Long time auto driver looking to learn manual. Any Advice?

[danthespaceman]

I've been driving with an automatic transmission ever since I started playing the original Gran Turismo back in 1998. I've read about a lot of GT fans who swear by driving with a manual transmission and I've decided I'd like to learn it in GT4, so that when GT5 comes out I can start out my career mode with some experience driving in manual mode.

Does anyone have any advice for a logical progression of learning to drive a manual car in GT4? Recommended controller setups for upshift and downshift? A good car or track to practice on?

 

[Pitracer100]

I learned with a FF Civic on GT4. It was kind if slow but after a while a race car was nothing.
Learning Curve:2 hours.
It is worth it use manual.
Ways of improvement includes
Listening to engine rev or...
letting the redline light up flash in the corner of your eye.

 

[Remy Zero]

I've been using auto for years now. But, after reading the auto vs manual thread, i have to admit, i'm seriously considering the switch.

 

[MoreTorque]

I've been using auto for years now. But, after reading the auto vs manual thread, i have to admit, i'm seriously considering the switch.

Make the switch. Believe me when you start using Manual transmissions you wont want to go back to using Autos.

I was exactly like you guys when I first got into GT. I only used Auto, but I got used to driving Manuals in GT3, and haven't looked back since.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Some advice I can give:

Pay attention to your engine's power curves, and also to horsepower and torque stats found in the garage. 💡 Every car has a torque and horsepower curve. When you go into settings mode and press Start, the graph for these curves will pop up. Look at where the engine makes peak horsepower first. This is the orange line of the graph. Are these revs super high? Or far below redline? Somewhere in between?

That's the first clue. As your engine's tachometer needle passes thru these peak horsepower revs, there's often a swell of power. The engine revs slightly (or more than slightly) faster than it does at any other location of revs. You need to figure out how to take advantage of this. The best way is usually to shift somewhere after this swell of power occurs.

This is where it gets tricky, kinda. If you have a feel for how an engine works, you'll know when to shift intuitively. You'll be able to do it just by listening to the engine--you won't need to even look at the tach anymore. Otherwise, you'll have to study.

I have a replay from my GT1 days in which I was driving a black Silvia 1800 Q at a race at High Speed Ring. I didn't know XXXX about manual trannies back then, so I allowed the car to go deep into redline every time, which is bad because this means the revs are staying too high, which means I wasn't hitting that swell of power power like I shoulda been.

 

[Soullessvessel]

As a simple general rule of thumb shift up when your needle hits the red, shift down when your needle is about half way between 0 RPM and the cars redline.

This isn't fool proof, every car is different, but its a good place to start until you start learning the feel of the engines of your fav cars.

Also GT makes it easier to learn then most games with the suggest gear feature, when coming to a corner just shift down at the appropriate times when approaching the corner.

 

[homeforsummer]

Regarding controller setup, I've been using the typical X and square for throttle and brake, and I prefer using R1 and L1 for shifting up and down, rather than the default R2 and L2. I find the top shoulder buttons fall more easily to hand and they feel a little more positive than the larger bottom shoulder buttons.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

^Disagree with the gear indicator part 2 posts above. It is often wrong...90% of the time it is off. Often tells you to be in a gear (even 1st gear) which is completely off for the corner you're approaching. I'm only bringing this up because it's a bad direction to start from, no offense. It's better to study each car's power graph, and then get a feel for where it's best to shift gears, how long to hold before shifting, etc. The blinking red light is a better indicator of when to shift, but it's not reliable for every car. But Soulessvessel has already noted this. I'd say (where stock transmissions are concerned) the blinking red light works good for perhaps half the cars of GT4. The other half, you'll need to fish for the right area.

Another point I wanted to add, danthespaceman is you'll now be able to hold a car in a particular gear, now that you're using an MT. An automatic may shift you down into 2nd when it might actuallly better to just stay in 3rd. Or it might keep you in 3rd when it's better to be in 2nd. Etc. This is where the torque curve (blue line of your engine's power graph) sometimes comes into play. Peak torque is almost always lower than peak horsepower...this is where your engine is pulling (or pushing) with its greatest effort. Torque often comes into play as you're leaving corners, whereas horsepower comes into play once you're at speed again. What this means is you can sometimes use lower revs to get you moving out of corners, especially slower ones, rather than always keeping your revs high. But it depends on the car.




