Fuel Management Advice

[John Crellin]

Ok so I have seen some great videos of top rank players in races with fuel consumption. Watching them manage their fuel and stay on pace....... Which inspired me to give it a real go myself.

Most of the time I dont manage the fuel at all and just pit around halfway. So to do this I think ill need some help with a few questions

-First, do people tend to start the race with a fuel map >1? Or do they wait until they get some separation from the pack before they reduce their power a bit. I find it a bit hazardous to be slower than the pack on the first lap with so many racers making aggressive overtakes anytime they find themselves near you.

-Second, Does it matter which fuel map you are on when you go into the pit? How does the game calculate how many laps you have left, is it averaged, based on fuel map 1, or based on the fuel map setting you enter the pit with?

- Third, When do you make the decision to stop fueling? Normally(because i dont manage fuel) if there are 4 laps left then i fuel for 3.8-4.0 laps.

Any other advice that you may have would be appreciated.

 

[BSDShoes]

I rarely play with fuel map, but yes I start with map 1, need to get the gap from others as far as possible, after pitting (if needed) and the field is separated then I'll use map 2 or 3 if I can maintain enough speed otherwise I leave it at 1 and short shift is fuel is drying up in the last couple laps.

 

[John Crellin]

I rarely play with fuel map, but yes I start with map 1, need to get the gap from others as far as possible, after pitting (if needed) and the field is separated then I'll use map 2 or 3 if I can maintain enough speed otherwise I leave it at 1 and short shift is fuel is drying up in the last couple laps.

Yeah I have tried this in the past but it always left me feeling like i needed waaay more power on the straights... I guess im really asking about active fuel managment

 

[PirateAlan8]

A couple of ideas (not necessarily correct )

If I can get to the end. Then I usually try and go for map 1 on the straights and map 3 on the twisty bits. (Or whatever similar tactic will get me to the end)

You need map 1 for the straights because that’s how you go faster in a straight line. This can help you overtake. But it also stops people overtaking you and causing you trouble. So if someone is close and you can overtake / keep ahead then use map 1 on the straights for sure.

It’s not as important in the twisty bits as you’re often braking down to the speed you need rather than accelerating up to that speed. And often you’re feathering the throttle and not going full speed. So use map 3 here.

Map 3 can help traction so can actually help in the twisty bits (especially if not using TC). You’ll find you’ll spin out less and be more consistent in the long run.

Also no one can overtake you in the corners. So save as much fuel as you need here. You could run map 6 if you wanted through areas of the track where no overtaking is possible.

Sometimes it depends on how you feel. At Monza the other day I decided not to bother going for an overtake (and risk us losing time or having an accident at one of the chicanes). So I was even using map 5/6 tucked right up in the slip stream. Saved a ton of fuel and jumped 1st and 2nd in the pits.

You can also do this by pitting on lap 4 out of 10. Your 5th lap with be on new tyres and their 5th lap will be on old tyres. So you can jump them. The only risk is that no one else is pitting and you get fed back out into the mid field and can’t use your new tyres.

But tbh it can cause more problems than it’s worth. With different maps you’ll be going at different speeds and need to adjust your braking points. You can often throw yourself out of your grove and end up messing up a corner and losing more time than you would by just driving normally.

You will only gain a few seconds at most by micro managing your fuel.

 

[John Crellin]

A couple of ideas (not necessarily correct )

If I can get to the end. Then I usually try and go for map 1 on the straights and map 3 on the twisty bits. (Or whatever similar tactic will get me to the end)

You need map 1 for the straights because that’s how you go faster in a straight line. This can help you overtake. But it also stops people overtaking you and causing you trouble. So if someone is close and you can overtake / keep ahead then use map 1 on the straights for sure.

It’s not as important in the twisty bits as you’re often braking down to the speed you need rather than accelerating up to that speed. So use map 3 here.

Map 3 can help traction so can actually help in the twisty bits (especially if not using TC). You’ll find you’ll spin out less and be more consistent in the long run.

Also no one can overtake you in the corners. So save as much fuel as you need here. You could run map 6 if you wanted through areas of the track where no overtaking is possible.

Sometimes it depends on how you feel. At Monza the other day I decided not to bother going for an overtake (and risk us losing time or having an accident at one of the chicanes). So I was even using map 5/6 tucked right up in the slip stream. Saved a ton of fuel and jumped 1st and 2nd in the pits.

