This has been a pretty good thread. I've noticed another problem with LFB.
Because you always have your left foot poised over the pedal, you have no way
of bracing yourself in a right turn. This means you really need a harness or
racing lap belt to hold you down.
I agree that there is a tendency to tap the brakes more often, but the hardest
thing for me is that my left foot is "uneducated" from years of RFB. My left
foot tends to push too hard and not modulate well. I also have had to learn to
switch from Left to Right foot for downshifts, which usually requires a major
body shift at the end of a straight. But I think it's worth practicing so you
will have it in your bag of tricks.
BTW, shifter karts don't have this problem because the clutch is on the
steering shaft and you have to left foot brake (I'm trying not to use that
pedal anymore).
-Vernon
On Thursday, June 14, 2001, James Creasy <black94pgt@pacbell.net> wrote:
>> I've admitted elsewhere that I think my (current) biggest problem is
>> overbraking, but it doesn't have anything to do with LFB, I'm just
>consciously
>> slowing down more than I probably need to.
>
>this is what happens to me if i LFB (overbraking), but i have less
>experience than you do.
>
>RFB makes you think if you really need to brake, so in places where a little
>brake might be needed, i will sometimes choose to take a slightly different
>line so i dont have to brake, only lift.
>
>this was the case for the right at the end of the 2nd slalom last sunday; i
>decided i didnt need to brake there, but instead lifted, turned into a
>little too much, and let the car scrub off speed. i should have increased
>my grip and speed in the that corner by not jouncing the suspension around
>with a lift-brake-gas scenario. seemed to work ok.
>
>-james
>OSP #74
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Kevin Stevens <Kevin_Stevens@pursued-with.net>
>To: Mark J. Andy <marka@telerama.com>; Ba-Autox Mailing List (E-mail)
><ba-autox@autox.team.net>
>Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2001 10:43 PM
>Subject: Re: Stuff I Learned at the Evolution School
>
>
>> > There are some disadvantages though, IMHO.
>> >
>> > 1) you gotta do the foot dance if you need to shift. With courses
>getting
>> > faster, this seems to be reasonably important in cars, particularly
>stock
>> > classes. Its embarrasing when you go to shift and the car stops instead
>> > :-)
>>
>> I disagree. It's only embarrassing when you go to stop and the car keeps
>> going with the engine revving. ;)
>>
>> > 2) its almost _too_ easy to apply the brake. Sam Strano once mentioned
>to
>> > me that intermediate drivers who LFB almost always use too much brake
>for
>> > a given "non-heaving braking required" situation. He was of the opinion
>> > that the longer transition time from gas to brake of a RFB-er lets them
>> > sense a little better that the car has slowed enough just from a lift.
>>
>> I agree that it's easy to overbrake. However, if you break down the
>comment
>> above, it actually says that it's better to coast than to be on the gas or
>> brake. I can't agree with that.
>>
>> I've admitted elsewhere that I think my (current) biggest problem is
>> overbraking, but it doesn't have anything to do with LFB, I'm just
>consciously
>> slowing down more than I probably need to.
>>
>> > MHO, yadda, yadda. Certainly the transition time from gas to brake is
>> > less LFB vs RFB, but I'm not sure I believe that that's an important
>thing
>> > in terms of overall run time.
>>
>> I wasn't sure either until I had such a graphic demonstration of it.
>That's
>> why I posted it, it was pretty compelling. (Well, apparently not in
>> description, but it was at the time.)
>>
>> >Couple that with the need to teach yourself
>> > feel, the need to keep your feet straight when shifting is involved, and
>> > the tendency to overbrake, and I think LFB-ing is a skill that can wait
>> > until the other, more important things have been addressed (looking
>ahead,
>> > using all of the course, setting up the car, etc. etc.)
>>
>> I agree kindof. If you're going to do it, the universal opinion is that
>it
>> takes time to learn, and you may as well be doing it concurrently with the
>> other stuff (unless you're at a focus group like Evo or something). But
>> certainly it isn't going to shave huge chunks of time off your run like
>some
>> of the other techniques.
>>
>> KeS
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