Braking- of a Zen

[kaushik_s]

Hi All,
My ride is a 99 model carb Zen and I feel the brakes are not that sharp as I've seen on a Santro(new ones) or Palio..I mean to say it doesn't gives a jolt even if braked hard and the braking seems to be somewhat not very quick(but it does stop in time)..But I'm used to it now..
Now what happened is that I've read about the Left foot braking thing here at TBHP and I thought let me just see what happens if I try it.. Now I found an open space and there was no other car in the vicinity I tried my left foot.. And to my utter surprise braking was very very sharp and it felt similar to that of the new cars..It felt like the wheels got locked and felt the jolt of a sudden stop... So after that I tried my normal method of braking, right footed one.. but as soon as I leave the throttle and pressed the brake everything seem to be as it was before, i.e. the braking was not very sharp and I didn't felt the jolt of sudden stopping and the car was slowing down normally..
What can be the reason of this ?? Is there any power assist short of thing to the brakes while throttle is being pressed which increases the braking efficiency ?? Or is there any problem with my car itself(I'm planning to check this with one of my friends Zen(similar model))
Regards,
Kaushik

[v1p3r]

That's because your left foot is not accustomed to braking. You will be putting a lot more pressure on the pedal with your left foot, than with your right foot, even though you may think otherwise.

[kaushik_s]

Viper, I guess that's not the case.. I tried doing very hard braking with my right foot also and car was stopping gradually only.. not like a jolt.. Actually I also thought the same thing at first.. But it was totally different.. may be is because of the throttle, well I don't know.. I wish I could show it to you people..
Regards
Kaushik

[ajitkommini]

Kaushik, what Viper is saying makes sense. I've tried this too. I found that my left foot isnt used to making gradual / fine movements as much as my right foot. So when you brake with the left foot, it's more like an "on / off" thing rather than a gradual increase in braking pressure. This is why there is a perceived difference in braking. I dont think it has anything to do with acceleration and all.

[arunforu1]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Viper, I guess that's not the case.. I tried doing very hard braking with my right foot also and car was stopping gradually only.. not like a jolt.. Actually I also thought the same thing at first.. But it was totally different.. may be is because of the throttle, well I don't know.. I wish I could show it to you people..
Regards
Kaushik

it has nothing to do with car, just the fact that your right foot is accustomed to regular braking.

our left foot is accostomed to pressing clutch pedal hard but lifting off in a gradual slow manner, while right foot get used to controlled pushing & easing off by the repeated movements, & over the years it becomes habit.

while braking with right foot we use, jointly more of anlke moment force+some push from leg, while using left foot we use more force of leg than use of ankle joint, thats why even if you push hard with right foot you will impart less force on pedal.(coz we tune our right foot over the years of driving to use ankle joint while pushing)

[kaushik_s]

hmmmm .. so it may be only some short of mental issue more then mechanical issue ;-) .. Well then I'll try this thing again with keeping these things in mind.. But yeah may it's all in the mind only..