C.J. Ichiban

I'm sick of the "screw the 911R/918 VIP" "RS.1 vs the s&p500" and "what PTS color should I order to keep value" threads.


Left foot braking. You guys with the PDK cars that love driving them on track...do you LFB since your left foot just sits there without a clutch?

My experience with learning how to LFB was honed by using rental cars, karts and going to rally car school.

Benefits- once mastered allows for undebatable fast laps and awesome corner entry speeds

Pitfalls- hard for most people to fully commit going lefty. Most people "try to learn it" at the track and I think that is a mistake.

Workarounds- on the road the best place to work on it is in a regular *** car or your track car on freeway offramps

If you are a racer- in the GT4CS or MR you better LFB if you want to maximize your lapping pace.

usctrojanGT3

I think I read somewhere that if you don't learn how to left foot brake by a certain age you'll never really be able to do it well because your brain isn't properly conditioned how to do it. I tried it a few times and it felt weird as hell.

richk

I agree with Trojan...

been to barber 3 day school in sebring plus tons of de events and I cant left foot brake

left foot is clutch or nothing

usctrojanGT3

Don't laugh but sometimes when I hop from my GT4 or 997 to the 991 I unconsciously take a stab at a clutch pedal that isn't there when I go to start the car.

richk

I am fastest with pdk...especially if in mid engined f car i can be fairly quick.

I am can move my 991TTS around pretty good considering how porky she is.

Zulu Alpha

Hey CJ, last time out on track I tried LFB for the first time in my car. I'm kind of used to it from shifter karts and Sims, but I said I'd give it a go. More than anything, what I found awkward was the placement of the whole pedal box, it's too far to the right, but the break pedal is wide, which I think your CS/GT3 Cup has the small pedal. I realized if I used the left side of the break pedal it made foot placement much easier. It might be a little difficult with the narrow break pedal you have. Give LFB a try, it's defiantly faster, at least it feels that way.

Here is the video where I use LFB, all other videos I use RFB.

Nizer

I've been working on it in street car. Will try this season in Cup and see what data spits out.

My view: whether it benefits or not comes down to the individual. Plenty of quick racers have tried right foot braking and tossed it. But if you start smoking Leh Keen I might have to reevaluate.

MM3.9GT3

Thanks for the much needed diversion. I have tried it, but cannot master it. I am going to pratice it in everyday street driving, and see if it makes a difference.

Scrappy1972

I tried acclimatizing myself to left foot braking on the street, unfortunately I found that it wasn't useful. Street braking is generally a soft and gradual technique vs. the aggressive 'slam' that my track/race car requires. Granted, it has high downforce so initial brake pressure is extremely high followed by a gradual bleeding off as you shed speed and downforce is lost.

I agree with and understand the merits of left foot braking but I have nightmares of my feet getting confused as I late brake for a pass in a race situation. The extra few tenths isn't worth the risk to me.

MileHigh911

I think one mastered, it allows for another level of weight balance/mechanical grip/car control, especially in a rear and mid-engine car. Not so good for front engine cars IMO. Taking more speed into the corner, with the ability to add grip to the front end, balancing the transfer of weight to the rear at Apex, then dig in and haul *** to track out. Also, once comfortable, it allows for left foot to tap and pre-load the brakes instinctively.

Kobalt

+1


Been trying to build up the sensitivity in the left foot and I do left foot braking in fast corners (Flugplatz) - just a short, soft braking - to settle the car.
But there is a long way to go...

On the otherhand Kimi says "No, I never left foot brake in street cars"

Reid55

After 8 years of racing shifter karts, I thought it would be instinctive so I gave it a shot on track in a 3RS (because I believe there is time to be gained - its physics). However, agree with the above post. Pedal placement and modulation in a kart/car made it less than instinctive. The other thing I noticed was that I tended to trail brake like is common in shifters. Still convinced it is the most effective way to go with a little practice but since it was costing me $100/lap, I reverted back to right foot after a couple laps. Guarantee it will take far less practice than learning to heel and toe :-).

Scrappy1972

I remember reading somewhere that left foot braking is actually not recommended on softly sprung cars (ie. 99% of street cars). The sudden and extreme weight transfer from full throttle to full brake does not provide a smooth transfer of weight due to the large degree of pitch. It makes sense to me intuitively.

Nick

Correct. Schumacher was a huge advocate of LFB. I use my left foot to brake almost 100% of the time in normal street driving. It's a good way to train yourself for more spirited venues. The only issue is some SUV's like my early Cayenne cuts the power when you brake and throttle at the same time. Recently, I was given a 2017 Cayenne loaner and it did the same thing. My Range Rover Sport doesn't.

tasman

tried it some on the street and once or twice on track. I feel like a spaz. Guess I need to practice more.