Downshifts & Heavy Breaking.

[Dave Stephenson]

Ive just been watchin some of the track guides for you wtcc league and my main observation is the speed of the downshifts being made by the drivers. it almost looks as if they just smash down as fast as posible to the gear they need thru the apex and out of the corner rather than speed matching.

now i tend to be pretty competetive but when i get close to people thru bends there seems to be some difference in the way we go thru them. im thinkin maybe this is it and maybe theres time to be found in braking/downshifting this way.

id dont have a clutch pedal and use auto clutch so sometimes in the interest of keeping in smooth i find myself riding the brake/trottle into corners. so after the initial heavy breaking i use the last couple of downshifts along with this to help me out with engine braking but i think maybe i shouldnt be relying on this as a staple.

are the people who downshift so quickly riding the clutch pedal instead into the apex until revs/speed are matched and car is settled or am i just braking to early and to softly. and because of that having to coast too much.

im always tinkering with lines etc to find my best and most confortable ones but a few pointers can never hurt.

does anyone have any ideas that i might try out as helping me speed up this process a little would be much appreciated.?

 

[Lee Downham]

Great question ...
I've had the same one buzzing around in my head for a while, but can't seem to get it into my brain that I am not going to lose grip and time by crashing gears at the last split second ...
I too don't have a clutch on my setup, but notice that in real life, even in my crusty ol' camper van, I do tend to leave the last down shift right to the last split second to pull me into a bend ... but I feather the clutch out whilst doing this ... so maybe the clutch pedal is the key to this (at least in my head) and I would be faster with one??

 

[Jaius Dewing]

From the sounds of it I have the same kind of style of driving style as you. I like to brake a lil earlier and down shift smoothly, rather then downshift like an F1 driver! Im not an expert so I can only assume you look after your car better this way as there is not as much stress on the engine. I noticed with XD in GTR2 my engine life would take a battering when I downshifted way too quickly going into some corners...
I think those people that late brake and downshift very quick either have the right setup to be able to do that, or they are only able to do this over a shorter race distance and maybe would not get away with this over a long enduro without badly damaging their engine. Maybe using the clutch comes into play here as well, i dont know as i dont use the clutch through the race to shift gears. I guess what type of cars your running also determines how fast you can downshift, brake etc

This is just what I observed, so in answer to your question! No I dont think you are braking to early, your just looking after your car and making sure you dont slide off the track. Unless you get people slamming into the back of your car on every corner... then you may need to try braking a lil later

 

[Brian Venable]

One way you can smooth your shifts from a setup aspect is to lower the preload on the diff...this will make upshifts and downshifts softer.

 

[Dave Stephenson]

some food for thought guys. not got chance to try anything today. maybe tommorrow

 

[Chris Buchanan]

I personally don't have my wheel set up at the moment but have found myself running a much much heavier braking than I probably should. I'm running Up to the corner and heavy brake shifting down as I get to the corner of course my braking really needs some timing work but I find myself doing heavy braking and fast downshifting as I get to the corner... really I think it's mostly feel and how you like to drive. This may at most shave a few hundreths off in either direction... and if you aren't comfortable with it this particular "strategy" will probably make you slower than faster...

 

[Matt Alpeter]

I'm one of the drivers that smashes on the breaks at the last second (tries to anyway) and downshifts when appropriate...but I find that the person behind me always gains maybe .5 to .75 seconds on me on hard breaking corners, so obviously I'm doing something wrong.

 

[Christopher Aponte]

it all depends on the car

front wheel drives like the Seat, Alfa, Honda, Chevy, Peugeot & the mini can take that abusive downshift better than a rear wheel drive. Plus fast downshift in these cars tends to help to slow the car better.

 

[Daniel Monteiro]

it all depends on the car

front wheel drives like the Seat, Alfa, Honda, Chevy, Peugeot & the mini can take that abusive downshift better than a rear wheel drive. Plus fast downshift in these cars tends to help to slow the car better.

exactly. when using the clutch, if you downshift too quickly in a rear wheel drive and you don't match the engine speed, u might get pulled off the track, it's a bit more tricky. i'm also one of the ones who brakes earlier than the others, and i'm fine with that, that's the way i do it better

 

[Dave Stephenson]

front wheel drives like the Seat, Alfa, Honda, Chevy, Peugeot & the mini can take that abusive downshift better than a rear wheel drive. Plus fast downshift in these cars tends to help to slow the car better.

yeh been finding that last couple of days in mini. ive found myself a happy balance between the 2 in it now.

 

[Dallas Willms]

In real life I actually just hammer the brakes and whenever feels comfortable I shift into the gear I need to come out of the corner. This isn't the fastest way though but it's all I can do since I can't heel/toe for the life of me....

In game I usually smash through the gears, unless it's a RWD car, as when I do that I tend to have my back end slide out on me most of the time, so I go slightly slower through the gears.

 

[Dave Stephenson]

yeh i figured it all out. the cars i were watchin were fwd and since i generally race rwd that explains it.

 

[Klyde Parker]

Multiple down shifts into a corner is what most of us call "Engine Braking". It will help shorten braking distances and bring a car's speed down quicker than just braking alone. HOWEVER, I have found that if you don't allow the engine a chance to do it's stuff, ie. pause slightly between gears... your just exercising your gears and NOT helping the car to slow much!!! IMHO.