When to shift gears?

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hugov8racing

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Just started GT5 and joined the forum. May i ask two questions?

What makes a car accelerate faster? Should i shift up a gear just before the rev limiter is reached? Or should i shift gears when the revs just reach the red zone?

If i use the second turbo (which maximizes power for medium revs), should i shift up a gear just before the revs hit the red-line zone or later?

Thank you for your advice
 
When you tune/set up the car you can see a graph showing the bhp and torque curve. I guess that would give you a rough idea. If you have the speed test pack you can also try different strategies for the acceleration tests and see which is faster.
 
personally in races i always over-rev just before the limiter, regardless of the car, but in drag shift points are much more important.
 
That would depend on what car it is you're driving. As a general rule, all cars should be revved as close to their redlines as possible, especially turbos. However, a more accurate way of determining when to shift would be to look at the car's torque curve.

To do this, simply go to your garage and look at the car you'll be driving. Look for the power output and the peak torque. For example, the 1991 premium RX-7 would have 250 HP with 299Nm torque at 6500RPM (IIRC). That means the car produces the most torque at 6500. You'll want to keep your revs as close to that as possible. For example, if your car has the most torque at 6500RPM, the idea is to not shift once you hit 6500, but rev it higher so that when you upshift and the revs fall, it'd be somewhere close to 6500.

Using this method, it's easy to see that cars like the Mazda RX-8 need to be wrung for every single RPM it can achieve, whereas the FC RX-7 prefers its revs to be kept somewhere around the middle.

Also, if you're accelerating out of a hairpin (a sharp corner usually taken in second gear), or driving in the rain, it might actually be a good idea to AVOID reaching the RPM that gives you the most torque, since you'll most likely spin your wheels due to power oversteer. I usually never exceed 5000RPM on my FD RX-7 when driving in the rain (the car hits 8000 stock, peak torque at 6500 RPM).
 
XSquareStickIt
That would depend on what car it is you're driving. As a general rule, all cars should be revved as close to their redlines as possible, especially turbos. However, a more accurate way of determining when to shift would be to look at the car's torque curve.

To do this, simply go to your garage and look at the car you'll be driving. Look for the power output and the peak torque. For example, the 1991 premium RX-7 would have 250 HP with 299Nm torque at 6500RPM (IIRC). That means the car produces the most torque at 6500. You'll want to keep your revs as close to that as possible. For example, if your car has the most torque at 6500RPM, the idea is to not shift once you hit 6500, but rev it higher so that when you upshift and the revs fall, it'd be somewhere close to 6500.

Using this method, it's easy to see that cars like the Mazda RX-8 need to be wrung for every single RPM it can achieve, whereas the FC RX-7 prefers its revs to be kept somewhere around the middle.

Also, if you're accelerating out of a hairpin (a sharp corner usually taken in second gear), or driving in the rain, it might actually be a good idea to AVOID reaching the RPM that gives you the most torque, since you'll most likely spin your wheels due to power oversteer. I usually never exceed 5000RPM on my FD RX-7 when driving in the rain (the car hits 8000 stock, peak torque at 6500 RPM).
Click to expand...



No peak torque means nothing. The point of gearing in racing is to maximize average horsepower.

You want to shift when the power in your current gear at current RPM matches the power in the next gear at the RPM after the shift. Look at your cars powerband to determine when to shift. The only one rule that's always true is that your peak horsepower should be reached in each gear.
 
XSquareStickIt
Also, if you're accelerating out of a hairpin (a sharp corner usually taken in second gear), or driving in the rain, it might actually be a good idea to AVOID reaching the RPM that gives you the most torque, since you'll most likely spin your wheels due to power oversteer.
Click to expand...


This is a good point. I'd also like to bring up something, if you're traveling uphill let it rev up a bit more than normal, and if traveling downhill you can "short shift" (upshift 250-500 rpm sooner than on flat ground.) These are slightly advanced techniques that should come natural after significant playing time.
 
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