I've hit a plateau. My times are not improving and am mired well below the top of the PAX list.


There is lots I need to work on, but one of the most noticeable issues while driving is turbo lag or slow throttle response after braking to set up for an element. Being EARLY is one solution, but I feel the time I spend coasting is hurting me.


Coasting is the time it takes me to move my foot from the brake to the gas PLUS the time it takes for the Turbo to spool back up and give me some torque.


Left foot braking will solve the coasting time during my foot movement between pedals, but what about the throttle response. I think I read that brake application cuts all turbo boost. Can someone verify that for me? Now, if that is true will I get ANY better (quicker) throttle response with left foot braking?

 

i've heard LFB is a must for turbocharged cars (coming from the evo world) as it builds/keeps boost up while you are braking.

I think if you start LFBing, you'll be "worse" for a while, until you start getting really good at it, and then there should be a solid improvement

::

not sure about braking cutting boost in the MCS - why don't you give it a shot?

 

What is the benefit of Left Foot Breaking compared to Heel-To the gas/brake?

 

The biggest advantage with Left Foot Braking is you can brake before you lift the throttle.
Additionally you can keep some throttle on as you brake to plant or initiate the weight transfer. This will eventually lead to learning to trail brake.

It takes time to develop a really good feel for Left Foot Braking... but a skill worth learning.

Motor on!

 

Hitting the brakes does not dump boost in our 2010 JCW. So you could certainly LFB in the mini and probably see an improvement. In some turbo cars LFB really gets you a lot of time. Especially in something AWD like an Evo/STI. In the mini you are already probably having trouble putting power down on corner exit on street tires so I doubt you'd see a huge improvement by doing LFB. Also, with the teeny little turbo it spools pretty quickly. I don't often find myself waiting for the turbo to spool in our STX car. LFB in the auto-x community is kind of hit and miss. Some people do it and are really happy with it but the majority are traditional right-foot-brakers. It is a skill that takes probably at least a season before you're good at it and another season before you start seeing measurable improvements in time.

All that said... if you're paxing in the bottom half LFB is not likely going to move you up. There is something else going on there.
1. The mini just isn't very competitive in DS. Someone needs to start a letter campaign to get the Cooper S moved back to GS with the now seemingly dominant FoST.
2. You have an insanely super competitive region and out of the 100 people that show up at an auto-x 50 are trophy contenders at nationals. This is very unlikely.
3. You need to get more seat/instruction time and work on your driving. At a local level driving skill is far and above the most important thing. Do you have any videos of your driving you could post up so we could give some pointers? Data acquisition would be even better.