Left Foot Braking
 

Folks, I've been trying left foot braking at autox for the last few events. I have to start off by saying that I'm loving it... I'm still slower than I would be right foot braking but the gap is closing and I feel more in control.

However, I keep hurting my knee while doing this. I'm sort of tall ( 6 ft) and getting both my feet in position feels very awkward. I have a 4 point harness on the stock seats and I've also adjusted my steering wheel as much as I could. Anyone else LFBing and having the same problem?

I'm going to look into a wide brake pedal cover to see if i can extend the pedal to the left a bit... not sure if that's going to be enough though. To get full control over the brake and not twist my knee again, I need the pedal to be much farther to the left. Any thoughts?

I'm surprised your sanctioning body let's you use a 4 point especially with stock seats...

I couldn't left foot brake at all until I got a real fixed back bucket seat and 6 point harnesses.

I thought left foot braking was better for fwd cars cuz then you can brake while giving gas to lessen the oversteer

Keep in mind we are talking about Autox... My harness is not installed properly and not really a safety device. Technically I still have to wear my OEM seat belt... the harness is just in place instead of a CG-lock. It does work a lot better than a CG-lock but I guess not good enough for LFB!

I mean understeer, lol and excuse me if im being ignorant, i dont know too much about racing or rally driving

FWD cars and AWD might benefit more from LFB. But with our cars, you are at least cutting down the coasting time and keeping the engine up in the power range. More control over load transfer is the obvious benefit in all cars.

Just heel toe.. Lol off topic but i taught myself to heel toe with my heel on the brake instead of toeing the brake. Gives me better braking control and works better with the way the 8's pedals are set up

^heel toe has nothing to do with left foot braking... You heel toe when you are downshifting, you left foot brake to scrub off a little of speed going into a corner, or even mid corner, so that you don't upset the throttle position.

I just watched a video about it on youtube, i get it. Now i kinda want to try it

Unless you have an automatic try it in an empty parking lot first... At autox, once you are in 2nd gear, you'll stay in 2nd gear and LFB is pretty safe to practice. On the street however, I can see legs being confused with consequences.

I'm going to try a large pedal cover next Sunday and see if it makes a difference.

One tip if you're going to try it though... when you go to left foot brake PUT YOUR HEEL ON THE GROUND haha. This keeps you from absolutely smashing the brakes the first time you go to try it, because your left foot is so used to the amount of force required for the clutch pedal and the amount of travel it has you will hit the brakes pretty damn hard.

Or if you have done any karting, pretend like you are driving one. That's what I did but then I felt the extra 2500 lb... LOL

Having the heel on the ground is an interesting idea though... wonder if it would help me not twist my knee without sacrificing control / response time.

After I broke my right foot and I had learn with the left in our jeep. This was great because once my right foot healed I could use both. I however have the same issues as you.

1. I can't fit my leg under the wheel to left foot brake in the rx8, I can do this all day in the jeep. I can get to a pedal at an angle but that is extremely awkward.

2. In corners I am generally using my left foot to help brace myself. I only have the stock seat belt so that extra bracing is extremely useful. When I try to use both feet on the pedals I tend to get a bit off balance which doesn't work out to well. I have heard of others bracing their knees under the dash,steering column but as stated above mine would be pressing against the wheel.

I imagine a new seat will help with both of these issues and my headroom problems. (6'4")


Good luck.

Left foot brake also helps with car rotation, but without getting out of throttle. Be ready for the additional rotation from unloading the rear a tad, but still running power through it.

@ arca, a nice ASM 4 point should be good, especially a Schroth Rally 4, through the hole. And, avoids the opportunity for "testicular degloving".

I LFB my 8 in a-x and have not had any knee issues. Only 5-11 though?

I'll have to try that, the first two times I have tried it I have about put my head through the windsheild :lol2: So I gave up. Same for the first time heel-toeing with track pads from running nothing but oems for a few years :) But for the HTing I got past the muscle memory and figured it out.

the average left foot braker rides the brake pedal too much

you should focus more on your own rather than worry about mine :boink:

there are situations where LFB can be advantageous, learn to to only use it as may be necessary

I am having the same trouble that on right turns it is hard to left foot brake as I brace myself with my knees. I would like to get a racing seat & harness at some point but it is not the highest thing on my shopping list.

I do like the look of the Schroth 4 point does anyone have any experience with it? I hear the 4 points ride up and are no good. Here is the link http://www.schrothracing.com/tuning/...p-vw-audi#2317

I find myself doing trail braking with my left foot up in the mountains, but never noticed myself bracing myself with my legs even at 0.74-0.81G... Am I doing it wrong?

Do you have a race seat?

I have the Schroth 4-point. The trick is snugging down the lap portion before tightening the shoulder straps. Otherwise it will ride up. Also, the harness doesn't need to be "road racing" tight; it's not meant to protect you in a crash, jsut hold you in your seat. Overtightening the shoulders will cause the lower portion to ride up.

i tried it on the street and did just that, my foot was used to the clutch and i god damn nearly locked the brakes LOL..