LESSON 4: Braking Techniques and Control
03-31-2007, 09:40 PM
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Alpharetta, GA
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LESSON 4: Braking Techniques and Control
LESSON 4: Braking Techniques and Control
Enabling Learning Objectives
1. Define Threshold Braking, give a situation in which this may be required and describe two (2) factors that affect the threshold.
2. Define Braking Form.
3. Define and Describe Late Braking and Early Braking.
4. Define Footprint and describe its importance.
5. Define Caramelizing and describe why this is dangerous.
6. Describe Left-Foot-Braking and it's purpose.
Terminal Learning Objectives
Using the log book you created, head out to the track and test and document differing braking styles and annotate the one that works best for you. Also, practice threshold braking and take notes as to how much pressure is needed to bring your car to this point.
1. Threshold Braking
In the world of racing it is extremely important to maintain the maximum amount of control possible for the vehicle you are driving. In order to do this drivers spend months on end practicing various techniques of throttle and steering control, tons of seat time and hours of studying the dynamics of their cars lead to the ultimate mastery of their vehicles. There is one technique that is arguably the hardest technique to "master". In fact, most racers will argue that this technique is not able to be mastered, yet it can only be controlled in a manner in which you are used to. This powerful and commanding technique is known as "Braking". When it comes to braking there is no right way there are only wrong ways, and that's what makes this technique so hard to conquer. However, by the time this lesson is over we will have you on your way to being the first to actually "master" this technique.
What Is Threshold Braking?
Threshold braking is the technique of applying the exact amount of pressure needed to the brake pedal in order to provide the maximum amount of power available to your brakes before causing them to stop the wheel's rotational motion. Simply put, it's braking just hard enough to bring the wheels to the point just before they lock. This technique is an extremely difficult one to learn and even harder to teach as there is no set amount of force to use or no set way to use it. Some setups will render the threshold early on and some setups will allow the threshold to be later in the braking cycle.
These are some of the significant determining factors in your brake's threshold:
Brake Fade:
As the name implies, if your brakes are worn, the amount of pressure given to lock them is increased. This may not necessarily be a bad thing depending on your driving style, but you do NOT want to have brake pads and/or rotors that are old and worn when bringing your vehicle to the track. Your brakes undergo the MOST stress of any part of the vehicle during performance driving and thus must be maintained accordingly. Make sure that you have adequate fluid, sufficient padding on your brake pads and that your rotors are not warped, cracked or worn down. This will insure that your braking threshold remains constant and somewhat predictable.
Brake Usage and Stress:
Your brakes, like any other friction-item on your car, heat up when used vigorously. This can cause a molecular brake down of the pads called Caramelizing or the point in which your brake pads begin to liquefy. Not only does this create a situation where your braking threshold is significantly increased, this also poses a danger to you and everyone else on the track. When the brakes caramelize they lose almost all stopping power and can lock suddenly, abruptly and without warning. Once brakes that are liquefied lock the rotors they can literally weld themselves to the rotor causing a catastrophic chain reaction. This is why the learning, understanding and application of proper braking techniques is crucial to your safety and everyone else's safety on the track.
Tires:
Believe it or not, your tires play a more important part in braking than the actual brakes themselves. This is because when it comes to stopping, no matter how high-performance or how high-tech your braking system is, if you are running on worn, improperly inflated or low-speed-rated tires you might as well not be braking at all. It is extremely important to remember that your tires are THE most crucial part of your braking endeavors and they must be maintained accordingly. Remember to make sure that they are properly inflated for the track's conditions, have ample tread life and that they are not dry-rotted, hardening or frayed in anyway. The other important item, and this should be at the top of any racer's or drifter's list, is the tire's "Footprint". A tire's footprint is the surface area of the tire that makes total contract with the ground at any point and time. This surface area is constantly changing throughout your time around the track and should be maintained that the highest possible point where grip is necessary. In terms of racing, this is across all four tires during acceleration in a straight line and on the front wheels when turning. For the purposes of these lessons, drifting, the point at which your rear tires maintain a "large" footprint is not as important. The front tires are where you want your grip to be maintained, especially during the beginning stages. Once you reach a level where you are confident in your skill, you can start to reduce the footprint in the front. The significance of this will be covered in later lessons.
Velocity and Momentum:
Simply enough, the faster you are going and the more weight your vehicle has, the more power and stress it's going to take from your brakes to lock the wheel's movement. This, again, is not a good or bad thing, it's just a varying factor that you will have to take into consideration when applying the brakes. Remember, if your car is relatively light weight it's going to take far less pedal-pressure to get the front wheels to stop moving then it would for a car that is almost twice the weight.
The above mentioned are only the significant factors that drivers and drifters must take into consideration when driving at the limit. There are other factors such as line pressure and rotor-type, but those are specific to types of vehicles and driving styles. When driving remember the factors we discussed above and also practice what we are going to cover next: Braking Form.
