Learning to drive cars on Manual...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mudkipz
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Mudkipz

Mudkipz

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Is it hard to learn to go the same lap times from Automatic to Manual? Is Automatic frowned on by drivers? I love Automatic drive and I can't imagine getting all golds on all the license test with Manual...


Is there a guide for this? Any tips/advices/recommendations/etc? Thanks!
 
I hate auto... Its slower. Just keep going around a simple track in manual. You will accelerate and brake faster.
 
I actually find manual gears easier because you can always be in the power band for corners. With auto I find myself slowing down an extra 5mph just so it'll change down.
It's nowhere near as hard to get used to as you'd think, and it's so much more enjoyable.
 
I think I'm the only person to go through round 1 of the academy in "auto".:guilty:

I'm a GT noob. Got the game for Chrismas and didn't start playing until Jan.

It's strange, but I have always shifted with an old-fashioned stick and "H" pattern. (IRL) I actually have to "think" when I use the simple (should be easier) sequential stuff.

When I'm in student's cars at the track, I just leave the sequentials in "D". (Maybe use some version of a "sport" mode.)


In between round 1 and 2, I spent the week "learning" manual. The "stick" on the side of my wheel is a PITA, but the buttons on the back of the wheel are much easier. (Didn't realize the buttons until about a week ago)

The cars are faster in manual than auto. You can downshift a little early when braking into a corner and bacck off the brakes a bit sooner. (while still keeping the nose down and still getting the car to turn.)

Also, you can short shift on corner exit to reduce wheel spin.

You can also ride the limiter when needed. The Cape Ring replay I used in round one was riding the limiter in 4th around the circle while I had a heck of a time with my auto going back and fourth between 4th and 5th.

I still screw up now and then, but I'm glad I forced myself to use the manual mode.
 
Manual is easier than you'd think, I pretty much switched over within an hour or so, you then just have the occassional times when you forget and you hit the limiter but that goes away in a few races.

I do switch back and too between manual and auto though, manual for the rallying challenges / normal racing but I still find auto better for drifting (or more fun at least :P)
 
Just started using manual with my DFGT.
I actually found it relatively easy even though I'm positive that I'm not doing it right...
 
C'mon, if you have more than 6 and enjoy cars it is unexcusable.
Don't you want to drive for real, someday? Than you have to know how it works, else you'll be just another rubbish driver.
 
Brunol
C'mon, if you have more than 6 and enjoy cars it is unexcusable.
Don't you want to drive for real, someday? Than you have to know how it works, else you'll be just another rubbish driver.
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Depending on your driving style and / or car, shifting in GT5 isn't like in real life.
 
I use the right stick for shifting, R2 for gas, and L2 for brake. Works great for me. I did break down and buy those clip on triggers as it helps give me more control over throttle and brake. helps cut down on finger fatigue as well.
 
True, I dont ever shift over 4k rpm in real life :-P

Plus my sequential gear stick isnt like my gear stick in real life, plus I cant take the cover off and see the gear linkage, no customisable gear knobs either :-P oh hang on, wheres my handbrake!

GT5 with a wheel is still nothing like real life driving on the roads, I think driving well on GT5 can make you dangerous on the roads as you can pick up different steering habits and you will drive faster, I know this to be true as I went out after driving on GT5 (wth my DFGT) and I was steering completely wrong for the corner because theres no FFB unlike the exagerrated feedback in the game. Driving well on the roads is different to track driving ... GT5 will never make you a good driver in real life on real roads, even driving manual, thats why EVERYONE takes driving lessons so they can learn whats going on. You sir are saying that learning to shift at max rpm will make you a good driver in real life, shut up! IRL, learning to shift at 1500 - 2000 rpm is where more skill is, even on the track all GT5 is good for is learning the tracks because FFB, even on one, ruins the feel of the car, thus meaning, GT5 will not make you a good driver!

You are a fool Sir for making that comment!
 
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In real life, I "know" when to shift by the sound and feel of the G's. You can hear and feel when the car is at the peak of power. I can never recall ever shifting based on the reading of the tac.

In the game, you have no "feel"...you have to rely strictly on sound and the sight of the tac. If you are looking at the tac, you aren't looking at the road, so you lose something.
If you want to really perfect it, you have to know the sound of the car you are driving very, very well. Takes a lot of practice, but once you get it and the car is a pleasure to drive, it is well worth the effort.
 