Although tbh it can cause more problems than it’s worth. With different maps you’ll be going at different speeds and need to adjust your braking points. You can often throw yourself out of your grove and end up messing up a corner and losing more time than you would by just driving normally.

You will only gain a few seconds at most by micro managing your fuel.

Thanks!

You make a good point about not being passed in the corners. I usually see one or two of the front runners doing no pit races, and I always wondered how they were able to do that and maintain their lead. every time i stick with FM-3 or the likes I would just get passed by everyone and their mother in the straights or out of a corner. and i never saw it actually saving me any time.

What about fueling strategy? do you have any idea how it calculates the laps remaining in the pit?

 

[PirateAlan8]

Thanks!

You make a good point about not being passed in the corners. I usually see one or two of the front runners doing no pit races, and I always wondered how they were able to do that and maintain their lead. every time i stick with FM-3 or the likes I would just get passed by everyone and their mother in the straights or out of a corner. and i never saw it actually saving me anytime.

What about fueling strategy? do you have any idea how it calculates the laps remaining in the pit?

Guessing again but it appears the laps remaining is always calculated based on map 1.

So whatever tactic you’ve been using. If you fill it up with the amount of laps you have left then you can go map 1 to the end.

Most of the time I just do this. Only very rarely will I underfuel (as I’ll have to worry about fuel management again). Usually the gaps in the field have already opened up by that point so saving half a second on the pit stop is a bit pointless.

I think the only time fuel management makes a major difference is when it is actually faster to go to the end without stopping. In which case the pit stop doesn’t’ matter!

(I usually only find that out after my first race!)

 

[John Crellin]

I think the only time fuel management makes a major difference is when it is actually faster to go to the end without stopping. In which case the pit stop doesn’t’ matter!

(I usually only find that out after my first race!)

Good point. However, I watched a video in a post from a recent top 24 superstars race that was 15 laps. With active fuel management the driver was getting about 8-8.5 laps out of their tank.

This race

But weirdly, they pit and with 7 laps to go, they put 7.5 laps of fuel in the tank and came out of the pits down 2 positions from where they entered. I found this odd and thought maybe it was calculated as an average of their race so far.

 

[Vader86]

My fueling strategy is figure out how many laps I can get on the tires before they need to be changed, and adjust the usual map from there.

But in general I'm running Map 1 all the time and maybe one lap on 3-4 just to get the most out of the tires.

Ive always thought the fuel remaining was calculated on the map youre running at the time you go in the pit.

 

[Voodoovaj]

I observe and if the race can be run with no stops, then I set the fuel map to 3 and try to conserve the tires.

 

[PirateAlan8]

Good point. However, I watched a video in a post from a recent top 24 superstars race that was 15 laps. With active fuel management the driver was getting about 8-8.5 laps out of their tank.

This race

But weirdly, they pit and with 7 laps to go, they put 7.5 laps of fuel in the tank and came out of the pits down 2 positions from where they entered. I found this odd and thought maybe it was calculated as an average of their race so far.

I was just guessing, maybe it is some kind of average.

But I regularly use a lot of map 3 in the first stint and can make it to the end on map 1 according to the laps left on the fuel tank. So I’d be surprised if it is.

 

[Jamie Bbbbb]

When refueling, calculate how much % fuel you need, not laps remaining (100 - [how much you have remaining at the pit stop])

 

[PirateAlan8]

Good point. However, I watched a video in a post from a recent top 24 superstars race that was 15 laps. With active fuel management the driver was getting about 8-8.5 laps out of their tank.

This race

But weirdly, they pit and with 7 laps to go, they put 7.5 laps of fuel in the tank and came out of the pits down 2 positions from where they entered. I found this odd and thought maybe it was calculated as an average of their race so far.

For the first stint he was using a lot of map 2/3/6.

For the last stint he filled up with 7.5 laps and made it to the end with ?0.4? laps left (couldn’t read it on my phone) while using map 1 all the way. (Didn’t actually watch the full video).

Also he only just refuled to 7.5 laps. I wonder if he just pressed stop fractionally later than he planned to!

So i still think it corresponds to the laps left using map 1.

 

[Alpha Cipher]

I usually don't play with the fuel map because for some reason I always end up with more fuel than the others in the pits (eg. today at Maggiore I pit with 36-38% fuel left in an AMG GT whereas the others are at 30-33%)
Maybe it's my driving style?

