Left Foot Braking

[riverman1]

Are most of the good drivers using this technique to keep the RPM's up in the turns?

Is this something I should be doing?

I attended the SCCA school, this weekend, and I am going to start trying, much harder, to focus on the fundamentals. Any advice would be welcome.

I will also be at the ER school to get some more seat time.

[Davidss]

Are most of the good drivers using this technique to keep the RPM's up in the turns?

No

[865]

I think left-foot braking could be a big distraction for me, if I were even able to do it. I'm just not that coordinated. Turns out I can't use it effectively anyway. When you brake and apply throttle at the same time in a late-model car (thank you drive-by-wire and Tacoma-sudden-acceleration-hype), the computer just kills the throttle. I guess the computer now figures you couldn't possibly want to overlap trail braking and application of throttle at the same time. So it does the "safe" thing and kills your momentum.

[Ziggo]

I did have an instructor suggest I learn it during a session on MSR Cresson 3.1 CCW. He suggested it could be useful on ricochet where you really just need to tap the brakes to get the weight balanced forward for turn in, then immediately back on the gas so the rear stays planted. Otherwise this happens : https://youtu.be/OXq71NXSWc0

Alas, I don't practice it and my left foot remains retarded and useless on the brakes.

[POS Racing]

I can left foot clutch! Does that count?

I've never mastered the art of left foot braking......

[gabkwong]

Isn't is not good for the clutch? I believe it is more important in boosted and low torque in the low end engines (e.g, S2K). It may worth it in a competition or try to pass your buddy at all cost!

[cone-cerned]

I have heard it said that, on the track, if you left foot brake really well, you will be faster on most courses. If you left foot brake even just mediocre, you will be slower. The car, the course and even the corner can make a difference as to whither left foot braking is a good idea or not.

I left foot brake, most of the time. When I got my first car with an automatic transmission, I looked in the floor and saw two pedals. I my mind I though, two pedals, two feet, a no brainer. At the time, I had to take my left foot off the brake to hit the dimmer switch. Now I take my left foot off the brake to use the clutch.

When I started left foot braking in my autocross car, I really had to concentrate on what I was doing with my feet. I had a lot of faux pas along the way, including one broken shifter fork. After about a year and a half, I came off course and on the was to grid I realized that I had not though about what I was doing with my left foot. Now I don't even have to think about it.

We all know I am not on of the fast guys, but this is my left foot braking story.

[Steve E]

Trying to break the habit. Did it for years but i started to get happy feet and was tapping when i should have been lifting.