Left foot braking

[Down F0rce]

could some of you excpert racers tell me how to left foot brake? and heel-toe as well......im not sure if that the right name...

[mattray]

what you driving?

[Chris Y]

It's very difficult to explain left-foot braking, or heel-n-toe in a text format like this. It's be like saying "move your left foot off the clutch and onto the brake". Sounds easy, but you're almost guaranteed to slam on the brake and headbutt the steering wheel the first time you do this!

It's really all about practice. I practiced LFB and heel-n-toe in my road car. Make sure there's no-one behind you when you practice LFB though!

Heel-n-toe tends to depend on the layout of your pedals, but the best way I've found in road cars is to keep your foot as vertical as possible, then you must practice moving your foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal, whilst keeping part of the accelerator pedal covered. Most people who don't race move their foot too much, so it needs a bit of practice where you can see what you're doing. Do this while you're parked..

The rest of it comes down to timing. You have to brake until the revs are low 'enough' for the next gear down, change gear as normal, but just before bringing the clutch up, you rotate your ankle a bit to blip the throttle, then let the clutch up.

Again, sounds easy - but a lot of it involves careful timing, and also knowing how much to blip the throttle will only come from practice. First time you do this, you'll doubtless give the gas pedal a bit of a stab, and end up speeding up, instead of slowing down, so don't do it in rush-hour traffic!

Have fun, and good luck

[Maisie]

Originally posted by Chris Y
Make sure there's no-one behind you when you practice LFB though!

Definitely! I had the bright idea of trying left foot braking round the corner from the house the other day. I put my left foot a little on the brake, and nothing happened, so I pressed what I thought was a little harder, and came to a wheel-locking, tyre-screeching, engine-stalling, embarrassing abrupt halt!

[Guisbro Rod H]

Down Force.

Who told you to left foot brake?
Timo Makinen of the 1960's (Not Tommi) said that telling people about left foot braking was great because he knew that they would be slower for the whole of the next season.

So why did he do it? He was driving a front wheel drive rally car (4WD are the same) that naturally understeered (push in American). By applying left foot brake he would increase the braking on the back wheels making them run wide giving more neutral handling whilst entering the corner. To stop the front wheels braking and running wide he could apply more throttle with his right foot so the engine counteracted the brakes. More throttle tucked the nose into the appex helping the steering. More braking with left foot slows the car and brings the tail out. Basically you adjust speed and handling (steering) by balancing the brake, throttle and stearing wheel. Getting the optimum correct takes practice!

Timo pointed out that with no foot on the clutch means that you have to force the gearchange without the clutch. So you have to adjust the engine speed accordingly or have a car manufacturer paying for new gearboxes as was the case with Timo.

So why does F1 drivers do it? No need for a clutch, launch control and auto gearchange. They were brought up on Karts where you usually (non-gearbox) brake with left foot. Left foot can be on brake whilst you are moving your foot off the throttle. The car does not have to wait for you to lift your foot, move it to the brake and move peddle to braking point in its travel. So it saves time.

Why do you want to heal and toe? It basically helps gearbox by getting engine revs ready for gearchange. Do you need to do this with your car?

[Down F0rce]

thanks for the help guys. im not actually racing myself (yet ) but ive oftern heard these terms and i just wondered what they meant. thanks again

[martinparsons]

Best way to learn left foot braking is approaching gatso cameras, concebtrates the mind.
MP

[Guisbro Rod H]

Originally posted by martinparsons
Best way to learn left foot braking is approaching gatso cameras, concebtrates the mind.
MP

Come on martinparsons, that's cruel.
Shall we tell Down Force that the left foot is used to operating the clutch.
So his left foot goes flat to the floor on a clutch.
What's the betting when Down Force tries it he will make his car stand on its nose as his left foot automatically floors the brake.
It happens to all first time left foot brakers.

Oh, all right, I wont tell him, I'll let Down Force find out for himself.

