I'm 51 and never used my left foot for anything but the clutch. I'm want to learn to brake with my left foot before I taking my car to the track.... but 35 years of diving habits are hard to break. I know it's just going to take practice, but right now it's like trying to write with my left hand. It's really jerky, almost an all or nothing operation.

 

Haha, yeah. I used to be able to left foot brake when I only drove automatics, but once I started driving a manual, left foot goes straight to the floor every time. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get there with practice.

 

Manual transmission?

Cheers,

Charlie

 

It's an automatic. If it was a manual, and I had to heel-toe I would really be screwed... I'm not that coordinated

 

I was autocrossing Gollum I (R53) back in '08, and decided to try left foot braking.

I asked Rob Macalpine (a hot shoe at the time) if it was a good idea, and he said "learn to do it, and then DON'T". He told me that the ready availability of that brake pedal at all times would most likely tempt me to use the brake when I should not, during moments of uncertainty. The result would be slower.

He was right, and after that season I stopped, and never looked back. I do still left foot brake within iRacing, and in that context it's very effective for me.

It took a month of careful practice to get anywhere near comfortable with my insensitice left foot back then. I had to consciously develop a very comfortable seating position, with my left heel immobile on the floorboard, and only the articulation of my ankle as the brake activation motion. Without that heel firmly planted I had no feel, and no fine control necessary for threshold braking.

The other reason I gave up left foot braking is the prevalence of electronic differentials, which in the front wheel drive Minis can use the brakes fairly often - greatly exacerbating the heat created and accelerating pad and rotor wear. The only time I ever "blued" the JCW front rotors in my current car it was due to driving the Tail of the Dragon on a slightly damp day - this was before the LSD was installed. Since the car was using one of the front brakes on corner exit, and both brakes on entry, and a corner comes up every 2.5 seconds on that stretch, the result was smoking at the end of the run!

So I'd wish you caution when practicing, and suggest you watch brake temps carefully, and ultimately DON'T.

YMMV...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

dannieh42,
An old geezer here, with a nerve compression problem in the spine that affects my right leg making it a tad sluggish.
I bought an automatic in my Cooper S so I could do just that (left foot brake). It will come easier than you think.
Probably only took a week or two until I was a pro at it. Good Luck

 

Charlie, thanks for the advice. After following all of your Gollum posts, your input definitely carries weight with me.