Manual Transmission

[Dagger311]

I understand it's faster than auto, and I know when to shift up, but when I brake, how often should I shift down, and to what gear?

 

[sparkytooth]

Depends on the corner. The gear indicator helps.

 

[SmileyOr]

When in manual mode I tend to shift down after I've slowed to my cornering speed. In a straight line it doesn't matter as much. Defenately not into a corner unless trail braking is to follow.

 

[sparkytooth]

I use DS3 so shifting is a bit easier I guess, I shift instinctively as I've been doing this for atleast two years.

 

[iCyCo]

Depends on car and corner. A car like the Renault Trophy with a close ratio box would mean you will corner in a higher gear than a car with longer gears.

 

[Dagger311]

Ooh, not sure manual is for me if it varies from car to car. It's just so much quicker than auto if you can do it right.

 

[Crispy]

When in manual mode I tend to shift down after I've slowed to my cornering speed.

Never do this, especially in real life. Say you're in 4th gear at 100 mph, and you brake for a 30mph corner in 2nd gear. At 30mph in 4th, you'll probably be around 2-3000 RPM. At 30mph in 2nd gear you'll be around (assuming the car redlines at 7500) 5-6000 RPM. This jump in RPM creates what is called "engine braking" or using the engine to slow the car down. A jump of small RPM's is okay. It puts stress on the drivetrain but it slows the car down a little. A change in 3000 RPM however and you can lock up the wheels and, in a RWD or AWD car, end up facing backwards. This is why we heal/toe, to blip the revs up so that there is no engine braking going on. This puts less stress on the drivetrain and allows you to control the car better.

You would most likely lose time waiting until you're at speed to shift down. It's quicker, easier, and overall better to change down when the revs dip about 1-2000 RPM below the powerband. That's how I do it, but it varies from car to car.

 

[EDK]

I understand it's faster than auto, and I know when to shift up, but when I brake, how often should I shift down, and to what gear?

It's faster for many reasons. Mainly, it allows you to maintain more effective control of the car, and properly "time" your shifts. It also allows you to select the optimum shift point for each car. The redline is the theoretical mechanical limit of the engine in RPM's, but some cars are faster if you short shift them (shift before redline) while others are faster if you rev past the redline, while still shifting before you hit the electronic rev limiter.

You'll get a feel for what you need to do, but you can also get faster by optimizing your downshift points. That means shifting to the next lowest gear when the car will be at about the redline going into that gear, which creates some "Engine Braking" effect. You need to be careful with this. If you downshift too soon, while the car is still at the limiter, it will tend to have the opposite effect, you will not slow as quickly.

Being able to select the optimum gear for the car you are driving in the corner you are going through will give you significant benefits in both speed and car control. One example is the "esses" at Suzuka. In most cars, you want to keep the car in the same gear throughout that pass of turns. While having the transmission in automatic might mean the car keeps going up and down in gears, potentially unsettling the car mid corner, when in manual mode, you can just pick your gear and stick with it.

Using manual can be tricky to learn, but is incredibly satisfying. I suggest you practice with it in one car that's relatively easy to drive, on one track that you know well, until you get used to it.

 

[solidboss07]

Look at the flashing red number, that s the gear you want (but not always). With practise you will get used to changing down. As long as you are not bouncing off of the limiter you will be fine, eventually with practice engine breaking nicely into most corners like real life.

If you are in too high a gear, even at the correct speed you will under steer in the corners and travel too wide. In the real world I engine brake all of the time as a habit, Saves the brakes a little but the real thing about it is being more in control of the car especially in extreme wet, icy conditions without having to changing my normal driving style...... except speed.

Edit. When I say speed I mean speed of approach to traffic lights, corners, and things like that. Obviously I obey speed limits, and drive carefully in hazardous conditions. I am no race driver.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

Also, if you play the game with a DS3 then you can get more fidelity from the buttons if you are in a different gear. Driving with a DS3 is a lot like driving with a lead foot. Some of the older slippery exotic cars are impossible to use the throttle in turns with when in a gear below 3rd, so you get to leave it in 4th or even 5th, just so you can apply some throttle while in the turn without throwing your rear end out.

