Tips for driving in manual?

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snake900

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so I decided to try GT5 Prologue. My God, the graphics look insane. They looked far better than I imagined. I hope the graphics aren't getting downgraded or anything, because the Time Trial demo looks awful in comparison :P

Took me a while to get to speed with the game since I haven't touched GT in a year. I decided to try manual and I simply lose too much time with it. I'm 3 seconds faster on the London track with automatic, and 5 seconds faster on Suzuka. How are you guys able to get faster times with manual? Manual is supposed to be the way to play but I just find it so much more difficult.

Every single GT game I played has been in automatic, but it seems like the best drivers use manual. How exactly does one drive properly on manual?
 
Basic rule of thumb.. when you speed up = gear up, when you slow down = gear down ;)

No serioulsy, you can change a bit faster than the auto does, and you can hold it longer in some corners. Fx if you have a corner that is very close top a low 4th, or a high 3rd you can decide to go high 3rd and keep it and with a bit more gas get some extra milisecs, at least in my experience. Its just like driving a real car if you have a license. You can also use gearing for getting control in corners if your loosing the car. Just practice and your times with manual will become better pretty fast.

ps: don't get that part about TT being awfull compared to Prologue

pps: I'm most likely very wrong in most of these things, so major corrections might be incomming.
 
The best way to get the hang of it is to force yourself to keep driving in manual. Better yet, drive around a track like Fuji and learn the automatic's gear changes going into and out of corners and try to replicate that. Then once you get that down, start practicing holding gears into turns and such.

That's how I learned.

Good luck:tup:
 
Yep, agree with every word that was said before, and adding my 2 cents, you must be losing time in manual for two reasons:

1) You might be hitting the rev limiter before shifting up, don't do this, try to get used to shift just before the tach needle hits the redline or at the middle of the redline if the car is NA, when downshifting try to get used to the approximate speeds of each gear, hitting the rev limiter when braking isn't good. The best ways to do both things, is hearing the engine, the F430 is a good example, the engine starts to howl at the mid-rpm range, then suddenly it grows and gives a very treble scream, it's trying to say: Shift this 🤬 up! :scared:

2) Option two, the opposite: You must be shortshifting, which is quite bad depending on the car, using the ferrari as an example again, the torque/power curve only starts to be supercar-like after 5000rpm, keeping the car on the 5k-9k range is the way to go, the automatic tranny will shift for you at 6k-7k, this 2k RPM makes a lot of difference, since the power curve is generally constant growing along the RPMs in NA engines.That's why I said, shift when you're about to hit the redline and in some cases, like the F430, shift 500 rpm after that.

Also, what driving aids you're using? TCS will make your acceleration sucks no matter what car you're driving. If you're using a pad, keep it at 1 or 0, 1 is enough for the most beastly cars and avoid excessive wheelspin without hazarding too much the acceleration, if you're using a wheel try TCS at 0.
 
Thanks for the tips.

Upshifting is pretty obvious for me - shift when you near redline.

For downshifting, when I approach a corner, I should brake, shift to the relevant gears, steer, accelerate + shift up, right? (should I be in the correct gear for the car BEFORE I CORNER? and I brake before I downshift, right?)

(I don't drive so this might be why I'm struggling with manual :P)
 
When you first start, try to get the braking and downshifting over with before you enter the corner (be in the right gear before the corner). As you get more advanced, you can brake later and start to turn as you are slowing down and downshifting.

As for braking before shifting, slow the car down enough so that it won't hit the rev-limiter when you downshift.

It takes a ton of practice, but it gets easier and easier until you don't even think about what you are doing. 👍
 
Here is my take, I'm sorry if it's a bit long winded.

Since GT1 I've always driven in Automatic and never attempted manual at first I and I always drove using the D-Pad (not even using analogue sticks!!!). Over the last few weeks I've been playing GT5p with the G25 and starting to use Manual gears along with cockpit view (I have always used bumper view). Forcing myself to drive this way has really opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking and fun. I started off using a slow car on Eiger this way I could learn the optimal gear and speeds and also listening to the revs to judge where the gear change needs to be, once I could do a full lap without either forgetting my breaking points or missing a gear I moved to a faster car, currently I'm using the DB9 and I'm having so much fun, once I have mastered this car I will up the ante again and try a race car.

