Left foot braking

[REWahoo]

Interesting, of course now I'm going to have to try it out on my new 2015 Toyota to see if it has it.

Just tried it on DW's 2014 Highlander. Yep, it shuts off the accelerator when you step on the brake.

 

[48Fire]

Left foot breaking is definitely a safety issue. And being behind someone doing at 80 mph is even worse.

 

[jazz4cash]

I test drove new car a few weeks ago and the hand brake had been replaced with a parking brake button. I guess the "emergency brake" will soon be a memory.

It's already gone on some cars. I just learned this about our 2011 model when I took it to the dealer for brake work and my friendly service advisor informed me it has a parking brake and not an emergency brake. This caught me off guard but I should not have been surprised.


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[Koolau]

Wow, with all the discussion generated about left foot braking, it would be really interesting to see the amount of discussion generated by heel-and-toe downshifting in a car with manual transmission.

I had a 5 speed and drove it almost 150K without needing new brake pads. Rarely had to heel and toe it when downshifting - never drove in (actual) competition, heh, heh. In cases where i was not also braking (most of the time), I typically tapped or otherwise slightly depressed the brake pedal whenever there were drivers in close proximity to my rear end (driving courtesy AND self preservation.) This is the reverse case to two-foot driving an autotrans. I offered a warning that I was "braking" rather than a false warning when not actually braking. Of course, YMMV.

 

[eytonxav]

Wow, with all the discussion generated about left foot braking, it would be really interesting to see the amount of discussion generated by heel-and-toe downshifting in a car with manual transmission.

Since the advent of synchro-mesh transmissions, not much need for this, unless your road racing, and even then, you have the SMG type transmissions that can do this much better than most folks.

 

[Koolau]

Since the advent of synchro-mesh transmissions, not much need for this, unless your road racing, and even then, you have the SMG type transmissions that can do this much better than most folks.

Yeah, but it's fun to actually "drive" a car - you know; double clutch, heel and toe, clip the apex, perform hand-brake turns and "pretend" you are road racing or rallying. Now of days, new cars are no fun at all. Before long, we won't even need to drive them - just sit and monitor them. Yuck! Believe it or don't, I'd rather use a map than a GPS. Only new thing I think is pretty useful is the back-up camera. How I miss my 5 speed, sigh! YMMV

 

[misanman]

Since the advent of synchro-mesh transmissions, not much need for this, unless your road racing, and even then, you have the SMG type transmissions that can do this much better than most folks.

I had a job driving tractor trailers during my summer vacations during college. There was typically a 6 speed transmission together with a 2 or 3 speed axle. No syncro's at all so double clutching was a must, even with up shifts. Some new hires absolutely could not get the hang of it. I guess current trucks have automatics - not nearly as much fun

 

[Big_Hitter]

Yeah, but it's fun to actually "drive" a car - you know; double clutch, heel and toe, clip the apex, perform hand-brake turns and "pretend" you are road racing or rallying.

I blew the valve train on my WRX flat foot shifting - actually it was utec launch control that did it

 

[Ronstar]

I did a some left foot braking (and sometimes accelerating) when I first had my right foot in a cast. It was awkward. Luckily mastered driving with a cast in a day or 2.

 

[eytonxav]

Yeah, but it's fun to actually "drive" a car - you know; double clutch, heel and toe, clip the apex, perform hand-brake turns and "pretend" you are road racing or rallying.

Oh I agree, but don't advocate doing that on the street. I was an original member of a club for sport car owners here in the DFW area, so got to play on a very nice race track with a corvette and porsche that were track cars (6 spd, roll bars, harnesses, racing suspensions, hoosiers, etc), but also drivable on the street. Unfortunately I miss so many of the cars I previously owned, and now am relegated to an Acura RDX and Mazda 3 due to downsized garage space.

 

[Amethyst]

Hurts, too.

Left foot breaking is definitely a safety issue.

 

[aja8888]

Since the advent of synchro-mesh transmissions, not much need for this, unless your road racing, and even then, you have the SMG type transmissions that can do this much better than most folks.

Besides BMW's SMG gearbox, the DSG is becoming very popular and placed into many high end cars. It's actually a dual clutch manual transmission that shifts much faster than any traditional user controlled manual.

 

[Daniel J]

https://youtu.be/yyVHj3sHVHQ


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[Koolau]

https://youtu.be/yyVHj3sHVHQ


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

IIRC the fancy brake and throttle "dance" is a form of manual "traction control." Obviously, the clutch is used when shifting gears. Way cool. I could never master this technique and hope I never need it. Now of days, of course, modern cars often come with very sophisticated computer technology which applies just the right amount of braking only to one wheel (or as otherwise needed) to give "automatic traction control." YMMV

Whadja think of all the folks hanging by the road? Guess that's to soften the collision if he slips off at some point.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

I am with Michael. I have been driving (automatic only) since 1971 with both feet! Left for the brakes. It seemed more natural and much faster, giving me more fine tuned control over operations of the vehicle. I tried the more normal right foot only for gas and braking but it just didn't work and I felt unsafe. Over the last 45 years I have had my share of emergency braking and ole lefty always performed flawlessly. Righty always did his part and went off the gas pedal in perfect tandem. i think lefty always felt proud to have contributed something to the driving experience.

-BB

 

[harley]

Well, today I tried an experiment on my new Honda Odyssey (2016). First, I nearly put DW through the windshield by braking with my left foot at a stop light. Then while sitting at the light I kept my left foot firmly on the brake and pressed on the accelerator. I expected no response, but the engine revved and the car tried to jump forward. I'm not sure why this is. I was expecting the car to just sit there based on the thread here. But I do know I'm sticking with one footing it. Old dogs, new tricks, nope.

 

[zesty]

I can't wait until cars drive themselves, and we don't even have to push brake pedals at all. That will be a glorious day.

But until then, it's all right foot, all the time for me.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have a quick, similar story to the poster here who wrote about his or experience switching to a different car and how that affected his driving feet.


Back in the 1980s, I visited my cousins in California every year and often drove their cars around. One of their cars was a Subaru which required a lot of force on the clutch pedal to press it down. After 2 weeks f that, I returned home and drove my Dodge Colt for the first time. I remember the first time I pressed the very soft clutch pedal down to change gears, I nearly put my foot through the floor!

 

[Daniel J]

IIRC the fancy brake and throttle "dance" is a form of manual "traction control." Obviously, the clutch is used when shifting gears. Way cool. I could never master this technique and hope I never need it. Now of days, of course, modern cars often come with very sophisticated computer technology which applies just the right amount of braking only to one wheel (or as otherwise needed) to give "automatic traction control." YMMV

Whadja think of all the folks hanging by the road? Guess that's to soften the collision if he slips off at some point.

Yeah, driving skill like that is pretty amazing. I've tried a fair amount of heel and toe at the track but I was never very good at it even after practicing, in part because I have huge feet and a small car with a tiny pedal box. Maybe some day I will master it.

I think the folks on the road were just big fans wanting to get the best look.