*It gets confusing to an MT newbie, so remember this simple rule: torque gets you going, horsepower keeps you going.

Torque is where you're trying to twist a lid off a jar which is hard to untwist. Horsepower is where you've finally got it looser, and can spin it fastest.

HTH

 

[Soullessvessel]

For the Record I never said that you should trust your life to the gear indication, simply use it as an adviser and nothing more, and ive simply gone the way to look at manual transmission in the most basic way you can since it can be overwhelming.

And personally where your going with this PB it seems like you might be throwing a high school text book at him when he has yet to grasp basic addition if you get what I mean. Like, if you need to learn how to best you manual a torque/power graph might be a lil bit advanced.

Not saying your way it wrong, but ya..personally I feel taking baby steps will be the best way to go about this, even I found manual very overwhelming when starting and if I had read your explanations id be more so, but I started when I was considerably young as well...like 10, so who knows how he will look at it now, compared to how I would of when I learned manual.

But in all honesty there is no need to think so very much about manual transmission, its quite easy to start using with how I outlined and just adapt from there and refine your technique.

 

[sesselpupser]

It really helps if you drive a manual in real life, because before I learned to drive I always used AT because I never knew when to shift down/forgot to shift up, but when I was driving a real car it was easy, I don't have to think about it at all. I guess (and I don't mean to generalise) given the popularity of autos in America this might not be the same for everyone, though.

One thing I find helps with downshifting is to practice with the cars you use a lot and get used to their gear speeds (so you know how fast you can go in each gear and what sort of revs you'll be doing for any given speed) and power/torque band (so you know when you do change gear the revs will be in the 'sweet spot' of the engine). It won't take long to get used to, though, its just another thing to think about initially but it soon becomes second nature.

 

[alhajoth]

I was like you, always using automatic transmissions in all my racing games. (And there have been a lot over the years! I'm so old...)

When I decided to make the switch, I found the easiest and quickest way was to simply do the license tests.
They start out with two simple acceleration tests, where you won't need to worry about steering, just accelerating and shifting up and down for braking. Once you get that down and the shifting is 'in your fingers', you move on the the third test, which is one simple corner. And then they gradually get harder, but it's still a gentle learning curve.
Not to mention, they serve a purpose, which is more motivating than just mindlessly driving round a track by yourself.

 

[danthespaceman]

Thanks for everyone's input so far. I tried driving in manual for about 45 minutes last night and I'm SLOWLY getting the hang of it. My biggest struggle right now is actually down shifting. It doesn't come as as instinctively up shifting.

For my learning car, I bought an old 1983 Toyota Levin GT-APEX. I took it around Costa Amalfi (maybe not the best track for learning) but it definitely was a fun drive, especial with all the climbs and decents and sharp turns.

 

[danthespaceman]

When I decided to make the switch, I found the easiest and quickest way was to simply do the license tests.

That's a great idea! Makes sense too, since that is where I learned my GT skills. Not to mention the variety of cars I would be able to practice with. Thanks!

 

[Parnelli Bone]

For the Record I never said that you should trust your life to the gear indication, simply use it as an adviser and nothing more, and ive simply gone the way to look at manual transmission in the most basic way you can since it can be overwhelming.

I agree with you to a point, but why trust a teacher which is giving false information? 💡 I'm glad I learned thru GT and GT2 (where there were no indicators or gear-selection guessing devices).

And personally where your going with this PB it seems like you might be throwing a high school text book at him when he has yet to grasp basic addition if you get what I mean. Like, if you need to learn how to best you manual a torque/power graph might be a lil bit advanced.

I posted that info just in case danthespaceman happens to be somewhat tech-savvy. If he gets it, so much the better. If he doesn't understand, at least I've given him a good direction to at least aim for. Are you suggesting I don't post such info?

Not saying your way it wrong, but ya..personally I feel taking baby steps will be the best way to go about this, even I found manual very overwhelming when starting and if I had read your explanations id be more so, but I started when I was considerably young as well...like 10, so who knows how he will look at it now, compared to how I would of when I learned manual.

