I thought I’d post a video showing a guy driving the Ring who does a lot of left foot braking. I know very little about this technique and other than the occasional mention in threads, don’t recall reading comprehensive explanations from experienced drivers and coaches as to the merits or lack thereof.

I’ve seen a lot of Ring videos, and although this isn’t the fastest lap, I did think the guy is a smooth driver, and his left foot braking has me intrigued, especially since my 996 Cup car is similar to his street 6-3.

I’m starting this thread in the hopes it is an interesting topic and maybe something I and others can learn from. I don’t think it’s a technique I can use at Sebring where I mostly drive, but perhaps it’s useful at tracks with long, fast, sweeping turns? Like turn 3 at Roebling, another track I often drive?

 

LFB is a tool in the toolbox. Some cars pedal layout and foot box require it.

Is it a must? Given that fact that well-practiced and near perfectly executed conventional RFBers routinely beat less perfect LFBers every day, it really boils down to “how well do you execute?”rather than the technique itself.

A great deal of LFBers begin with that technique in karts, some transitioning from auto transmission street cars to track cars do so as well.

Given that the brake pedal is the BEST and most effective tool for governing and adjusting weight distribution on the only four connections with Mother Earth, the tire contact patches, LFB can offer a more sensitive and nuanced rate of transfer of that weight distribution.

Can it make you quicker? Only if you are doing executing the entire procedure at least as well or more likely, BETTER than you RFB.

If you’re interested, I recommend practicing very assiduously all the braking exercises you did to hone your current braking technique, AFTER practicing extensively on the street to develop the feel for pressure and more importantly, eliminating as much as possible the inevitable overlap between throttle and brake application, which is common in the beginning.

But then, on the track, start with areas that require little slowing, as opposed to a lot. This is the most common use for LFB I see on track. Threshold or heavy braking (getting rid of more than 25-30 mph or so) stays with the dominant, trained and practiced foot. For places like Turn 5 and Turn 16 at Sebring, you begin there using LFB.

Again, while there are statistical and topically beneficial differences in the speed and distance covered between throttle and brake applications using LFB, the practical benefit is limited to how well the car responds when the choreography of the pedals is correct.

That choreography, and the car, doesn’t know the difference between LFB and RFB, in my experience.

 

I agree with Peter - I first learned left foot braking in karting, then revisited on the street while towing a trailer as a "brutal teacher" since harsh inputs had a very tangible jolt. Once I mastered LFB while towing, it came very naturally, and picking up threshold pressure and trail braking on track only took me ~3 laps.

LFB is a tool I use predominantly in prototypes and for occasional mid-corner adjustments in sports cars. Despite being equally competent with either foot, I generally am a right-foot braker in any other scenario. I find that most of the cars I drive (GT4 cars, spec boxsters, 997 cup) like the ever so slight transition time from gas to brake for the suspension to take a set. In fact, I coach most of my club-level clients to right foot brake as it is just more natural, and there is other lower-hanging fruit to chase.

We have a 996 GT3 with all the CS goodies like the one in the above video, and left-foot braking is never something I have needed to get the rotation I want out of it. Misha does many things for views, and in my opinion, this is one of them. I watched his lap, and every instance of LFB that I saw could have been accomplished with throttle adjustments, as the 996 is that sensitive to weight changes. As a general theme, he tends to underutilize the 911's ability to rotate under trail braking and get back to power early because he tries to drive them like the front-engine cars he came up in, instead of trailing it in and going back to power aggressively to settle the rotation. He needs some skid pad time to master the 911.

 

So…. Best execution of fundamental skills, right Peter? Or at least using whichever foot gets you closest to them.

 

Bingo!

 

I agree with most of what is said above. I completely agree that it is better to brake with the foot you can execute better with. Perfect braking out of a right foot will beat almost perfect out of a left foot 99.9% of the time. Overlap of the throttle and brake is one of the tools that can help make someone fast in specific cars in specific corners. It can also wear out a car really quick It's all about managing the slowing and weight transfer.

 

I have tried to practice LFB on my street cars, race cars, and sim racing, but I have zero modulation. It is like the brake pedal becomes an on/off switch.

 

Not uncommon.

 

Same here. Unfortunately, not a tool I have in my tool box.

 

And that's ok. Some of the fastest drivers in the world don't have that tool in their toolbox. Doesn't hurt them...

 

Luigi was spot on when he said it feels like an “on/off” switch. Couldn’t have put it better if I tried cause that’s exactly how it feels. Even a small brushing of the brakes with my left foot turns into threshold braking real fast and the car gets unsettled. I gave up trying and just brake the way I always have.
My left foot works well on the clutch, but when I try to brake with it, no dice. I gave up.

 

I thought I was doing ok left foot braking in the sim until I put the data in RS3. It's ugly!

 

It depends on the car for me. I did quite a bit in my Spec Boxster. Almost always in fast corners that don't need threshold braking. One good example of where it was helpful is turn 3 at Thunderbolt. A left foot brush while keeping the right foot on the floor gave just enough extra bite on the front and was faster then a lift. Another was the outer loop at the glen. I'm sure I probably will eventually in my 997.1 Cup; since you don't need to use the clutch it seems like it would be a natural but after 3 days in it I'm still getting used to the pressure I need with my right foot.

 

After reading through.... Now I don't feel so bad for not trying it.
In a conversation from a few years back, someone asked me where I'd use it.
"Any corner where I want to go shooting off the track..."
Maybe I'll give it a try anyway. Seems like it would work well for turn 6 at Thunderhill.

 

go do a team O’Neal course!!