The best way I've found to train yourself in left foot braking is to do the following... 1) Go skiing and give yourself a decent but not debilitating right knee ACL or MCL injury. 2) Drive your self to work for the next 6 to 8 weeks. You will find that, "if you've done part one correctly", it will be so painful to move your right foot from the gas to the brake that it will force you to use your left foot for both clutch (If manual) and braking. BTW If you over did part one you might have to use your left foot for everything....(This is advanced and not recommended) If you follow my guideline.... by the end of week one you will have a pretty good feel for left foot braking and at the end of week four it will feel almost second nature. By week six you will be a pro....guaranteed!
I really need to keep practicing this. One of the main reasons I want to dial it down is for the sake of tighter car control. Being able to left foot brake helps significantly reduce/eliminate lift off oversteer which is key in safely carrying speed through turns. It's also safer in general as reaction speed to stopping in an emergency is also improved.
Awesome video man, seems pretty straight forward. If you guys can make a video basically explaining what you have to do to actually enter a rally and what credentials are needed for specific rallies, that would make my day.
Here in the US, you don't need any real credentials, you basically just go online and buy your rally license. Check out www.americanrallyassociation.org/competitors it's a lot easier than most people think to get started!
Can you do a video about mid corner or other situational corrections? Like how to quickly correct understeer/oversteer or something else (if there is anything else)
6 років тому+4
What also interesting is, that once we learnt something on one side, our brain is really good at converting it into the other side too. So it won't take 2x the work for being symmetrical. Thanks for the videos, keep it up, sir!
This is probably the best tip for someone who is trying to learn how to left foot brake. I figured this out when i was learning myself, now i'm braking better with left than with right foot (i'm a leftie, this probably has something to do with it).
Thank you so much. I'm so glad i subscribed. Was linked to you through SuperSpeedersRob. Your videos are great. They way you explain things brings me a better understanding of things i have a general knowledge of. The topics are great. Wish i could visit the school. Looks like a blast. I'm sure your courses probably cover EVERY type of terrain. But I'm stuck in Cali. So keep the vids coming. My oldest of 4 children just got her license 2 months ago. I'm going to watch a couple of these videos with her, things drivers ed just doesn't teach. Also, your vids are filled with great coaching techniques i can use to help others improve their driving skills. My oldest son is almost 13. He's sending me drift videos and asking about j-turns... Thanks again.
Pro Tip:) great video, thanks Wyatt. one other thing, although practicing in street car to get up to speed is critical, couldn't agree more, driving at the limit in a car with standard OEM 3pt. belt can be problematic for this reason. You lose your stabilizing left foot dead pedal, so performing LFB can sometimes be compromised, usually its threshold braking, because of greater G forces shoving you forward. If you are fully harnessed in seat, then you can utilize LFB to maximum without sliding forward, which is causing imprecise LFB. If not harnessed in, don't abandon good right foot braking, just to do left foot, cause that's what the pros do, but LFB as much as you can when not harnessed. Still, you can use left foot braking in panic stop on street with ABS, since you plant the pedal fully on floor.
This is the most helpful video on left foot braking. The using the A pedal with the left foot, this would cut down the time of the learning curve! Never thought of that and it took a long time to get the left foot working. Awesome! :)
Great video thanks so much I'm going to try it! Question: When I try and left foot brake I feel 'unbalanced' and awkward in my seat, like I'm going to fall over to my left. It's been the biggest problem with me practising. How do I overcome this, or the question is, how do I balance my left leg?? Thanks!
One simple thing i have been doing is just brake with ur left foot...like in traffic, in regular driving. Sounds stupid, but only way to get good at doind someghing is doing it right
You can definitely use left foot braking to keep your boost up, before rally cars had anti-lag and some of the modern turbo systems, it was really important (and still is if you're running pretty stock). If you're not going too fast for the turn, you can often just keep the gas down hard and use LFB to control the speed and keep weight on the front... If you are going too fast, you either straight line brake before the corner or trail brake, then as you're cornering if you're expecting 1sec of turbo lag, just go full throttle with a little LFB about a second before you want the power to actually hit. Use the LFB to control the speed and use the throttle to keep the turbo up when you can.