Only advice I can give really see if my steps suit your learning style and keep at it, remember its fun.

Good luck learning.
 
I switched from auto to manual when I got GT3, mostly to give more car control - if you suddenly find yourself very sideways and the revs drop right off, a quick downchange can mean the difference between saving it and spinning off. However this is almost impossible in real life, but I digress...

As with all things, practice. One reason most likely you are slower is because you are thinking about gear changes, to the detriment of everything else. Once you master the shifting, you'll be right back up to speed (and probably quicker). Drive around in your favourite car, at your favourite circuit, forget about lap times, just have fun, and use manual gears, and you will soon get the hang of it. There is a fantastic video of perfectly timed downshifting in a Porsche race car but for the life of me I can't find it, it could really help you understand the timing of downshifts into a corner.

Downshifting - my approach generally is to apply the brakes, and momentarily pause before downshifting, to allow the revs to drop enough so it doesn't immediately sit on the limiter in the next gear, a very fast way to find yourself in the gravel. It's very hard to describe, it's something you develop a feel for over time, knowing how long to wait and how quickly to move down the gearbox. In cars with stronger brakes and more responsive engines (extreme example - the F2007), you can flick down the gears much more quickly, than say in the Mini Cooper.

You are right in that it is best to get down to the right gear before the corner, generally I do all the downshifting in the braking zone so I'm in the right gear to balance the car on the throttle before accelerating back out of the corner.

And finally (who said gear changes were simple?) - certain cars, and sometimes only in certain gears, shouldn't be revved all the way to the red line, eg. the Suzuki Cappucino - the engine runs out of steam well before the redline. You are better off shifting early and getting back into the powerband in the next gear. A real life example is my road car - diesel, redline is about 4750, but its got no power at all after 4000. Determining the best time to shift warrants a whole thread of its own - so don't worry about it, just want to make you aware that thrashing it to the redline every time isn't always the fastest way to go.
 
The best advice I can give is to get use to watching the tachometer. Pay close attention on the straights as to how fast you are accelerating when you shift. You'd be amazed at how much difference that can make in some cars. Some cars work better with early shifting and some with shifting in the red. Use that to your advantage as much as you can.

Once you get in the habit of looking at the tach you can monitor your speed through the turns and feel if you can get on teh gas earlier, etc. GL!

Jerome
 
Manual provides many advantages, some are listed above, my favourite is short shifting to cure wheel spin.

Take a lap round fuji with a mid performance car (M3, Skyline), look at the bottom right icon showing revs, as soon as the red dot appears, change up gear.

Before heading into a corner, a number appears saying what gear you should roughly be in, change to that gear mid way through braking.

Keep looking at the on screen help (listed above) for a few laps untill you know when to change gear and what car you need to be in per corner. You will get used to it.

Things get trickier with Ferrari's and Ford GT's, I'm still learning their gears. Dont even get me started on the F1...
 
Well if you need to learn the Manual transmission, practice will make perfection. Try using the Manual in other GT's, it helped me a lot. Try visualizing what you have to do to shift, and for downshifting, there's the gear indicator, which shows you what gear you should shift through. For upshifting, make that car rev! Short shifting is slow and clunky, not to mention that it sound bad. Practice makes perfect. I'm no Manual expert, but I know a few things about it. And I don't see a problem with shifting in the F2007. Just gotta be a little faster.
 
0zzy
Take a lap round fuji with a mid performance car (M3, Skyline), look at the bottom right icon showing revs, as soon as the red dot appears, change up gear.

Before heading into a corner, a number appears saying what gear you should roughly be in, change to that gear mid way through braking.

Keep looking at the on screen help (listed above) for a few laps untill you know when to change gear and what car you need to be in per corner. You will get used to it.

Things get trickier with Ferrari's and Ford GT's, I'm still learning their gears. Dont even get me started on the F1...
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The gear indicator is a good reference but not always what should be done. There are some cases where being in a higher gear will give you much better drive out a corner. Or staying in the higher gear on longer corners will give you lower RPM instead of staying in the advised gear which could result in higher RPM's which in turn could cause a wheel to "light up".
It comes down to experimenting to see what works best and going by feel.
 
