When to switch gear?

[sagaper]

How do I read the power\torque graph, to find out when you should switch gear?

 

[SkiwiNV]

Go to the garage and under settings see the exact revs that max HP and max torque occur. Look at the graphs in the Manual settings area and see how quickly HP starts to drop off past the max i.e. towards redline. You'll want to be shifting pretty much at the revs that drop you to about the same or more HP on the upslope side. BTW - this is affected by your gearbox ratios as well. I remember of one the seasonals where best times were achieved by changing at exactly Max HP rather than holding on until redline was reached because the dropoff (HP and torque) was so dramatic.

 

[sagaper]

Could you be so kind, that you post a picture where the gear point is highlighted ?

 

[wowbaggerBR]

Up: just a bit before the valves star to jump over the bonnet.

But the @SkiwiNV is pretty much correct. Look at this. The graph is right there, in the corner and have some interesting info as well.

 

[sagaper]

What torque? Or should I just focus on the HP graph?

I've read somewhere that: It is torque, that wins the race. Not horsepower.

 

[wowbaggerBR]

I've read somewhere that: It is torque, that wins the race. Not horsepower.

Actually, both things are pretty important. Torque is the amount of force that the engine puts on the wheels, so it's important when you are geting out of a corner, or when you are overtaking somebody. The more torque you have, theoretically, more acceleration (of course, tons of torque are useless with hard tires, slippery road and whatnot). Pure horsepower have more effect on the top speed that you can achieve in each gear, so both are pretty decisive.

Torque is more relevant in short courses. That's why short gears are optimal in small tracks, since you are getting more acceleration, and less top speed.

HP is the key to fast courses with long straights, and that's why longer gears are the thing to deal with such tracks, since you are getting more top speed.

(at least, this is how I understand it).

What torque? Or should I just focus on the HP graph?

HP. The point where the line starts to drop is the optimal output of your car in that gear ratio. Take note of the RPM when this occurs and this is the shift up point.

EDIT: Actually, just before that point. If you hit that RPM mark you'll hit the limit and you'll get that nasty dropoff.

 

[Sharpie]

Torque is good for drag racing i got cuda setup for drag which has 9 something of torque and 4 and 5 gear is where you really fell that 9 somthing torque. It almost feels like you spray 4,5 gear