In drivers ed I did this they liked how smooth I was at cornering , it was natural to me it just made sense left pedals left foot right pedal right foot
I'm finding my heel toe practice much more difficult to grasp than left foot breaking. Left foot break I felt comfortable (not mastered) after one spirited night drive, but I've been trying heel toe all summer and I'm still pretty shit. Any magic tricks behind heel toe or is it just excessive amounts of practice? I find my 97 miata a bit easier than my c6 vette but the vette is also newer to me so that's likely the cause
Some cars are designed with heel toe shifting in mind (definitely the miata, unsure about vette) so the pedals are engineered for it to be a little easier... Some manufacturers put the pedals close together BUT the real key is to have the brake pedal somewhat level with the gas pedal when you're at medium/hard brake pressure. Try it with the car in neutral in your driveway (engine running so you have vacuum brakes) and brake somewhat hard, as hard as you'd expect to be using the brakes coming into a corner... Hold the brake pedal there and see where the gas pedal is. If it's much higher or lower than the brake pedal is, then it's going to be more of a challenge to heel toe shift properly. In rally cars, we often see drivers use washers between the pedal bracket and the floor/firewall to move the pedals a little... Also make sure you bleed your brakes occasionally (if you get them hot often) so there's no air in the lines at all, stainless brake lines do make the pedal a little stiffer than rubber, and finally a lot of drivers will get rid of the vacuum brake completely and/or install a racing pedal box that's fully adjustable. All of that said, it does take a long time to get good at, to the point you can do it fairly automatically without thinking about it. Even if you hop in an old pickup truck, you can still do it pretty well, it just takes a long time and a lot of shifts to get there. Have fun with it and enjoy the process, it's definitely worth it in the end!
Team O'Neil Rally School ahh ok this makes sense, my miata died early this summer and those pedals were even during practice but the vette definitely feels off and I couldn't figure out why, I might try that washer method that sounds useful! Bleeding the breaks is a good idea too, I dont check that enough so great tips thanks a ton, tryna save up enough for some winter sessions if you have em even if I have to sleep in my car lol
I am guilty of preaching, "RIGHT FOOT ONLY!!" for the automatic drivers in particular (and I'm a drive examiner for the IN BMV!!). Good advice! I'll have to try it myself & maybe not be so critical of folks who use both feet. Great video & I'd give my left nut in a velvet sack to be able to come up for your classes!!! Unfortunately, I'm a lowly state employee who will NEVER be able to afford it. 😢 Thanks for putting up such good, informative videos, so we lowly surfs can glean some knowledge & skill!
Switching between pedals can be difficult. So to make sure my left foot is on the brake not the clutch I index my left heel on my right ankle. Nothing like slamming on the brake thinking you were putting in the clutch
I own an automatic now so that would really help since I don't have a clutch at all I can just have one foot per pedal and never have to move my feet off each pedal... But I feel that if I get used to left foot braking on an automatic, my clutch instinct will fade away and when I'll get another manual again It'll take time to get used to clutches...
When to breake with left foot when accelerating AND cornering if you dont have a diff and front wheel drive? This specific example would be very interesting for me. How can I go faster that way? I heard a racing driver saying that it is possible. Do you also think so?
FWD if you have about the right speed for the corner, you can often just stay full throttle and ride a little brake around the corner with your left foot. This will keep some weight on the front so the car turns, without sacrificing any more speed than necessary. Check out ua-cam.com/video/bgg5WWfMWzM/v-deo.html
Even easier way? Start sim racing first! But I understand the cost is not for everyone and you also don't get the real world exponential weight transfer. But it took me and 4 hours of fun safe Sim Racing before then taking to the road. I ended up picking it up much faster then my buddies. Also a lot of Karts are setup like this so that's another way.
Yeah, I agree. I know a lot of people who got into performance driving from sims. They drive better than the large majority of club level drivers and even serious track guys, from all the seat time in sims. If the simulator and car are well made, they're quite close to the experience and technique, at least.
Just go have fun in karting, I’ve been karting since 8 years old, and have mastered left foot braking. However, you will find cars breaking are much more physically harder than a kart, and the accelerate are much more softer. Another tip, is try to put your left foot a little 70 degrees angle, so when you brake you won’t use as much power, to prevent you from hitting your head to the steering wheel.
