So the G25 has been available for some time now and for most it will be the first time they've had the option of changing gear with a shifter and clutch. My question to the new G25 owners is - is this just a novelty, or are people really taking to the more realistic controls?

Do you have auto clutch disabled?
Are you slower now?
Is the shifter gathering dust because you've gone back to paddles?

For the road cars, I use clutch and shifter...

but for single seater and GTR cars, I use the clutch as my brake pedal and brake pedal as handbrake...

In the fox im back to two pedal / padals

I did try and get used to the full clutch / shifter in the gti thing (and won a few 'noob' races at SO Classic, and was managing to come high midpack in the gtr's, i then gave up with the clutch and was close to winning races in the gtr's

Simon

Quote from Thorvertonian :

For the road cars, I use clutch and shifter...

but for single seater and GTR cars, I use the clutch as my brake pedal and brake pedal as handbrake...

And have you noticed any change in your lap times?

DFP + extra set of pedals for clutch here. I manual shift using the DFP's sequential shifter, have auto-clutch, auto-blip and other aids off and do heel-and-toe downshifting. Before I had the extra clutch pedal, I was left-foot braking and used the auto-clutch and auto-blip aids, though I was still manual shifting.

It took me several days to get used to using the clutch and several weeks to become proficient at heel-and-toe shifting. During that transitional adjustment phase my laptimes were noticeably slower than they had been. However, my enjoyment of the game greatly increased and with time and practice my laptimes improved. I still mess up the occasional shift but all of my current best laptimes have been set using the new setup.

Quote from BuddhaBing :

all of my current best laptimes have been set using the new setup.

That is great to hear!!! I was worried that no matter how much I practice, I wouldn't be competetive with the auto clutch / paddle shifters.

I used DFP + Actlabs pedals and H pattern for about 2 years and now have a G25. Only time I dont use the H is in the OW where it is forced.

Would I go back... no

Do you have auto clutch disabled?
Yup

Are you slower now?
Not nesscary. no difference on straightforward tracks like westhill, maybe two tens on aston cadet or so. (p.s. I suck at manuals)


Is the shifter gathering dust because you've gone back to paddles?
Mind actually start to have problem staying in third gear (it sometimes wander to 1st), time to call up the warranty.

Well, I don't know about competitive. My best laptimes have been set with a clutch and manual shifting but I'm far from competitive. I was slow before and I'm only marginally less slow now and what little improvement I've seen may be due to becoming more familiar with the cars and tracks.

At this point, I'd guess that there's no significant advantage in terms of laptimes to using a clutch and manual shifting. That may change as the clutch and drivetrain modeling is improved though.

Using a clutch and shifter does enhance the sense of realism while playing the game though and they're worth having for that reason.

Using the clutch as a brake allows me to press it easier, so I personally get a better feel, and can reduce lock ups quicker, and yes, my lap times are getting quicker and quicker, although this is probabl due to the fact I drive more and more!

The shifter certainly isn`t a novelty. I wouldn`t dream of using anything else now I`m used to it.

I`m now way faster than I ever was before when I used mouse and keys, or as a noob G25 owner when I used paddles and auto-clutch, and it certainly does massively improve the sense of realism and immersion in the game, at least for me

Well if you think it is had to drive with manuel cluth etc etc try and race in chase view plus no ffb and using logitech's crappiest wheel ever then stop whining plus if you give up just send the g25 my way

I dont have G25, but full FrexGP stuff and...

Quote from goode400 :

Do you have auto clutch disabled?

Yes.

Quote from goode400 :

Are you slower now?

Yes. But feel so much immersive

Quote from goode400 :

Is the shifter gathering dust because you've gone back to paddles?

Using paddle for leages, ( because its faster & manual clutch is forbiden in most leagues anyway ), and i use gear stick for enoying racing immersion

I became faster in road cars with shifter (Didn't drive them much before)
slower with GTR cars (I don't use the shifter much with GTR though)
that's about it.

