Stipulating to the fact that you need to develop sensitivity in your left foot and that not moving your right foot can reduce "coast" time, past that what I'd like to hear from those who do left foot brake on the track is what's the technique and how do balance benefits work. I've heard phrases like dabbing and dragging but that doesn't really explain the right approach (not well enough for for me to be confident enough to try it at least)...I mean a dab of brake in the middle of a sweeper sound like it would upset the car more than help it balance...yet I saw one video with a foot cam where on each lap the driver would apparently stab the brake left footed three times quickly at the same place on the track...can't tell from that the degree of pressure but it was a pretty quick motion...how does something like that work/help?? Mysterious...

stronbl

Wow ! That video is massively inspirational - and you're correct, a master at work. I'm still trying to get my right foot to work properly let alone pulling the left into the braking action. I try LFB from time to time just to remind myself how much learning I still have to do ...