left foot braking

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scuderia229

scuderia229

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Does anyone here with a wheel/pedals use a left foot braking technique that can offer advice for learning it?

Inlast weeked GTP weekly race I noticed on some corners I was dropping a 10th here a 100th there which all add up over a full lap. I found that often time the "lag" was caused from moving my right foot from the gas to the brake and back again.

I have heard of the benefits for this technique for a for years in F1 circles, with some F1 drivers recently adopting the left foot brake/right foot gas technique. The benefits (so I have heard from f1) are no lag in braking/acceleration and more car feel. Since GT3 is a driving sim. I would tink the techniques translate here.


BTW - I did multiple keyword and phrase searches the past few days looking for info on this here and pulled up nothing of value. Sorry if this has been covered already.
 
I've started to use the wheel recently and from doing licences i can confintly say that if i were to try only 1 foot i would not get the times i get, even comparing my replays to others i can see the difference between pedals and buttons. I dont slam brakes while accelerating either just one on and one off.

I don't have any advice for learning it, maybe if you have an xport download some replays of licences where a wheel has been used and try to catch him and look in the logger where he brakes and how long it takes him to get back on it? Something like that. I just got in and did it with two feet :D

What wheel are you useing by the way?
 
Wow you were actually driving with one foot? How in the hell?!?!?!

I've always driven my cars with 2 feet in GT3. It's to difficult for me to switch over to the brake pedal with just my right foot. Everything happens so fast you'd have to brake a lot sooner in order to react in time.

It might not feel 'natural' at first, but it will come to you eventually. It will also pay off in big dividends as you will shave off a few 10th's and 100th's off your split times.

I use a Interact V3 FX.
 
I used to right foot brake when I first started playing GT3, because that's what I do normally in a road car. But after I while I went in search of the extra tenth that left foot braking would find me.

I now find it natural to brake with the left foot, and can still jump into the road car and not get my feet in a muddle.
 
For the short time I've used my wheel (so far), I have to say there's no way I could drive only with my right foot, though I do so in a real car. Which is a PITA because the pedals are so close together that it's incredibly uncomfortable to me to sit that way.
 
Originally posted by neon_duke
For the short time I've used my wheel (so far), I have to say there's no way I could drive only with my right foot, though I do so in a real car.
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I'm the same way. I drive a stick in my real car and I've tried to "heal and toe" between the gas and brake I have no clue how you do that. :confused: They are so far apart, I feel like I have to break my ankle and twist it then I'll be able to sorta do it unless my oh so great eye and hand coordination kicks in. I also tried to sit so that I'm pretty much laying on my left side and my foot can "heal and toe" but then I can't drive.
 
I dont have a wheel so i cant comment....

however I know a guy who drive an automagic IRL and uses both feet! I cant do it myself... i just pivot
 
Originally posted by VipFREAK
I drive a stick in my real car and I've tried to "heal and toe" between the gas and brake I have no clue how you do that. :confused:
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Heal and toe is actually a misnomer, you don't use your heel or toe as much as the ball and side of your foot. You press the brake pedal with the ball of your foot and blip the throttle with the side of the same foot.

It's mainly used for racing where you don't have synchromesh gearboxes or semi-automatics. You blip the throttle on the downchange with the slide of your foot so the engine speed will match the road speed in your next gear.

Most modern road cars do not have the pedals set up to make heal-and-toeing possible, or at least not hugely difficult. It doesn't really have a road application unless you have a car with a worn-out manual 'box.
 
in a real car i use my right foot for brakes, and with my wheel i use my left
 
Why would you want to start left foot braking, YOUR NOT suppose to do left foot braking in Real life driving anyways.
 
Originally posted by Wastegate
Heal and toe is actually a misnomer, you don't use your heel or toe as much as the ball and side of your foot. You press the brake pedal with the ball of your foot and blip the throttle with the side of the same foot.
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I actually knew that but if I did that in my car now my foot would go right threw between the gas and brake. I noticed that the pedal in the neon that I drove at the skip barber driving school was modified to lessen that gap.

Originally posted by BreakerOhio
Why would you want to start left foot braking, YOUR NOT suppose to do left foot braking in Real life driving anyways.
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Your actually suppose to brake with your left and use your right for the gas. That's the right way and the most safe way because your reaction time is a lot less at least when braking. For me I use my right for the gas and the brake, the left for the clutch.
 
Left foot braking is a good race technique.
It lets you transition from accel to decel with no gap between the actions. Holding the accelerator down slightly during braking allows your turbo to remain spooled up, as to eliminate turbo lag during exit.

FF drivers use it too because FF cars understeer easily while accelerating through corners, so a bit of braking shifts some weight forward and helps the tires grip more.

I wouldn't suggest doing it in your moms Focus on the way to the grocery store. See how long the brakes last then.
 
Originally posted by scuderia229
Does anyone here with a wheel/pedals use a left foot braking technique that can offer advice for learning it?

Inlast weeked GTP weekly race I noticed on some corners I was dropping a 10th here a 100th there which all add up over a full lap. I found that often time the "lag" was caused from moving my right foot from the gas to the brake and back again.

I have heard of the benefits for this technique for a for years in F1 circles, with some F1 drivers recently adopting the left foot brake/right foot gas technique. The benefits (so I have heard from f1) are no lag in braking/acceleration and more car feel. Since GT3 is a driving sim. I would tink the techniques translate here.