Unless you use the left foot braking technique where it sits in the middle resting your heel on the floor. Having your left foot to the side is not the only option.
I like to use left foot braking in fast corners to settle the car down but I can’t understand how to use it propelly for turning into tight corners. All I can do is kill too much speed or go straight into the ditch. Pro rally guys use left foot braking almost like a throttle to slide more or less. Ok they have Evo’s with 700NM of torque but still. Another issue is that my Impreza runs out of vacuum assisted brakes very fast and the brake pedal gets hard as rock.
Rotating around tight corners is all about getting the weight on the front (and off the rear). One easy way to do this is to come in kinda quick, lift then turn then brake smoothly. Once the car rotates, get back on the gas and you're gone. It's all about finding just the right amount of brake... Which is difficult with vacuum brakes because the pedal can feel so different from one moment to the next.
There are TON of different reasons, but #1 will always be reaction time, simply the quickness with which you can transition from brake to throttle and back again. Also because your feet stay in position, you can do the job smoother than jumping back and forth between pedals with one foot. ua-cam.com/video/7Lx8d2rZxvU/v-deo.html
Left foot braking might require you to put the seat back a click or two more than you normally would, then either tilt the back up or telescope the steering column if possible to compensate. If you're just very tall and in a small car... maybe tilt the steering wheel up a little to give your knees room and just go for it!
Hey! Can you give any tips on using left foot on dual clutch transmission like DCT or DSG? Especially when you keep gas pressed and press brake simultaneously, is it bad for transmission or ok?
Some techniques are universal, but a lot of things you'll want to do it differently depending on whether you're in a FWD, AWD, or RWD car. Check out ua-cam.com/video/bgg5WWfMWzM/v-deo.html to see a FWD rally car, ua-cam.com/video/PdnL0X7_WcM/v-deo.html is an AWD Subaru, and ua-cam.com/video/X0KJeW0UkLI/v-deo.html is a RWD BMW.
I remember driving with my left foot for a good 2weeks when I was wear an ankle boots. Ooo man shit was fun! I almost died couple times but ayy it was fun tho lol
It's probably smart to learn to drive your DPS6 Fiesta or Focus with both feet, as well. Oh yea, and PLEASE drive them harder than your 80yr old grandma, or new licensee.. It's what they are begging for, to stay healthy and fun, and fast. She doesn't like creeping in traffic, or riding the clutches.
The main reason for the need to reprogram your left foot is that it's controlled by the brain's right hemisphere when you trained your left hemisphere for braking.
The best way I've found to train yourself in left foot braking is to do the following...
1) Go skiing and give yourself a decent but not debilitating right knee ACL or MCL injury.
2) Drive your self to work for the next 6 to 8 weeks.
You will find that, "if you've done part one correctly", it will be so painful to move your right foot from the gas to the brake that it will force you to use your left foot for both clutch (If manual) and braking.
BTW If you over did part one you might have to use your left foot for everything....(This is advanced and not recommended)
If you follow my guideline.... by the end of week one you will have a pretty good feel for left foot braking and at the end of week four it will feel almost second nature. By week six you will be a pro....guaranteed!
I'm on it.
Can confirm this strategy works, the knee can be replaced with broken ankle + cast if your injury varies.
This is the kind of left foot braking advice I was looking for. Thank you for posting.
We're happy we could help!
Great tip never thought of this, muscle training
I really need to keep practicing this. One of the main reasons I want to dial it down is for the sake of tighter car control. Being able to left foot brake helps significantly reduce/eliminate lift off oversteer which is key in safely carrying speed through turns. It's also safer in general as reaction speed to stopping in an emergency is also improved.
Finally find the right video talking about the left foot brake
Please do a video on Scandinavian flicks. I find it more difficult at tight, low speed corners.
Jordan Bell they already have one. They call it something else though.
@@rottytravis3491 they call it a Pendulum turn
Awesome video man, seems pretty straight forward. If you guys can make a video basically explaining what you have to do to actually enter a rally and what credentials are needed for specific rallies, that would make my day.
Jesse Interrante in that case, just watch all their videos. Or take their classes, if you have the money. I dont, but maybe someday
Here in the US, you don't need any real credentials, you basically just go online and buy your rally license. Check out www.americanrallyassociation.org/competitors it's a lot easier than most people think to get started!