 

[Robben]

Yeah I have tried this in the past but it always left me feeling like i needed waaay more power on the straights... I guess im really asking about active fuel managment

As others have said... crank it up to 5 or 6 when going through cornery sections and back to 1 on straights. Also, you can go up to 5 or 6 if you are in a slipstream on a straight.

 

[LennyB]

I leave it at one, my pits are all about tires and I use the fuel as needed to reflect my style. I'm sure there are many ways to do it but I like fresh soft tires, or in some cases worn out harder compounds, fuel is never my thought though other than not wanting to run out.

 

[Oswald07]

Thanks!

You make a good point about not being passed in the corners. I usually see one or two of the front runners doing no pit races, and I always wondered how they were able to do that and maintain their lead. every time i stick with FM-3 or the likes I would just get passed by everyone and their mother in the straights or out of a corner. and i never saw it actually saving me any time.

What about fueling strategy? do you have any idea how it calculates the laps remaining in the pit?

There's a little white diamond over the spot to stop fueling.

 

[Robben]

There's a little white diamond over the spot to stop fueling.

Really?

 

[LennyB]

Really?

I always go a dash over that, You get the feel after a while.

 

[Robben]

I always go a dash over that, You get the feel after a while.

I never noticed it I always just work on laps remaining and wait until it reaches that number

 

[LennyB]

It really depends how Melvin you want to go with it, in reality at least as far as my experience goes it's always been the same with GT games, softest compound tire with the least stop, I want my tires worn out on s/f line, the gas I drink however it works out. For instance on a one stop race for simplicity, I'll run the softest compound I can get close to 1/2 the laps in with, then I'll put one grade harder, put enough gas to finish, and run on.

 

[NJ72]

In sport mode it depends on the race length and quali position for me. Generally I don't quali on pole, so I run FM2 or 3 for the first stint - adjusting based on whether I can keep with the car in front - with a view to taking the positions in the pits but requiring less fuel than the others.

If I find the car in front is holding me up I'll switch to 1 and push to pass them. Don't know until you start the race, though.

That said, if I'm in a good swing and groove then I'll lob it on FM 1 and run flat out. Had this a while ago and had enough time to take on enough fuel.

 

[JulesDennis]

This is only my opinion.
If you want to save fuel the best way to do it is not my changing the fuel map to 2-3 (whatever) but by sort shifting (when you accelarete) and also down-shift with low revs when breaking.In other words your driving and your feet is gonna save fuel and not the "fuel map".
Anything other than fuel map 1 should make you too slow (even if you push hard).
The point of fuel managment is to go further than your opponents in the same anount of fuel.In small races (like we have in GTS) with 8-10-12 laps the goal is to finish without needing any refueling -imo-.Now here comes the fun part:that way you also save you tires.So in some races -depending on track/car/lap combo- you can actually finish the race without going to the pit at all.That could give you a 40 to 50 sec advantage to others that are going to pit.Keep in mind that with that way you are actually gonna lose time on track since your pace gonna be a slower compared to others -but not as slow if you map at 2 or higher-.Also need to be patient and make zero mistakes during the race in order for this to work.
I know it can be done since I have done it and gain even 7-8 P.
Now this is only something you should do if you want to gain positions with strategy and you start mid pack (or lower).If you start in the top 5 P I strongly recommend not to do it -in GTS at least-.

 

[PirateAlan8]

This is only my opinion.
If you want to save fuel the best way to do it is not my changing the fuel map to 2-3 (whatever) but by sort shifting (when you accelarete) and also down-shift with low revs when breaking.In other words your driving and your feet is gonna save fuel and not the "fuel map".
Anything other than fuel map 1 should make you too slow (even if you push hard).
The point of fuel managment is to go further than your opponents in the same anount of fuel.In small races (like we have in GTS) with 8-10-12 laps the goal is to finish without needing any refueling -imo-.Now here comes the fun part:that way you also save you tires.So in some races -depending on track/car/lap combo- you can actually finish the race without going to the pit at all.That could give you a 40 to 50 sec advantage to others that are going to pit.Keep in mind that with that way you are actually gonna lose time on track since your pace gonna be a slower compared to others -but not as slow if you map at 2 or higher-.Also need to be patient and make zero mistakes during the race in order for this to work.
I know it can be done since I have done it and gain even 7-8 P.
Now this is only something you should do if you want to gain positions with strategy and you start mid pack (or lower).If you start in the top 5 P I strongly recommend not to do it -in GTS at least-.

