Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 55 total)
  • Why can’t I brake with my left foot?
  • makecoldplayhistory
    Free Member

    I was scratching my right ankle and braked lightly with my left foot. I’ve a swollen lip from smacking the steering wheel and a sore shoulder from the seatbelt.

    Is it muscle memory? Dexterity [footerexity]? FWIW, I’m left handed for most things and definitely prefer kicking conversions with my left as well as beginning a wheelie with my left.

    Does anyone drive an auto with two feet; braking with their left?

    pondo
    Full Member

    Everyone in the history of driving who heard about rally drivers left foot braking and thought they’d give it a try has done the same thing. I think your left foot is trained more for sensitivity on the way up, engaging the clutch, rather than on the way down – just takes practice, I guess.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    Practice. You can brake with your left foot, you just haven’t done it before so need to learn the dexterity.

    No reason why you should’t brake with your left foot in an auto…but a bit pointless really. There is no reason to for normal driving so just rest out your left foot.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    oldtalent
    Free Member

    Left foot braking All the time when I had an auto. Probably bad form, but if you’ve got 2 feet, might as well use them.

    myopic
    Free Member

    You’re conditioned just as you almost stop to fully disengage the clutch. If you’re relaxed you’ll do it without thinking, except you’ll really punch the brake.  Ask anyone who’s driven an automatic fir the first time.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    You’re not cynic-al’s girlfriend are you op?

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    Not Dexterity, Sinisterity innit

    bri-72
    Full Member

    Not be long til some boy racer comes along and starts talking about heel-toe something or other. Clearly the rest of us are doing it all wrong.

    kerley
    Free Member

    Yep, just practice.  I got pretty good at it with practice in the 80’s when driving irresponsibly in front wheel drive hot hatches.  They needed left foot braking to curb the understeer/get the back out a bit.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    What’s the point ?

    You’ll just be braking with your left foot whilst the right ones on the Go pedal.

    Thereby making noise from both ends.

    Me thinks it’s rather an odd thing to do.

    legend
    Free Member

    <div class=”bbp-reply-content”>

    Not be long til some boy racer comes along and starts talking about heel-toe something or other. Clearly the rest of us are doing it all wrong.

    Noob – you cant heal-toe with your left foot.

    </div>

    What’s the point ?

    Keeps the turbo spooled up when making progress innit

    convert
    Full Member

    Not be long til some boy racer comes along and starts talking about heel-toe something or other. Clearly the rest of us are doing it all wrong.

    Well.. 🙂

    Can’t say I ever got any good at it and you’d have to be an arse to drive about like all the time but there is something very satisfying about getting one perfect. A bit like being able to wheelie on a bike – nice to know you have got the control and balance to do it right but not that much use after that unless you are 12.

    In my car you use your left foot on the brake during launch control. It feels very odd just doing that. Only done it 3 times mine and also a daft waste of time thing to do. But if your car does it you have to do it once – its the law. And then again to show your friend because it was so much fun the first time. And then a third time to scare your wife and be told never to do that ever again.

    philjunior
    Free Member

    Not be long til some boy racer comes along and starts talking about heel-toe something or other. Clearly the rest of us are doing it all wrong.

    Now that’s a different thing altogether, allowing you to shift down gears smoothly by matching the revs whilst simultaneously braking. The left foot just does it’s normal clutchy things though. FWIW I learned to do it when I had a car that needed the automatic choke fixing, so it would stall unless you gave it a bit of gas for the first 5 minutes.

    Anyway, you can train your left foot to brake, doesn’t take too long to adapt if you go karting, though I would hazard a guess that the brakes are less sensitive than your typical road car.

    I expect people that drive automatics might find it more useful on the road. I seem to remember seeing some older big heavy things with the brake pedal extending across so you could use 2 foot braking, which makes me thing the braking must have been alarmingly poor?

    In terms of left foot braking as an understeer management thing I’ve never remotely mastered that.

    makecoldplayhistory
    Free Member

    Thanks. Seems like it’s a training / practice / muscle memory type issue.

    I think I just surprised myself (and my face) with how different it all was.

    Houns
    Full Member

    I often drive a John Deere Gator off-road and when it’s loaded up you need to brake and use engine braking on anything with a slight decline, so that’s braking with left foot whilst using a little bit of accelerator with your right foot. That took some getting used to

    kerley
    Free Member

    What’s the point ?

