Throttle + Braking while cornering, good technique, or impractical?

So, do you heel-toe your downshifts with your left foot? Seems to me braking and clutching would be quite a feet. Or are you ambifootrous?

ambifootrous. Yes. sometimes switching between rfb and lfb in a single autocross run.

There are a lot of left foot brakers on the highways around here. Mostly minivans riding the brakes, burning the brake lamps for mileeeeeeeeeess.

Keith, I like your feet pun.

can i ask you guys something about left foot braking, forget rally cars for a second, what about modern cars with vacuum assisted brakes?

I noticed the other day when i was left foot braking in my Matrix that the revs seemed to drop pretty fast and i wasnt convinced that i was being overly assertive on the brake pedal. So i wondered, if the brakes are vacuum assisted and the source of vacuum is the intake manifold, should i try to have an independent source of vacuum on my next project car?

Being a RWD type, I have never developed left foot braking technique. My two FWD performance cars (Fiesta and GTi) just didn't require it. I know people who drive RWD turbo cars who do it to keep the turbo spooled up

I've been doing it since the start of the season in an AWD turbo car - I really think it's the fastest way around the course. I can dial in oversteer at will, and like Per was saying, when you have your feet on both the gas AND brake it's a lot easier to make gradual, incremental changes to acceleration and braking in mid-corner.

You guys should try this next time you drive (closed course, prof. driver etc.): go through a corner with the gas 1/4 to 1/2 way depressed, and modulate your speed / angle of attack with the brake.

jcanracer wrote:

can i ask you guys something about left foot braking, forget rally cars for a second, what about modern cars with vacuum assisted brakes?

I noticed the other day when i was left foot braking in my Matrix that the revs seemed to drop pretty fast and i wasnt convinced that i was being overly assertive on the brake pedal. So i wondered, if the brakes are vacuum assisted and the source of vacuum is the intake manifold, should i try to have an independent source of vacuum on my next project car?

I have "run out of brakes" on an auto-x course before ( I lfb always) .. I'm guessing it's from gas and brakes at same time... the pedal feels as if there's a block of wood under it.... what really happens is it mimics trying to brake a vacuum assisted brakes vehicle with the engine off....

Nah, lots of ECUs w/ electronic throttles cut the throttle if the brake pedal is depressed... Depressing.

scardeal wrote: Nah, lots of ECUs w/ electronic throttles cut the throttle if the brake pedal is depressed... Depressing.

True... my wife's old Passat would cut fuel if you tried to LFB. The new 325Xi that replaced it does not interfere though.

If you watch the Top Gear episode where Brian Johnson is racing around, I swear in at least 2 corners you see the car jerking along as he's trying to left foot brake it while keeping the reves up to induce understeer in that FWD car to get it around (also why it looked so clean with no crazy off-road antics through the corners), and yes this works great for FWD, but it's horribly bad for your trans...