FC Transmission: Does it make your car faster?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jackrabb1t
  • 17 comments
  • 17,827 views
J

jackrabb1t

Messages
13
I'm sorry if that has been asked before, but I've been wondering for a while whether or not a fully customizable transmission gives you any performance benefits compared to a normal transmission past just being able to modify the gearing for more efficient power use?

Basically, does the FC transmission just increase efficiency through different gearing settings, or does it also actually increase the usable power of the car (by increasing horsepower to the wheels, for example)?
 
you can adjust the gearing so you can either gain top speed or acceleration, thats the big advantage.
 
It does not increase horsepower to the wheels. Instead you are able to shorten the gears (via an FC gearbox) thus reducing resistance placed on the motor. You're not increasing efficiency or horsepower by changing gear ratios.

Shorter gears = faster acceleration
taller gears = higher top speed

You should adjust the top speed of the FC gearbox for each individual track. Ideally you'd want to just barely be able to reach top speed near redline in 6th (or 7th) gear at the end of the longest straightaway. That speed could be 200mph for one track, or 140 on another.
 
WolfpackS2k
It does not increase horsepower to the wheels. Instead you are able to shorten the gears (via an FC gearbox) thus reducing resistance placed on the motor. You're not increasing efficiency or horsepower by changing gear ratios.

Shorter gears = faster acceleration
taller gears = higher top speed

You should adjust the top speed of the FC gearbox for each individual track. Ideally you'd want to just barely be able to reach top speed near redline in 6th (or 7th) gear at the end of the longest straightaway. That speed could be 200mph for one track, or 140 on another.
Click to expand...
#

This guy has it spot on, set it a click or two higher for online though and you can make good use of drafting.
 
I dont think you guys are getting the point, OTHER than being able to tune the gears to your liking, does it make shifts quicker or smoother, Does it not sap power away every shift? I really am not sure myself, I do get it for the full customization though.
 
StrokerAce
I dont think you guys are getting the point, OTHER than being able to tune the gears to your liking, does it make shifts quicker or smoother, Does it not sap power away every shift? I really am not sure myself, I do get it for the full customization though.
Click to expand...

Doesn't improve your engine, horsepower or anything. Just increases either acceleration or top speed which will reduce your lap times.
 
StrokerAce
I dont think you guys are getting the point, OTHER than being able to tune the gears to your liking, does it make shifts quicker or smoother, Does it not sap power away every shift? I really am not sure myself, I do get it for the full customization though.
Click to expand...

i get the point, the point to me is the full customization is a good enough reason to not waste my time with the others for any car.
 
If you want quicker (very slightly) shifts I'd recommend getting the semi-race flying wheel. A reduction in rotating mass = faster engine response (just as it more or less says in the tuning shop descriptions I'd gather?)
 
I'm not sure if he understands that none of the Transmission upgrades actually adds power to the car. All the close ratio trans. upgrades do is shift the gears closer together so that the car accelerates faster they don't actually add more HP to the car. The Benefit of the FC Trans. is that you can set the gear ratios as close together or as far apart as you would like. If all you want is more power I would suggest either a turbo upgrade or if your car cannot use a turbo there is always the engine upgrades. Another thing that you could do if you don't have to much cash to spend is upgrading the flywheel for a bit faster shifting or upgrading the exhaust or intake for minimal HP increases. I think also that better tires might help you keep that speed as well because you won't be sliding as much on the corners.

This is just my two cents by the way, I don't claim to know tons about all this stuff these are just some things that I picked up from playing around with the upgrades and I don't know anything about spring or brake settings as I haven't played around with those yet.
I do know that sometimes what a car needs to win a race is just a little gear ratio tuning and not added power to the wheels because sometimes that little extra acceleration out of the corner is the difference between winning and losing.
 
StrokerAce
I dont think you guys are getting the point, OTHER than being able to tune the gears to your liking, does it make shifts quicker or smoother, Does it not sap power away every shift? I really am not sure myself, I do get it for the full customization though.
Click to expand...

Yes, in most cars you can assume this transmission would have a quicker sequential, perhaps shorter throw. In addition, you can customize every gear length, which alters the way you benefit from your power band. Therefore, if you create the best ratio for each track that allows your car to be in the power band during turn exit, you've in turned allowed yourself to gain hp.
 
I don’t think so OP. A race transmission wouldn’t be much lighter; at least not the rotating bits. The only difference are swap-ability, in-game. Real-world, it would also be more durable (straight-cut gears) and so on, but even then, it would not change power loss (if it would, it’d be negligible). That’s mostly due to the clutch and overall design and weight of the system (driveshaft makes a much bigger difference, and lesser-more, a flywheel).
 
StrokerAce
I dont think you guys are getting the point, OTHER than being able to tune the gears to your liking, does it make shifts quicker or smoother, Does it not sap power away every shift? I really am not sure myself, I do get it for the full customization though.
Click to expand...

On its own, the only thing the FC tranny does is allow adjustment to prefer acceleration or top speed. If you want faster shifts, you need to upgrade the clutch, and if you want less power loss during shifts (that is, better response and less RPM drop and spin up), you need to upgrade the flywheel.

There really is almost no reason to go with one of the other trany upgrades instead of the FC. The acceleration vs. top speed tweaking is always worth the extra cash.
 
In real life, the difference in rotating masses don't really make that much of a difference in power output, though, quicker response from a transmission with slightly lighter parts will show up in first or second gear from a stop... not that you're ever starting from a stop more than once in a race.

That's the same reason why you don't really need a flywheel upgrade. It will make it easier for the engine to accelerate in lower gears from a stop, but at higher speeds, it's engine-drivetrain horsepower versus load instead of its own inertia and weight... which is why "power gains" from a lighter flywheel show up on a Dynojet (inertial) but not on a proper load dynamomenter like the Mustang.
 
Last edited:
And although people complain about not being able to change each gear ratio, being able to at least alter acceleration versus top speed is better than topping out at the stock top speed.

Although it does make the car whine like a 3 year old.
 
GT5kid824
And although people complain about not being able to change each gear ratio, being able to at least alter acceleration versus top speed is better than topping out at the stock top speed.

Although it does make the car whine like a 3 year old.
Click to expand...

The sad part is, GT4 and GT5P allowed us to individually tailor each ratio. Excluding this previously available option makes very little sense, except if they did so simply because they weren't finished with the interface when they finalized GT5 for printing to disc.

On some cars, custom ratios are extremely useful. For cars with a lot of power, for example, I will make 1st gear as long as humanly possible, with long gaps between 1st to 3rd, then stack 4th, 5th and 6th close together for tracks where I'll be needing such fine control (like Daytona), or keep the ratios long for tracks where I might need to keep the car a gear higher to avoid wheelspin.

Still, yes, it's better than nothing. Only wish it were even better than that.
 
My fingers are crossed that PD fix this as soon as possible because the top speed limiter does make a lot of powerful FR cars difficult to drive as I've noticed that most of the time there is a lot of wheel spin accelerating through 3rd gear.
 

Latest Posts

Back