F1 2011 How to get used to manually changing gears?

[Ellis Thomas]

hi. i used to play f1 2010 on 360 and i only ever used the pad. im getting f1 2011 on PC and i am using a cheap wheel my dad gave to me. im very inexperienced using a wheel and would like to get use to changing gears and driving without aids etc. i was wondering if there was any help for someone like me on this site? i only used automatic transmission and half traction control but my main concern is getting used to the gears.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

​thread moved to the correct forum

 

[Scott Webber]

The gears are fine, when upshifting is pretty easy, chaneg the gears when you either rev the limiter or change just as the engine startings roaring..... now to downshifting, that is alot harder and can cause you to spin when braking hard.... if you downshift to quic kyou will spin if you downshift to slow you can miss the turning by meer inches or run off.

Getting is perfect is hard, even for the most experience it can catch them out sometime's.... you just have to practice and get the feel for it, when you start to brake heavy about half a second after braking you start downshifting, and change down into gear 1 or 2 depending o nthe corner ofcourse, downshift aprox every half a second, again it is all down to you and the feel.

 

[Ellis Thomas]

thank you for moving this to the proper thread. im new so im still getting the bearings.

and thank you to Scott Webber for answering my question. I guess a few laps will get me use to them. il be racing online soon

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

No problems Zombie :welcome:

 

[skid521]

As you practice more you'll learn the sounds of the engine - that's the best way to tell when to upshift and if you're getting your downshifts right. Turn down the music and enjoy the sound of the engine.

 

[Derek Kind]

You can watch youtube videos of the better drivers and see how they do it - but you'll find everyone shifts differently. The main thing is to start practicing. With upshifts you'll get a feel for when the best time is. Downshifting is trickier, but take it slower at first. If you're coming up to a hairpin, going from 7th to 2nd, you can sometimes do the first 3 or 4 downshifts faster, and then the last two slower.

 

[Peter Hooper]

Definitely agree it is best to go by sound, allows you to keep your eyes on the track. Derek's suggestion about quick shifting the first 3 or 4 gears and slow shifting the last couple is something I have found works really well. As with most things though practice makes perfect. Just stick with it and you'll soon be at home with the gears.

 

[Diego Lopez]

It took me 1 day of Trial and error to do manual ger and no traction/abs....well less than a day. Just go to a Time Trial. dont even worry about time. just do laps after laps after laps of practice with a decent set up. I sugges Monza for starters (i started @ Abu Dhabi) since its nothign but long straights a few turns and heavy downshift at the end of the 3 long straights.

 

[Ash Kendall]

I found it quite easy once I'd gotten quite familiar with each track, especially without a racing line. Once you're really comfortable getting around the track consistently, finding the right gear for each corner is surprisingly intuitive.

The downshifts definitely take some getting used to at first though, but it's like a different game once you've done it. I couldn't go back to automatic now, it feels like I'm not in control.

 

[Ellis Thomas]

thanks everyone for your advice... im definitely going to use time trial at Monza for practise

another quick question: is it possible to turn of the ghost car on 2011? i find it annoying because its like im racing myself looking at that or trying to stay in front of it instead of perfecting the lap. that's just me though.

 

[Eric Parker]

Yes you can turn the ghost car off.

 

[Peter Hooper]

I found it quite easy once I'd gotten quite familiar with each track, especially without a racing line. Once you're really comfortable getting around the track consistently, finding the right gear for each corner is surprisingly intuitive.

The downshifts definitely take some getting used to at first though, but it's like a different game once you've done it. I couldn't go back to automatic now, it feels like I'm not in control.

I 100% agree Ash. I have used manual gears from very early on and a short while ago I thought I would try out auto gears just to see what difference it made and it just felt like I had nothing to do lol

 

[Igor Tomičić]

Getting used to manual gears is very easy, much easier then people (including me) believe before trying it.

The way I did it is this: joined a race in Montreal, Q+20 or 30% distance. Didn't notice automatic gears are disabled till I went out the pits. However, I knew the track and the gears from past experience, so I quickly adapted, doing the same thing at about the same time as the game did for me in the past. After a couple of laps I started doing decent lap times and managed to qualify and finish the race at a reasonable pace.

I won't claim my times were immediately quicker then with auto-gears, but after that race and realizing manual gears aren't that hard to do I ditched auto completely and started using manual only. Over a couple of days I completely stopped looking at the rev meter and started shifting entirely based on engine sound. My times went down as well, thanks to the engine braking and choosing appropriate gear in the corners, no matter the speed.

In short: give it a try on some track you know well, don't give up easily and you'll definitely be rewarded.

 

[Ellis Thomas]

wow this forum is awesome. thank you again to everyone for your help and advice.