'#' symbol when shifting between gears, and about downshifting

[Waterlore]

I recently picked up a G29 with shifter and noticed something I wasn't getting with a DS4. Whenever I shift gears with the clutch & shifter I sometimes see a # symbol for a quick second before it changes to the intended gear. Does that mean I'm shifting incorrectly or something else? At first I thought it might be because of not pressing down the clutch all the way, but it can appear even then.

And a question about downshifting. If I'm in 4th gear and want to take a corner in 2nd, is this the correct order of operations?

Break > lift brake > clutch in > shift to 3rd > lift clutch > break > lift brake > clutch in > shift to 2nd > lift clutch

Or do I keep the on the brake the whole time? You don't press the clutch in and shift sequentially or skip from 4th to 2nd in one go either, right?

When playing with just the paddle shifters all of that is a non-issue, yeah?

Lastly, does the game rev match on downshift for you? I assume maybe it does when using paddles, but not with a stick?

 

[LeGeNd-1]

The # just means you're in neutral gear. You can see this in online replays as well to know the guy is using H-shifter instead of paddles (most road cars, you can shift faster with H-shifter than paddles because the game has a built in "delay" when shifting with paddles).

Going from 4th to 2nd: brake > clutch in > move 4th to 2nd > clutch out > lift brake. You don't have to go down through sequential gears. It keeps things simpler. You lose a bit of engine braking in between but it's no big deal honestly. If you want to rev match, just blip the throttle quickly before clutch out. I can never find a good pedal/feet position to do this though, so I don't bother usually.

The clutch implementation in GT is also very on/off and mis-shifts occur too easily if you have even slight throttle when the clutch is pressed (which isn't realistic). So only the very top drivers use clutch competitively (and that's only to gain milliseconds per shift). For the rest of us, when racing it's better to use paddles and just use clutch when having fun.

 

[Waterlore]

The # just means you're in neutral gear. You can see this in online replays as well to know the guy is using H-shifter instead of paddles (most road cars, you can shift faster with H-shifter than paddles because the game has a built in "delay" when shifting with paddles).

Thank you! I searched a long time online for whatever # symbolized, and either wasn't using the right keywords or nobody has ever asked... Which would mean I'm the odd one out and this is just common knowledge.

Going from 4th to 2nd: brake > clutch in > move 4th to 2nd > clutch out > lift brake. You don't have to go down through sequential gears. It keeps things simpler. You lose a bit of engine braking in between but it's no big deal honestly. If you want to rev match, just blip the throttle quickly before clutch out. I can never find a good pedal/feet position to do this though, so I don't bother usually.

All right. I wasn't sure if skipping gears is considered bad practice or not as I've never driven manual in real life, and I had seen a video of a player downshifting sequentially during a race. He made it look really stylish. Good to know because the gymnastics required of my feet for something so new to me was frying my brain. Though of course it was only day 1 with a wheel setup; I'm sure it would come with practice.

I'll just focus on getting the fundamentals down before worrying about rev matching, if ever. The spacing of the G29's pedals make it kind of difficult for my feet to attempt any sort of heel-toe motion comfortably. Least for me.

The clutch implementation in GT is also very on/off and mis-shifts occur too easily if you have even slight throttle when the clutch is pressed (which isn't realistic). So only the very top drivers use clutch competitively (and that's only to gain milliseconds per shift). For the rest of us, when racing it's better to use paddles and just use clutch when having fun.

I wasn't sure if it was my greenness in using a clutch and shifter (probably is), but I can see what you mean as there were times in practice I could have sworn I shifted correctly then had the car freak out. I guess you have to be pretty spot on with the pedals.

And yeah, I'm just learning clutch for fun and the experience. Will definitely stick to the paddles whenever I want to make serious ground online.