Thanks a lot guys. There are still some things I need to learn, but this sport is my passion.
Thank you for the value you guys add to UA-cam. I cant wait to attend your school
Can you do a video about mid corner or other situational corrections? Like how to quickly correct understeer/oversteer or something else (if there is anything else)
What also interesting is, that once we learnt something on one side, our brain is really good at converting it into the other side too. So it won't take 2x the work for being symmetrical.
Thanks for the videos, keep it up, sir!
This is probably the best tip for someone who is trying to learn how to left foot brake. I figured this out when i was learning myself, now i'm braking better with left than with right foot (i'm a leftie, this probably has something to do with it).
I like it. Short, sweet and on point.
Thank you so much. I'm so glad i subscribed. Was linked to you through SuperSpeedersRob. Your videos are great. They way you explain things brings me a better understanding of things i have a general knowledge of. The topics are great. Wish i could visit the school. Looks like a blast. I'm sure your courses probably cover EVERY type of terrain. But I'm stuck in Cali. So keep the vids coming. My oldest of 4 children just got her license 2 months ago. I'm going to watch a couple of these videos with her, things drivers ed just doesn't teach. Also, your vids are filled with great coaching techniques i can use to help others improve their driving skills. My oldest son is almost 13. He's sending me drift videos and asking about j-turns...
Thanks again.
Thanks Stephen!
Pro Tip:)
great video, thanks Wyatt. one other thing, although practicing in street car to get up to speed is critical, couldn't agree more, driving at the limit in a car with standard OEM 3pt. belt can be problematic for this reason. You lose your stabilizing left foot dead pedal, so performing LFB can sometimes be compromised, usually its threshold braking, because of greater G forces shoving you forward. If you are fully harnessed in seat, then you can utilize LFB to maximum without sliding forward, which is causing imprecise LFB. If not harnessed in, don't abandon good right foot braking, just to do left foot, cause that's what the pros do, but LFB as much as you can when not harnessed. Still, you can use left foot braking in panic stop on street with ABS, since you plant the pedal fully on floor.
This is the most helpful video on left foot braking. The using the A pedal with the left foot, this would cut down the time of the learning curve! Never thought of that and it took a long time to get the left foot working. Awesome! :)
Never ever thought about the left foot but great I have learned something new brother Thanks
I will need to start practicing left foot braking out on the trails.
Great video thanks so much I'm going to try it!
Question: When I try and left foot brake I feel 'unbalanced' and awkward in my seat, like I'm going to fall over to my left. It's been the biggest problem with me practising. How do I overcome this, or the question is, how do I balance my left leg?? Thanks!
I have the same problem with right hand turns and LFB.
Multi tasking food work, I like!!!
Great stuff as always. Very helpful and intuitive
Sir, you really are a great instructor!
Ooooh that makes so much sense. Keep the heel on the ground. Too bad I didn’t see this before I tried it and gave myself whiplash
One simple thing i have been doing is just brake with ur left foot...like in traffic, in regular driving. Sounds stupid, but only way to get good at doind someghing is doing it right
Great video as always! Any tip on peddle sharing for keeping boost? When and how to do it?
You can definitely use left foot braking to keep your boost up, before rally cars had anti-lag and some of the modern turbo systems, it was really important (and still is if you're running pretty stock). If you're not going too fast for the turn, you can often just keep the gas down hard and use LFB to control the speed and keep weight on the front... If you are going too fast, you either straight line brake before the corner or trail brake, then as you're cornering if you're expecting 1sec of turbo lag, just go full throttle with a little LFB about a second before you want the power to actually hit. Use the LFB to control the speed and use the throttle to keep the turbo up when you can.
