manual transmission

[snarls200]

i need some help. i know when to shift up in manual but when should i shift down?

 

[Dagger311]

i need some help. i know when to shift up in manual but when should i shift down?

Depends on the car. Just take a slower car around a track. Eventually you'll be able to tell by the engine sound.

 

[snarls200]

what should i be listening for?

 

[Dagger311]

The engine to slow down. Try downshifting once every second of braking. Bring it up till you go too high and it starts redlining.

 

[snarls200]

thanks will try next time i race offline

 

[Beeblebrox237]

You want to downshift so that the engine stays in as low a gear as possible. Usually you'll want to downshift when the RPMs drop below a certain value.

 

[snarls200]

what value should i be looking for

 

[Siren]

It all depends on how the engine sounds when decelerating or you can look at the rpm gauge, tho its better so go by sound than by looking at the gauge. Its Just the same as shifting up but in reverse. When the engine noise pitch reaches almost its peak in whatever gear you're in shift up. When pitch gets lower (not too low) in the gear shift down.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

what value should i be looking for

One thing to do is to pay attention to where the revs drop to each time you upshift. Say you shift from 2nd to 3rd at 7500 rpm in 2nd, and the rpms drop to 5500 in 3rd. You would then know to downshift from 3rd to 2nd when the rpms drop below about 5500 in 3rd.

 

[snarls200]

One thing to do is to pay attention to where the revs drop to each time you upshift. Say you shift from 2nd to 3rd at 7500 rpm in 2nd, and the rpms drop to 5500 in 3rd. You would then know to downshift from 3rd to 2nd when the rpms drop below about 5500 in 3rd.

thanks

 

[crcn11]

If you wanna learn, just drive around a track in auto and then pay attention to when the game shifts down for you, and you will notice when you should be doing it. Drive the same track in manual. that's probably the simplest way to learn when to shift down instead of telling you to concentrate on different things at the same time.

 

[GTP_Richtofen]

there is also an option that you can choose from the in-race menu, that will have a red number appear next to your gauge that shows what gear you should be in.

 

[GTP_Richtofen]

EDIT- Sorry double post! please ignore

 

[TexRex]

EDIT- Sorry double post! please ignore

Lots of those lately.

Something else you should take into consideration is subsequent corners. Since it takes time to shift, it isn't always best to shift down because the RPMs say it's time and then shift back up to accelerate onward. And of course there's also where a car generates power best. If you've got low end torque, you don't want to push to or beyond redline and then have the revs drop to an RPM beyond peak torque when you upshift--keep your upshift RPMs in mind when you try to determine your downshift RPMs.

 

[Zenmervolt]

there is also an option that you can choose from the in-race menu, that will have a red number appear next to your gauge that shows what gear you should be in.
View attachment 180863

In my experience, that gear suggestion is very often wrong. If I followed it I'd end up downshifting into the rev limiter about 50% of the time.

 

[Streeto]

Yeah, I wouldn't follow what the gear suggestion indication says if I were you, haha.

 

[TexRex]

As far as I can tell, it only tells you the lowest gear your car is capable of being in without redlining at the speed it believes you should be going for any particular corner. Real helpful that...

 

[MerleApAmber]

Complex topic which I believe most of the respondents are trying to answer for your now than your future then. As you'll see, the more you use your gear box to achieve your driving goals, some times skipping a gear, or two can give the rpm/torque points you prefer for the d deceleration you need, and later, acceleration into your next long straight.

 

[GTP_Richtofen]

@- Everyone that responded to me

Thank you for clarifying for the OP, that the Red number advisor thingy is not the Best method to learning how to drive manual. I personally have never used it. I just remember seeing it prior to turning that option off. I wasn't aware that it wasn't a good follow/ guide.
Thanks for letting me know without raining fire on my parade. I will make sure not to recommend that in the future! thx

learn something new everyday everyday ⛄️

 

[Lionheart2113]

@- Everyone that responded to me

Thank you for clarifying for the OP, that the Red number advisor thingy is not the Best method to learning how to drive manual. I personally have never used it. I just remember seeing it prior to turning that option off. I wasn't aware that it wasn't a good follow/ guide.
Thanks for letting me know without raining fire on my parade. I will make sure not to recommend that in the future! thx

learn something new everyday everyday ⛄️

Even though I don't use it to tell me what gear to be in (like others have said, it's only correct about 60% of the time) it can still be useful. When coming up to a turn on a track that I don't have decent brake points yet, I will catch it blinking out of the corner of my eye and that tells me I should put on the brakes or else I'll be getting too personal with the upcoming wall.

 

[HighPlainsDrftr]

Even though I don't use it to tell me what gear to be in (like others have said, it's only correct about 60% of the time) it can still be useful. When coming up to a turn on a track that I don't have decent brake points yet, I will catch it blinking out of the corner of my eye and that tells me I should put on the brakes or else I'll be getting too personal with the upcoming wall.

^This^
I use it as a braking guide on unfamiliar tracks, not really anything else.

 

[MerleApAmber]

...sometimes when I've driven too many laps... it's saved my butt from road fatigue.

 

[DigoARA]

In my experience, that gear suggestion is very often wrong. If I followed it I'd end up downshifting into the rev limiter about 50% of the time.

Thats because its a reference and much more a "preview" then what gear you should be in. I'm far from following it and I know what you man by it being off but its a "warning".

For example, you will come into a corner about 100 meters away and it will go to 3...it does not mean you have to be in 3rd right there and then, but that in a few moments you will need to be in third.

I also find that they are based on the AI, many times you can be fine one gear above the suggestion.


Either way, its best to just learn how to read the car and just go off that.

 

[Zenmervolt]

For example, you will come into a corner about 100 meters away and it will go to 3...it does not mean you have to be in 3rd right there and then, but that in a few moments you will need to be in third.

That's not what I meant. What I meant is that the majority of the time I am carrying enough speed through the corner that it is never possible to downshift into the suggested gear at any point without forcing the car to over-rev.

Unless you are driving quite slowly, the suggested gear is often wrong by being too low, even for the slowest part of the corner.

 

[TexRex]

That's not what I meant. What I meant is that the majority of the time I am carrying enough speed through the corner that it is never possible to downshift into the suggested gear at any point without forcing the car to over-rev.

Unless you are driving quite slowly, the suggested gear is often wrong by being too low, even for the slowest part of the corner.

Similar experiences here. May as well put this out there again:

As far as I can tell, it only tells you the lowest gear your car is capable of being in without redlining at the speed it believes you should be going for any particular corner. Real helpful that...

The key phrase in there being 'it believes,' as the suggested gear depends on this predetermined (read as: slow) speed being matched.

 

[oranjoos]

what value should i be looking for

the value you should be looking at is a little bit below the minimum rpm when you shift up. for example, if you redline the car then shift up and your rpm is then at 6000, only downshift when your rpm is less than 6000.