Painfully obvious racing questions PT.2

[benjoi84]

To follow up on a thread started by @Bullwinkle earlier, as he reminded me of some questions of my own which fall into a similar category...

- Slipstream. We all know it affects the trailing car during acceleration/cruising. My question is, how much does it affect braking distance? Not by the extra momentum, but due to the 'hole punched in the air' by the leading car.

- Choice of gear & early/late shifting points. How do drivers decide? There's no doubt the R34 for this edition of the Time Trial (for example) benefits from shifting up early, but damn it feels like it's getting bogged down! How would you discover shifting early or revving out is beneficial? The same goes for weird driving styles (see Nissan Z or Mazda Roadster's slidey cornering).

- We all know how to judge if you're braking too late, it's self-demonstrating. But how do people discover they're braking too early, or too much? It's a real issue for me because there's no 'problematic' outcome apart from the loss of time.

Yours truly, A Noob

 

[hyperspeed980]

I can't speak for the first and third points, but the best shift points are mostly down to the car's power and torque curve. For example, a stock R34 kinda dies off in power past 8000 rpm, so it's best to shift before then. The torque peaks a lot lower than that, so you'll wanna stay in a higher gear coming out of the corner in order to access all of that torque.

 

[dabz343]

Choice of gear
Some of this is down to the torque curve and the line you take (especially if in a battle), but the most important concept to keep in mind is making sure you are shifting to gain the most traction (during entry and exit) and to get around the corner as quickly as possible, while maximizing stability. Downshifting is particularly important because as you slow, you have the ability to time the downshift to precisely aid in the initial rotation towards the apex. If you get this right, then you will feel a sense of 'flow' towards and around the chosen apex, and your exit will be set up nicely with a stable chassis that can handle early throttle. Visions is huge, as looking ahead is the only way to be precise. Upshifting is simpler in my view. Just get on it smoothly when you see the exit in the lowest gear possible without losing traction. I see that some in GT7 like to engage a lower gear for a split second around apex, then upshift out to minimize wheelspin...I guess this could be beneficial, but it's not a skill I use as it is very hard on the car and could lead to catastrophic issues in real life.

Braking
Think of braking as more than just slowing down. It is your way of getting the car to load into the corner and point towards the desired apex. There is no definitive style here. Some like to break early, some brake late, some trail often and then there are subtle techniques to save on tires...Braking really is that next level skill. Play around and see how you and your car respond. The thing you are looking for is, a rapidly decelerating car that is controllable at initial turn in and responds well to your subtle inputs as you go around the apex. You want to feel for stability here, as this will create the best exit. Try coming in very hot, see how you have a very narrow window to get your inputs to align and make the corner? Not what I would advise if consistency is not there. What I would recommend is, try braking a little earlier than needed, but carrying more speed through the corner. Often, you will see that the car can handle more pace. Continue to vary slightly on braking points/steering/feet inputs to find that perfect combination that allows your car to be quick and nimble.

 

[mattikake]

An annoyingly obvious answer to all is to look at your laptimes but if you go and use the single player time trial option you can work out what works best because you get a live laptime delta on your HUD.

Have a look at gt-engine.com for when to shift if you don't have the patience to work it out by laptimes.