awesome tips! will definitely try this at the next rallycross :)
please during braking with the left foot, how to properly maintain your body (without using the toe clip)
Thank you and good luck
I need lots of training I keep headbutting the steering wheel and suprised at how good the car brakes are 😂
In drivers ed I did this they liked how smooth I was at cornering , it was natural to me it just made sense left pedals left foot right pedal right foot
I'm finding my heel toe practice much more difficult to grasp than left foot breaking. Left foot break I felt comfortable (not mastered) after one spirited night drive, but I've been trying heel toe all summer and I'm still pretty shit. Any magic tricks behind heel toe or is it just excessive amounts of practice? I find my 97 miata a bit easier than my c6 vette but the vette is also newer to me so that's likely the cause
Some cars are designed with heel toe shifting in mind (definitely the miata, unsure about vette) so the pedals are engineered for it to be a little easier... Some manufacturers put the pedals close together BUT the real key is to have the brake pedal somewhat level with the gas pedal when you're at medium/hard brake pressure. Try it with the car in neutral in your driveway (engine running so you have vacuum brakes) and brake somewhat hard, as hard as you'd expect to be using the brakes coming into a corner... Hold the brake pedal there and see where the gas pedal is. If it's much higher or lower than the brake pedal is, then it's going to be more of a challenge to heel toe shift properly. In rally cars, we often see drivers use washers between the pedal bracket and the floor/firewall to move the pedals a little... Also make sure you bleed your brakes occasionally (if you get them hot often) so there's no air in the lines at all, stainless brake lines do make the pedal a little stiffer than rubber, and finally a lot of drivers will get rid of the vacuum brake completely and/or install a racing pedal box that's fully adjustable.
All of that said, it does take a long time to get good at, to the point you can do it fairly automatically without thinking about it. Even if you hop in an old pickup truck, you can still do it pretty well, it just takes a long time and a lot of shifts to get there. Have fun with it and enjoy the process, it's definitely worth it in the end!
Team O'Neil Rally School ahh ok this makes sense, my miata died early this summer and those pedals were even during practice but the vette definitely feels off and I couldn't figure out why, I might try that washer method that sounds useful! Bleeding the breaks is a good idea too, I dont check that enough so great tips thanks a ton, tryna save up enough for some winter sessions if you have em even if I have to sleep in my car lol
I kind of self taught this ,pretty much the same way
I am guilty of preaching, "RIGHT FOOT ONLY!!" for the automatic drivers in particular (and I'm a drive examiner for the IN BMV!!).
Good advice! I'll have to try it myself & maybe not be so critical of folks who use both feet.
Great video & I'd give my left nut in a velvet sack to be able to come up for your classes!!! Unfortunately, I'm a lowly state employee who will NEVER be able to afford it. 😢
Thanks for putting up such good, informative videos, so we lowly surfs can glean some knowledge & skill!
Thanks for the tip bro, i'll try and update the progress
Switching between pedals can be difficult.
So to make sure my left foot is on the brake not the clutch I index my left heel on my right ankle. Nothing like slamming on the brake thinking you were putting in the clutch
I own an automatic now so that would really help since I don't have a clutch at all I can just have one foot per pedal and never have to move my feet off each pedal... But I feel that if I get used to left foot braking on an automatic, my clutch instinct will fade away and when I'll get another manual again It'll take time to get used to clutches...
You can also put it in neutral and gradually come to a stop on red lights
When to breake with left foot when accelerating AND cornering if you dont have a diff and front wheel drive? This specific example would be very interesting for me. How can I go faster that way? I heard a racing driver saying that it is possible. Do you also think so?
FWD if you have about the right speed for the corner, you can often just stay full throttle and ride a little brake around the corner with your left foot. This will keep some weight on the front so the car turns, without sacrificing any more speed than necessary. Check out ua-cam.com/video/bgg5WWfMWzM/v-deo.html
Does it change if driving on pavement?
Even easier way? Start sim racing first! But I understand the cost is not for everyone and you also don't get the real world exponential weight transfer. But it took me and 4 hours of fun safe Sim Racing before then taking to the road. I ended up picking it up much faster then my buddies. Also a lot of Karts are setup like this so that's another way.
good suggestion!
Yeah, I agree. I know a lot of people who got into performance driving from sims. They drive better than the large majority of club level drivers and even serious track guys, from all the seat time in sims. If the simulator and car are well made, they're quite close to the experience and technique, at least.
Came here to say this. Sim racing is really helpful :)
It is good but then you go trying it in real life and you go out the dash😂😂
great idea, also, better to practice on an automatic gear not manual,
Just go have fun in karting, I’ve been karting since 8 years old, and have mastered left foot braking. However, you will find cars breaking are much more physically harder than a kart, and the accelerate are much more softer.