Watch some in car racing on youtube, if you can find some footage of doridori on "best motoring", even better. This should help you understand how a car can be coerced into a corner, through it and out of it, faster. Whenever i learn a new car and track combo, i simply memorise the gear required for each corner, then when my laptimes start to stabilize, i try to take some faster turns in a higher gear, say 3rd instead of 2nd, to carry more speed through the corner.
Practice makes perfect.

:irked:👍
 
Practice, once you get it your set for life in all racing games, once your have got the hang of it, then start to learn your track and car combo, holding gears longer into corners higher gears to reduce wheel spin in some corners, the possabilities are endless once you drive manual.
 
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Practise is the key like using a wheel. I only started using manual when I got a wheel in febuary. I used the wheel in manual and was much slower. What I do when I enter the wrs is to use the wheel in manual to set a benchmark time. Then switch to a pad on auto for my flying laps. I compare my times and see how over time the two are getting closer and closer. And hopefully soon they will be the same and I can start using the wheel on manual full time. If you look at the speedo when driving to see the power band and then alter your changes acordingly then one day you will be faster and by god you will never want to go back to auto with the extra control you have. I hate having to go back to auto for my flying laps.
 
Hi Pals,
Conincidentally last night I suddenly ponder on whether if i drive in AUTO instead of manual on my G27 would I be faster in lap times. At first it was so hard to drive in AUTO again because it seems that the braking is very hard to guage...then suddenly it became easier and my lap times was faster on auto. Now i tried back the same car and used back manual and tried to catch up the ghost car...and I won haha. This shows that manual can be faster indeed, not to mention it is really super more fun. It gives you more control when adjusting speed in turning I feel.

BTW pals. Tonite I am testing whether it makes a difference to do heel-toe techniques. I belive this topic must have been discuss before. Can brothers here enlighten me? Heel-toe technique while gear shifting actually gives better lap times in GTP or it is only for shows and fun? Thanks.
 
I always struggled with the controller, I could never get it. Yesterday I bought a DFGT and after a couple of laps I had shifting with either the paddles or shifter down. After I move to another car it only takes a couple of corners to get use to that car. I'm also a little faster with a manual. I tried with the controller again today and wasn't any better than before. I guess the fact that the wheel is layed out like a real car helps a little.
 
snake900
Every single GT game I played has been in automatic, but it seems like the best drivers use manual. How exactly does one drive properly on manual?
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I think when you are trying to go fast you have to take all of the variables out of the equation. First you have to know the track, so an automatic is a great way to learn the track. Once you get a feel for the track using gas and brake then you try to push it. Shifting give you a connection with the track and should be like playing a musical instrument. The rhythm that it takes to get all the shift points down is like singing the song. Gearing is important to making the music sound good. You want to set your gearing so that you are not shifting in the middle of a turn and your last down shift going in to a turn should have the correct stall entering the turn, making the turn something that is just a trimming event with the gas, break, and steering.

boons
Tonite I am testing whether it makes a difference to do heel-toe techniques. I belive this topic must have been discuss before. Can brothers here enlighten me? Heel-toe technique while gear shifting actually gives better lap times in GTP or it is only for shows and fun? Thanks.
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In my world heal and toe is actually what I call Peddle Splitting, at least when I’m using a manual trans and what I mean by that is, you use your right foot to hit the break and the gas at the same time. As your down shifting you use your left foot for the clutch, then you peddle split the break/gas. It is a very difficult trick but your break and gas peddles have to be close enough together so you have enough break under the ball of your foot and you can feel the gas without applying any pressure to it, as you slide your foot off the break on to the gas to exit the turn. When your exiting the turn you can add break with your left foot between shifts to help trim the steering.
 
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crazytortise
What the others have said and don't forget to listen to engine ;) It will tell you when it wants to shift up or down.
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i agree... listen to the car... be one with the car... im being dead serious though all jokes aside.. you will learn much from your car by listening to it... its better than looking at the tachometer all the time so you can leave your eyes focused on the road... itll help tons if you memorize the track so youll know what gear to be in at each turn... and practice practice practice...
 

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