It can still work if you start top 5.

What if you want to jump 1st, 2nd and 3rd?

Also, if you’re in front of people you can dictate the pace. So while you are saving fuel the guys behind might not be and are just burning lots of fuel going nowhere. So you get a comfy gap at pit stops.

I’ve never timed it, but i think a pit stop is more like 20-30 seconds.

 

[NJ72]

Pit length depends entirely on the track. Interlagos has a REALLY long pit lane for example, whereas dragon trail is a lot shorter - so the pit stop duration changes quite a bit.

I agree about the driving style being a defining factor for fuel useage, but one key point to remember is that the 'laps remaining' counter doesn't factor this in. I completed a whole lap and my 'laps remaining' counter went down by 0.4 laps. It didn't go up, however, which it would do if the game interpreted my driving style correctly.

Also, I disagree with @JulesDennis in that the aim isn't always to get to the end without pitting. Due to the way that I drive I get through tyres quickly, but if you're confident others are pitting in the race, a good 2-3 seconds can be gained by needing less fuel on a stop. As such I have often gained a position or two just by needing less fuel to make it to the end of the race.

 

[Pedinhuh]

I'm not sure if anyone noticed this, but this last update added two displays on the fuel map hud that shows a % of how much fuel you have left and how many laps you can go on with the current mpg you're using(which gets updated in real time with your fuel map and acceleration imput).

So I do like this: Run the first lap flat out, then once I build a good gap, I play with the fuel map and see how many laps I can get with the same tank, if I see that I will still need to pit in with the current fuel map, I ditch it and I just race flat out with full power

 

[Robben]

I'm not sure if anyone noticed this, but this last update added two displays on the fuel map hud that shows a % of how much fuel you have left and how many laps you can go on with the current mpg you're using(which gets updated in real time with your fuel map and acceleration imput).

So I do like this: Run the first lap flat out, then once I build a good gap, I play with the fuel map and see how many laps I can get with the same tank, if I see that I will still need to pit in with the current fuel map, I ditch it and I just race flat out with full power

That was there since the beginning

 

[Pedinhuh]

That was there since the beginning

Well I have never noticed XD

 

[Robben]

Well I have never noticed XD

👍

If you do the mission challenges, you will not have been able to complete them without managing fuel

 

[John Crellin]

There's a little white diamond over the spot to stop fueling.

omg

I gotta say its shocking how I never noticed this. Over 200 hrs of driving and 180 sport mode races (many Race C) and I never knew this was a thing.

Thanks

Pit length depends entirely on the track. Interlagos has a REALLY long pit lane for example, whereas dragon trail is a lot shorter - so the pit stop duration changes quite a bit.

thats so true. although i still dont think it is 25-30sec faster for me to drive on FM>1 and bald tires. but tbh thats probably a symptom of my novice driving ability

As others have said... crank it up to 5 or 6 when going through cornery sections and back to 1 on straights. Also, you can go up to 5 or 6 if you are in a slipstream on a straight.

does 5 or 6 really let you keep up in slipstream during a straight?

👍

If you do the mission challenges, you will not have been able to complete them without managing fuel

Not true for me at least. I was a bit disappointed that i didnt HAVE TO manage the fuel for any of the missions. My strategy was to try it on FM1 in each case and if i ran into fuel trouble then i would adjust on my next attempt... which never ended up occurring. WRX on BMS (i think 6-8)I just pitted when i ran out of fuel Same for my 911 on 8-6 and M6 on 8-8. I think i only had to retry each of these once due to wrecks near the end that put me out of gold contention.

 

[Robben]

does 5 or 6 really let you keep up in slipstream during a straight?

I tried it on Maggiore the other evening and I seemed to keep up... it's quite a short straight though...

omg


Not true for me at least. I was a bit disappointed that i didnt HAVE TO manage the fuel for any of the missions. My strategy was to try it on FM1 in each case and if i ran into fuel trouble then i would adjust on my next attempt... which never ended up occurring. WRX on BMS (i think 6-8)I just pitted when i ran out of fuel Same for my 911 on 8-6 and M6 on 8-8. I think i only had to retry each of these once due to wrecks near the end that put me out of gold contention.

Really? I literally scraped the win in the WRX... didn't even think about pitting. Ran out of fuel the first two times I tried it as well.