Another tip, is try to put your left foot a little 70 degrees angle, so when you brake you won’t use as much power, to prevent you from hitting your head to the steering wheel.
Do you need to disconnect the abs and stuff for learning this?
Unless you use the left foot braking technique where it sits in the middle resting your heel on the floor. Having your left foot to the side is not the only option.
that was awesome. Thank you:)
I like to use left foot braking in fast corners to settle the car down but I can’t understand how to use it propelly for turning into tight corners. All I can do is kill too much speed or go straight into the ditch. Pro rally guys use left foot braking almost like a throttle to slide more or less. Ok they have Evo’s with 700NM of torque but still. Another issue is that my Impreza runs out of vacuum assisted brakes very fast and the brake pedal gets hard as rock.
Rotating around tight corners is all about getting the weight on the front (and off the rear). One easy way to do this is to come in kinda quick, lift then turn then brake smoothly. Once the car rotates, get back on the gas and you're gone. It's all about finding just the right amount of brake... Which is difficult with vacuum brakes because the pedal can feel so different from one moment to the next.
Trop cool tes le boss fait des videos comme ça. Slt
when would you use left foot braking over traditional right foot braking in both motorsports and street driving?
There are TON of different reasons, but #1 will always be reaction time, simply the quickness with which you can transition from brake to throttle and back again. Also because your feet stay in position, you can do the job smoother than jumping back and forth between pedals with one foot. ua-cam.com/video/7Lx8d2rZxvU/v-deo.html
Is there a technique for cramped position? :D When there's so little leg room you have to spread your knees...
Left foot braking might require you to put the seat back a click or two more than you normally would, then either tilt the back up or telescope the steering column if possible to compensate. If you're just very tall and in a small car... maybe tilt the steering wheel up a little to give your knees room and just go for it!
Hey! Can you give any tips on using left foot on dual clutch transmission like DCT or DSG? Especially when you keep gas pressed and press brake simultaneously, is it bad for transmission or ok?
There's usually nothing too particular about left foot braking with a DSG, it's not bad for the transmission.
@@Teamoneilrally Thanks! Do you have any cars with that transmission type in your school?
@@damart3d969 The fleet here is mostly made up of Subarus, Ford Fiestas, older BMWs... normal standard transmission cars.
Drive a forklift for a while, you'll get good at it 😊
Awesome.
if you left handed it helps too ;)
After my very first left foot braking session, a car jumped in front of me and I pushed the brake pedal with my both feet. :( :D
Suppose you get left foot braking down, when am I supposed to use leftfoot braking in a turn?
Some techniques are universal, but a lot of things you'll want to do it differently depending on whether you're in a FWD, AWD, or RWD car. Check out ua-cam.com/video/bgg5WWfMWzM/v-deo.html to see a FWD rally car, ua-cam.com/video/PdnL0X7_WcM/v-deo.html is an AWD Subaru, and ua-cam.com/video/X0KJeW0UkLI/v-deo.html is a RWD BMW.
The funny thing is, I'm very precise with my left foot on the clutch, but not on the brake :)
oooooo gonna try this on my automatic, because it's so dam boring. cant wait for a standard
Next video. driving attire.
I remember driving with my left foot for a good 2weeks when I was wear an ankle boots. Ooo man shit was fun! I almost died couple times but ayy it was fun tho lol
Гениально!
I slamed my brakes today.. ım suprised. My gf looked at me like " Why the fuck did you hard brake"...
He sounds like the guy from good eats
Wyatt
indoor soccer shoes are great for better pedal feel!
Football cleats
I tried... damn I felt like a noob driving. Better off with heel n toe.
It's probably smart to learn to drive your DPS6 Fiesta or Focus with both feet, as well. Oh yea, and PLEASE drive them harder than your 80yr old grandma, or new licensee.. It's what they are begging for, to stay healthy and fun, and fast. She doesn't like creeping in traffic, or riding the clutches.
The main reason for the need to reprogram your left foot is that it's controlled by the brain's right hemisphere when you trained your left hemisphere for braking.
No.
Correct.
Can I git gud?
I drive left foot breaking for 20 years! Its better! Braking with right foot is dangerous.