Manual and Automatic Transmission worries.

D

DracoOccisor

3
DracoOccisor
Hi, l've just picked up GT5:P and was wondering; l have NO CLUE how to drive a car manually :) Ever since GT1, l've used Auto transmission. Now that there's online involved though, l'm worried that l will be far surpassed by the users who use manual transmission.

ls manual transmission actually THAT much better than auto? Should l learn it before trying to compete online? What are some of your suggestions? :)
 
i would say you definitally need to loose that auto tranny. Being able to downshift to help slow down will give you a better advantage over auto trans
 
Manual transmission definitely gives you an advantage so you should practice using it. I had never used it before Gt5p either and I picked it up easy, so you probably will too. Now I am trying to learn to drive with a wheel, which also helps you go faster once you get the hang of it.
 
Learn it - if not for the speed, then the fun. Honestly, when driving manual, there is another aspect to control and be in control of. Once you get the gist of it, it's really (no...like really) hard to screw up. I shift by sound and the only way I can screw up a Manual is if that 111R tuned (or something similarly noisy) is right in front of me.
I have a friend who comes over sometimes and he especially like to drift. Manual is 100 times better for drifting than an auto because you choose what revs you want the car to be at to maximize power and slide.

For racing - not REALLY needed but it is recommended (think of it like learning something new in Granturismo)

For drifting - REALLY needed period.
 
It really is that much better. You get shorter brakingdistance from the enginebraking, better cornerspeeds since you can optimize revs through each and every turn on the track. You also get better acceleration since you can match gearchanges to the revs and torquecurve of your current car.
Auto tranny always upshift at redline, and the downshifts are hard to match to the track you´re driving.
 
I can blast through the gears very accurately with my G25 set to manual with clutch engaged.

It's definitely an advantage.
 
Auto/manual.

You would find it hard to compete with a well setup manual car, so long as the guy has set it up well, But you can still compete with auto, but this takes more time to set the car just right by juggling with settings, TC, ABS, AMS Gears and so on, as said you will never be able to get the auto box to down shift when you would like it to, it will only do this when revs and speed predict, but it will always up shift at the optimum.

Plus you have the advantage over some, not all that you can concentrate more on your racing line where the true speed comes from, no good being the fastest man on track with a manual setup if your line through the bends is all over the place.

“Should l learn it before trying to compete online”

No, get on line and don’t worry about being beaten to the finish line, remember no matter how good you are, there will always be someone who comes along and blows you away, that’s true in any sport, believe me I know they all blow me away, lol.

Look forward to seeing you online, auto or manual it don’t matter just enjoy the game and the company you keep.

Dranddad.
 
Thanks for the help guys. l'll try it out, but the problem isnt HOW to use manual, it's when to upshift and downshift. :P l can try to use the on-screen gear suggestions though.
 
Start using manual and the shifts will be natural you will just know when to shift.

I used auto for a long time and done ok so dont worry to much it wont affect you that badly.

For practice watch a fast guys time trial online then do the same time trial and try to copy his gears through the corners this will help you be in the right gear at the right time 👍
 
Manual is definitely the better option. I used to use automatic, but changed to manual when I got my wheel and noticed a difference in my lap times.
 
HOW to know when to shift up and down?

1. Get a car
2. Rev it in 1st to get the engine pitch - remember it
3. Set off and change up when the car noise is almost at that pitch
4. Remember the pitch of the engine when the gears change - the ratio
5. Use these with the redline pitch to estimate at what revs you'd be if you change down
6. PRACTICE
 
I race automatic ALL the time. I win races. (of course I lose most of the time - but I don't care). I have a wheel that I can use the gear change paddles as gas and brake...and I have it set up on a home made contraption so that I can sit in my leather reclining chair, feet up and ready to take a nap while the match-up screen repeats itself. :)

You don't absolutely need to run manual to run strong.
 
^^ You´re definitely right in that! You don´t need to, but not only will it eventually get you faster, it also ads another dimension to the game experience!
 
A manual can mean seconds over an auto in some cars (especially RWD cars), and not all cars make peak power at the beginning of red-line either, some suffer severe power drop-off before that (eg. DB9) and some continue well past it especially with the dodgy way of modification. You need to be able to select when you shift, and what gear you attack a corner in, no doubt about it.
 
I've been playing the GT series for 12 years now, and up until GT5P I had been a manual transmission purist. But now I almost race exclusively with the auto transmission, especially in Ferraris. I employ the technique my driving instructor at Skip Barber imparted on me, "Either you're full on the gas, or you're full on the brake." Now there are certainly times when you trail brake, or feather the throttle, but using the automatic transmission, you really need to pay attention to braking and your apex. I've also found, even when using the manual transmission, some lower speed corners are faster using the gear one up from the recommended gear, especially through the S's in Suzuka. I've driven Suzuka with manual and automatic, and I can never catch my ghost car when using a manual transmission.

Despite my recent preference to use the automatic transmission, the manual is a lot of fun when racing online, in a close race. I especially love driving the Integra with a manual transmission; I love having complete control of that beautiful sound of a high-reving honda.

Some people talk about engine breaking, but that would put excess wear on your motor in the real world, especially if you're hitting the rev limiter. I drove Formula Fords in Skip Barber at Sears Point, and they had a 4-speed transmission with no sycro-mesh, so you had to double clutch. The concept was extremely intimidating, the thought of having to use the clutch twice as often as you're used to, while braking into a hairpin at over 100 miles per hour, seamed impossible. But before you knew it, it came as second nature, as you become in-tune with your car.

Sorry, old people tend to rattle on.

Don't let the manual transmission intimidate you, you'll appreciate the added control you get, and be all the more satisfied when you win races knowing that not only did you drive a faster line, and had the right braking points, but you hit your shifts right also.
 
indeed. and DracoOccisor, don't worry. you'll soon get the hang of manual, it's easier than you may think. just do it, and you'll be fine 👍
 
Learning manual doesn't mean you can't use automatic again when you feel like it, so no harm in learning it.
If I've not got a lot of time to practice before a race, I usually stick to automatic so I can focus on my driving and getting used to the car/track. I even do this when I'm switching games, as at the moment I'm regularly jumping from GT5P to F1:CE to Ferrari Challenge and its hard to get the time in to get used to the different physics again, so I stick to automatic.

But otherwise, when I'm doing serious competition and testing, I use manual because it gives me more control and better speed in certain corners. Also, with automatic you can more easily end up wheel spinning with the more powerful cars, so being able to short-shift is nice as throttle control with the pad can be tricky at times.

So to sum up for me:
Advantages
Automatic:
-Reliable, never missing a shift.
-Allows you to focus on your driving.
-Shortens the amount of time you need to practice before races.
Manual:
-Generally its faster and more fun.
-Better control of the car, some corners you can take way faster in slightly lower or higher gears compared to the auto.
-You can use engine braking to help.

Disadvantages:
Automatic:
-Can sometimes choose the wrong gear for a corner and you can waste time trying to get it to change up/down again.
-Throttle control becomes more key, and this is difficult with pads, not so bad for wheels.
Manual:
-Takes longer to practice before races as you need to learn what the best gears are for each corner (depends on tune obviously).
-You have better throttle control, but you can make more mistakes with shifting and this slows you down a lot.
 
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