F1 2014 Limiter, Gear Change Sweet Spot - Advice Please

[M Theory]

I am having difficulty adjusting to this game in relation to up shifting. Seems to me that when the visual indicator is showing max revs, the engine sound suggests I haven't yet used all the revs. Any advice on this would be welcomed.

1st & 2nd gears are also annoying, but I don't think there is a solution. 1st is way too short - it must be pitched at around 60mph. So when you try to use engine braking with 1st in tight corners the tyres squeal, back end wants to spin and you end up slow to exit. 2nd is awkward. Codies might be trying to duplicate reality, but unless they allow us to set gear ratios at the beginning of the season they will have failed. Personally I would not set 1st so short and I doubt whether the real teams would either.

 

[Aquam@n]

I have the same problem.
I have great difficulty to downshift without causing a huge engine braking.

 

[Jonathan Rowland]

The cars this year can rev up to 15,000 rpm. However in the game, and real life, the rpm leds on the steering wheel and set to change around 12,000 rpm. This is done to save fuel and engine life

 

[GForce1015]

Rowland is right, partially.
In real life it is set up because of the fuel flow limit. When engine revs go above about 12k rpm there is not enough fuel to allow for an increase in power.

 

[Giovaneveterano]

I saw so many guys changing the gears so late, with all the purple leds on. Try to change the gears early.

 

[Jacob Fræer]

15k RPM (max engine, listen to the sound limiter) = max speed but spend a lot of fuel and the engine wears
12k RPM - the opposite.

 

[Andrew Macpherson]

I've been going right up to the limiter most of the time, I guess I should start shifting at 12k. I like the sound of the limiter though haha.

 

[Zalmus#47]

When you want to save the fuel you need to shift right when the light are telling you. If you want maximum speed you change the gears by the sound of car. Also, the delta between these two is around 0.8 sec. So you can loose a lot if you shift only on the "beeps".

 

[Jacob Fræer]

In qualifying i go to 15k rpm, past the light limiter.
I race i do kind of both. If i want to catch someone, or get away from someone, 15k.. If i want to save fuel, or at the last 3 laps of a stint, i use 12k, because then i can use rich mix and 15k on the out lap, which makes my undercut OP.

 

[M Theory]

I have the same problem.
I have great difficulty to downshift without causing a huge engine braking.

Seems to me the only solution is to limit 1st to really, really slow corners; the game this year seems to reflect the real thing, so there is a lot of cornering in 3rd, never mind 2nd or 1st. Seems that staying in a higher gear than instinct suggests and "letting it roll" through the turn gets a faster lap time. The Spielberg circuit is particularly like this.

 

[M Theory]

In qualifying i go to 15k rpm, past the light limiter.
I race i do kind of both. If i want to catch someone, or get away from someone, 15k.. If i want to save fuel, or at the last 3 laps of a stint, i use 12k, because then i can use rich mix and 15k on the out lap, which makes my undercut OP.

Thanks for all the replies here. Engine sound at 12k is something I will have to get used to. I don't hear beeps for the limiter, only for DRS.

 

[Jacob Fræer]

Just keep an eye quickly on the revs, and change at 12k, and then your ears will get used to what pitch to change at.

 

[Milos]

rev up the highest-even when saving fuel you are 1 second a lap slower revving to 12k RPM. not recommended for online, but in single player you can rev up to 12k rpm if you have really big fuel struggles

 

[M Theory]

rev up the highest-even when saving fuel you are 1 second a lap slower revving to 12k RPM. not recommended for online, but in single player you can rev up to 12k rpm if you have really big fuel struggles

I have yet to encounter fuel problems in career; but I tend to stick to mix 2 for most of the race and mix 3 when I need it. Fuel warning light comes on much sooner than in 2013; seems to do so even when you have 2 laps spare fuel and are running in mix 2.

 

[Milos]

I have yet to encounter fuel problems in career; but I tend to stick to mix 2 for most of the race and mix 3 when I need it. Fuel warning light comes on much sooner than in 2013; seems to do so even when you have 2 laps spare fuel and are running in mix 2.

I must agree, fuel consulmption is much bigger. After I ran a few laps I went into -1 fuel, standard revs full RPM. And the Williams should have no fuel issues, especially in the wet. But it happened in dry conditions too.

 

[M Theory]

I'm in career in a Williams, but have only run 3 of the races. Haven't had any problems yet but I do shift up at 12k and I am getting much slower lap times with this compared to the 2013 game. The Williams in the game sucks compared to the real thing. In tt I can beat it easily in the Ferrari. And of course real Williams are beating real Ferrari at the moment in the constructors standings. The game Williams should be at least as good as the Ferrari on the faster circuits.