I’m predominately manual no clutch but it really depends on the race, car and tune.
Sometimes, no matter how hard i try using manual no clutch to beat certain rivals, i have to go auto to get up next to them in times.
Other times manual with clutch leaves most on my friends list for dead.
So it really is a mixed bag for me.
Most of my history in FH4 was in automatic, but I was often frustrated by the car essentially being in the wrong gear (e.g. up the hill from Elmsdon in the Goliath) and I had strategies for forcing gear changes.
I did try manual once in FH4, but quickly reverted to automatic. I then made a more concerted effort about the time FH5 was released. The breakthrough was switching the keys for the gears and clutch to my right hand (I’m on a keyboard), and I’ve never been back to automatic since.
Manual with clutch gives me more control, especially with RWD cars since keyboards are all or nothing. These days I judge curves and corners by the gear I need to be in rather than the speed I need to be at. It may also by why in the Trial I can take corners a good deal more competently than most players I see.
This is why I’m not fond of EVs because I no longer have any idea of the speed I need to be doing round corners.
I use auto 99% of the time mostly because I tune for mass consumption, and that’s what most casual players are using.
from a personal perspective, I have bad RMI in both wrists, they go completely dead after 5-10 minutes of auto (on a bad day) so adding any extra button pushing makes it worse.
also, at higher speeds, the faster button pushing makes it worse. this is why I excel at D and C class auto, above all else, it’s the only races I’m not physically disadvantaged.
that being said, I understand and feel where Manual would work better. and I use it occasionally. this screenshot from herencia actually sums up how evenly matched both trans “styles” can be:
also need to add, myself and TGM are more fond of EV than most of you, and that’s entirely down to being more comfortable with fixed-gear, no-shifting. the way we throttle in auto translates better to the steady torque cuve
I would like to go manual As I’m very Fond of manual Transmission in Real life, but As I have a terrible case of ADHD paying attention to the RPMs All the time adds a lot to the distraction. Manual Transmission in Video games is too unintuitiv for me. Upshifting is Not too Bad, but I mostly forget to shift back down. But still, too distracting, there’s too much distraction already with All them opponents, their names, traffic cars, trees, road signs… 
So Yeah, auto unfortunately for me
Yes, I do. I purchased FH5 through the MS Store (mainly because that’s where I already owned 3 and 4), so I don’t get to take advantage of Steam’s excellent built-in support for all kinds of controllers. I don’t own any Xbox hardware, so my options are to either figure out a third-party software option to use my PS4 controller (or Switch Pro controller I guess, though that doesn’t have analog triggers), or continue to be lazy and stick to my keyboard. To the series’ extreme credit, it honestly feels really good on keyboard, more so than any other driving game I’ve played with it. PGG did a solid job with whatever speed-dependent sensitivity is going on. I’m never going to set any world-beating Rivals times, nor do I care to try, but otherwise I think I can more than hold my own.
@Ted_Zombi I can see a separate reverse control working well too, but for me, if I’m already standing still, the only thing I expect to have happen when I hit the “backwards” key is to actually move backwards. If I just wanted to hold still in place, I’d hold the parking brake instead.
Started in FM4 with manual then learned clutch on 7. Never considered using auto and never owned an auto trans in real life until in my fifties and having to drive 0-15 mph 10 minutes per day.
Use regular manual on driveline conversions m/c with cars that need it.
Only use auto if somebody complains I beat them because of using manual. 
Wait, you use WASD for driving and “stock” binding for manual is QE in that? I guess you shouldn’t change gears in the middle of corner, but that feels like weird combo.
I use arrows to steer, Q = handbrake, S = clutch, X = lower gear, C = higher gear.
As for me: I usually stick to M+C, cause you can’t change your “transmission” between Horizon Open races and I want to use full potential of the car. Plus for me there is no differnce if I press S+X/C or just X/C. Although, with M+C I sometimes stall the car.
I also sometimes use A, but is is either for testing or when I know there is no downside in using e.g. that Goliath race with GT40/330 from few weeks ago.
I was also expecting to see more votes on M, than A.
IRL I’m used to manual cars since I was a kid. All of my cars were manual until last one. And that was worst decision ever. I drive “semi aggressive” and neither of the modes works good for me.
TBH, I only bought that car with automatic, becuase for some reason VW decided that in my country it will be available only with automatic.
Side note: my friend used to own company with “designated drivers” and I used to drive our clients cars too. A lot of them were automatic and I had no issue driving them, but for some reason as my own car it just doesn’t work.
I swapped to manual a couple of years ago…i will sometimes switch to auto (fast S2 or a track with lots of corners and gear shifts) for ease. When I first switched to Auto, I tested with a lot of the Road Sprints in D Class with a FWD 92 Golf and on many of them I was 4-5 seconds faster vs auto
M+C for me.
Started this game using auto but decided to change it up. First switch was to manual and started badly as the first race I tried was a trial, back when they were difficult, and I found myself pausing the game hoping to switch back and finding out it wouldn’t let me during the race. Eventually sort of got used to it.