[Woolley]

Be very wary of left foot braking. I occasionally drive an automatic, so use the right for accelerator and the left for brakes. I dropped the car off, got back in my own and promptly made the most embarrassing approach to a roundabout I've ever attempted. Left foot hard on the brakes, it's only when my hand goes for the gear lever that my feet remember I need the clutch. Swapping the feet over and toeing-and-heeling as normal meant I missed the braking point, locked the wheels, over-revved the engine and crunched the gear-box simultaneously, before sliding onto the roundabout in a cloud of smoke and stalling the engine. I swear I could hear the guy behind me laughing!

[Red Dog]

Left foot braking? Very subtle, and very, very hard to learn. Unless you drive an auto or a kart.
Why/how to do it? Well (in circuit racing) if you take your foot off the throttle the weight transfers smartly to the front wheels and unloads the rear. This can be good if you are trying to get the tail out. But at high speed this can be fairly scary. If you need to lose a little speed but keep the car balanced on a really quick corner (say 100mph) then you just touch the brake with your left foot and keep your right foot steady on the throttle and you end up with a little understeer which allows you nail the throttle a bit earlier, which in turn leads to a higher exit speed. Will it make you quicker? Let us know!!

Heel and toe. Easier to learn, it is the that little blip you hear most racers do as they brake into corners and change down.
Why do it? To get the engine revs to match the road speed for the gear you are changing into so that there is no snatch from the tyres to the road. If you don't do it you will get sideways, or spin when you are truly on the limit as the tyres partially lock and lose grip. If you get it wrong it feels like pulling the handbrake on a bit.(or a lot!)

How? As previously described - but there is not much heel involved, it's more side and toe - while applying the brakes you roll your foot to blip the revs up just as the clutch disengages. It takes a lot of practice to do under racing conditions but is easy to practice on the road. The tough bit is keeping the brake pressure constant as you roll your foot to blip the throttle. Some road cars have such badly positioned pedals that it is impossible to do well.

[Lee Janotta]

I agree, heel-toe's quite easy compared to left-foot braking. Then again, I've got very large feet, and I can almost cover both brake and accelerator with my right foot, so I just keep my foot straight up between the two, and turn the right side of my foot down a bit to blip the throttle.

Left-foot braking is much more difficult to get used to. I don't recommend doing it in a road or production-based car... Ever... If you're rallying, a momentary pull of the handbrake is probably preferable. In a kart or single-seater, it's more natural, because the brake pedal falls naturally in front of your foot. But that's just the beginning of the trouble... You basically have to learn how to threshold brake all over again with your left foot... You won't be used to being so precise in your movements as with your right (especially if you're right-handed!)... Takes a _lot_ of practice to get it right.

[GTRMagic]

Left foot braking in an auto is a piece of piddle... makes total sense, and you can feel the difference in the balance of the car by effectively trail braking as you can steer and brake at the same time... and eliminates the lag time from your accelerator foot touching the brake.

You need to practice it in an auto as well, the sensitivity in the left foot generally isnt as good as a well trained right, but the difference once learnt is confidence inspiring... for me anyway

Having said that, its important to make sure the driving technique doesnt use the throttle & brake at the same time, as the stress, strain & wear on the transmission is likely to be heavy.

[av8rirl]

Like already posted, left foot braking is difficult at first as you have to train your left foot to be sensitive with the pedal. The real positive in a single seater is seen in fast corners and at corners where you can trail brake. Braking with the left won't unsettle the car (which can happen when you use your right foot by coming hard off the throttle and then onto the brake). The one thing that I will say is, don't approach that fast corner and half attempt to left foot. You'll sh1t yourself and end up in the gravel if your lucky (barrier otherwise). You need to be super confident with your left foot.

There are only certain times and places to use left foot braking (unless you don't have a clutch). For example, if your approaching a corner where you need to come down two/three gears while on the brakes, you will need to right foot brake as you'll need to use the left on the clutch. This is also the time that you'll be heel toeing. This has been explained above in enough detail and does take time to master. Again, you need to have confidence to use it properly. The first time I tried it was at the coming into the Esses at the Melbourne Loop (Donington Park GP track). I hit the brake, blipped the throttle and drove myself into the gravel. Not a great introduction to hell toeing but in hindsight, I probably picked the wrong place to start (and at the wrong speed).

If you intend to race, learn these two tools because you will need them.

[Russfeld]

I think there need to be a difference made between left foot braking, and left foot braking.