Stopping trying to decide whether I should upgrade to have a clutch and an H Shifter.
I haven't yet mastered the sequential shifter on my DFGT, but I still find it kind of boring.
I know some of you are going to hate me for saying that, but I'd really like to try out the H Shifter...
Looking to buy the Fanatec Carrera.
 
I use auto for Endurance or when I can't be bothered.

Other times, I stick with manual, especially when drifting, I think it's a must for drifting.
 
I started driving this game on auto, cause its just easier and I really don't care how I unlock the cars, I just want them all. However was forced to switch to manual to gold the licence tests, you get slightly more power from hitting the red light and shifting at the perfect point, in gt4 you could just hold R2 to reach this point using an auto gearbox, I have no idea why PD removed this though :indiff:
 
Manual, played it since NFS1. I think the key to learning basic manual driving is developing rev-sound recognition. meaning you don't need to look at the rev-meter to know when to shift, this is absolute key in manual driving. once you can dream shifting points you can build up from there when to shift where in corners, etc.

For example, when I want to drift with my Lambo Murc LP-640 I deliberately don't shift up during a drift because I know I will lose REV when tire-resistance becomes higher than my Lambo can put out HP. It may look like "why isn't this retard shifting up" while if you listen carefully you notice I'm barely hitting the rev-limiter until I'm actually exiting the corner to build up speed again since tire-resistance has dropped below the HP barrier.

That kind of precision driving is simply impossible on auto.
 
I play with the DS3, and it's not really fun to drive cars like F1/X1 in manual. But otherwise, manual is the way to go.

The faster the car, the longer it will take to become better with manual than auto. If you try a very slow car (like the ones in the 1st part of the seasonals) you will be faster with manual in no time.
 
Automatic transmission is cool, .........if you're driving a Toyota minivan.

I drive manual all the time. The only time I ever drive auto is when I'm driving one of the hybrid cars like the Prius, which I only drove once, and in real life when I'm not driving my own car.
 
A big deal is made out of AT not being a "racers transmission" but its just nonsense. Formula 1 has banned automatic transmission but not because its no good, quite the opposite , it's because they want to a) limit costs and b) place a bigger reliance on individual driver skill but there is no reason that a well configured and developed automatic tranmission F1 couldnt go round a track just as quickly as a manual.
I was brought up in rural U.K.; single track , hillside roads where gradients, cambers, tight curves and uneven surfaces were the order of the day and frankly an automatic transmission would have been a pain as on those roads you controlled your pace as effectively with your gears as you did with brake and accelerator and the lag involved in automatic kickdown would have held you back. With manual as long as you keep your revs up you can preselect the gear before the corner exit meaning instant power on exit, with automatic you only get it on kickdown when you're exiting. Also tight braking from speed means your brakes are doing all the work as you cant assist by dropping gear and so you get the "coasting" effect of an automatic.
But on relatively open roads, good surfaces, no steep hills, good traction, like, in fact a race track, you're at very little disadvantage with a well driven automatic transmission.
And as someone has already pointed out, unless you're on a track day there is nothing from GT that will benefit you on the road. If anyone based their driving style on GT while on public roads, they'd be a menace and a danger, pure and simple.
 
I started playing manual in racing games a couple of years back when i 1st got my ps3 mainly out of boredom with the auto driving but after a very short time it becomes natural and learning a track is simply a matter of the right gear for the right corner instead of watching the speedo for the correct entry speed. I even went back to ps2 and GT4 with my new found manual skills while waiting for GT5 to release and it was amazing :)

Oh I must add that for vettel challenge I had to use Auto to get bronzes so theres no shame in using auto :p
 
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I can't hate on the people that use automatic, because my real car has an auto (at least it has a manual shift mode ;) ). However I always use manual in racing games because it's more engaging and you can take advantage of being able to shift your own gears. Like for endurance races you can shift at a lower RPM to save fuel, you can also short-shift coming out of a turn to reduce wheel spin, and you can take advantage of the engine braking coming up to a turn.

I like it better that way ;)
 
BlacqueJacques
More fun too when you have a wheel and shifter too!

I only used auto when I was using my console ( I do not have nimble fingers!) before the wheel!
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much more fun..lol (in real life and in a video game, unless you get stuck in traffic)

The only time I used auto was when I did the F1 RACE
 
The way I learned is I went in a 200 hp car and did some hot laps around a track. Just listen to your car engine. You will eventually get the hang of it.
 

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