F1 2011 Manual or Auto Gears?

[Roger Snead]

I have done a Search and read many posts regarding this subject, so please forgive the subject that has been discussed. Didn't find the answer to my Q below.
I had been using automatic for F1 2011 up until a couple weeks ago. I tried manual, and picked up on it fast, as I use Manual in all othe sims/games.

I enjoyed manual gears so very much!! The game was so much more fun, and immersive. Nothing more rewarding than catching a corner perfectly while downshifting. Just so much more fun.

Then I did a test at New Delhi with automatic vs manual. I was so bummed out that I was a full 1-2 seconds faster in auto! Same fuel on board( 4laps) TC med, ABS off, Fuel sim on, tire sim off. I ran about six laps each way, and was faster on all laps with auto. BTW,Using an Elite wheel

Here is my question..........

I was thinking if all the gears are set just right, for automatic, where you just hit the red lights and it changes perfect on up and downshifts, why wouldn't auto be faster? I would think itw ould make sense that auto is faster,with everything relevant, since a human can miss shift. How could one be more effiencient than the computer shifting?

Please explain, as I am sooo wanting to believe manual is faster. Is it as simple as I am not shifting as efficient as the auto gears? BTW, I am burning more fuel than I did in auto, so that probably means, I am not shifting at the right times, but what about the scenario in above paragraph? Thanks.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

If you are faster with manual gears you are doing something wrong I fear. The cool thing of manual shifting is that you decide where you shift and not the computer.

In some corners on some track the computer would downshift on corners where a good driver would short shift or take a higher or lower gears.

Can you upload a video where you drive a lap with manual gears. And now you are practicing after ditching the autogears why not ditch the TC as well

 

[Roger Snead]

Hey Bram,I have no idea how to upload a game video...total pc noob. The fact that I have almost run out of gas on a 30% race using manual gears, tells me I need a lot more practice. yes, I have noticed that on some turns using automatic I am in a whole gear to high.
So that pretty much answers my Q. The xbox/game is not always shifting at the best time in every situation.

What I am "looking for" is conformation that when done right manual gears are faster than auto. As long as this is true, which when I did my Search, the majority, probably 95% said manual is faster. This means I can use the manual gears which I absolutely love using, and be faster than auto. It is just a matter of practice. Like I said running out of fuel with it set to mix 2 (Standard) is proof I am not shifting soon enough or downshifting too much.​

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As for TC off, man oh man, does that seem so frign hard, but so did dropping any assist until I got use to it. I think the TC off has to be the toughest.​

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Do you think I should try and get the shifting down to where I am faster than auto shift and leave TC on medium until I get to that point of beating auto all the time and then work on the TC off, or drop TC now and learn both at once?​

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Don't get me wrong, I am not bad with manual. I won the last race(Yeongam) on Legend AI. with the only assists being tire sim set to OFF and TC set to Med. I really had a beautiful race...not a single scratch.​

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My goal is to be ready to run F12012 completly assist free when it comes out. I know I said I would wait and see if Codies steps up their game, but I am only kidding myself. I will buy it as soon as I can.​

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Does anyone out there think that automatic gears are faster with all things being equal? Curious. ​

 

[Kartik Sri Harsha]

Manual Gearing is Faster than Auto Gearing
In Korea Last but one corner before Sector 3 Starting point I can take it 3rd Gear High Revs or 4Th Gear Mid Revs. The Clark Chicane in Australia where in Auto it will be in 2nd Gear but in manual we can take it in 3rd or 4th so we won't loose too much time and Speed
You just use Fraps for Taking Images or Videos in game and Upload it in You tube and Paste it here

 

[Karl Fuss]

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Do you think I should try and get the shifting down to where I am faster than auto shift and leave TC on medium until I get to that point of beating auto all the time and then work on the TC off, or drop TC now and learn both at once?​

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Does anyone out there think that automatic gears are faster with all things being equal? Curious. ​

First i think if you are comfortable with Manual gears you should stop using Auto gears immediately. I did this when F1 2011 came out. I played with auto gears for about 3 weeks and was frustrated when i was constantly in the wrong gear through one of the corners at Spa. Regardless of auto gears being faster in your test at India, and regardless of the fuel issues. Auto gears is more fuel efficient, but it's meant to be that way, it's an assist so it assists you not only with gear changes but fuel management as well.

