Left Foot Braking

[MBillings]

I recently began working on left foot braking in my FF. At a recent autocross, an E/Mod competitor and a fellow who works (actually gets money) to develop road race cars said he didn't think there was much advantage to left foot braking on a mod car (Formula Fords included). He felt there was little to be gained by left foot braking a car with a race suspension. We also discussed the problems on left foot braking a car whose steering shaft not giving the left foot full access to the brake pedal.

So my question is: do you left foot brake? Do you feel there is a significant advantage and why?

thanks,
Mike

[Steve Bamford]

Those who left foot brake will tell you there is an advantage, those who don't will tell you there is no advantage.

I learned to left foot brake & feel more comfortabel left foot braking now then going back & using my right foot. Without a doubt I personally believe that left foot braking is a better choice.

[iamuwere]

Couldn't imagine not left foot braking. I can't stab the brakes for midcorner rotation on a solo course with just a right foot alone without lifting off the throttle.

[starkejt]

There can be a small, but quantifiable difference between left and right foot braking in the data. Time spent going from gas to brake and downshift blips interfering with consistent brake pressure when using the right foot can both be measured. It's a small difference and probably vastly outweighed by your comfort. If you can't reach the brake with your left foot easily due to the steering shaft, or you just plain have better touch with your right foot, that certainly trumps everything.

[Daryl DeArman]

Those who left foot brake will tell you there is an advantage, those who don't will tell you there is no advantage.

Without a doubt I personally believe that left foot braking is a better choice.

I too believe that 99% of the time minimizing the coasting duration (where you are neither accelerating or decelerating) is a good thing for lap times.

[Daryl DeArman]

There can be a small, but quantifiable difference between left and right foot braking in the data. Time spent going from gas to brake and downshift blips interfering with consistent brake pressure when using the right foot can both be measured. It's a small difference and probably vastly outweighed by your comfort. If you can't reach the brake with your left foot easily due to the steering shaft, or you just plain have better touch with your right foot, that certainly trumps everything.

Exactly, even if you were saving .1 in lap time every braking zone and you screw up once, all that was gained is now at the window. It doesn't even have to be an obvious "screw up", but rather not being able to effectively modulate brake pedal pressure to achieve maximum deceleration as quickly as desired.

[budawe]

I have used left foot braking for many years and in a vee, where we use a clutch for downshifts, I use it for other reasons. One to keep my momentum and set up a draft and I use a light left foot drag to work up to doing a turn flat out. The nice thing about dragging the brake on
entry is that your brain gets used to staying down on the throttle. Many drivers that have come up from karting have always used their left feet and have rewritten driving books.

[stephen wilson]

You can fix the pedal access problem by modifying the brake pedals, adding a 2nd pad to the left of the steering shaft. I assume you're talking about an early "club" FF.

[ChrisInAtlanta]

When I drove a tin-top I tried LFB. It was a very dismal failure and cost me significant time at an autocross. So I got a bit more serious and practiced in my MT car on the street. Still no improvement, I couldn't match my RFB times. Then I got my F500. My right foot is on the go pedal and my left foot is on the stop pedal. And with race shoes the outsides of both feet touch the toe box, with no knee clearance to lift a foot. So I have no choice but to LFB. And I have become very good at it, and control the right foot and left foot separately, seemingly with different parts of the brain.

But data acquisition showed me early on that I was dragging the brake. I changed the geometry of the brake pedal, but was still dragging. With the help of very bright warning lights inches from my face I broke that habit, and am now much faster than I would be right foot braking. But it wasn't a short journey.

Chris Eckles
Huntington WV

[F five hunj]

Every time i try to use my left foot in my daily driver I leave teeth marks in the steering wheel. In my F5 it feels so natural I couldn't imaging going anywhere near as fast with my right foot. My humble opinion is that in our cars on a solo course, getting to the gas a fraction of a second earlier several times per run does add up into real time.

[fitfan]

my zink z10 (club ford) is set up to accommodate left foot braking. i have driven it both ways in the short time i have had it... i much prefer left foot for a variety of little reasons.

i would rarely, here and there, left foot brake on my street car for track days... but i agree - its natural in the FF, and 'more challenging' in a production car.... i think one reason is the pressure and pedal travel - too light and too long in a street car.

with the hewland,,, you're just never using your left foot otherwise, so might as well put that ballast to good use

btw, i do keep my foot on the dead pedal most of the time, not "hanging" on the brake pedal.... every car is/can be/ set up differently, this works for me. however - this is all track experiences, and not autox... so fwiw...

[Numbskull XIV]

In autocross, I think left foot braking gives you alot more control of the car and it makes for smoother transitions which in turn is not upsetting the weight balance as much. I am a heavy left foot braker. I cant right foot brake in an autocross if my life was dependent on it. The downside to left foot braking is not knowingly dragging the brake like already mentioned, and sometimes I have overheated stock brake pads in a stock class car. But when you are dancing on the edge of traction, I think you would NEED to learn to left foot brake.

One other thing to mention is I also do alot of karting.

Jon Updegrove
11 F-mod

[chrisw52]

I can't speak for Formula Fords (yet) I have only driven mine a total of 4 runs at the last autocross.

I tend to switch off between LFB and RFB depending on the car and course I am running on.

I also found that LFB actually helps out when some idiot tries to wear sneakers in a formula ford. I kept hitting the @#!$!#$!@# throttle every time I went for the brakes! Not fun..

I definitely need some dedicated driving shoes . But I may continue with the LFB in the FF because like others have said, I can jab the brakes to set the car in the corner without lifting off the throttle.

[ChrisInAtlanta]

. . .I can jab the brakes to set the car in the corner without lifting off the throttle.

Ah, one of my earlier attempts at LFB, in my tin top. It was on a heavily banked kart course, and my better-driver friends told me to, at throttle, apply the brakes some to "settle the car." I did. . . more. . . more. . . and the engine raced. And I spun. Having just applied the clutch fully.

And Steve, the many-timed national champion, asked "what were you doing?" "Trying to settle the car!" "Settle? What's that? What effect were you trying to achieve?" And a few more pointed questions, and I understood that I didn't know what I was doing.

Chris Eckles