"Left foot braking"

[pologti18t]

All these reasons not to left foot brake seem sensible:

Why can’t I use the left foot for braking in an automatic car?

1. Under heavy braking the left foot must push against the floor to brace your body. You will have total control of brake, accelerator and steering during an emergency.
2. It is less confusing to switch from an automatic to a manual vehicle.
3. The left foot, resting on the the brake pedal, may inadvertently push down the brake pedal and light up the brake lights whilst accelerating.
4. There is less chance of a mixup between accelerator and brake. After a lifetime of using two feet, older drivers may get confused, pressing the wrong pedal. The ones that had used the right foot only all their lives are less likely to have trouble later on.
   
   
   How does left foot braking affect stress levels on DSG transmissions? Usually it's practised on torque converter autos

[jamesatfish]

All these reasons not to left foot brake seem sensible:

The issue at hand (overriding the ESP in track or Motorsport situations where simultaneously braking and accelerating has a positive dynamic effect on the car) is probably not what that driving 'instructor' had in mind.

That said, I can't say I agree with any of those theories.

I quite comfortably switch between right foot braking in a manual car, to left foot in 2 pedal car on the road, to right foot in a 2 pedal car on the track (with left foot applied as needed). Haven't found it difficult to transition between the situations and as the left foot never operates the accelerator I can't see how anyone could get mixed up and press the wrong pedal in a panic.

I do see the value in right foot braking in a 2 pedal track car where there is no harness fitted, as the left foot can help brace the driver when braking, but on the road that's not really a concern. I would prefer the quicker reaction time (some left foot braking instructors teach you to ready your left foot over the brake if a situation calls for heightened awareness to reduce the time it takes from reaction to braking the car).

I don't know how the DSG handles the stress of left foot braking on the track over time, but I'd imagine its just part of the accelerated wear you expect from all components when tracking a car.

[wai]

I have had to start left foot braking on my Caddy Maxi Life with DSG, because I was involved in a bad road accident back in 1975. My femur has worn into the top of my tibia leaving a raw edge on the inside, and the medial ligament rubs against this edge and becomes inflamed. After doing a bit too much walking over the Christmas break I found myself in a lot of pain, and I have had to switch to left foot braking because the pain saw me have difficulty getting from accelerator to brake.

The issue I found was that with a manual, your left foot pushes the clutch in hard and fast and then you modulate the release of the clutch. With braking, you have to retrain your foot to do the opposite. You need to modulate the application and you can then release immediately or modulate the release.

It takes a while to re-train your muscles, but now it is quite OK.

I have not had any issue releasing the accelerator when braking with the left foot though. Each day, the control of the brake improves.

Now yes, you can't brace yourself, but then in a manual, you would also need to be able to operate the clutch at times in such situations. Again, you get used to it, and let's face it, many new drivers are taught to left foot brake and they know nothing different.

[jamesatfish]

Again, you get used to it, and let's face it, many new drivers are taught to left foot brake and they know nothing different.

Indeed - my wife first learnt to drive on an automatic car, and as her mother is a left-foot braker that's how she was taught.

She was forced to learn right-foot braking because the driving test assessor wouldn't accept left-foot braking as a valid method of driving.

A few years later at one of Porsche's early stage defensive driver training courses she was advised to go back to left-foot braking...

[bennjamin]

ive always used the left foot at low speed (ie car park) driving on the brake -

ive noticed it hard to do in the mkv gti - it maybe the car or maybe and issue but if the brakes are touched with abit of accelerator the car dips and the revs drop but catch up again. This puts you in a pogo back and forth like a learner.

[Martin]

Pressing the brake at the same time as the accelerator causes the ECU to ignore the accelerator input.
However, if you press the accelerator whilst braking, the accelerator input IS processed

We have software we have developed in conjunction with APR that has enabled "Left foot Braking" particularly for DSG motorsport applications, but it's available at no extra cost (on request) with the APR tune at initial installation.

Why would one wish to do this?

Another point we haven't covered, specific to motorsport
Prior to arrival at a corner it's entirely normal to use the left foot to jab the brake peddle
This is to check if there are any brakes and to deal with "pad knock off" (push the pads right up to the disc)
If you've clobbered the apex the impact can knock the pads back from the rotor disc
Next time you go to hammer the brake at the very last second you will get a long peddle and may not make the corner (certainly not the apex)

You could not do this in a race if the ECU shut the throttle down when you jab the brakes

[Tobes_WIR35]

My left foot must be mildly retarded. I can't even brake smoothly at a red light with my left foot, let alone do it on a race track!

[Martin]

It's something you have to tune into and get used to...

[wai]

My left foot must be mildly retarded. I can't even brake smoothly at a red light with my left foot, let alone do it on a race track!

Don't worry, the muscles in your leg need training

If you want to use left foot braking, you need to practice and practice. If you find yourself having to change to left foot braking, it is a great incentive to train

[Tom87]

I learnt to left foot brake in recreational 4wding as my vehicle at the time had an extreme distance between the pedals and when wearing hiking boots it could be a bit clunky to use.

I now find myself doing it every day in traffic. There's not alot of benefit, except perhaps faster reaction times when stopping but that is hardly a major issue, I'm not a tailgater.