Why is Right Foot Braking better?
• First, there is a ballistic effect when you are in a rush to get to that brake pedal… optimal transition times are between 3 and 5 tenth of a second, from full throttle to peak brake pressure. Any faster and you will outrun the load transfer which in Formula cars is the time it takes to compress the front tires. In other cars, you have to factor in the time it takes to compress the suspension as well. There lies the first biggest caveat of Left Foot Braking… it is easy to not only make that too short, but actually to overlap the pedals… and getting front lock-up before the load is there, as your other foot on the throttle is keeping the load back! Once those front wheels are locked… they will stay locked unless you let go… of the brakes.
• Now let’s speak of the braking efficiency itself. The faster you go, the more kinetic energy you have, the more load will you be able to transfer to the front tire as they, we all know do most of the braking. So the more braking power you might have without getting lock up. As speed goes down… so does the kinetic energy and your potential load transfer… and your front tire grip. That’s why you need to get on the brakes right away, and then have a degressive trend throughout the braking zone. This is true to any vehicle… and even more important when you are speaking of aero cars. When Left Foot braking, it is extremely hard not to increase that pressure, as you have nothing to support yourself… The belts can be as tight as you can and the seat molded onto you (and that’s the best scenario as in an open wheel car). It is never enough. When you start getting more than 2-3 Gs in deceleration, it is almost impossible to not add pressure… but that’s when you need to be coming away from that pedal! Furthermore, I have encountered drivers getting problems with their automated transmissions… (Think paddle shift systems) because of the big Gs and nowhere to go, their RIGHT foot was actually applying Throttle within the braking zone… stopping the transmission from downshifting… if your foot is on the brake pedal… it is not going to be pushing on the gas without you knowing.
• Now let’s say that conscious of the overlap, the left foot braker slows down his footwork … chances are he then will ease, rather than stab that brake pedal… not achieving peak pressure soon enough.
• Having your Left Foot on the Rest Pedal, bracing yourself is the best way to stop you from adding more pressure when you don’t want it… Even very tight submarine belts (ouch) are never as good.
• That left foot on the rest pedal is also your only mobile contact point in the car. The steering wheel moves right? And your seat as well. Just like you learn how to balance yourself on a single foot, that single solid contact point gives you much better feel than your… humm glutes… although people love to say that they feel the car through their pants, I think that they feel much more through their feet, and of course your inner ear for balance.
