Shifter and splitter

[Stenleh44]

I bought be a Thrustmaster Th8a and a SimuRide Spiltter both on Amazon. Still waiting for the shifter to arrive which is irritating to say the least.

Anyhow…I watched some videos. Do you guys have any tips?

I am a bit confused about the clutch. I know when shifting between low and high and I change the upper switch and come off the accelerator to go from low to high. What about going from high to the next low…Same procedure just moving switch down?

When does the clutch come into play?

Thanks for the info

[AyMazingATS]

Some people will tell you that they only use the clutch for starting and stopping. However learning how to speed shift, whatever you want to call it, takes time to learn and to get good at it.

The manufacturers will tell you that you should be using the clutch at all times. When shifting a manual transmission truck you will be what is called double clutching. Push clutch in to pull out of gear, let off clutch, push clutch in and move into the next gear. As this is not the real world however so you can shift the truck like you would a car.

And yes downshifting is the same as upshifting with one nuance. In the real world once you pull out of gear you need to blip the throttle to raise the rpm's to match the rpm to the speed that you are doing before trying to go into gear. If you don't and try to jam it into gear you will just grind to all heaven, maybe even lose some teeth on the gear plates(I know not the technical term for it) and cause damage to the transmission.

[Sandhill]

Originally posted by Stenleh44:

I am a bit confused about the clutch. I know when shifting between low and high and I change the upper switch and come off the accelerator to go from low to high. What about going from high to the next low…Same procedure just moving switch down?

When does the clutch come into play?

Thanks for the info

Good choice of shifter. For racing I'd go Fanatec but for trucking TH8A rules.
You can preselect the splitter position and depending on how you have set things up in options the split shift can happen on throttle lift, clutch, or either, so yes it is the same both ways. You can only go from range to range when passing through in neutral, so unlike the splitter the shift lever must be involved.

[Stenleh44]

Thanks for your replies. I needed something to change up the game…this should definitely do that!

Ill watch some more videos. Thanks

[Red Wolf]

it takes time to learn to float( speed shift) the gears plus you have to select the clutch/throttle when setting it up. I can show you how, if you want. let me know

[Bonk]

Learn to double clutch till you get good at it .Floating the gears is a whole lot easier IRL than it is in the game

[Das_P0m]

It took me about 3 month the learn how to float gears... always depends on personal skills I guess. But never try it directly if you change to manual shifting... that's gonna fail badly.

For shifting from lets say 5H on 6L:

Stay on the throttle, hit the switch, nothing will happen, unless you raise your foot.
As soon as you do this, clutch, change gear and you're done.
There are some pretty nice videos on YT about how to shift and even float.
That's the way I learned it.
Also there are some vrey good videos how to setup everything in ATS. Maybe have a look at them also.

[Stenleh44]

Thanks all. I’ve been watching videos. I have the concepts down….I think.

I expect this to take some time to learn and get good.

With regards to clutch…do you need to find the seeet spot or is basically clutch engage and disengage?

So curious to see what it all about.

In all the video I don’t see many talking about clutch work. I do some more searching.

[ttower]

The clutch will work similar to IRL. If you let the clutch out to fast while starting, the truck can stall. You need to move off the clutch as you step onto the gas, to keep it running, like IRL. You can be much less accurate while shifting between gears themselves, but no, the clutch is not an "on-off" switch in game.

Also, for my shifting style, I do not use the High and Low range switch, unless I need to. For most of the time, especially with an 18 speed transmission, I can stay in High range, essentially skipping every other gear. On the shifter, this is a normal shifting pattern, because High and Low are in the same slot on the gear shifter, and you do not need the clutch to change between High and Low.

I will usually start out in 2H, then go to 4H, then 5H, 6H, 7H, and 8H. If I need some more power while cruising in 8H, I can quick change into Low Range, or 8L, without the clutch, in order to gain a small amount of power. You will slowly figure out how you play for yourself, but there isnt really a wrong way.

[AyMazingATS]

Originally posted by ttower:

You need to move off the clutch as you step onto the gas, to keep it running, like IRL.