But in all honesty there is no need to think so very much about manual transmission, its quite easy to start using with how I outlined and just adapt from there and refine your technique.

Yup. Very true.

 

[Remy Zero]

Thanks for the details guys. I'm currently going into my 3rd hour of Le Mans Sarthe 2. I will probably make the switch at the next endurance...

 

[Parnelli Bone]

That's cool. Bottom line is there's a wealth of information here now on this page. Even if we don't agree with all of it, it might wind up helping somebody else.

 

[Paulie]

I was never able to drive manual with a controller, it felt too goofy. Once I got a wheel with paddle shifters though it was instaneously a natural thing to do, but using the wheel itself took some getting used to.

 

[Adamgp]

I was never able to drive manual with a controller, it felt too goofy. Once I got a wheel with paddle shifters though it was instaneously a natural thing to do, but using the wheel itself took some getting used to.

I'm the same way. Driving manual with a controller is a bit too complicated and awkward for me. I picked up a wheel and pedals for $2 at a garage sale, which has paddle shifters. Unfortunately the wheel isn't very good. Still getting used to it.

 

[PARAGON GT]

I found that a used S2000 was a good car to drive when learning to drive a manual trans in the game.

Its not overly quick stock, handles well, has a good power band and redline is somewhere in the outer stratosphere.

Which is nice because there is less of a chance of bouncing off the rev limiter while you are training your fingers to hit the right button for shifting. Granted you probably still will hit it from time to time.

Just listen to the engine noise, and shift a couple grand before redline. Somewhere around the 3/4 mark of the tacometer should be fine.

 

[Giygas]

Some cars are DEFINETELY better with manual (coughcough1949vwbeetlecough).

 

[Jay.]

Regarding controller setup, I've been using the typical X and square for throttle and brake, and I prefer using R1 and L1 for shifting up and down, rather than the default R2 and L2. I find the top shoulder buttons fall more easily to hand and they feel a little more positive than the larger bottom shoulder buttons.

This control style works for me too, but everyone has different preferences.
Just pick a basic car for now and try it.

 

[Lucas]

Controller setup I use myself: R2 for downshift, R1 for upshift. X for Throttle, square for Braking, O for E-Brake, triangle for Reverse.

That way, my right hand is dedicated to all those buttons, and does most of the work by itself. Thus, I've got my left hand to do all the steering. 👍

Hope that helps. By the way, I recommend you to practice with the licenses using manual, it will help a lot. Also, I use "roof cam", where I can see only the roof and hood of the car. It helps me keep track of the RPMs without too much trouble.

 

[sumbrownkid]

I listen to the sound of engine to know when to change, much like how some people do it in real life. You'll get the hang of it in quick fashion.

 

[long5056]

you mentioned gt5 and its funny because in the prologue in a challenge at the copen race , you can't hope to win unless you utilize like Parnelli (who is my friend by the way) says the torque aspect of that car...I noticed the funny curve in the torque line and was able to manually shift at lower RPM's to get out in the lead pack to destroy them on the final corner ayyyyyy! I am new at gt4 and prologue but have always used Manual and have been so frustrated to get in a car in the game after me son has switched all me cars to auto augh! I can't handle the feeling of having to let something else shift for me.
so kudos amigo for making the "shift" to manual!👍

 

[Seismica]

If playing with traction control + other driving aids off, you know most cars have a tendency to spin on the exit to corners. You can either regulate your throttle more, or you can take the corner in 3rd as opposed to second. Automatic doesn't allow you to do this.

I strongly advise you switch to manual, the earlier the better. It takes an our or so to get used to switching the gears yourself, and then you go from there. You learn certain things about different cars and different tracks. The ony way to refine your technique is practice. The same way you learn the racing lines to be honest.

I've been playing GT3 and GT5P with manual gears and i'm shaving seconds off my laptimes by using manual. I suppose if i went on Gt4 now i would have similar results.

Tip: You must set your gears up right and each car shifts at a different amount of revs, but don't worry about this too much until later, just take it one step at a time.