    To stop understeer in a front wheel drive car, dabbing the brake shifts more weight to front wheels and removes/reduces understeer while still having the power on throttle.  You can do the same by lifting off the throttle but that can unbalance the car too much and put it into oversteer which you then have to correct/reapply throttle etc, which is a bit messy and jerky  and not fastest way around the corner.

    welshfarmer
    Full Member

    If you want to try it out in a controlled environment then get down your local Go-Karting track. They only have a GO and a STOP pedal and they are separated by the steering column so it is one foot for each. You soon get used to it after a couple of laps.

    Stevet1
    Free Member

    Try working the clutch with your right foot, you’ll wonder why your right leg is so weedy.

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    I bet Surfmat can left foot brake. And heel & toe. At the same time.

    *swoons*

    nealglover
    Free Member

    Ask anyone who’s driven an automatic fir the first time.

    Not being an arse, but why would this be a thing?

    Driving an auto for the first time the natural instinct is to use the right foot for braking just like in a manual.

    DM52
    Free Member

    it’s a thing because most auto’s have a double sized brake pedal and starting out there is a natural conditioning for most manual drivers to hit it with ‘clutch power’ using the left foot.  Normally it is a slow speed operation thing dribbling up to a junction or something.

    ossify
    Full Member

    it’s a thing because most auto’s have a double sized brake pedal and starting out there is a natural conditioning for most manual drivers to hit it with ‘clutch power’ using the left foot.  Normally it is a slow speed operation thing dribbling up to a junction or something.

    This!  Exactly what I did when driving an automatic the first time. And spent the next few minutes trying to left foot brake and being amazed at how difficult it was to control.

    Actually… the very first thing I did when getting in was wonder why I couldn’t get the car to move, even to the point of getting out to see if there was a large rock under the wheel or something. What a fool I felt when I realised I’d been shoving down on the brake trying to find the bite point…

    nealglover
    Free Member

    it’s a thing because most auto’s have a double sized brake pedal and starting out there is a natural conditioning for most manual drivers to hit it with ‘clutch power’ using the left foot.

    I have to say I never considered using my left foot to brake in an automatic.

    Everyone is different though I suppose.

    rossburton
    Free Member

    it’s a thing because most auto’s have a double sized brake pedal

    Literally none of the automatics I’ve driven in (Jazz, Civic, 3008, Insignia) have had a double-sized brake lever, just a lovely little platform for your left foot to stretch out on.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    <div class=”bbcode-quote”>

    Ask anyone who’s driven an automatic fir the first time.

    </div>
    Not being an arse, but why would this be a thing?

    Driving an auto for the first time the natural instinct is to use the right foot for braking just like in a manual.

    Erm.exactly… right foot Go pedal, right foot Brake pedal.

    Leave your left foot on the rest provided.

    I can’t visualise any other way of driving an automatic vehicle.

    Why do people confuse the simplest of tasks?

    nealglover
    Free Member

    just a lovely little platform for your left foot to stretch out on.

    this.

    Also. Even if you did rely on logic rather than instinct, surely it would be …

    ”ok, so there is no clutch, my left foot normally only does the clutch, so I guess my left foot does nothing now… oh look, there is a nice footrest for it right there 👍”

    Why do people confuse the simplest of tasks?

    Brexit.

    ossify
    Full Member

    “ok, so there is no clutch, my left foot normally only does the clutch, so I guess my left foot does nothing now… oh look, there is a nice footrest for it right there”

    Exactly how it is… unless you’re driving on automatic (hoho) and not really thinking about what you’re doing.  Left foot goes down on the wide brake pedal thinking it’s the clutch.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    Left foot goes down on the wide brake pedal thinking it’s the clutch.

    In all the autos I’ve owned and driven in the past (cars and vans) you would need to go much further over to the right than where the clutch would ordinarily be to actually do this.

    myopic
    Free Member

    bikebouy

    Subscriber
    <div class=”bbcode-quote”>
    Ask anyone who’s driven an automatic fir the first time.
    </div>
    Not being an arse, but why would this be a thing?
    Driving an auto for the first time the natural instinct is to use the right foot for braking just like in a manual.
    Erm.exactly… right foot Go pedal, right foot Brake pedal.
    Leave your left foot on the rest provided.
    I can’t visualise any other way of driving an automatic vehicle.
    Why do people confuse the simplest of tasks?

    Bikebuoy – you perhaps missed reference to ‘for the first time’.  Even if you do park your left foot as suggested, the instinct is to hit the clutch the first time you stop.  Many people find their foot hunting for the clutch pedal automatically and ultimately find the brake instead.  Generally you only do this once!

