Tips for manual?

[masterofmuppets]

I’ve started using stick shift, as people say it’s faster. Currently, I downshift to about 1-2 gear when entering a turn, and up shift as soon as I can. Am I doing anything wrong? Any tips?

[justintabs]

You accelerate faster by revving hard in low gears. Mess around on long straights and see how hard you can push the rev counter before you need to change up gears. It’s different for each of your favourite cars.

Then be slow to change down gears unless you need to turn sharply.
Don’t change down gears quickly unless its a situation where you will get noticeably more acceleration by changing down.

[Arya]

As a general rule, you want upshift just before the Redline. That gets you the most power.

All engines have a 'sweet spot' called a PowerBand. It's a range of RPM where the engine delivers the most power, and with a manual trans it's your job to find that range and keep the engine there.

Racing cars are all tuned with a Powerband just below the Redline. Which is the literal red marker on your rev counter. And quite simply, more revs equals more power. You want to shift as late as you can, and that's almost a universal rule across every race car you'll drive.

As for downshifting, there's a perfect gear for every corner and every car. I can't tell you what it is, you'll have to find it for yourself. And that's why you practice tracks with your favourite car, to work that out. As you get more experienced, you'll learn intuitively what's a third, fourth or fifth gear corner and recognize them as that.

Tips?

> Practice makes perfect. Going from Auto to Manual is a big step, and it's going to take you a while to get used to it. Be patient with yourself, nobody learns this overnight. And be sure to practice plenty, these skills will make you a lot faster.

> Know your car, know your gearbox. Practicing with your favourite cars is important, if you really know a car you'll be fast with it. Because you'll intuitively know what it's capable of.

> Know your engine. After a while you may know your car well enough to pick upshift points from the engine sound, without having to look at the rev counter. And that's really handy, eyes on the road = speed.

[phoink]

down shifing too quickly can send you into a spin.... or too many times and you hit reverse.

[Arya]

Originally posted by phoink:

down shifing too quickly can send you into a spin.... or too many times and you hit reverse.

Absolutely. And in other games you risk damaging your engine, clutch and gearbox. It's a very easy way to end your race.

Think of downshifting as a reverse-action of upshifting. If that makes any sense.

When you upshift, your engine "drops" RPM. Note how much it drops, and you've got some idea of when you can safely downshift. Say you're driving a RoadSlayer; it's got a ~4500 RPM redline and drops to about 2500 RPM on upshift. So I'd downshift about 2000-2200 RPM. That leaves the engine right in the powerband, giving the best Compression Braking effect and leaving it perfectly set up for corner exit.

[masterofmuppets]

Originally posted by Wolfey:

As a general rule, you want upshift just before the Redline. That gets you the most power.

All engines have a 'sweet spot' called a PowerBand. It's a range of RPM where the engine delivers the most power, and with a manual trans it's your job to find that range and keep the engine there.

Racing cars are all tuned with a Powerband just below the Redline. Which is the literal red marker on your rev counter. And quite simply, more revs equals more power. You want to shift as late as you can, and that's almost a universal rule across every race car you'll drive.

As for downshifting, there's a perfect gear for every corner and every car. I can't tell you what it is, you'll have to find it for yourself. And that's why you practice tracks with your favourite car, to work that out. As you get more experienced, you'll learn intuitively what's a third, fourth or fifth gear corner and recognize them as that.

Tips?

> Practice makes perfect. Going from Auto to Manual is a big step, and it's going to take you a while to get used to it. Be patient with yourself, nobody learns this overnight. And be sure to practice plenty, these skills will make you a lot faster.

> Know your car, know your gearbox. Practicing with your favourite cars is important, if you really know a car you'll be fast with it. Because you'll intuitively know what it's capable of.

> Know your engine. After a while you may know your car well enough to pick upshift points from the engine sound, without having to look at the rev counter. And that's really handy, eyes on the road = speed.

thanks! This was really helpful!

[CosmicDan]

Also note that, by the design of gearing, the lower gear you are the higher your torque it is - you can use this to your advantage in many situations. For example - If you need to swing your rear around (assuming RWD) or pull of a sick drift, for example, drop a gear to rev-out and let it whip. If using FWD, it can help counter under-steering.

This can also be a detriment though - if you are too low a gear and accelerate too hard, you can oversteer and spin-out. That's the #1 reason why I crash in any racing game haha (#2 reason in this for obvious reasons though).

Lastly, you don't need to drop gear as you're slowing down for the corner (I doubt this game simulates engine brake physics) - you can just break to your desired speed then drop 2-3 gears instantly. If using clutch mode this can actually save time.

Good luck and take your time - if you get used to it you are about to experience a whole new level of fun in racing games and you'll never go back :D

[masterofmuppets]

Originally posted by CosmicDan:

Also note that, by the design of gearing, the lower gear you are the higher your torque it is - you can use this to your advantage in many situations. For example - If you need to swing your rear around (assuming RWD) or pull of a sick drift, for example, drop a gear to rev-out and let it whip. If using FWD, it can help counter under-steering.

This can also be a detriment though - if you are too low a gear and accelerate too hard, you can oversteer and spin-out. That's the #1 reason why I crash in any racing game haha (#2 reason in this for obvious reasons though).

Lastly, you don't need to drop gear as you're slowing down
for the corner (I doubt this game simulates engine brake physics) - you can just break to your desired speed then drop 2-3 gears instantly. If using clutch mode this can actually save time.

Good luck and take your time - if you get used to it you are about to experience a whole new level of fun in racing games and you'll never go back :D

Alright thanks!