Braking Form
Braking form is another topic that is difficult to discuss due to the fact that everyone applies the brakes differently. Some racers may do well by placing their whole foot on the brake and rolling their ankle forward while others may leave their heel on the ground and only apply the brakes with their toes. The only thing that this write-up will offer is a guide, more or less, as to what you feel is more effective and most importantly comfortable and natural for you to use.
It is important to know that drivers almost always tend to race the way they have learned to drive. This is a good thing in a sense that you are used to reacting to situations from this form so you already know EXACTLY how it is supposed to feel when you apply the brakes. It's imperative that you do NOT change your braking form when racing. This is because when you change your form, you tend to apply the brakes irregularly and may be more prone to applying more or less pressure than is needed, and this can pose a serious danger to you and others on the track. Basically consistency is the key. By racing in the same foot-form as you drive, the consistency is always present so you never find that you have to readjust to a situation because you've moved your feet. All of the greatest drivers that you can think of, from the highest ranks of the WRC to the lowest levels of NASCAR practice consistency in their braking because they all know that when something goes wrong and the crap hits the fan, one of the only things keeping them from colliding with something stronger than their car is that little 3 inch pedal under your right foot.
Enabling Learning Objectives
1. Define Threshold Braking, give a situation in which this may be required and describe two (2) factors that affect the threshold.
2. Define Braking Form.
3. Define and Describe Late Braking and Early Braking.
4. Define Footprint and describe its importance.
5. Define Caramelizing and describe why this is dangerous.
6. Describe Left-Foot-Braking and it's purpose.
Terminal Learning Objectives
Using the log book you created, head out to the track and test and document differing braking styles and annotate the one that works best for you. Also, practice threshold braking and take notes as to how much pressure is needed to bring your car to this point.
1. Threshold Braking
In the world of racing it is extremely important to maintain the maximum amount of control possible for the vehicle you are driving. In order to do this drivers spend months on end practicing various techniques of throttle and steering control, tons of seat time and hours of studying the dynamics of their cars lead to the ultimate mastery of their vehicles. There is one technique that is arguably the hardest technique to "master". In fact, most racers will argue that this technique is not able to be mastered, yet it can only be controlled in a manner in which you are used to. This powerful and commanding technique is known as "Braking". When it comes to braking there is no right way there are only wrong ways, and that's what makes this technique so hard to conquer. However, by the time this lesson is over we will have you on your way to being the first to actually "master" this technique.
What Is Threshold Braking?
Threshold braking is the technique of applying the exact amount of pressure needed to the brake pedal in order to provide the maximum amount of power available to your brakes before causing them to stop the wheel's rotational motion. Simply put, it's braking just hard enough to bring the wheels to the point just before they lock. This technique is an extremely difficult one to learn and even harder to teach as there is no set amount of force to use or no set way to use it. Some setups will render the threshold early on and some setups will allow the threshold to be later in the braking cycle.
These are some of the significant determining factors in your brake's threshold:
Brake Fade:
As the name implies, if your brakes are worn, the amount of pressure given to lock them is increased. This may not necessarily be a bad thing depending on your driving style, but you do NOT want to have brake pads and/or rotors that are old and worn when bringing your vehicle to the track. Your brakes undergo the MOST stress of any part of the vehicle during performance driving and thus must be maintained accordingly. Make sure that you have adequate fluid, sufficient padding on your brake pads and that your rotors are not warped, cracked or worn down. This will insure that your braking threshold remains constant and somewhat predictable.
Brake Usage and Stress:
Your brakes, like any other friction-item on your car, heat up when used vigorously. This can cause a molecular brake down of the pads called Caramelizing or the point in which your brake pads begin to liquefy. Not only does this create a situation where your braking threshold is significantly increased, this also poses a danger to you and everyone else on the track. When the brakes caramelize they lose almost all stopping power and can lock suddenly, abruptly and without warning. Once brakes that are liquefied lock the rotors they can literally weld themselves to the rotor causing a catastrophic chain reaction. This is why the learning, understanding and application of proper braking techniques is crucial to your safety and everyone else's safety on the track.