Second, i think auto gears may be faster at certain circuits, but if you want to test it you have to use more than one track. Try a test at Turkey or Spa and you might find a different result.

Third, we would love to see you in one of our club races or as a reserve driver in one of our xbox leagues. Racing against real drivers as opposed to the AI is way more fun and is how i found this website last year. I was so bored with racing the "predictable" AI, and so annoyed with racing random "bargers" on-line, that i had to find a proper group of clean drivers to race with.... that lead me straight here to RaceDepartment and i haven't looked back.

If you do anymore tests let us know the results
Hope to see you in the xbox pages soon.

 

[Graham Howden]

automatic gears uses less fuel than manual, if you compare doing your first stints with both manual vs auto on full fuel on 50% you will use more in manual. I usually do the first stint in low/normal fuel to conserve, normal on the straights or if you need to defend, save the high fuel for when your car is lighter.

As for auto being faster, I'm not so sure, i believe traction is faster, but with auto gears you have less room for error, if i outbreak myself sometimes i can drop say down to 1st for the first turn at Budapest and still get a good exit but not as good as 2nd, i think with auto your more likely to go wide in that situation.

Some tracks just completely drain the fuel out the car, with silverstone i have to run low quite a lot on 50% to get around, whereas on marina bay i can run low for my outlaps then normal most the race and even squeeze a few laps on high. Make sure you use the maximum fuel if you need to, if you see your on -1 with a few laps to go then go low till it says optimal for a bit then normal for your straights and keep it ticking over between -1 and optimal, as long as your on optimal no matter if its by a tenth you will finish the race.

 

[Gareth Jones]

I guess it comes down to personal preference, whatever you are more comfortable with. I prefer manual as I have more control over the car during cornering etc. I found that with auto gearing the computer frequently chooses too high a gear through slow corners and I get understeer, plus it's obviously more immersive with manual.

 

[jony1222]

I prefer Manual
it's not difficult to learn and when you use manual you are faster

 

[Tom]

@Zebrawire Uploading a video is pretty easy, Youtube.com & vimeo.com are your friends. Recording them would be the first step, tho. I'd suggest using Fraps or DXTory.

 

[Roger Snead]

@Zebrawire Uploading a video is pretty easy, Youtube.com & vimeo.com are your friends. Recording them would be the first step, tho. I'd suggest using Fraps or DXTory.

Yea, maybe I can do that, if I ever get my wifi straightened out. Took me about 6 tries and 20 min. to connect to this thread. Something wrong with router i think. Comcast is coming out today to install new main line from pole. It is weather beaten with exposed wire. We will see. Very aggravating.
Anyway went back to New Delhi and was a full second faster with manual. I tried my best to beat time on auto but couldn't. I was very pleased. I hate auto now. So much more fun!
I did the math and in 100% race for all five Seasons, you will shift aprrox 1/2 million times. Incl. practice and Qually. Can the Elite handle that?

 

[Tom]

Yea, maybe I can do that, if I ever get my wifi straightened out. Took me about 6 tries and 20 min. to connect to this thread. Something wrong with router i think. Comcast is coming out today to install new main line from pole. It is weather beaten with exposed wire. We will see. Very aggravating.
Anyway went back to New Delhi and was a full second faster with manual. I tried my best to beat time on auto but couldn't. I was very pleased. I hate auto now. So much more fun!
I did the math and in 100% race for all five Seasons, you will shift aprrox 1/2 million times. Incl. practice and Qually. Can the Elite handle that?

The F1 rim for my T500RS handled 4-5 season and lots of online races so far. Shouldn't be a problem.

