Quick Question

[Pompey Gaz]

i brake with my right foot, but watching classic top gear on Dave, the one with Jonny Vegas on it, Jezza goes on about vegas using his left foot to brake, supposedly Micheal Schumacher uses his left foot too.

I've tried it but i am too heavy on the peddle lol

does anyone else use their left foot? and what advantages does it have?

[T600]

i brake with my right foot, but watching classic top gear on Dave, the one with Jonny Vegas on it, Jezza goes on about vegas using his left foot to brake, supposedly Micheal Schumacher uses his left foot too.

I've tried it but i am too heavy on the peddle lol

does anyone else use their left foot? and what advantages does it have?

On the road, none; don't do it.

On the track a skilled driver can use it to gain better balance through a bend by applying brake and throttle in quick succession.

[Pompey Gaz]

cheers T600. Does anyone acctually do it then?

[Parts-King]

In my old rallying days (I used to navigate) my driver would left foot brake, but it's for experienced use only, lol, don't start having a go on normal roads, your likely to go on an excusrsion into a ditch. It's used mainly to balance the car through bends using maximum speeds.

Kingo

[Pompey Gaz]

i tried it once lol but cause am used to just stepping on the clutch it kinda failed haha

[T600]

Invented by Stig according to Wikipedia (No, not The Stig).

Racing and rallying

Karts, many open wheelers, and some modern road cars (cars that are mounted with automatic transmission or semi-automatic transmission such as the Enzo Ferrari), have no foot-operated clutch, and so allow the driver to use their left foot to brake.

One common race situation that requires left-foot braking is when a racer is cornering under power. If the driver doesn't want to lift off the throttle, and potentially cause a trailing-throttle oversteer situation, left-foot braking can induce a mild oversteer situation, and help the car "tuck," or turn-in better. Mild left-foot braking can also help cure an understeer situation.

In rallying left-foot braking is very beneficial especially to front-wheel drive vehicles. It is closely related to the handbrake turn, but involves locking the rear wheels using the foot brake, which is set up to apply a significant pressure bias to the rear brakes. The vehicle is balanced using engine power by use of the accelerator pedal, operated by the right foot. The left foot is thus brought into play to operate the brake. It is not as necessary to use this technique with Rear-wheel drive and All wheel drive rally vehicles because they can be easily turned rapidly by using excess power to the wheels and the use of opposite lock steering, however the technique is still beneficial when the driver needs to decelerate and slide at the same time.

Swedish rally legend Stig Blomqvist is considered to be the inventor of left-foot braking, developing it while driving for the SAAB works team in the 1960s and '70s.

When left foot braking is used to apply the brake and the throttle at the same time it is very hard on the car, causing extra wear on the transmission and brakes in particular.

This technique should not be confused with Heel-and-Toe, another driving technique.

Road use

Many commentators advise against the use of left-foot braking while driving on public roads.

In emergency braking situations, it is common for the driver to extend both legs in a panic reaction. If the right foot is on the throttle, this will cause unwanted and potentially dangerous acceleration.

Most manufacturers of cars with automatic transmissions provide the car with a rest for the driver's left foot so the right foot may be used exclusively for throttle and braking.

Also, when the left foot is often used for depressing the clutch pedal this generally requires more force than operating the brake. A driver accustomed to applying this amount of force may unexpectedly slow down to an unsafe speed when attempting to use the left-foot braking technique.

In addition, many modern vehicles use a "Drive By Wire" or Electronic throttle control system instead of the traditional mechanical throttle linkage. These systems have a safety interlock that prevents left foot braking. The car's ECU can detect when both pedals are pressed simultaneously and will immediately cut the engine power for safety reasons.

HTH

Tony

[Pompey Gaz]

cheers dude :D

[Karma Supra]

I have used it for launching autos before.... but otherwise why left foot brake when you can toe and heel?