Quote from MagicFr :

..manual clutch is forbiden in most leagues anyway..

What! Why?

Only fully manual & 720 degrees for me since I got the G25. I´m usually 1-3 secs slower than the flatshifting setupcheating paddlepullers (:tilt because I tend to leave more room for mistakes now that it isn't 95% certain to succeed in braking and downshifting any more. So when doing a 10 lap race I can be at the top because of increased consistancy. Saves the tires too. I miss many shifts on the 10 laps though and it always pisses me off

Operating the clutch in LX6 gives great feedback and is probably the best car to learn it in, imo.

I´m really looking forward to the incompatible stuff that's coming up

I've been using a clutch pedal and the seq. stick on my shifter for all the tin-tops for a year and a bit, but I still use paddles and auto-clutch for the single-seaters (inc. MRT - it brakes so quickly it'd be impossible to hit every shift otherwise).

I think I gain a bit over auto-clutchers on power circuits, and they have the advantage on technical circuits (being quicker between brake and throttle than I can be [at least if I have to shift, otherwise I can left-foot brake just like they do]), and I have potential to make more mistakes, but overall I don't feel disadvantaged at all. The guys who I know are faster than me still finish ahead of me, and I still beat the guys I expect to beat most of the time.

For everything but single seaters, I've been driving without autoclutch, and with use of a H shifter for over a year now. Initally I was slower, but since then I've probably beat all my pb's, and am more competitive than I was before. Although I no longer flat shift, feels very unnatural with a proper clutch pedal, although if you don't then your at a small speed disadvantage down the straights.

when im racing online im always using paddles because they are faster. but when i want to really enjoy myself, i will switch to the when im hotlapping or on another game. i love usiong the shifter just the problem is not everyone has to use it, which means they get an advantage tyhat isd pointless in me not having. but the shifter does not collect dust because i dont like it, i love it, more of a challenge, makes you feel well into driving.

G25 here as well.

At first it was a LOT more work to drive properly, but in the road cars now I generally use clutch & shifter unless I'm feeling especially lazy. At first my laptimes suffered (esp in the LX6), but now they are on par with before and sometimes better.

There is advantages:

1) You CAN shift faster if you bust your ass about it
2) You can slowly engage the clutch on a downshift & use extra engine braking without wrecking the mill, and it can gently rotate the car into a slower corner with some practice
3) You can shift from 6th to 2nd instantly at the end of a long straight.

I firmly beleive that it's possible to be faster with these controls if you're proficient enough. It's WAY more rewarding, and mistakes are more likely and costlier though as well.

I only use this setup in cars that would have it IRL.

I don't have a shifter, yet. I use the sequential style on my DFP with my complete ECCI pedal set with clutch.

The problem I have is that the brake depresses too far below the gas pedal and I have a problem doing heal toe work because of it. As a result I don't do it much. I would like to do it as practice for the real thing though.

Weeee! Had my first try at heel-toe this evening. I chose the LX6 to try it on. I think it's going to need a lot of practice but it's great fun and a new challenge. The LX6 is one hell of a car! We definately need some dedicated servers for this car.

The G25 is a good wheel, the best Wheel you can get for its price, but it doesnt deserve to be called realistic Controller when there are other Wheels on the market who does use real Racing Steering Wheels. The G25 is a good Mass Market product, but the ECCI, TSW, VPP and soon BRD and FREX are a awhole another level of Quality controllers over it.

My laptimes have improved since i use clutch and mnual shifter. No aides on at all. It's well worth it and makes the game more fun .

Also it makes it feel a better win as you did all the "work" (if it can be called that)

A g25 here as well. I use the cars lock for the wheel and it caused me troubles in the RWD cars at first but used to it now. For gears i use the clutch and h shifter in the road cars in pick up and play races, sequential shifter for gtrs and SS. Im slower using the h shifter so for speed e.g. qualifying, i will use sequential.

I use H-pattern and clutch wherever possible. It really is satisfying driving with as many control inputs as possible. Big fun.