My left-foot braking column is making the rounds again, and I’m glad to see it’s sparking discussion. I think all we need to do is look around the community and see that there’s certainly not one single “right” way to go fast, but I hope for those of you who have read …
Classic case of horses for course I think.
I thought it was fitting that he mentioned he wasn't driving a formula car as 90% of my left foot braking is in formula cars.
This makes me feel better about not pursuing left-foot braking for the foreseeable future. I would have to be well-seasoned and well-practiced (like he did) in order to make it truly viable for me. I'm just not there yet. Great article and I enjoyed reading about his experience with the technique (JG as well).
The only place I've done much left foot braking is at DirtFish. Rally uses the brakes in entirely different ways to road racing. :)
(I joke 
)
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
Yes and I occasionally use rally LFB to combat understeer.
My son was shocked when I used this technique when we autocrossed his LS400.
At VIR I only LFB in T3 & just before the apex of T16 so I can keep the car balanced in a sweeper. At T10 it is really just too scary for me, in case I get it wrong.
On low grip surfaces like rain or even snow, sometimes it's the only way to get the car to turn (like driving on track with slicks when it is damp).
LFB has kept me out of the tire wall when sliding on grass after going off if you only need a few degrees of yaw.
Hmm,... Left foot braking sounds like one of those performance driving techniques you need to master as well as heel-toe downshifting, right? In a recent GRM article about left foot braking I learned from one of the commentors that applying a bit of throttle could settle the rear of the car if it was skittish when hauling it down from high speed. Having experienced this phenomenon, I looked forward to trying out left foot braking the next time I was on track and the rear end started to skitter.
The other day while perusing the manual for my 1st Gen FR-S I read: "When the vehicle is being driven with the accelerator pedal depressed, depressing the brake pedal without releasing the accelerator pedal will activate the brake override system to restrict driving torque."
Huh. Did they take my fun away?
Now, the manual specifically says "... depressing the brake pedal without releasing the accelerator,..." Using left foot braking to settle the rear end would be executed by depressing the accelerator without releasing the brake.
Anybody know if the pedal sequence makes a difference to restricting driving torque?
Anybody know if restricting driving torque is achieved by automatically engaging traction control (bakes), or by reducing throttle angle (or fuel cut)?
Can I tune this out of existence?
Thanks to J.G for making wild claims about left foot braking to the masses and James Clay for sharing his insights with us!
In reply to Nred :
Yeah I wasn't aware about the BRZ/86 having a throttle cut, but it's definitely a thing. The Civic R has one as well, which is super frustrating because it's a high-powered turbocharged FWD car which is definitely a format that lends itself to LFB in autocross situations.
I'm honestly not sure what tuning is available to defeat this in cars that have it. Maybe someone that has an affected car can provide some insight if they have any experience. I'm doubtful there's much to be done to defeat this function, though, as it's probably a part of the programming fairly tightly locked away from any third-party software.
Blame the folks that love floormats so much that they put floormats on top of their floormats, and don't understand how to deal with a car with a stuck throttle.
I did all this left foot braking back in my kart racing days(not much choice there), but could never make it translate to full size, manual trans cars.........just always felt extremely awkward.
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