I’d figure I’d post this since HPDE season is in full swing by now. How many drivers are using left foot braking techniques at the track? Any there any examples you have at tracks around our great nation that you can comment on? I had an instructor briefly mention it during a weekend at Gingerman Raceway with the Great Lakes Lotus Club. He was specifically noting to give it a try to set up my MINI a little better through turns 7 & 8. I was admittedly nervous to do this since it seemed risky to try it on the track for the first time. In general, I was thinking, “Why the hell would I do that?!†I felt very confident by massaging my throttle through turn 7 and then going wide open throttle all the way up to turn 10. I’ve read quite a bit about it since that day, but it seems to be more effective for tracks with extremely tight turns, maybe better for Auto-X. Am I misunderstanding this? I just want to keep an open mind and become a better driver :ihih:
Braking is not only a good way to slow down, it's a good way to transfer weight to the front of the car. This lets you steer better. Lifting can accomplish the same task, but it generally upsets the car more, especially with the MINI's transverse engine. Sneak your clutch foot over and put the ball of your foot on the left side of the pedal. It's easier to be gentle this way, and to distinguish from the clutch. I don't left foot brake on the track yet, but it's useful for turns where you don't have to downshift. You can go from acceleration to deceleration and back to acceleration much quicker. The club racers I know all do it. Practice in second gear in a shopping mall or someplace where you can turn but don't have to shift. Or practice in a go kart - same principle.
I found left foot braking to be a great equalizer or the needed separation when in a heated battle on the track. Oddly enough, I practiced it on Gran Turismo first before applying it to the actual tarmac lol. Obviously I have the steering wheel setup to be able to accomplish it. Only flaw in attempting it this way first is you don't get to experience the physics on your body but you do get a pretty accurate depiction of how the car will react visually. Admittedly, I don't yet own a Mini and haven't tried this out on a front wheel drive car yet but I look forward to owning one soon and tracking that as well. Currently I am running an STi, but awd cars tend to do things similar to fwd cars because of the massive understeering issue. No matter what power I put down to an extremely bias rear wheel setup, the front wheels still hook up too much. Back on the topic of LFBing, I would imagine it would be extremely useful on a car like a Mini whereas power isn't its greatest feature. Being able to maintain a greater speed in corners and being able to get back on the throttle a bit quicker will benefit you in low to medium speed situations. It seems a good deal of time is lost with fwd and rwd cars hooking up in the exits. More importantly, what style of driver are you? It may be contradictory to your "style". I'm pretty aggressive in passing situations and like to force people to make a decision, safely of course. Lewis Hamilton style. Out in the open I use up all the track tho, so LFBing isn't necessary. If you're a smoother more controlled driver (try to follow almost the perfect line without putting a wheel in the grass), that little bit of change in momentum might throw the rest of your tracking off. I guess it depends on your level of concentration and how well you readjust your lines. Rambling done lol.
The more i think about it and read about it, it doesn't seem like it would be a good candidate to apply at the tracks around my home. That would be Gingerman, Grattan, and Mid-Ohio. It seems that this technique is better applied to courses that have much tighter turns that don't require a downshift. I can't think of a single spot on Gingerman and Grattan that would need this. I haven't been to Mid-Ohio so I can't comment on that.
Not a lot of advantage on the race track, but it can really be advantageous on the tighter autox courses. I tried it while on track and found it much harder to thresehold brake as I just didn't have the "feel" with my left foot as I did my right.
Disagree The transition from braking to throttle is faster and there is comfort knowing the right foot is ready should the car get loose at corner entry. I think its a bigger "bang for the buck" then heal and toe. Like anything new, you have to learn to use it.
A loose FWD car is not fixed with the left foot, it is fixed with the right......:biggrin5: There may be a smoother transition possible, but unless you can threshold brake ALL the way to throttle application you will not be gaining anything. Most corners are going to req a fair bit of throttle feathering at the apex to maintain speed, no need to be on the brake.
Sorry Scott, I'm with Alan on this one. Especially on fast corners where you just want to brush the brake and settle the nose, then get right back on the throttle, LFB is great. I've ridden in instructors' cars and it's amazing. You can keep the nose down all the way from turn in to apex, which is extremely useful on FWD cars. Though I do disagree with Alan on the value vs. heel-toe, mostly because it's like comparing apples and oranges. Heel-toe is only useful on turns with downshifts; LFB is only useful on turns without downshifts. That balance just depends on the track.
Oops......I read "left foot ready" :blush2: I myself just never got a feel for it and the track I normally see has no real area for its use as I am downshifting each corner. Tried it on the autox course years ago and gave up after I kept killing the engine cause I thought I was hitting the clutch.....:biggrin5: The usefulness probably has more to do with the carbon unit than the foot.
I am trying to pick this up as well, the easiest place for me to notice the difference for me is an string of s turns where i don't really want to slow down but need more weight on the front to keep from sliding off haha :biggrin5: Even on "normal" turns there is a noticeable time savings when I can get on the gas earlier. Calibration of the left foot for braking has been pretty tough for me and I am not really consistent and still have to focus really hard or I slam the pedal, I have been trying to improve by training in stop and go traffic and parking lots, that way I am only going 5 mph if I accidentally slam them on and embarrass myself
I have been trying this off and on since this posted. I can see where it is a real benefit if only needing to slow down and not down shift. It is a bit difficult with the left foot not being as gentle on the brakes as the right but I am sure it will improve with use! I hope it does
I LFB in autocrosses every weekend. This can bring you .5-1.0 seconds faster per run consistently. I use to run a lap braking normal than one LFBing to see the difference when I was learning to utilize the skill, and its hugely advantagous. The problem with LFB in a mini is down tube by your right leg, ive moved mine and zip tied it to the other tube to stay legal in class, but it is very easy with it gone. The car eats it up too. You can have boost well built before the turn exit, when you straighten the car up unleash all the power. The allows you to le the tail hang out alot and scream out hairpins. Just my opinion but brings me wins week after week over the hondatards that dominate SMF.
Very good points everyone. I think the key here is of course... practice practice practice. Just for giggles I tried LFB with my piece of **** Sunfire near an industrial complex at work and sheesh, trying to learn brake pedal modulation with the "wrong" foot is certainly challenging. We'll be at Grattan Raceway in a couple of weeks, but I don't think I'm anywhere near trying it out.