Left foot braking

[Jalisurr]

So here's another question from someone who hasn't owned a vehicle made in the last 10 years and hasn't ever owned a Ford:

Do you think the Bronco will allow you to left foot brake while still applying throttle? Do other Fords allow this or does the throttle cut when you press the brake pedal like on many passenger cars? This is an important thing to be able to do for some off-roading techniques. I assume at least the Raptor allows this?

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[securitysix]

My 2011 Tundra allows left foot braking, although do to some computer wizardry, it won't stack on the brakes as hard as my 2001 Sonoma would. According to the sales guy, that has more to do with Toyota's runaway throttle problem than anything else. Supposedly, they programmed the computer such that if it detects brake pressure, the brake always overrides the gas.

I would assume most modern vehicles would have similar programming, and the question becomes "How aggressive is that programming?"

In my Tundra, you can feel it load the brakes, but at some point, pressing the throttle more doesn't add more of a load to the brakes, whereas you could feel my Sonoma always trying to add more power as you gave it more throttle. I've never pushed either super hard, though.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

Another reason to have a manual.

 

[Paint]

My 2013 Tundra will do a monumental burnout this way if you turn off traction and stability.

 

[OX1]

Mustangs do if you turn off traction control..........
(but that is sitting still, haven't tried it moving)

 

[Jalisurr]

Another reason to have a manual.

Even with a manual transmission you'd still have a drive by wire throttle, so they could program in that if the brake is pressed and the vehicle is in gear, the gas won't open the throttle.

I hope they don't, but they could. One of those idiot proofing things that is good to prevent the general public from being dumb but also makes life difficult for the enthusiast.

 

[phillyfx4]

Huh, that's all I've done my whole life is left foot brake ? my '08 F 150 allows it.
Am I in for a surprise with a new vehicle and all the Computer "stuff" ??

 

[Paint]

Line locks are cheap and easy if that's your sort of thing.

 

[Jalisurr]

Line locks are cheap and easy if that's your sort of thing.

Lol, not for burnouts or launching as some have suggested, though that's always good too!

I'm thinking for off-road driving where it's nice to be able to smoothly put in a little bit of brake without letting completely off the gas in some situations. For me, in a corner it's nice to be able to use a bit of left foot braking to get the weight to transfer onto the front and you can do it smoother by keeping a bit of gas on. It's also useful when navigating slow trails to keep everything smooth.

Huh, that's all I've done my whole life is left foot brake ? my '08 F 150 allows it.
Am I in for a surprise with a new vehicle and all the Computer "stuff" ??

Yeah, I know for a fact that on some new commuter cars, the gas pedal just doesn't do anything if you are pressing the brake. Same, if you are on the gas and press the brake at all it cuts the throttle. Keeps dumb people from riding the brakes but it sucks for us who want to have fun.

 

[BAUS67]

Line locks are cheap and easy if that's your sort of thing.

I believe on an ABS system you will need one line lock for each wheel. i.e. if you want to lock both front wheels it will take 2 line locks. I know some guys who have done it on early 2000's 'stangs and they needed to buy 2 because I sold them to them and they didn't return them, they are on the car and it works fine. Maybe this stuff today is different but …… things have changed a lot in the last few years. My fox had one front line from the master cylinder and the other front came from the proportioning block and they were metric. Imagine trying to hook that up in the late 80's, old school gears heads would look at me like I had three heads !!

 

[BAUS67]

Mustangs do if you turn off traction control..........
(but that is sitting still, haven't tried it moving)

OX1 don't the newer ones have launch control also ?? (two step as it's called)

It used to be you had to buy an MSD box for that but I have read that Ford has it "programmed" in the ECM now. It's like Ford brags about their traction control vs. a human in launching the car at the strip. I think the quote was "If you think your good just try it back to back"

This being said I think Ford would have some "mode" that would enable the enthusiasts to enjoy control of their Bronco. They did employ the use of off road experts in the development of the Bronco, so I would be willing to bet they listened, seeing what they have done with the Mustang over the years.

Daredevil mode would be a good one for that. If I can put it on 2 wheels then I should be able to do 9 mile long burnouts !!!!!

 

[nameuser]

My 16 Tundra kills the gas when the brake is applied.
Combo of brake and gas is invaluable when rock crawling.
On my early bronco's it was much easier to control technical situations by easing off of the brake while giving some throttle than just using the skinny pedal.

 

[Jalisurr]

Interesting, thanks for the explanation. If you are already driving at high rpm, say 5000, and drag the brake what happens? Does the throttle cut abruptly until it gets back down below the lower rev limit?

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