I have reached a plateu, i cant get closer than 9 seconds from the leader on most circuits on rivals, i know using the clutch wont make up that deficit but it will help.
So when i change i roll from a to x or a to b this revs the hell out of the engine and takes an age to change. Am i supposed to hold on to a whilst changing? Also how do i pull off? the light goes green and i rev the hell out of the engine let go of a and the revs drop completely and takes off so very very slowly. i find myself mashing the a button just to get it to move.
There is some technique i havent quite got yet. I drive with tcs only and mainly race in s r p and x.
the engine braking is so much better with clutch just struggling to get decent shift times. The petrolhead in me wants to lift when shifting, the split second of rev limiter drives me nuts.
In cars that have quick gear changes in real life (racing cars and some supercars and a few others) clutch in game is not always an advantage and sometimes may even cost you time. I turn clutch off in X class for example.
I pretty much always tap AB up or AX down together, very momentarily, and don’t worry about the engine rev or if I gave the clutch enough time for a clean shift. I’ve tried just X for downshift and I think it does help my downshift times, but it’s harder to build that habit. Also if you downshift without clutch too rapidly from full speed in a Lotus E21 you can damage your transmission pretty bad
I believe the default option is with LB for clutch and A for e-brake. If you haven’t changed that option in the button layout, you’re not actually engaging the clutch, you’re braking and clutchless shifting.
Maybe a different tune or a different racing-line helps as well? I am by no means a good racer and also lacking the interest of spending actual money on each and every DLC-car that climbs the leaderboard. But even with manual shift without clutch, I manage quite decently on several tracks posting well within the top-1000 and “only” 3 to 5 seconds behind the leaders.
Unsure if you’re actually racing the ghosts of these leaderboard-leaders but studying their replays and then following them around the track, can really make a difference in the skillset you develop in this game.
I believe the main area for improvement in a lot of players would be from using the full width of the track and I don’t mean corner cutting. Many players drive up the middle of the track not near to the outside edge for the next turn.
Also a lot of players hold the brakes too long. Most cars can carry a lot more speed than the player asks of it. Learn to maintain a higher speed while staying on the racing line. This may require a different tune.
Also I have found out some of my friends don’t chase ghosts and some don’t know where to do so.
Go to rivals, scroll to the right to classes, find the track you want, press y and then press x to scroll through top times, near me and friends. Find someone a few seconds quicker than you, scroll down to their row on the leaderboard, press a and then choose chase this ghost.
You forgot one more thing: persistence… No driver will be able to keep up with a fast ghost in each and every corner. Learn to improve corner by corner or section by section. Sometimes I run a Rivals-track for hours on end and improve only 0.2s but at least I got a new time!
I kind of disagree on this one in the lower classes it has been proven to give an advantage over No Clutch Manual and Auto, although R and above I would have to agree its not as much of an advantage
I am such a culprit of this, a good rule is, if you have hit the brakes and then have to use the gas before you have passed the apex you have braked too early/hard
I used to use the ghost religiously in the other games but in this one I have found they just get in the way so I have turned them off, I think its actually made me faster as I feel im pushing against the clock more
It all comes down to practice and learning the car and the track inside out
This may require another gear selection too. Instead of shifting down to 3rd see if rolling through in 4th is faster. High revs through some corners is slower than lower revs.
Everything has to be smooth, as in smooth thumb control and finger controls.
I have top times in top 1% and I don’t use clutch. I’m usually 2-4 seconds off fastest lap time (which I’m happy with). More & more cars in real life don’t even come with a clutch.
I also have top 1% in R class for Road America Full Circuit using automatic (run same times with manual and manual with clutch) It’s all about how you drive and how good you’re tune is.
I know there is at least one youtube video out there that explains and shows exactly what you need to do. I want to say Stella Stig did it but not sure.
Also once you get the timing right, you don’t hear the rev limiter bang unless you really try to. I think a lot of people are holding the A button too long and over reving the car.
This will actually slow you down and you wont get the full acceleration boost provided from using the clutch.
I let off the gas when I shift…because that’s how you do it. Let off, clutch, shift gears, back on the gas. (The actual act of shifting takes a fraction of a second, holding the gas down is asinine if you shift correctly and quickly.)
Most cars don’t need you to clutch when you’re launching. I still do it most of the time though just out of habit. Some cars still don’t launch very well, they seem to bog down at low RPMs in first. In those cases, a little tuning may be in order.
Like mentioned earlier, I also race with the ghost off. It just gets in the way and I’m not worried about what others did in a different car on the track.
Just practice, you’ll get it. I even use manual with clutch with the race cars like the Lotus and the Indy cars and find that I’m just as fast or faster than running a straight manual setting.
I’m not #1 but I can hit the top 100 at will, so I suppose whatever I’m doing is working for me.
Sometimes I run a Rivals-track for hours on end and improve only 0.2s but at least I got a new time!