Currently, the automatic transmission system in LFS shifts when the car redlines. A real car doesn't do this. Normally cars shift around 3-4K RPM and don't really go any higher unless you floor it. Also, for the shift configuration, there should be P, R, N, L, and D. No numbers.
Don't bash on me for using auto. I'm a cruiser and I like to eat while I drive
true but... its a racing simulator.... i think every automatic user would get angry if all others overlap them in the 3rd lap. but the P, R, N, L, and D. No number suggestion is nice
OFFTOPIC: i use a g25 and h-shifter and i still eat while driving (without cousing crashes)
ever seen someone racing and shifting at 3 - 4 rpm?! http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=FtoUZxspGEA
i didnt find anyone that is racing with a automatic transmission.... because it would be stupid
(see how fast you aclerate in first gear, than aclerate from the second. you loose damn much time when you shift higher with 3000 - 4000 rpm)
A normal auto transmission will almost reach the redline if you floor it fully (like if it was manual or sequentiel racing), ofcourse if you doesnt press pedal to the metal, it will act cruise-like. I have seen Fifth Gear and Topgear do racing tests with auto transmission cars
If its the right transmission you use for racing, its not something that matters. If you compare H-shifter and real auto-transmission, then auto transmission will be shifting gears faster... DSG would of do it even faster
i dont think so... if it would be faster, why does EVERY racing series use secuential / h-shifter
@ the old quote, its still a racing simulator, not a cruising simulator so we dont need grandma shifting
Why everyone use sequential, paddle or H pattern instead of auto is because of the simple reason :
With a sequential/manual gearbox, you shift when you want, with an auto gearbox, the car shifts when it wants.
If you're in the middle of a long u-turn, you'd rather stay at 1k rpm under your powerband, than downshifting causing to lock the wheels. An auto transmission does not think like this, and it downshifts anyway if the torque doesn't match the gear.
The clear example is in hairpins, when your 2nd is way longer than your 1st.
I wanted to say typically american as a private joke, but some people might get offended here
when racing, you really do not want any computer to interfere with you yousing your engine and car-balance to it's full potential.
I drive a very ancient auto-transmission in RL, 4 speeds, not paddles or anything. For the kind of car and for the style of driving (RL, A-->B) it's o.k.
It just happened to turn out that way, so don't assume for a minute that I don't know how to drive a manual
Naturally for keeping the control over your car on the edge of what's physicly possible this old auto-box is no way a sufficiently capable transmission.
Newer posh cars however have the option of manually (only!) initiated instant gear-changes and fullfill that claim - depending on make and model - more or less to the driver's satisfaction.
The VW double-clutch system (and all other makes that adapted this method) are again another usable alternative. However: I'm not quite sure they offer the same instant "disengaging all force-transmission" that a simple clutch-press or auto-trans-lift-off offer you. To my understaning on a dual-clutch system you'll allways be stuck "in gear" hence you will lose a little bit of flexibility on the handling front.
The other thing I dislike about auto-boxes is the fact that you (the driver) are likely to develop a bad habit of a too relaxed seating-position. the right foot handles all the action, the left one is left alone, hence body-tension will eventually decline on the whole left side, mostly after just a few minutes of seat time, when covering larger distances. That's why I trained myself not to lose too much body-tension when driving: re-positioning myself every couple of minutes checking for maximum safe&sound manouverability of all of my arms&legs related to driving.
The oddly big brake-pedal on most auto-cars, too, is something I sometimes find very much annoying.
Plus: there are good & bad auto-boxes. Those that are good usually make up a good match to the car's engine in terms of shifting-points and flexibility of shift-patterns regarding load, road-angle (steepness), weight, delivered torque. A bad auto-box will change gear at the slightest alteration of accelerator-travel. A good one will not do that too often and offer a reasonable amount of tolerance to allow a torquey engine to not be revved up unnecessarily and be used to it's full potential even on lower revs.
But that's all another story when racing: here you want maximum control & maximum efficiency. And especially the latter is the killer-argument that will allways make you run away from any traditional automatic transmission. And what's the point in simulating an approx. 10% smoother changing modern auto-box in manual-shift mode (which is the only suitable option when racing) when there is this "auto-clutch" feature in lfs and the majority of the smaller high-volume RL-models sooner or later will all be converted for one of those dual-clutch atomated boxes (as an option) for buyers that want to do without a third pedal?
That said: I'm not against a simulated auto box. Cruisers will like it I guess. It's just that I can really do without in lfs, since my focus is on controllability and efficiency. Neither of which is going to be provided by the addition of an auto-box. However, simulating an auto-box wouldn't require much of work for devs except finding some good shift-patterns for each of the cars and therefor fitting gear-ratios, of course.
There is actually NO auto tranny in LFS. There is a setting that will change the manual gears for you when it feels its the best time.
As others have said, nobody apart from drag racers really use an "auto" tranny while racing. They are just not suitable.
IMHO you would have to be insane to drive a high power RWD auto on a circuit. Not knowing the the gearbox will shift on you means you cant push the car as you risk spin outs in corners etc.
Here in NZ autos are popular. I always laugh when I see WRX, EVOs, Skylines, Commies and Falcons with autos, what a waste of time.
I use the auto-gears. I like it, and dislike it, for different reasons.
Likes...
I race alot on the banger racing servers, and if you are spun out and are trying to recover, you may select reverse, in order to reverse around the right way and continue.
However, if you end up spinning all the way around, you need to obviously be in a forward gear again, and if you get the gears wrong and hit the paddle too many times while trying to control it, you may get 3rd or something, in which case the auto will kick in and drop you down to 1st or whatever gear you need.
If i were using manual, i would be sat there at the end of the straight in 3rd, going nowhere, and leaving myself open to huge damage by the cars hurtling toward me. The auto-gears gives you that tiny second more time to get away if you mess it all up like i do.
Dislikes...
If you are going round, or should i say coming out of a bend and you are on your redline, the auto gears will not change into the next gear, they instead hold you on the redline until you are travelling in a straight line again, which gives you no accelleration all the time you are coming out of the bend.
The auto gears are totally useless on the offroad servers as well, mainly due to i think, the close gear ratios used. If i am approaching a steep hill, the gears do the opposite of what i mentioned earlier, The car attempts to change gear half way up the slope, you slow down really quickly, and then the gears don't know what to do, so they appear to override the throttle and wont let you rev the car at all.
The car behaves how it does if you burn the clutch out and floor it, it revs, tries to change, and then all revs are cut, like the ignition has been killed, and even if i then manually press the clutch button and choose a lower gear i cannot rev the engine for a couple of seconds, by which time i have rolled back down the hill again.
I don't think we really need a more advanced automatic tranny. It's not that hard to learn when it's time to shift, and with time, it will come naturally. It's just pure laziness and carelessness that makes people stick to auto gears.
Of course, later it would be nice to have a all-round sim, but for now most things have a lot higher priority than proper auto gear for cruisers.
Just learn how to use that stick, or paddle properly :P
I use G25 and i just use my knee to hold the steeringwheel while I do a superfast shift (0,5 seconds) So no time lost there.
I really like the idea of P,R,N,D and I would like a lockup button too for the cars which have some fire down below :P Some of the LFS cars I can actually imagine would come with a automatic transmission IRL
