Hey everyone, I've been thinking about how using MT on dirt/snow courses differs from using it on tarmac (I'm pretty new to using MT unfortunately). For example, is it sometimes better to shift down to a lower gear than you should be in? And, is shifting up a gear higher than you should be in ever good for rallying? One more: is it bad to let the car redline (even a little) in these cases? I've noticed in the demos for the rally tests that they'll sometime shift sooner than usual, or, like in the IA test with the Pajero that the person downshifted to 1st gear after being in 3rd gear-speed (to get it to drift easier I'm guessing). That's what got me curious.
Manual Transmission in rallying
- Thread starter Dude?
- 18 comments
- 1,096 views
- 711
- Sacramento, CA
- DeuceRazr
Missing a shift up or down can mess up lap times and even between the difference of winning and losing.
hi,i would advise that you use manual,as you have more control over the speed of the car you are driving.
EXAMPLE
in automatic you carry on going up through the gears 1..2..3..4..5.. this means if suddenly a corner comes up you have no control and the car spins out.
in manual a corner comes up and you can drop through the gears 3.2.1 and sometimes redlining helps you drift through the corner and accelerate out with minimal loss of traction.I hope i was able to help you
P.S. My first post!
EXAMPLE
in automatic you carry on going up through the gears 1..2..3..4..5.. this means if suddenly a corner comes up you have no control and the car spins out.
in manual a corner comes up and you can drop through the gears 3.2.1 and sometimes redlining helps you drift through the corner and accelerate out with minimal loss of traction.I hope i was able to help you
P.S. My first post!
- 111
- Australia
As i see it you don't need to shift as often in a rally car. Through some tests i have done when i was trying to decide between and auto or manual for rallying i fould that the auto seems to shift to often when travelling through corners. As you slide around a corner the car will often redline and this sometimes causes the automatic transmission to shift when its not really necessary and causes slower lap times
- 193
I prefer it, helps me slide alot easier, and it seems more stable.
- 101
i use always manual, i shift always on time, one time you have the skills for it you can do it always
- 24,344
- Midlantic Area
- GTP_Duke
I hate second-guessing what the automatic is going to do, so I drive with the manual all the time.
And in-game, banging the car off the rev limiter continually won't hurt anything but your lap times. The engine doesn't wear more quickly or anything. Real life is a different story, of course.
On snow and ice, a lot of times it's better to keep the car in a higher gear in order to minimize wheelspin in the turn exits. On dirt, however, sometimes the car will bog mid-turn unless you downshift and keep the revs up and the wheels spinning.
And in-game, banging the car off the rev limiter continually won't hurt anything but your lap times. The engine doesn't wear more quickly or anything. Real life is a different story, of course.
On snow and ice, a lot of times it's better to keep the car in a higher gear in order to minimize wheelspin in the turn exits. On dirt, however, sometimes the car will bog mid-turn unless you downshift and keep the revs up and the wheels spinning.
Eric.
Premium
- 8,515
- GTP_Eric
- Ebiggs
I usually stay a gear higher than I should, as long as I still have enough power in that gear. Say that my car redlines at 8000rpm, second gear might be at 7000rpm through the corner, but third only drops it to 5500-6000. I'd choose to be in third. A lot of it really just depends on the powerband of the car, how much torque it has and where that torque is, and more importantly, the gearbox.
- 754
- Madison, WI
If you go to Home and look at the power figures for the car you're using... for example the Subaru Impreza Rally Car '03, it makes big torque in the middle of the powerband, so try to stay a gear higher than you think you need to. That car has no problem taking most tighter corners in second or even third gear.
But if you have modified a street car like the Impreza STi Spec C for rallying then stay a gear down to keep the revs up, since the street Impreza has nowhere near the torque that the rally car does.
But if you have modified a street car like the Impreza STi Spec C for rallying then stay a gear down to keep the revs up, since the street Impreza has nowhere near the torque that the rally car does.
- 754
- Madison, WI
I'm assuming my examples of the Impreza Rally car and the STi Spec C are using exactly the same or at least comparably similar gearing.
The Rally Car will pull harder than than STi Spec C will at 4000 rpm even if the horsepower of both is exactly the same, because the Rally Car has oodles more torque down low... exactly where the Spec C is lacking.
