I am a newbie at Forza even if my level at the left says I have been racing since 2007. Yes I played one race in Forza 2 or 3 and that was it, then a little bit of Horizon and now I am in love with Forza 5.
I have a newbie question. Which is better, turning while in (for example) 4th gear with very low RPM’s or is it better to downshift and turn in 3rd gear with high RPM’s? How does this affect the car? I noticed that the lower the gear, the more you can turn.
Your final downshift before a turn should occur slightly before you enter the turn. What gear is selected all depends on the car you are using. Then as you enter the turn, you should have the RPMs at a nice mid-range level (not too high, not too low), ready to accelerate as you pass the apex and exit the turn. Downshifting while turning will severely disrupt grip and you will, likely, overcorrect into a spin or slide.
Lower gear with more RPM’s is better for cornering if its not hitting the rev limit around the corner. Use just got to use the force to know what gear you got to be in.
Just lift off the accelerator slightly so as to not rev bang (not that it really matters in the game). Shifting up for a mere 20 meters will likely result in the same overall speed as just maintaining the highest speed near redline. Of course, if you have an adjustable transmission, this would be the optimal time to tune for a specific track.
assuming you’re driving manually then your downshifting will depend on each car. You will get nowhere doing the same thing in every car! what you’re actually talking about is hitting the ‘power band’ as you come back on the gas from the apex. The pulling power of the engine - the torque - is different for each car. After driving the car for a few laps you should be able to judge where the ‘power band’ starts in the rev range. Ideally you want to be at the start of the ‘power band’ this will dictate which gear is going to suit.
Genrally big US V8s are lower revving developing massive torque low down. Highly tuned 4 cylinder engines (typically Japanese) develop all their power high up the rev range and have quite weak torque curves. In other words they like a lot more revs to keep them in the ‘power band’. Turbo charged engines usually deliver high mid-range torque and can run out of puff a bit on really high revs.
So, if I understood correctly, if I am driving a car with a lot of torque! it would be better to stay on a high gear since the car will be able to get into the power in low revs? And viceversa with low torque cars?
About the turbo charged engines, does that mean it is better to shift up whitout hitting the redline on this engines?
I think you’re analyzing the issue too much. Regardless of engine type, the gear you select should put you somewhere between the torque peak and the horsepower peak of the engine at turn in for the corner (unless trail braking) so you can be at maximum power for the next straight.
Let’s say an engine has a torque peak at 4,000 rpm and a horsepower peak at 6,000, which is typical for most American V8s. Even though the engine makes a lot of torque, you’ll still accelerate faster at say 5,000 rpm in 2nd than 3,000 in 3rd. This is even more true for engines with narrow powerbands. Also being at a lower gear gives more engine braking, which can help the car turn in faster.
If using a controller, there is an assist that limits steering input relative to speed. Being in a lower gear can force you under the speed which triggers increased steering angle. Sometimes, dropping down a gear can release those last few degrees needed to make a tight turn without braking hard. Since engine damage was removed for over revving in fm3, this doesn’t do too much harm anymore.
When exiting a turn remember that wheelspin is the slowest form of accelerating, a higher gear may feel slower, but may be faster as you are putting the power down rather than spinning it away. Shifting up early, or short shifting, can be very advantageous in such scenarios. Practice in free run or rivals to find the optimal gear choice for a given corner.
It really depends on the car - while the point about the torque and horsepower peaks is very valid (when racing you want to be able to accelerate at will and not wait for the engine to spool up).
However this has to be matched to the cars handling - the point about the big V8s (not just American cars mind you), is that these are big and heavy cars and the best way to get them to corner is to keep them stable and use the engines low down behavior, which often means shifting up to keep things stable.
The “shift up to go faster” behavior is often used in things like rallying too as it keeps the car stable but allows you to maintain speed (rally drivers use it in particular for blind jumps and corners).
At the end of the day it is up to the tune of the car and the individual driving style you use (having spent years with high powered rear drivers, including many V8 utes, each car can behave very differently depending on their individual traits).
Don’t forget that the corner in question can also play a massive role - tight corners highlight heavier weight, poor brakes while a smooth sweeper will allow you to use the full rev range and power of the car to the maximum.
Oh I most certainly agree with you. How you attack each corner is the fun and sport of driving in the first place. But to give a general, ballpark, single answer that fits most situations…keep the car in a gear that allows the rpm to be between the torque horsepower peak.
Advanced technique is well…advanced. The OP is by his own admission a newbie. In my opinion the basics should be understood before moving on to the issues you’ve mentioned.
As others have said, I think it’s partly dependent on the car’s engine and subsequently its powerband. If I’m driving my C3 Corvette for instance, I’m more than happy to let it get down into the low revs and just use it’s low-end grunt to go out of a corner and in the process not have to lose time on a upshift. If I’m driving my Honda S2000, I’m not going to let the engine anywhere near 4000 rpm or lower because it’s just not going to exit the corner with any authority whatsoever.
But once again, your C3 will accelerate harder in a lower gear in its powerband than in a higher gear out of the powerband. You simply pay less of a price in the C3 verse the S2000 because of the afore mentioned grunt.
For a very easy to follow explanation, when wanting the most power out of a turn, let us create a made-up car.
This car has a 4-Speed Transmission and revs up 5,000RPM with a motor that produces 300HP.
What you have to know in terms of power, is the peak. On a Mountain, the peak is the point at the very top. Everything past the peak is downhill.
Engines also have peaks in power output. Our made up car, for example, reaches its peak power output at 4,000 RPM. Meaning, past 4kRPM, the max power (300HP) will drop. At 4,800RPM, the engine might only be producing 280HP, as an example. This also works the other way around. The car might only produce 280HP at 1,100RPM and might not reach its max power of 300HP until 2,000RPM. This leaves us with a power band. In this case, our car produces the most power between 2,000 and 4,000RPM. That is your power mountain. If you are approaching a corner in 3rd gear doing 4,500RPM, you have to know how much you have to slow down to take the turn. If you don’t need to slow the motor down too much, you don’t want to shift down to 2nd gear, because that would put you outside of your power mountain. Only go down a gear if you have to slow the motor down so much to the point where you are sitting right between the power band. Taking a turn in 2nd gear doing 4,500RPM is less efficient in power than taking it in 3rd doing 3,800RPM. Had the car taken the turn in 4th, it would have the motor doing around 3,100RPM, meaning you’re still placed inside your motor’s power band and have plenty of room to go before reaching its peak.
The sharpness of the turn has a lot to do with your differential, as well, so that’s a different subject.