After a very short while with manual the jump to m+c was quite small once you get the control scheme sorted. I think using it can often cost me as much time as it saves me as finding myself in the wrong gear isn’t uncommon but I couldn’t switch back to auto(recently enforced on me as I went temporarily basically deaf) as I find it weird not doing anything with my right thumb.
Interesting to see all the irl comparisons as well. I’ve had both manual & auto cars over the years & prefer auto but it comes at another cost, depending on the car. As an example, the last muscle car I owned was a ‘13 Camaro, which I chose to get in auto to make it easier for the family whenever they drove it, but the L99 engine was 400HP, where the LS3 (manual) came in at 426HP. Not a huge difference but still.
The other thing I didn’t like was something Chevrolet uses called: “Active Fuel Management”, which essentially shuts down cylinders when highway cruising to save fuel & did not have a UI to disable. Sounded good in theory until you stomped on the gas & the engine hesitated 
My Camaro had paddle shifting, but it was honestly a bit tough for me to get used to when I was accustomed to clutch interaction when shifting gears in a manual scenario. Still nice to have as an option though.
Good post Bravo. I was automatic all the way until I started spending so much time drifting. I drifted with automatic for probably close to a year until I came to my senses and tried manual. The ability to just put the car in 4th gear and drift an entire track without the game randomly deciding you’re in the wrong gear is invaluable. I don’t know how I did it for a year. Every handbrake pull resulted in a downshift of as many as 3 gears.
Soon after, that led to me trying manual in lower classes (A class and below). I don’t use manual for the higher classes, usually it’s too much for me to keep up with and I don’t get as much benefit out of it as I do with lower classes (at least from my personal experience, YMMV).
So for me, it’s manual for drifting and lower classes and automatic for higher classes.
I’m not aware of that here in the U.S., but it’s possible it could be specific by state. I’m in Ohio, but if it would be a state requirement anywhere, my money would be on California. I think it makes sense to a degree.
I’ve also not run into many restrictions as far as renting cars in other countries. The biggest challenge for me was arriving in Sydney Australia, jumping into a RHD car for the first time & just literally going for it. I was surprised that it was easier than I originally anticipated. My biggest issue was flipping on the wipers when I meant to hit the turn signal
Same in Ireland, do your test in an auto and that’s all you can drive
Yeah, the stock binding for Q/E kind of sucks, because as you said it’s very difficult to turn and shift gears at the same time. I could go to arrows for driving, but WASD is so natural after untold thousands of hours of PC gaming that I’d find it awkward to switch.
Honestly the thing that frustrates me the most about automatic in Forza is how inferior it is to the real thing. If I’m in my car and I’m driving up a hill or want to pass someone on the highway, I know that I can just give it more gas, and my transmission will automatically downshift for me. But if you’re driving a lower-class car in-game and hit a hill, you’re pretty much stuck bogged down in that higher gear. Sometimes you can force a downshift by tapping the handbrake for a moment, but it’s really inconsistent. Even worse are the times when you hit an obstacle while in a higher gear and get temporarily stuck there, until your car figures itself out and finally downshifts. And that’s even putting aside cars like mine, where even in automatic mode I can use the downshift paddle to force a temporary downshift. I really wish there was a full-fledged manumatic control option.
(And don’t get me started on traction control. The almost 30-year-old car I learned to drive in had a dashboard button to turn it on/off, so why can’t we get a control bind for it instead of burying it in a difficulty menu?)
I bought a Dodge Caliber US import (RHD conversion) here in Aus and had the same scenario 
Stupid wipers, took a little bit to get used to but then when i did, i started doing it in my normal RHD cars when i drove them
That’s awesome Glad it wasn’t just me!
This is why I hate stick…and I can drive a stick well. However, here’s how my teaching went. My father when I was 11…gets in the datsun 510 (not the wagon kind mind you)…puts a hot cup of coffee on the dash…and says back the car up. It went the way you would expect lol. I swear if I can avoid stick…I do. Especially if someone has a hot cup of coffee with t hem. The last stick I drove in real life was a porsche 944 from Santa Cruz CA to Watsonville…doing 120 mph lol.
Unless I am drifting/doing rivals or solo races I tend to just use automatic. As I am so used to driving with auto. I am afraid of going in manual with other players in a fear that I will sabotage a race. Such as a trial or any other group race in that matter. Just gotta practice thats all
Oh hey, im staying about 10 minutes from Santa Cruz right now … i know that drive. 
My first driving lesson was in the driveway at my house. Dont let the car roll backward using the parking brake and clutch, and dont drive through the garage door. I think that was genius.
And i hope the statute of limitations is up on this, but when i first got my 00 M5, i drove from my parents house in Sunnyvale back to my apartment in LA, exactly 350 miles from door to door … 2 hours and 59 minutes. Um, yeah. Highway 152 past the reservoir … i admit to the 2:59 for the whole trip but i think im going to take the story of 152 to I-5 to my grave. Young and stupid.