BTW - I did multiple keyword and phrase searches the past few days looking for info on this here and pulled up nothing of value. Sorry if this has been covered already.
Click to expand...

Ummm for me using left foot for brake is natural from driving go-karts. I also use this techniques in intial-D cos you can drift easier (IMO)

Originally posted by Hyperglide
Wow you were actually driving with one foot? How in the hell?!?!?!

I've always driven my cars with 2 feet in GT3. It's to difficult for me to switch over to the brake pedal with just my right foot. Everything happens so fast you'd have to brake a lot sooner in order to react in time.

It might not feel 'natural' at first, but it will come to you eventually. It will also pay off in big dividends as you will shave off a few 10th's and 100th's off your split times.

I use a Interact V3 FX.
Click to expand...

Since Im not used to driving a normal car, where its the norm to only use 1 foot, it seems entirely natural to use the left foot to brake. Last time I went for a driving lesson the guys like stop using ur left foot to brake etc. For me its harder to consciously lift my right foot and move it instead of using the left, I often miss it with my right aswell. But for some odd reason when I drive a stick I tend to use my right foot. I know Im messed up but Ill get over it.
 
I use my left foot with steering wheel's for racing games too and when I get to drive car's(not very often) I use my right.
 
Wouldn't it be great if we all had magic clutches that knew exactly when we were about to shift (like in GT3).

All you do is gas, brake, shift!

Driving would be bliss.
 
the pedals are so small and uncomfortable that it is a must to use left foot brakings in this game plus its a sim no harm done
plus the feel for this game and real life are totally different so it doesnt really change much ofyour regular style of driving
 
what works driving to 7-11 doesn't mean it works driving at say Suzuka or Monza. I am working on left foot braking and finding some advantages...like driving into a corner with slightly too much speed but instead of lifting off the gas to correct I leave my right foot where it is and tap the brakes which gets me back on line and only dropping 3-5mph, as opposed to 10+mph with lifting from the gas. So ya it rocks for course correction.
 
I don't have a wheel for GT3, but I've practiced all of these techniques in my car.

Left foot braking. I've tried it, and somewhat learned how to do it. Braking softly is easy enough, but modulating it is harder for me. I found that I really don't need to use it.

I often double clutch because the shifting feels a whole lot smoother and is just easier. The heel-toe is still coming to me, but I'm getting better and better.

I've never had to use heel-toe/double clutching it in autocrossing though. The gears on the Impreza are short (1st goes to ~27mph, and 2nd goes to ~52mph). I've never really had to shift into third, and the only time I did was a mistake. Besides, I'm still so frantic behind the wheel when autocrossing, I don't need my feet going nuts too. However, I think learning how to left foot brake would be a good thing to do sometime.
 
Originally posted by scuderia229
what works driving to 7-11 doesn't mean it works driving at say Suzuka or Monza. I am working on left foot braking and finding some advantages...like driving into a corner with slightly too much speed but instead of lifting off the gas to correct I leave my right foot where it is and tap the brakes which gets me back on line and only dropping 3-5mph, as opposed to 10+mph with lifting from the gas. So ya it rocks for course correction.
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Called trailbreaking ;)
 
It's called not sucking.

But yeah, that's the general technique FF drivers use when their backwards drivetrain cars understeer through a corner should they accelerate too suddenly.
 
Dude if your driving into a corner you need to brake anyway... I mean... WTF? Who cares if you need to correct you course? ID BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT HITTING A WALL THAN LOSING 7KM/H!!! Lol obviously you didnt word your statement correctly. I fogive you but please give yourself a quick blow to the head before proceeding. The whoel point of left foot braking is there's no gap between accelerate/brake or vica versa.
 
Originally posted by Crayola
Dude if your driving into a corner you need to brake anyway... I mean... WTF? Who cares if you need to correct you course? ID BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT HITTING A WALL THAN LOSING 7KM/H!!! Lol obviously you didnt word your statement correctly. I fogive you but please give yourself a quick blow to the head before proceeding. The whoel point of left foot braking is there's no gap between accelerate/brake or vica versa.
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ummm....I don't think I follow you 'mate. I get the point between no gap in accel/brake and that is my point about braking into a corner. Course correction when you turn in too late or with too much speed, with little loos of momentum or speed compared to lifting and braking with one foot. When you are trying to cut 10ths and 100ths off a hot lap tim any little bit helps.

You know not all of us hit every apex perfectly all the time, right 'mate.
 
Originally posted by Wastegate
Most modern road cars do not have the pedals set up to make heal-and-toeing possible, or at least not hugely difficult. It doesn't really have a road application unless you have a car with a worn-out manual 'box.
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Yes and no - some do, and some don't. My Subaru Liberty/Legacy has the pedals set up quite nicely for heel & toe down changes, and I do it pretty regularly, typically when skipping gears on the way down (say from fourth to second)

There's two benefits other than nursing a tired gearbox (which is pretty well where I learnt it, right after I learnt you could shift without using the clutch :O).
- matching revs to speed. It's easier on the transmission and driveline, and makes for smoother braking
- less chance of unsettling the car under heavy braking, although this is really only an issue for rear drive cars.
 
Ive ALWAYS used both feet while driving, and GT3 drifting is much better for me like that. Alot of times on GT3 i brake and gas at the same time to help control my angle.

-Vash
 
In my real car, my left foot has a clutch to operate.

In GT3, I have 2 pedals and 2 feet. Go figure.....
 

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