Tires:
Believe it or not, your tires play a more important part in braking than the actual brakes themselves. This is because when it comes to stopping, no matter how high-performance or how high-tech your braking system is, if you are running on worn, improperly inflated or low-speed-rated tires you might as well not be braking at all. It is extremely important to remember that your tires are THE most crucial part of your braking endeavors and they must be maintained accordingly. Remember to make sure that they are properly inflated for the track's conditions, have ample tread life and that they are not dry-rotted, hardening or frayed in anyway. The other important item, and this should be at the top of any racer's or drifter's list, is the tire's "Footprint". A tire's footprint is the surface area of the tire that makes total contract with the ground at any point and time. This surface area is constantly changing throughout your time around the track and should be maintained that the highest possible point where grip is necessary. In terms of racing, this is across all four tires during acceleration in a straight line and on the front wheels when turning. For the purposes of these lessons, drifting, the point at which your rear tires maintain a "large" footprint is not as important. The front tires are where you want your grip to be maintained, especially during the beginning stages. Once you reach a level where you are confident in your skill, you can start to reduce the footprint in the front. The significance of this will be covered in later lessons.
Velocity and Momentum:
Simply enough, the faster you are going and the more weight your vehicle has, the more power and stress it's going to take from your brakes to lock the wheel's movement. This, again, is not a good or bad thing, it's just a varying factor that you will have to take into consideration when applying the brakes. Remember, if your car is relatively light weight it's going to take far less pedal-pressure to get the front wheels to stop moving then it would for a car that is almost twice the weight.
The above mentioned are only the significant factors that drivers and drifters must take into consideration when driving at the limit. There are other factors such as line pressure and rotor-type, but those are specific to types of vehicles and driving styles. When driving remember the factors we discussed above and also practice what we are going to cover next: Braking Form.
Braking Form
Braking form is another topic that is difficult to discuss due to the fact that everyone applies the brakes differently. Some racers may do well by placing their whole foot on the brake and rolling their ankle forward while others may leave their heel on the ground and only apply the brakes with their toes. The only thing that this write-up will offer is a guide, more or less, as to what you feel is more effective and most importantly comfortable and natural for you to use.
It is important to know that drivers almost always tend to race the way they have learned to drive. This is a good thing in a sense that you are used to reacting to situations from this form so you already know EXACTLY how it is supposed to feel when you apply the brakes. It's imperative that you do NOT change your braking form when racing. This is because when you change your form, you tend to apply the brakes irregularly and may be more prone to applying more or less pressure than is needed, and this can pose a serious danger to you and others on the track. Basically consistency is the key. By racing in the same foot-form as you drive, the consistency is always present so you never find that you have to readjust to a situation because you've moved your feet. All of the greatest drivers that you can think of, from the highest ranks of the WRC to the lowest levels of NASCAR practice consistency in their braking because they all know that when something goes wrong and the crap hits the fan, one of the only things keeping them from colliding with something stronger than their car is that little 3 inch pedal under your right foot.
03-31-2007, 09:40 PM
#2
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Posts: 1,684
A few pointers to remember when considering your braking form are:
*No matter how you place your foot over the brake pedal, always roll your foot into the throttle. Even in drastic situations, you NEVER want to simply STOMP on the brake pedal, this will lead to an inevitable loss of control over your vehicle and will most likely place you in greater danger than you were already in.
*If you are the type to brake with your toes, like I do, you want to place your heel under the pedal slightly at an angle. This will allow for maximum control of the brake pedal and will also take away any slack that the brake pedal may have in it, giving you instant stopping power as soon as you move your foot from the throttle to the brake.
*If you are the type to brake with your entire foot over the pedal, remember that you do NOT want to use your leg to assist your braking. This is more than likely apply too much pressure to the brakes than needed and will either cost you serious time on the track or place your car in a higher danger level. What you WANT to do is to place your foot, near the arc, on the pedal and simply roll forward with your ankle. This will allow for smooth even braking throughout and you will see an increase in vehicle and pedal control.
*Never simply "mash" the brakes. You will always, no matter your foot-form, want to gradually apply the brakes. This will allow you to gauge your situation and apply the brakes as needed. The way that most drivers will agree to do this is by placing your foot over the brake pedal and applying gradual yet deliberate pressure until you reach a point in which the brakes are effective enough to slow you down to where you need to be. This plays an important roll in braking for turns when racing and an EXTREMELY important roll when avoiding a sudden possible collision.
Keep in mind that it is important that you NEVER EVER apply full pressure to your brakes all at once. If full braking power is needed, apply the pressure throughout the pedal-cycle so that you can assess the situation as needed. This will insure that you maintain full control of your vehicle at all times and that you are never in a situation where you lock-up the front wheels and cannot regain composure.
Left Foot Braking:
This style is quick and easy to describe but hard to master. Left foot braking is braking with the left foot while applying steady pressure to the throttle with your right. The reason for left foot braking is to maintain maximum control over your car while applying a significant amount of braking power. Here are some advantages of left foot braking:
When concerning a front-wheel-drive car, understeer is greatly eliminated when applying this technique. This is due to the fact that you are able to keep a stable and constant speed while shifting the weight towards the front of the vehicle. This helps FWD cars put the weight where it's needed and turn sharper.
