…and I am actually amazed how much faster it could be. I took 2 secs off a rival time even with bad shifts, missed shifts and running off the track. Does take a bit to get used to (still havent’t), but when I do I am sure I will be hitting the lap times I want to (would never get passed 50% leader board in rivals with auto, and hit 30% already in manual). If you are still on auto, I highly recommend giving it a try. (although I will probably keep auto in Horizon 3).
Indeed! It took me a long time before trying it AND sticking to it (I guess I hardly used manual in FM3, and really started with FM4). I guess I was too shy to try.
The only assist I still use is braking line mainly because I’m too lazy to try and learn the right braking points. But eventually… 
I found that it helps to remap clutch to A, upper gear to B and lower gear to X. Although I still destroy more than I’d like to the transmission when using full damage and poor up-gearing or down-gearing
Cheers,
S
Poor up down gearing doesnt destroy the transmission only missing the clutch does.
1 Like
I get that too But missing the clutch is what I meant for bad up and down-gearing
I dunno about that, pretty sure I have sustained damage before by downshifting too fast and redlining the engine.
I guess that would fall under engine damage though and not transmission so I guess you are technically correct in your statement. Damage is damage though so I would not advise mis-shifting. lol
1 Like
Good stuff, keep it up 
Once you’re fully confident with Manual, give Manual/Clutch a go. It’s a little harder to do but for most cars in Forza it tends to be the fastest out of the shifting options available.
Will stay with just manual for awhile, then may try it with the clutch. Already cut almost 10 secs off my rival time (at 23% leader board, just a bit more to get in the top 20%) I’ve been playing racing games for many many years (since the orig xbox), and never really gave manual a good try. Tried it a couple of times, but was just to much to think about. Probably more because I was playing games like Need for Speed which really didn’t require much to go around a corner (slow down a bit, hit the e-brake and jam it). That’s one of the reasons I like Horizon and will probably stick to auto there.
correct, downshifting too quickly and causing it to hit or ride the rev limiter will cause engine damage.
Yeah I like manual too, you can just get so much more RPM compared to auto its like you’re leaving track times on the table. I made the switch sometime between Forza 4 and horizon 1. Then once I started playing forza on the Xbox one that’s all I stuck to. I’ve tried manual with clutch but it’s too much work for me lol and I always mess up the shifts. Manual is happy medium for me.
1 Like
For those of you using manual shift without clutch, have you tried switching the clutch to the A button and then using X and B for your up and down shifts and just hitting the A button at the same time you shift? Just mashing 2 buttons at once instead of one so you don’t even have to think about the clutch, your always hitting it when you shift. That will make a huge difference as it cuts the shift time down substantially. Takes a bit of practice but if you can manage to shift manually, it takes almost no extra skill to work the clutch at the same time using the A button.
I’m used to these settings
A - gas
B - handbrake
X - brake
Y - rewind (not used)
LB - clutch
RB - look straight back
LT - shift dowd
RT - shift up
Left Stick - steering
Right Stick - free look
For most players, this will be unsuitable, but I’m used to it and can’t play on other controller settings.
That actually doesn’t give a correct shift, though, you have to additionally let off the throttle a little bit or you’ll cause engine damage as mentioned by other posters above. Without sim damage, I agree the technique you described can nonetheless be faster than manual.
The other problem is some cars can be very hard to get moving from a standing start with manual clutch because the game has such a sluggish response to the clutch button. Another situation where there’s more to it is drifting.
I am driving in manual, after you all said here I will tried the manual with clutch.
Thanks for your help!
After doing it for a week, my drive times are much better. Also much easier to get the “perfect turn” (especially in hair pins). Glad I stuck with it.
Quick question: do you all upshift at the redline? I’ve noticed that the controller will start to vibrate at different rpms depending on the car. Should you shift once the controller starts to vibrate? Any thoughts or advice?
Basically, if you’re feeling vibration at high RPM’s during acceleration (and you tires aren’t squealing) it’s probably because you need to upshift. The torque and power of a car taper off once you get to the higher RPM’s. The controller vibration basically tells you that you’re not going to get any extra oomph, as the car has already gone beyond the optimal RPM’s.
There are times when you should run it all the way to the redline, since the extra RPM’s might help if your gears are pretty far apart. But generally once you hit the optimal RPM’s pushing any further just wastes fuel and can actually slow your acceleration.
1 Like
With some tunes or stock tunes you can run it past the red line. I listen to the motor and use that as a guide. By the time it vibrates it’s too late.
1 Like
I have been driving a manual vehicle for over 30 years and it just made sense to only use a manual transmission in any arcade/simulation racing game. I’ve been playing Forza since FM1. You get a feel for each game and as others have mentioned, you need to listen to the engine as sometimes you may need to go above redline.
Hope this helps and happy racing.
I’ve tried it. The gear juggling makes driving less fun for me. It is faster, though, even when driving a car that doesn’t shift.
I would try to keep it up. It is a little confusing at first (which is why I always went back to auto when I did it in the past), but when you get the hang of it, it is invaluable for braking and becomes almost natural (only done it for a week or so and it’s almost a reflex to down shift into a turn).