I brake with my left foot, but I dont brake at the same time as im on the throttle. Its just a little quicker and smoother for me to be applying the brake at the end of coming off the throttle, instead of trying to hurry one foot back and forth between gas and brake and unsettling the car.

Ive tried braking against throttle, but its really unsettling. feels like ive got a stuck throttle basically and I dont like the lack of control of pretty much full brake pedal movement for just a little bit of retardation. Its good to do if its a turbo though

[woodyracing]

This is an interesting thread.
Quick question about left foot braking in single seaters..
Isn't the steering column in the way of your left foot ?
it was in the old FF1600's that ive driven.

[GTV27]

Heel and toe is essential to drop down to the right gear and not upset the car under braking. The quality of a driver's braking and downshifting can have a material impact on lap times (& get it right and it sounds great ).

Left foot braking is a tool that may be useful, depending on the characterisitics of the car. I've tried it and had mixed results (but no spins yet). From my limited experience, I think it may be useful to "trim" the "attitude" of the car in a fast corner where a gear change is not required - ie a light brush of the brake to put some extra weight on the front tyres and increase the slip angle loading on the rears and overall reduce understeer. Exercise caution - too hard and you could go off backwards

[av8rirl]

Woody: depends on the car. some columns are in the way. a lot aren't (by design)

[woodyracing]

what do you guys think of the "brake in a straight line before the corner" rule (meaning off the brakes while cornering) ?

or do they just teach that to newbies ?

[Adam43]

It depends on your F/R brake balance. And the tyres can only have so much friction. If cornering then the braking can't be as hard.

But I think the most important thing is the attitude of the car and trying not to upset it.

In my case the Jag isn't happy when turn in occurs while the brakes are still applied (most of the time).

[coln72]

As Adam said, depends on the car and on what you want it to do. I compete on dirt mainly and on some corners I'm off the brakes before the corner and drive the car though on the throttle, and other corners i'll brake while turning into the corner. I do this if I feel I want the back to slide (ie. I come into the corner sideways). Generally I do this if it is a slow corner or if I think I will have problems with understeer (or if there are cameras about ).

[GTV27]

I often brake during turnin, but usually only when a small reduction in speed is required (ie not much brake pressure, leaving some tyre grip available for turning). Usually am off the brakes by the time I reach the apex so I can get on the power and drive the car through on the throttle. Recently fitted a rear roll bar to tighten up the tail so it now steers really well on the throttle (can't see my rear tyres lasting as long thou ).

For big stops, straightline is the way to go (and safest).

[GTV27]

Originally posted by coln72
(ie. I come into the corner sideways). Generally I do this if it is a slow corner or if I think I will have problems with understeer (or if there are cameras about ).

Good to see I'm not the only one who sacrifices speed for style when the camera's are around!

hehehehe

[Red Dog]

woodyracing, the 'straightline' thing is what they used to teach at Brands race school years ago. I asked about 'trail braking' or whatever you want to call it and was slapped down (verbally) I had read about it but had no idea how it really worked. When I did my ARDS test at Silverstone a few years ago I was pleased to find that they explained and encouraged us to learn how to brake into the turn.

I believe it was Sir Jackie who said 'the last thing a racing driver learns is how to use/release the brakes'

[Lee Janotta]

This reminds me of something I read in Mark Donahue's (Can-Am, Trans-Am champion and Indy 500 winner) book "The Unfair Advantage", comparing the "British" and "American" styles of driving, back in the early '70s. He observed that British drivers tended to brake, turn and accelerate as separate motions, which was much easier on cars and tires, while the Americans tended to go deeper into corners, braking while turning in, and get on the throttle as early as possible, which was fast but unstable, and really abused the brakes and tires.

He also noted that Americans _tended_ to be much more aggressive and impulsive while overtaking.

It seems that the "British" style has won out since then in open-wheel racing, while the "American" style, it seems to me, is still quite common in touring cars.

[Rob Buhl]

I used to race 2 liters and left-foot braking would affect the balance adversely, no matter how I adjusted. Then when I was racing Lights, (Lola/Buick V6) at the time, I was always fastest left foot braking. (This is before the cars had sequential gearboxes).