3 reasons why you'll be faster with left-foot braking

It’s already mid-February, which means you’ve long since abandoned even your simplest New Year’s resolutions. Well, since the track and autocross season hasn’t started for many of you, here’s one you can still nail, as it takes no special equipment, no additional memberships, and no commitment beyond possibly stepping out of your comfort zone a bit.

That’s right, 2025 is …

Read the rest of the story

(I promise I've gotten better since I first tried it)

Can open, worms everywhere. 

I used to be embarassed by it, but now am quite open: I'm a die-hard LFB'r to the extent that I don't even heel-toe.

"But Andy, how can you be fast like that?"

I dunno, I guess I've just gotten really good at it -- especially on familiar tracks like Harris Hill.

Rewinding a bit, I first learned to LFB decades ago when my only motorsports involvement was autocross, with my speciality being FWD.  It was a key part of my tool box, honed to where it was second-nature.  With autocross, you are rarely downshifting, so that heel-toe thing rarely got in the way.

Still, I had to occassionally downshift, especially on those small local postage-stamp lots.  But how? In the days before the internet/Youtube how did one learn anything?  Dick Turner to the rescue.

Yes, long before Evolution Performance Driving schools and Beyond Seat Time, there was Dick Turner and his book linked here: https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Autocross-Solo-II-Competition/dp/0932522017

In it, he describes the technique of shifting at the apex.  There is a small neutral load zone mid-corner when you are no longer braking, and have not yet applied the throttle.  Clutch in, drop the gear, and smoothly release as you accelerate off the corner. 

To get a real life example, I even drove all the way from my home base in Baltimore to Chicago to attend an autocross school Turner was holding -- sponsored by GRM, as I recall -- so the man himself could show me the technique.  I can still remember that day.

Once I started doing more track work, I didn't want to give up my "autocross weapon" so I got even better at it since you shift a LOT more on track.  These days, I can't not do it.

Of course, I've also learned to love modern paddle shifters so I can LFB with impunity.

Here's a recent example so you can see how it works.  SCCA TT Nats Max 5 lap record ==>

I'm not an authority on the subject by any stretch, but one little piece of advice that helped me: Get the heel of your left foot on the floor and pivot your foot just like you do with the throttle. Trying to work the brake with my left foot "floating" led to unwanted hard braking. Having my heel in position makes it much easier to be smooth. 

I'd like to give credit to where I picked that up, but I can't remember. It wasn't my idea. 

Well, I guess I will be working on this. In a car with a good DSG like the Elantra N, there seems to be no reason NOT to LFB. I have 2 pedals and 2 feet, so like, duh. 

Weirdly I LFB all the time in sims, but the second I get in car I revert back to RFB. And its not just because I have a clutch. All those years of muscle memory I guess.

In reply to theruleslawyer :

Me too.  I wonder if it's the pedal placement, sim pedals are usually floor-pivot, and there's usually no dashboard in the way.

I might LFB an automatic but I find it almost impossible with a manual trans without a lot of setup to move my right foot over so my left foot doesn't snag the clutch.  And if it takes that much time to set up, you're not really saving time vs. braking normally.

In reply to Colin Wood :

I tried left foot braking for the first time maybe a year ago, and this was, in fact, me.

In reply to Andy Hollis :

See I never really warmed up to the Dick-shift. Even though I totally agree that the theory is valid. Fortunately I've waited it out long enough (much like that hard-to reach clock in my shop I never turn back in the fall) and now DCTs and 8HPs are everywhere and I don't need to worry about it anymore :)

I've long been a proponent of using your left foot for braking anytime you can.  It's faster as mentioned and opens up so many options.

One thing I rarely see mentioned in conjunction with LFB is threshold braking is it can settle the rear of the car when you are on the ragged edge.  If you have the car snaking around on the brakes you can preload the throttle a tiny bit to settle the car. It's mostly effective when you've gone a bit to deep on the brakes. 

The Turner technique works really well in most cars. It also works really well on vintage MX bikes. Ironically it doesn't work in the Datsun 1200; the shift throws are two long, the gearbox is archaic and you're back to the power well before the apex. You pretty much have make your downshift just before you turn in. 

This topic also brings up something I've been saying for years; H-pattern syncro gearboxes suck.  If you've ever driven a car with a dog box (Formula Ford)  or motorcycle engined car you know that once you leave the pit lane you never touch the clutch again. 

In reply to Tom1200 :

Left foot braking works wonders to settle the back end of a light, nose heavy front driver when hauling butt on a rough road, like an snowy, unplowed, rutted highway.  Just a little brake drag to add a little resistance to the rear wheels makes the difference between the car wanting to change lanes at 65 and feeling calm and secure at... um... over 65 

This probably doesn't apply to track driving.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

Left foot braking works wonders to settle the back end of a light, nose heavy front driver when hauling butt on a rough road, like an snowy, unplowed, rutted highway.  Just a little brake drag to add a little resistance to the rear wheels makes the difference between the car wanting to change lanes at 65 and feeling calm and secure at... um... over 65 

 

This probably doesn't apply to track driving.

It does when I'm behind the wheel of the Datsun.................the joys of leaf spring rear suspension.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I often apply a smidgen of left-foot braking on track to keep the car planted, usually as I'm decelerating into a corner that doesn't require a downshift, or in big sweepers that are a bit bumpy, even at 100% throttle.  I learned to do this from riding motorcycles, although it was right-foot braking in that context :)

If I try this, what is the game plan for a left foot brake induced spin? The advice is usually "in a spin, two feet in".  Not sure not would work smoothly enough in the moment. 

I remember being taught to LFB mid corner at a rally school in Ridgecrest many years ago. This was to help rotate FWD and to a lesser extent AWD cars.