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

Manual is faster in almost every car but only if you shift it right, So far I have driven only one car where I was faster on average with an auto and that was on Forza2. The 908 Peugeot with that low revving diesel engine gave me some problems as I would be waiting to long to shift and hurting my lap times. It needed to shift about 1000 rpms before the redline.

With practice you will learn when to shift based largely on the sound of the engine and possibly a peak at the tach. Takes a little while to get the hang of, goes better in you start on simpler tracks and slower cars where you do not need to do as much shifting and tight corners then work your way up to something like the FGT where you have to shift very often

 

[Azure Flare]

As long as you are not bouncing off of the limiter you will be fine, eventually with practice engine breaking nicely into most corners like real life.

I hope you wouldn't suggest doing this in reality, using the engine to slow just puts far more stress on the entire drivetrain than it should.

Brake parts are much cheaper than engine parts.

 

[solidboss07]

I hope you wouldn't suggest doing this in reality, using the engine to slow just puts far more stress on the entire drivetrain than it should.

Brake parts are much cheaper than engine parts.

No, but it is a game and they are racing - not driving normally. They can afford to make mistakes as they push on in a race. Although, like real life they should have started with no power, i.e Honda Fit, and progressed from there.
In real life I am sitting in 4th gear, 30 mph, and about 2500 rpm. What is wrong with changing down the gears as I brake? Especially in Winter when roads are very wet, or snow? They wanted to know about changing down the gears as they brake. I was not advocating hard engine braking. I was advocating normal engine braking, just changing down normally thus maintaining full control of the car.
Too high a gear will cause them to under steer in the corner, changing down too quickly will damage the engine/transmission, or cause lose of traction. You cannot heel/toe with a DS3.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY

 

[Azure Flare]

You downshift as you brake to get in the gear you need to accelerate out of the corner. The only reason you should use the engine to slow the car is if you have no brakes.

Every racer should know this, it's racecraft 101.

 

[EDK]

You downshift as you brake to get in the gear you need to accelerate out of the corner. The only reason you should use the engine to slow the car is if you have no brakes.

Every racer should know this, it's racecraft 101.

In real life, yes.

On a racing sim, where there are no drive train related repercussions and every tenth counts, employing a small amount of engine braking so you can brake that small amount later only makes sense.

 

[DaveyGT1]

I'm considering changing to manual transmission. Is the gear indicator quite accurate? Shifting up isn't a problem it's knowing when to come down and what speed I should be at for the corners.

 

[EDK]

I'm considering changing to manual transmission. Is the gear indicator quite accurate? Shifting up isn't a problem it's knowing when to come down and what speed I should be at for the corners.

The gear indicator is reasonably accurate, but it's normally showing you the gear that the AI would be in for that corner, with an automatic transmission. The indicator rarely if ever shows you too high of a gear, but I often take corners 1 gear higher than the suggestion, most likely down to carrying more speed. On occasion, the indicator might even show first gear, and we all know that's not a very good idea in most cars on most tracks.

 

[DaveyGT1]

The gear indicator is reasonably accurate, but it's normally showing you the gear that the AI would be in for that corner, with an automatic transmission. The indicator rarely if ever shows you too high of a gear, but I often take corners 1 gear higher than the suggestion, most likely down to carrying more speed. On occasion, the indicator might even show first gear, and we all know that's not a very good idea in most cars on most tracks.

Thanks for the response. I'm just gunna start some free runs in different type cars. To get a proper feel for it. I've been using Auto in every GT series and I feel I want to have a more realistic challenge. I feel a bit lazy constantly relying on the CPU to change gear for me and having some of the aids on all the time.

 

[Dagger311]

Just finished my first race with it, and it's not that hard to learn, just takes practice. I beat the dumb A . I pretty easily.