The paddles were squeaking but TM just sent me new springs and it's good again.

 

[Roger Snead]

The F1 rim for my T500RS handled 4-5 season and lots of online races so far. Shouldn't be a problem.

The paddles were squeaking but TM just sent me new springs and it's good again.

So, Do you feel Thrustmaster's CS is up to par? Have you had any problems? It looks like a well built wheel. Any complaints?

 

[Tom]

So, Do you feel Thrustmaster's CS is up to par? Have you had any problems? It looks like a well built wheel. Any complaints?

Well, lots of buttons broke on my F1 rim. But they always sent new buttons immediately when I gave them a call (for free, of course) and, to be fair, I'm using it a lot more hardcore than the average gamer.

I can fault the wheel at all, it's great.

 

[Chris Marshall]

I prefer Manual
it's not difficult to learn and when you use manual you are faster

Gotta agree, i dumped every assist and just stuck with it until now i drive like a boss*

Manual is so much better and i couldnt imagine driving with that line infront or the tc, just would feel like im cheating




In my personal opinion but not clarified by the driving standards agency, i would disagree i feel.

 

[Roger Snead]

I will never ever go back to auto.Manual is soooo much more fun. Now the no TC. No TC with manual really does seem very dificult, I must admit.
Bad habits are hard to break. Any suggestions, I'm all ears.

 

[Tom]

I will never ever go back to auto.Manual is soooo much more fun. Now the no TC. No TC with manual really does seem very dificult, I must admit.
Bad habits are hard to break. Any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Try to slowly apply more and more throttle. You don't need to beat your previous lap times immediately. Start slowly, maybe 2 seconds slower than usual, and try to get there.

 

[Chicane500]

I will never ever go back to auto.Manual is soooo much more fun. Now the no TC. No TC with manual really does seem very dificult, I must admit.
Bad habits are hard to break. Any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Short shift low gears when exiting low speed corners:
2nd to 3rd before green rev lights
3rd to 4th when hitting green rev lights
4th to 5th when hitting red lights
higher: when hitting purple lights.
Be gentle with throttle when exiting low speed corners until you have the car in a straight line again.

 

[Chicane500]

I forgot to add that a decent setup makes driving without TC a lot easier. Most important thing: 11 rear wing and 7 to 10 front wing.

 

[Kartik Sri Harsha]

I bought my Wheel A Month ago
I too struggled in tracks at first Spinning while exiting Low speed Corners with TC off for first time But later i got used to it I can feel The Turns and getting every thing right
I first Practiced with out the TC in Montreal and Valencia to get used to wheel
I believe Valencia Gives Perfect Opportunity to get used to Low speed corners along with High Speed Corners

 

[Roger Snead]

This is some excellent info, that I would not have known to do. Should I expect slower lap times with the short shifts?

If you get good at it, (short shifts) can you still be just as fast with TC on, or faster?
From what I am gathering, you will have to sacrifice some speed in the tight turns, but make up for it in some of the straights as you will have one less gear to shift ?
Does that make sense?
I am going to be putting in the hours to get it down to no assists. I hate to admit it,(that I was using it) but last night I have dropped the Corners Only racing line, all TC. I did bring the AI down to Pro however for now. I do pretty good with cockpit view, some tracks it actually seems easier, but I do prefer TV cam so I can see other cars and larger areas of the track itself.
Do you boss drivers frown on TV cam too?

I absolutely do not miss the corners racing line at all. It served me no benefit, as I know every layout of every track in my mind.....no problem. I actually think I am hitting the apex's better w/o it.

It really will be so much more rewarding when I get this all down to where I am competitive with good great drivers. Maybe in a couple months I will be confident enough to join you fellows in league racing.

You guys have really inspired me. I would NEVER have got such helpful info from so many, on the Codemasters site. I have watched that site deteroriate to a pitiful bunch....... filled with chronic whining and treating people like Keep the tips coming. RD rocks!