I tried to practice it on my canyon carving but was very jerky and scared myself several times. Therefore I didn't give it the time needed and went back to working on my heel toe. It may be time to try again. 

In reply to dstn2bdoa :

The very thing you learned at CRS rally school can be applied to road courses for the exact sames reason.

for example; in my Datsun at certain tracks you only need to scrub 2-3 mph. Lifting means the car may loose ome momentum, but a light squeeze of the brakes does the trick.

This is terrible advice... and most people who left brake end up over slowing and using it as a crutch.  I've proven this time and time again... when I used to instruct. People would say I was faster because I left foot broke... I'd show that I'd run the exact same lap times right foot braking. 
 

it's not that left foot braking is slower... if mastered, it can be great!  But far more drawbacks for most then benefits when actually looking at lap times.  
 

novices for sure should not do this, and most prone to over using it in my experience. 
 

Dave

In reply to David Schotz :

It is certainly slower at first.  Personally, I think it is great advice.  While learning the skill set for fast driving why not have all the tools in the tool box?  It isn't something to teach to a novice on day one.  Once a beginner is finding the line and working on shaving time off of their runs it would be something to work on if they are interested in learning and have the coordination and timing to use both feet at once.  I learned left foot braking in order to keep old school Turbo cars spooled while Autocrossing them.  For heavy, high powered RWD vehicles left foot braking is the way you can get the car to plant while entering a corner making a car that normally will severely understeer into a car with much more neutral handling characteristics.  It is dancing on the razor blade, therefore, requires continuous practice.  Eventually, it becomes second nature.  Racers that start out Kart racing make incredibly fast drivers because they have been left foot braking all along. It is a skill you want to practice in very safe conditions.  No left foot braking into the stop box when first learning the skill.  When mastered it smooths out the chassis dynamics significantly. 

I LFB on track and in sim racing. I learned it on track before sim racing was a thing. I started it because it let me work the gas and the brake much better setting the car's weight balance better / faster and there are times I want some braking when I am on throttle. You don't lift for a corner you just drag the brakes a little. It can be faster than a little lift. It keeps forward momentum and keeps the cars balance in corners.  If I am driving an inherently loose car not lifting and dragging the brakes keeps the car more stable and you can then control rotation through weight transfer with a lot more precision.  Not sure if all this makes sense to people. If you spend time in mid or rear engine cars back in the 80s it was a thing.  An old timer I met at the track back then that was still running his 911 taught it to me and explained the weight transfer part of it to me. 
 

EDIT. I should qualify this by saying I don't left foot brake for every corner. There are times when H&T is the fast way. It is track/corner specific. It is another tool to have when on track. 
 

On the street I RFB. There is no need to drive on the street like I do on track. I keep the two disciplines completely separate mentally. 

From running a '76 Saab 99  FWD - the left foot braking combined with getting on the throttle early and restrained by the braking coming off corner apex gets the rear out a bit for a tidier pull out of the corner - less under steer.

David Schotz said:

This is terrible advice... and most people who left brake end up over slowing and using it as a crutch.  I've proven this time and time again... when I used to instruct. People would say I was faster because I left foot broke... I'd show that I'd run the exact same lap times right foot braking. 
 

it's not that left foot braking is slower... if mastered, it can be great!  But far more drawbacks for most then benefits when actually looking at lap times.  
 

novices for sure should not do this, and most prone to over using it in my experience. 
 

Dave

Novices tend to over-slow regardless of which foot they use.  I think the real problem is that most people have decent touch and sensitivity with their right foot from using it to brake on the streets their whole lives, and those skills need to be developed with the left foot.  Actual threshold braking is one of the hardest skills to master on the track and using a "dumb" foot to do it makes it even worse.

So is it worth it?  In my opinion, it may not be in a car with a clutch and manual transmission.  Downshifting without rev matching can really upset the drive wheels which complicates threshold braking a lot.  In a paddle-shifted car, IMO it's definitely worth it if you're willing to put in the work.  It may not find you seconds but it can definitely find you 10ths.  I've been a mid-pack racer in spec classes with paddle shifted cars for the past 5-6 years, and data suggested that all of the time I was losing to the front runners was in the brake zones.  I switched to left foot braking and got a little slower at first, but as I've developed the muscle skills I'm faster than ever and pushing the frontrunners now.  I think the key was left foot braking 100% of the time in street cars, race cars, etc.  You really need to get the feel into your subconscious before you start finding the time.

One other benefit of left foot braking is that you can use it to balance the car even when you're not trying to slow it down.  I will often give the brakes a little brush to fix understeer going around carousels, for instance.  It can also help with driver psychology on fast turns that really should be flat throttle, but the driver is developing the confidence.  For the longest time I couldn't stay flat through turn 9 at Roebling, even though data suggested that my car was capable of it if the line was correct.  My coach had me stay flat on the throttle and use the brake to moderate speed, which also upset the car less than ducking in and out of the throttle.  It was a lot easier to eventually wean myself off of the brake.

gwjr said:

If I try this, what is the game plan for a left foot brake induced spin? The advice is usually "in a spin, two feet in".  Not sure not would work smoothly enough in the moment. 

Like most things, practice.  You have to move your left foot the clutch and your right foot to the brake.  It's a skill I had to learn in my Radical because if the drive wheels spin backwards it can shear the teeth off of the starter motor, which end up in the engine doing very bad things.  Practice doing it 100 times sitting still in the paddock while visualizing, it's not as hard as it sounds.

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

if the drive wheels spin backwards it can shear the teeth off of the starter motor, which end up in the engine doing very bad things. 

Wait, what?

I believe you, but I'm trying to wrap my head around how this would happen.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

He's in a motorcycle engined car.

Great article, the algorithm found me as I have been thinking about this for some time. To train my brain, should I start practicing LFB on the street, or just on track?