When considering a high horsepower rear-wheel-drive car, such as a Camaro, you are better able to slow your vehicle down through a turn without losing stability since the balance is maintained throughout the turn.
It's also a pretty well known fact in the racing world that left foot braking can also give you an advantage when entering and exiting corners in which low-marginal braking is required.
Well that about sums it up. You have all done very well to make it to the end of this lesson, I know it's been a difficult journey through this write-up from beginning to end and I assure you that it will continue on the track when trying to actually apply these techniques. What we've offered here is some insight to hopefully help you in your endeavors into braking and braking control. Remember that the only way to actually get better at these topics is to go out to the track and practice, practice, practice.
:::: Conclude ::::
*No matter how you place your foot over the brake pedal, always roll your foot into the throttle. Even in drastic situations, you NEVER want to simply STOMP on the brake pedal, this will lead to an inevitable loss of control over your vehicle and will most likely place you in greater danger than you were already in.
*If you are the type to brake with your toes, like I do, you want to place your heel under the pedal slightly at an angle. This will allow for maximum control of the brake pedal and will also take away any slack that the brake pedal may have in it, giving you instant stopping power as soon as you move your foot from the throttle to the brake.
*If you are the type to brake with your entire foot over the pedal, remember that you do NOT want to use your leg to assist your braking. This is more than likely apply too much pressure to the brakes than needed and will either cost you serious time on the track or place your car in a higher danger level. What you WANT to do is to place your foot, near the arc, on the pedal and simply roll forward with your ankle. This will allow for smooth even braking throughout and you will see an increase in vehicle and pedal control.
*Never simply "mash" the brakes. You will always, no matter your foot-form, want to gradually apply the brakes. This will allow you to gauge your situation and apply the brakes as needed. The way that most drivers will agree to do this is by placing your foot over the brake pedal and applying gradual yet deliberate pressure until you reach a point in which the brakes are effective enough to slow you down to where you need to be. This plays an important roll in braking for turns when racing and an EXTREMELY important roll when avoiding a sudden possible collision.
Keep in mind that it is important that you NEVER EVER apply full pressure to your brakes all at once. If full braking power is needed, apply the pressure throughout the pedal-cycle so that you can assess the situation as needed. This will insure that you maintain full control of your vehicle at all times and that you are never in a situation where you lock-up the front wheels and cannot regain composure.
Left Foot Braking:
This style is quick and easy to describe but hard to master. Left foot braking is braking with the left foot while applying steady pressure to the throttle with your right. The reason for left foot braking is to maintain maximum control over your car while applying a significant amount of braking power. Here are some advantages of left foot braking:
When concerning a front-wheel-drive car, understeer is greatly eliminated when applying this technique. This is due to the fact that you are able to keep a stable and constant speed while shifting the weight towards the front of the vehicle. This helps FWD cars put the weight where it's needed and turn sharper.
When considering a high horsepower rear-wheel-drive car, such as a Camaro, you are better able to slow your vehicle down through a turn without losing stability since the balance is maintained throughout the turn.
It's also a pretty well known fact in the racing world that left foot braking can also give you an advantage when entering and exiting corners in which low-marginal braking is required.
Well that about sums it up. You have all done very well to make it to the end of this lesson, I know it's been a difficult journey through this write-up from beginning to end and I assure you that it will continue on the track when trying to actually apply these techniques. What we've offered here is some insight to hopefully help you in your endeavors into braking and braking control. Remember that the only way to actually get better at these topics is to go out to the track and practice, practice, practice.
:::: Conclude ::::
07-30-2007, 10:22 AM
#4
well going from 205/55 R16 Falken Ziex tires up front to 235/40 ZR18 Michelin Sports is like starting ALL over again at the track i just simply wasnt braking hard enough even though i could with these new tires but i didnt cause i was used to the threshold of the old inferior tires. Good info though soon ill get used too it!
07-30-2007, 05:48 PM
#5
Club240 Staff
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: tampa, fl
Posts: 483
I am still learning left foot breaking. I really feel this technique is not talked about much and can really gain some time in certain cars/tracks. At sebring, there are a number of corners where I believe i can really improve on with this if I master it. And now I am going to try my hand at a 911 which has big issues with sudden off gas to hard brake.
Good Lesson. If you could ever add some video to supplement this, that would be great
Also, maybe a section about trail braking
Good Lesson. If you could ever add some video to supplement this, that would be great
Also, maybe a section about trail braking
07-30-2007, 05:52 PM
#6
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Posts: 1,684
Your wish is my command, let me know what photos and videos you would like to see more of or which lessons you would like me to go into more detail about.
I'll get to work on trail braking and I'll start working on the videos for left foot braking.
Thanks for the kind words,
-Stig
I'll get to work on trail braking and I'll start working on the videos for left foot braking.
Thanks for the kind words,
-Stig
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