I see what you are saying though... my car, an '84 BMW 325e (2.7 I6) makes 177 lb ft of torque at 2100-2400 rpm, but makes 127 horsepower at 3800. It pulls hardest at around 3000-3900 rpm. Also why i upgraded my differential from the stock 2.93 to an E28 M5's 3.25 Limited Slip. Every time i shift i get dropped back to around 2900 rpm, keeping me always in the powerband.
Heh, my car is a weird example of torque and gearing... you know its a rule... a cars horsepower and torque curves always cross at 5252 rpm, but my car is redlined at 4500 and the fuel cut out is at 4750 rpm. It is not a diesel, but sure has torque like one.
The Rally Car will pull harder than than STi Spec C will at 4000 rpm even if the horsepower of both is exactly the same, because the Rally Car has oodles more torque down low... exactly where the Spec C is lacking.
I see what you are saying though... my car, an '84 BMW 325e (2.7 I6) makes 177 lb ft of torque at 2100-2400 rpm, but makes 127 horsepower at 3800. It pulls hardest at around 3000-3900 rpm. Also why i upgraded my differential from the stock 2.93 to an E28 M5's 3.25 Limited Slip. Every time i shift i get dropped back to around 2900 rpm, keeping me always in the powerband.
Heh, my car is a weird example of torque and gearing... you know its a rule... a cars horsepower and torque curves always cross at 5252 rpm, but my car is redlined at 4500 and the fuel cut out is at 4750 rpm. It is not a diesel, but sure has torque like one.
- 23,800
- Philippines
Actually, it's both torque and HP... Given Car A and Car B, both with x power, but with Car B having much more torque, Car B often has a wider powerband and more flexibility (in general)... meaning to say, in Car B, you won't be bogging down as much if you miss the damn shift... 
I hate my real life car in GT4... they modelled it after the 170hp version in Japan (Protege 02), which makes much less torque, and has peak power up in the stratosphere. Result? Lots of bogging, very narrow powerband, etcetera. I actually find the 150hp G20 (90 Primera/ Infiniti G20) much more flexible and almost as fast (as stock... only thing holding it back is a soft suspension) merely because it has more torque and a more useable powerband.
Errh... how does this work in regards to rallying? Simply, when you need to stay in a higher gear to help gain traction, a wide powerband and ample torque help "pull" you out of that "hole".
I hate my real life car in GT4... they modelled it after the 170hp version in Japan (Protege 02), which makes much less torque, and has peak power up in the stratosphere. Result? Lots of bogging, very narrow powerband, etcetera. I actually find the 150hp G20 (90 Primera/ Infiniti G20) much more flexible and almost as fast (as stock... only thing holding it back is a soft suspension) merely because it has more torque and a more useable powerband.
Errh... how does this work in regards to rallying? Simply, when you need to stay in a higher gear to help gain traction, a wide powerband and ample torque help "pull" you out of that "hole".
- 8,480
- P_Balance
In rally racing, I usually go one gear higher than normal because the less wheelspin you have, the faster you go, so when the gear is higher, throttle control isn't as critical, it just makes it easier to drive. You will notice, especially in the snow tracks, that when you are going through a corner, and you rev the engine to the redline, you automatically slide towards the outside.
- 8,480
- P_Balance
It will, but in GT4 rally racing, you don't need to car to slide anymore than they already do.
- 392
- Queens, New York City
I'd say the suspension setup and proper gearing is more important to getting quicker times than merely using manual shifting in rallying. I'm used to always using manual shifting, but I've tested the cars using the automatic shifting and it does pretty well. I suppose you can break the tires loose if you use the handbrake, but I've never actually tried that.
When manual shifting you can downshift anytime you want to break the tires loose and do some sliding. If you ever notice the AI cars, they don't seem to do much sliding at all. It bugs the heck out of me when I see 'em do that. They go around turns as they would on blacktop with what appears to be full traction. I like getting it loose with full opposite lock and stuff. Looks cool and still produces good times. Either way I thrash the opposition and that's all that matters.
When manual shifting you can downshift anytime you want to break the tires loose and do some sliding. If you ever notice the AI cars, they don't seem to do much sliding at all. It bugs the heck out of me when I see 'em do that. They go around turns as they would on blacktop with what appears to be full traction. I like getting it loose with full opposite lock and stuff. Looks cool and still produces good times. Either way I thrash the opposition and that's all that matters.
- 23,800
- Philippines
Actually, Perfect Balance is right. Excessive sliding isn't the way to go. Learning to toe the line between drift and grip driving gives you much faster times in rally. Hey, it's how Loeb won his WRC titles... smooth driving, less extreme slip angles.
