Hi guys, I had a look through previous posts but I couldn't see a solution (but apologies if it's been asked before).

I read Gentlefoot's driving tips and it says: "Many beginners do not down-change early enough when braking... In many cars you can down change at the same moment or even just before you hit the brakes."

I have tried changing down gears as early as possible, but invariably end up locking my wheels for a split second each time the gear changes. This forces me to delay changing down until the revs have reached a low enough level that the wheels don't lock. But by this time I'm already beginning to make the turn and it definitely seems late compared to other replays I've watched.

The car I'm trying to master is the XFG, and I get the problem after any long straight into a 2nd/3rd gear turn. I'm using the flappy-paddles on a G25, and I don't use the clutch to change gear - should I be?

I would be very grateful to receive tips on how I can change gear earlier without locking up, because I feel that I'm changing late enough that the balance of the car is affected during cornering.

Thanks in advance.

Can you post a replay? If you change down at the wrong point your wheels will lock - try changing down when the RPM's are lower, and perhaps ease of the brakes a little at the same time.

As it's a FWD car all of the force (braking and downshifting) is going into the heavily loaded Front Wheels - trying to steer while downshifting is not a good idea.

Its easy, you have to blip the throttle in down shifts. LFS no longer do it for you since last patch

You're not supposed to blip the throttle when you down shift if you're not using the clutch pedal.

It might be your setup that causes you this problem. Post a replay.

Quote from BullHorn :

You're not supposed to blip the throttle when you down shift if you're not using the clutch pedal.

I'd love to see you downshift in a FZR without a blip

On the subject, if you are using left foot to brake and no clutch, just try to blip the throttle a little when you are changing gears. When you press the flappy gear paddle, the clutch is pressed and that's when you should make the blip, to match the engine revs to gearbox revs.

I've attached a replay of the problem.

It's not my best lap by a long way but it shows the lock ups on three corners: the main problems are on the entrance to the first chicane after the start/finish straight and the entrance to the right-hander after the back straight. The locking only occurs for a fraction of a second each time, but it's enough to leave (small) skid marks on the track.

By the way, I tried blipping the accelerator when changing down. It did solve the problem for a while, but after six laps or so my clutch had worn out completely!

You've attached the replay analysis file, not the replay itself. The SPR file would help

Whoops, sorry. I'm a bit new at this : )

See attached. The best demonstration of the problem is on lap 2.

I didn't see any blipping in that SPR (watched up to the end of lap 2), wanna attach one where you do blip so we know you're doing it right. The reason you're cooking the clutch is that you are "flat-shifting", i.e., you keep the throttle floored when you shift. Release the throttle for a fraction of a second when you shift up.

edit: I've added a replay where I blip and lift off. If you have a look, you can see I'm giving it quite a trashing on downshifts, but my fronts aren't flat-spotted (from locking them up) and the clutch is fine.

I compared your lap (from the RAF file) with the current WR lap. The WR holder:

• Does not blip the throttle.
  
• Locks up the rear wheels often, but never the front wheels. In comparison, you slightly lock up the fronts, but never the rears.
  
• Uses a lower braking force than you, especially on the front wheels (WR: 560/71%, you: 590/77%)

I think you use too much brake force on the front. Tweak your setup, or get yourself a better one somewhere.

I never blip in the XFG or any of the lower-powered cars, ceratinly not in any of the FWD cars. Just lower the max brake force ever so slightly until it stops. Try using forces view (press F) which will remove the bodywork and show you a graphical representation of the forces on the wheels - red means it's skidding.

I moved the brake bias towards the back a bit more and it definitely helped. Thanks a lot guys!