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    If you’re having to utilise left foot braking to manage understeer (i.e. trail braking) then you’ve already failed. Going way too hot into a bend and absolutely no excuse for it on a public road. Trail braking on track, fair enough if you do track days, but trail braking is usually utilised for mid engine or rear engine/drive cars where the front end weight distribution is light even under braking – for front wheel drive cars with a big front weight bias you’re usually understeering because you’ve overloaded the tyres and reached the limits of grip, so loading up the inside front any more isn’t going to help you and likely to cause the inside wheel to lock up if you’ve got an open diff, then you’ll be off and into the gravel before you know what’s hit you. A sensible entry speed and better through bend throttle control is needed with a front wheel drive car.

    globalti
    Free Member

    You can left foot brake an old pre-electronics Land Rover while driving it down rocky hills with the transfer box in low; there is so much bounce and backlash in the drivetrain that you brake gently while using light throttle, which winds up the drivetrain and keeps everything steady. But as soon as you lose concentration you will floor that foot because that’s what it usually does.

    sockpuppet
    Full Member

    I have done both of these. First time I used my left to stop the car rolling on the drive for some reason… thought I’d hit something it stopped so fast. I actually got out to see what I hit…

    also first time driving a big waffly yank auto SUV, arrived at a junction after a few minutes. My left foot really wanted to press a clutch, so it found a pedal and pressed it. It want quite where it usually is (one of those big wide brake pedals some of you have never seen).

    but it found it. And pressed it, to the floor. Like you would a clutch… luckily no one ran into the back. And my passengers were too busy laughing at me to be pissed.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    I can’t visualise any other way of driving an automatic vehicle.

    It’s accidental – your instinct when stopping is to push the clutch down. So your foot does this. It catches the edge of the brake pedal (or more a lot of autos have pedals offset more to the left than on a three pedal car) so you slam to a stop due to the force your ‘clutch foot’ exerts.

    You get used to it (I used to either tuck my foot up under my other leg or just make sure I kept it on the foot rest in the well and out of the way) but initially it’s just a natural reaction.

    and then you get back in a manual and forget to do the clutch and the engine stalls. *sigh*

    hols2
    Free Member

    It just takes practice. Doesn’t take long for it to become second nature.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    You’re conditioned just as you almost stop to fully disengage the clutch. If you’re relaxed you’ll do it without thinking, except you’ll really punch the brake. Ask anyone who’s driven an automatic fir the first time.

    This.

    I have to say I never considered using my left foot to brake in an automatic.

    Everyone is different though I suppose.

    First time I drove an automatic, braking gently for a set of traffic lights, almost came to a stop, instinctively pushed the clutch in, and almost headbutted the steering wheel.  I started driving with my left foot tucked up under the seat for a while after that.  Once you adjust it’s no big deal, I can drive an auto just fine now, but suddenly changing something you’ve been doing for like ten years takes a little time to adjust.

    richmtb
    Full Member

    Muscle Memory is a funny thing.

    I’ve done the “auto clutch” brake test before too. It generally corrects itself pretty quickly though!

    The other one I do is taking my left hand off the wheel to change gear in an LHD car. Subconciously my left had just sort of wanders around looking for a gearstick.  Then my conscious brain kicks in and I use my right hand.  Only happens if I’ve been cruising along for a while without changing gear.

    Oddly if I drive a kart (which I’m okay at) I have no problem left foot braking. Different muscle memory I suppose.

    I also still “unclip” when I roll to a stop using flat pedals 😉

    tthew
    Full Member

    I find that doing the unintended emergency stop in an auto happens after about 20-30 minutes, once you relax and driving becomes habitual again. Before that you’re concentrating on the strange gearbox, and of course sitting on the wrong side of the car, driving on the right and finding your way out of a strange airport because it’s usually a holiday rental.

    FB-ATB
    Full Member

    It doesn’t take long to learn to brake with the left foot. I had a Fiesta with a rogue automatic choke. Until it was fully warmed, in damp weather it would stall at idle and not restart so I would knock it into neutral, brake with the left and keep the revs up. The first time I tried it I almost got whiplash, by the time I got to work it was second nature.

    The left leg is just used to “stamping” on the clutch as opposed to gradually increasing pressure on the brake.

    welshfarmer
    Full Member

    Muscle memory? Pressing the brake on an auto instead of the clutch….

    Try this video (bike content!)

    richmtb
    Full Member

    Thats a great video

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 55 total)

The topic ‘Why can’t I brake with my left foot?’ is closed to new replies.