This is not always the case. If you are starting in the proper gear you can idle off the clutch in real life. I know I have done it thousands of times.

The game is a little bit different to where you may need to add some throttle.

Now this also depends on circumstances too.

[ttower]

Originally posted by AyMazingATS:

Originally posted by ttower:

You need to move off the clutch as you step onto the gas, to keep it running, like IRL.

This is incorrect. If you are starting in the proper gear you can idle off the clutch in real life. I know I have done it thousands of times.

The game is a little bit different to where you may need to add some throttle.

Now this also depends on circumstances too.

I guess I should specify I meant to take off with speed under load in most circumstances. I have also idled onto the clutch, but most often I am trying to accelerate away from a light or stop sign without taking the time to feed the clutch out slowly, and therefore need some throttle to get going quickly. I have also done the same thing IRL, but usually in parking lots or driveways where I would need to move slowly to maneuver my way in or out, but taking off from a light or stop sign with a "regular" amount of speed generally needs a little throttle input. I also do not drive a Semi, or large vehicle IRL, just a regular car, so there is most likely a decent difference in clutch behavior between all three situations, ATS vs Regular Car VS Real Semi.

[Stenleh44]

Thanks again...this will come in handy. Looks like maybe Tuesday i get the shifter.

[Stenleh44]

So I did my first few trips manually shifting the 18 gear Eaton. Considering I never drove manual transmission in real life I think I did pretty good.

I’ve got the shift pattern down. The splitter and range selector is going smooth as well. As of now I am clutching between gears. So far so good.

I do have a few issues …

-Stalling from a stop position
-coming to a stop. Not sure of the clutch work. When to use neutral etc
-downshifting and slowing down on exit ramps
-I’ve rear ended a few people as my feet are getting mixed up.
-not the term float gears but I think I need to learn that I’ll watch some more videos.

Overall I think it’s going well.

[ttower]

Originally posted by Stenleh44:

So I did my first few trips manually shifting the 18 gear Eaton. Considering I never drove manual transmission in real life I think I did pretty good.

I’ve got the shift pattern down. The splitter and range selector is going smooth as well. As of now I am clutching between gears. So far so good.

I do have a few issues …

-Stalling from a stop position
-coming to a stop. Not sure of the clutch work. When to use neutral etc
-downshifting and slowing down on exit ramps
-I’ve rear ended a few people as my feet are getting mixed up.
-not the term float gears but I think I need to learn that I’ll watch some more videos.

Overall I think it’s going well.

Nice. Dont be worried about being perfect, its much less costly to mess up a virtual transmission than a real one!

- Let out the clutch slower and/or use more throttle input. Use the 1st person cam, and you can see your RPM gauge. If the needle starts to drop below idle RPM, then you need to give it more gas. The heavier the load, the harder the start.
- There is no "Right" way. You can take it out of gear as soon as you start to slow down, or you can leave it in gear the entire time (you will need to hold the clutch down while stopped). You can clutch in anytime between starting to slow down, and reaching a point where the truck is close to a stall.
- You will just have to play more to get a better understanding of which gear you should be in at what speed, so when you slow down, you know which gear to shift to directly.
- Comes with time/practice. Use your right foot for gas/brake, and the left for clutch.
- Dont worry about learning to float gears until you are more comfortable with driving normally. There is no real reason (in game) to make floating gears important enough to learn when you are still in the process of getting the hang of everything.

[Stenleh44]

Next….

How do you get moving when stopped on hill without killing the people behind you? Most exit ramps seem to be with an incline.

I’ve run over about 10 vehicles last night. Once I had enough cars under my truck I was able to get moving.

[AyMazingATS]

Use the trailer brakes. This is not the same as the parking brakes.

Trailer brake will hold you from rolling backwards and allow you to use both feet. This is one time in real life that you will need to add throttle to get going.

Add a little throttle, let out of the clutch some, rinse and repeat. Feathering the throttle and clutch. It takes practice and it is much easier to do in the real world than it is in the game.