Steering wheel users: Left or Right foot braking?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Devedander
  • 195 comments
  • 22,385 views

Left or Right foot braking?

  • Left

    Votes: 58 69.0%

  • Right

    Votes: 26 31.0%
  • Total voters
    84
  • Poll closed .
Gabkicks
barichelllo doesnt left foot break. friday i'm gonna try out driving that New BMW-Sauber F1 Simulator. I'm already pretty sure i'll be faster left foot braking. i like to lfb to balance the weight while cornering:to keep from under/oversteering.
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And barichello has been around longer than most current racers and he sitill hasnt won as much as alonso or schumacher or coulthard
 
One foot on the gas, the other on the brakes, same as when I drive go-karts. If a clutch was available and the brake pedal felt like a real one I would switch to the regular "car mode" that is right foot in charge of gas & braking, left foot in charge of the clutch or the left foot braking when needed.

PhM
 
I alternate. I used to ALWAYS use 2 feet, One gas, one brake. But since I got this new more realistic set-up I only use 2 feet in games with a clutch, like Enthusia. Otherwise I stick to one. And In NR2k3Season (PC) I use 2 feet.
 
I use both feet, I'm not co-ordinated enough to make one foot do two operations, my brain will overload.
 
yeah, both feet here too. I've never driven a real car so it never quite occurred to me to do anything else. I'm with daan - two pedals, two feet, it seems we have a match!
 
I'm a right-foot braker and throttler. First, I usually drive a manual in real life, though even when driving my ATX cars I drive one-footed.

Second, I've found that while left-foot braking is theoretically better than right-foot, in practice it is different. Any advantage in speed of reaction is lost because the majority of left-footers tend to brake too much and too early. Often times they will brake when a simple throttle lift would suffice, or they brake too hard/early. In my experience, except for drivers at an extremely high level, left foot braking = too much braking.

Certainly cases can be made for either method. In-game there is no correct answer, just like the question of ATX or MTX. Very fast drivers can be found in all flavors.
 
duke: I find that a hard assertion to accept at face value - you appear to be missing several premises to your argument. For what reason do you suggest that people who brake with their left foot brake more than people who brake with their right? I don't see the connection between the assessment of how much to brake (which is a mental task) and the actual mechanics of doing the braking (which is a matter of physical comfort / convenience). Not saying you're wrong, but I don't see a proven point yet. :)
 
On games like GT4, I can stand using only 1 foot. But with sims like LFS, I need both my feet constently.
 
AdamW
duke: I find that a hard assertion to accept at face value - you appear to be missing several premises to your argument. For what reason do you suggest that people who brake with their left foot brake more than people who brake with their right? I don't see the connection between the assessment of how much to brake (which is a mental task) and the actual mechanics of doing the braking (which is a matter of physical comfort / convenience). Not saying you're wrong, but I don't see a proven point yet. :)
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Adam:

If you are keeping your left foot over the brake and ready to press, or even just off to the side, your subconcious is sitting there waiting for the moment to make the leg do the job for which it's being kept ready. Consequently I've found (from witnessing autocross runs and track days) that since your left leg is simply waiting for an excuse to brake, it will do so at every available opportunity, even if braking is not exactly required and a lift of the throttle would have been enough. If you right foot brake, you tend to subconciously make that decision with a little more analysis.

Say I'm approaching a shallow turn and I think I may need to brake, but I'm not sure. So my right foot slips off the gas in preparation for braking, and the car slows - and, it turns out, slows enough, allowing me to get back on the gas. If I was left-foot braking, I'd have likely braked (and likely more than necessary), slowing down too much.

As I said, this is not true of every driver, and at a higher level of driver, the effect is probably reduced. But in general I've found it to be true.
 
Well, I see the theory, OK. Personally I figure out braking points / levels for every corner precisely and always stick to them, but I guess it could make sense for someone who relies more on feel to drive, yeah.

(I don't keep my left foot hovering over the pedal, though. Can't imagine doing that for more than two minutes, wouldn't you get tired? I have it sitting on the floor next to the pedal most of the time).
 
i dont have a DFP but i use both X and [] (square) at the same time with my DS2, so you could say i use two feet... in my own way.
 
i use 1 and a half, the right foot is in the middle of the two pedals and the left foot is where the clutch should be (just for slight ajustments)
 
Three............Bwahahahaha

J/k I use 2...sometimes it's one clutch, one gas/brake, sometimes it's one gas, one brake......it depends on the game I'm playing.
 
You can not drive an F1 with 1 foot! You could not react fast enough. That whole thing about braking more with 2 feet is lame! That has nothing to do with the concept of braking. Correct braking is determined by car, track, tires, speed, set brake points....etc. If you learn how to use 2 feet you will drive more smooth and be in more control. Also you will be way more easier on your pedal assembly than jambing your foot across to brake. (well thats just what i think). The brake pedal is very delicate and I have had to fix it 3 times from kids playing and stomping on the pedal. Agree? Disagree?
 
I right foot brake going in the turn and if I have t slow down more in the turn I left foot brake there. I use a G25 if it makes a difference.
 
I have the DFGT and while the carpet grabber is excellent I like the weight of both feet on the pedals at all times. Also the USB connector passes between my 2 pedals and I get snagged on it when moving my foot between the pedals. I do not have enough length to the cable to route it to the side.

I'm in the U.S. and here's the $19.99 stand I use:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...d=10053&productId=100003259&categoryID=502727

You have to stick a 1 1/2 to 2 foot long 1x4 board in it to attach the DFGT. It is very stable and works well.
 
Does anyone do it? I always just use the right foot because I'm so used to it from real life driving. Is it common in actual racing?
 
Yes a lot of people use it, I do 50% of the times.. It's common in actual racing as well..

There is a thread like this already.
 
I can't drive without left foot braking either in game or real life. It's far more natural.
 
In real life I on streets I use my right foot for braking and acceleration, I do not want to put too much stress by braking and accelerating at the same time ;)
 
I've never had that problem. When I'm on the accelerator, my left foot is well clear of the brake.
 
Left foot braking is just another way of controlling the balance of the car in a turn. It will give you an advantage if you know how and when to use it. But if you can enter a corner perfectly without it then more power to you.
 
In real life I'll sometimes do it in a manual car, nearly always in an auto.

In game, I absolutely always do. It's much faster getting off the gas and onto the brake when you don't have to move your foot. Valuable skill, I think.
 
nikhil
Does anyone do it? I always just use the right foot because I'm so used to it from real life driving. Is it common in actual racing?
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I started sim racing about 4 years ago (GTR,GTR2,RaceEvo). I started out using right foot braking because that is what I do in real life driving, too. I ended up using left foot braking to decrease my lap times. It is worth it!
:)
 
Because my DFGT doesn't have a clutch, I can only use my left foot. The Playseat bar gets in the way.

However, in real life, I use my right foot for gas and brake.
 

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