MartinM

...with Pentti Airikala (sp?)

I'v noticed the ad on the bbs. Anyone been? Any good. Is it really the man himself? How much? etc etc

Of any use for (fast-ish) road driving?

barge

OOOOOh wot fun left foot braking is.

Just go out late one night on your own, make sure that no one is anywhere near you on the road in any direction, do about 30 - 40 Mph and try it, but dont forget its the brake you are left foot stamping on not the clutch !!!

Its an art that needs great care to learn and use, as for road use, mmmm dificult one, I think that plod would not be happy with the speeds you would be going at to need to left foot brake to make much difference to raod driving.

Try it and see its good fun if you can get it to work.

Kev

Yep I did it back in 1991 ...

We had tuition in duel wheel rs Turbo Fiesta's then duel wheel Sierra cosworth 4x4's around grass and comination of grass and concrete, great fun learned loads about car control, braking ( pre abs ) and left-breaking etc.

great day out, but then I never paid for it, my Ford dealer did ...

K

Matt Oz

Left foot braking is ace. I did it loads in an old Mini Cooper I used to have. It's particularly good if you're understeering and you need to bring the nose of the car in a little. As Barge says though, you don't want to stamp on it, but squeeeeeze the pedal gently! You'll never look back!

Matt

MorayMackenzie

Well actually, you may well end up looking back, as you try to work out why the car's facing the wrong direction, and probably in the wrong lane, assuming it's still on the road at all, that is!

Plenty much plenty caution is advised for this one... It's not vital for road driving anyway. You should have more of an idea what's going on if you can trailbrake effectively and smoothly.

Moray

SDB

Well said Moray

LFB is an incredibly powerful technique in FWD and AWD cars (Also to a high degree in RWD), but should be used with caution.

The reason I call it powerful is that it has a big impact on the handling of the car near or on the limit.

Unless you know what you're doing or have a VERY safe environment to test things out in, you should treat LFB with caution.

Pentti (ex British Champion and World Rally Driver) is the man in LFB and is respected as such throughout motorsport.

I am seeing him tomorrow for this rally day. I will also be trying to talk him into some LFB tuition. It's the last part of my driving that I *really* want to improve (obviously you never stop improving, but LFB is lagging behind at the moment in my driving).

Cheers

Simon

MartinM

OK, I'll come (a bit) cleaner than my initiating post.

I LFB'ed many years ago in a Mini in the wet or snow and you could indeed look back (in anger!) when nearly instantaneously spinning the car, especially as its so hard to push a pedal with your left foot gently

There's no way I'd do it in the scoob unless it was a completely flat, low friction surface with nothing in any direction for 200 yds...and then purely in the interest of science just to see what happens

I guess its not that easy in AWD, 'cos I remember when AWD came to world rallying (Audi Quattro). For a year or so they just appeared to drive them normally, winning because of superior grip and traction, then when other AWD cars came out, the driver's had to learn how to LFB (to differentiate from each other) and started to get the back end out (ooer) and do the RWD pendulum type turns.

Watching WRC rallying now, they (Burns et al) must be LFB'ing a lot to do the pendulum turns, slowing rapidly by putting the car sideways on straights etc, in AWD - or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

SDB - are you saying you're going on Pentti's day, or meeting him anyway. Wasn't it him playing in the Evo 6 behind the girl on Drivel 6 months or so ago? He looked pretty clever to me!

Moray - what's trailbraking, please?

M

[This message has been edited by MartinM (edited 08 September 2000).]

SDB

Hiya Martin

I WAS due to be a demonstration driver at Pentti's day, but I put my back out picking up a box of spares last night, so I'm bed ridden now! shame, I was really looking forward to it.

Many of the top AWD rally stars are indeed using LFB almost all the time. Colin McRae is probably one of the best (if not THE best) of the current drivers.

It is not necessary though to create a pendulum turn (scandinavian flick). Braking alone can do this. LFB gives you a whole host of additional (but subtle) control over the car in almost all cornering situations.

I only use LFB in a tiny amount of my driving and know that I am actually slower if over using it. The like of Pentti and Colin McRae are faster because of it, so I look forward to getting some time with Pentti, as the above proves I must be doing something wrong (or not doing something right).

I think it is because it is the only part of my driving that doesn't happen instinctively now (which is why I feel as though it is lagging behind). When I'm in a bend I think to myslef what I would like the car to do and it kinda just does it. If I plan a corner with LFB, I have to think about the feedback I'm getting from the tyres, think about the weight of the steering and vibrations throught the seat, etc.

I look forward to making it part of the natural process of driving, rather than a concious effort.

Cheers

Simon

PS. I'll leave trail braking for Moray

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