New racer wondering how the transmissions work in various racecars

I'm kind of embarrassed to ask this, but I really don't know which cars use what transmissions, and I'd like to be authentic. I've just been using automatic gears while I learn to control these cars and learn all the tracks.

4-5 months ago I bought a logitech g29 on a whim and enjoyed it enough to buy a 11nm base and load cell pedals(the logitech pro stuff) along with a steel frame and a leather seat from a wrecker.

I've owned some manual cars IRL but Idk how it works in race cars! Like the wheel has 2 clutch paddles along with the shifter paddles, why 2? Do f1 cars use a clutch? Do gt3 cars use paddle shifters? A clutch? What about modern indy cars? old indy cars? old f1 cars? Do any cars use the footclutch with paddle shifters? How do you all be authentic about every car? Is there an option I can click for accurate transmission use for every car I use?

 

It says in game if a car uses a sequential or manual gearbox. Manual means that you need a clutch to shift. Sequential means you don’t have to use a clutch. To know if a sequential car uses a stick or paddles, look at the motion which your in game person does or check this website Categories

 

This thread here has an absolutely excellent and comprehensive spreadsheet providing information such as shift type (paddles/H-pattern/sequential stick) and transmission features like shift cut and auto blip, courtesy of @Coanda :
Automobilista 2 - Extended Car Info Spreadsheet

All of the questions are valid, and I find some of these things are very little talked about in typical sports coverage unless something is going to change drastically after a long time.

As for your questions, I'd love to answer what I know, although I'll be the first to admit that many users here have a much deeper understanding and/or practical experiencing racing cars or working on them.

Why 2 clutch paddles? And: Do F1 cars use a clutch?
The two paddles are for modern F1 cars. If you hold both of them, the clutch is fully disengaged. If the first one is fully released, the clutch should - if everything is calibrated correctly - just reach the biting point, where it will generate friction. Something you know from driving any kind of manual car - you'll just feel when it has reached the biting point.

And to answer the other question: F1 cars do make use of clutch paddles (not pedals!) ) for race starts as well as when getting out of the pits. Though I think - someone correct me if I am wrong - there is also some type of anti-stall system in modern F1 cars that should prevent the engine from stalling in case of a spin or when suddenly coming to a stop (as I believe the engine can only be started externally - at least that's what it was like back in the past).

But once an F1 car is moving, there is no further need for a clutch, and these have auto-blip on downshifts and automatic throttle cut on upshifts so the driver doesn't need to lift the foot off the throttle on upshifts or match the revs on downshifts.

Do GT3 cars use a clutch? Yes, they use a clutch pedal to get moving. Other than that, it's the same as F1 cars, although I believe GT3 cars do not have an anti-stall system (which is why you sometimes see GT3 drivers stalling their engine).

I'm not an expert, but if my memory serves right, modern Indycars use paddle shifters (at least the AMS2 F-USA 2023 does, iirc), but the older ones from the 90s and early 2000s had a sequential stick shifter. According to the spreadsheet, they had shift cut but no auto-blip - meaning that you don't need to lift on upshifts, but will need to match the revs on downshifts. This can be tricky to learn if you are mostly used to shifting Heel-and-Toe on H-Shifters or using paddles, as I think rev-matching doesn't come as natural when using a sequential shifter. But maybe that's just me.

Old F1 cars, on the other hand either used fully manual H-Shifter transmissions or sequential transmissions with paddle shifters. There were a few seasons (I think?) where some cars had one or the other, similar to the early 2000s when some cars were still using 6-speed gearboxes, while others were using 7-speed gearboxes, iirc. I don't think sequential stick shifting was ever a thing in F1, but I may be wrong.

So how can you be absolutely authentic and true to the car in the sim? Well, aside from looking at the driver animations when shifting (you'll have to enable the animated wheel and driver for that), there's the handy spreadsheet I mentioned. And some of that information (i.e. sequential or H-Shifter) is visible in the car selection screen as well, though that information isn't as detailed as the spreadsheet of course.


Another thing you can do to see if a car has an H-pattern gearbox or a sequential transmission is using your own G29 H-Shifter to shift from, say 1st to 6th gear or vice versa. If the car has to go through the gears in order to reach the selected gear, it's a sequential gearbox. And if it jumps straight into the selected gear AND it can also go into neutral, it's an H-pattern. Stick or paddles can then (usually) be distinguished based on the animation - although I believe a few of those animations are still incorrect, like the Camaro SS (which, if memory serves right, is an H-Pattern car but has paddle shifter animations in AMS2).


Anyway, I hope that helps! And feel free to ask more questions - we have so many knowledgeable users here and they're always willing to help.

 

Ah, thanks for the clarification! I wasn't sure if that was the case but it makes sense. Haven't really been following F1 in a few years to be honest, so I'm a little rusty when it comes to my knowledge of current tech and rules. (The last time I was closely following F1, the HALO wasn't even a thing yet, though it was added one or two years later I think.)

 

I didn't realize how much speed i'd be picking up, and how much tire wear I'd be saving

Being able to keep the engine revved up while also getting free braking out of it is pretty wild - not wasting time on gear changes I know will lead nowhere because I'm a foot from a braking zone, etc

 

Yeah, there are definitely a few advantages to shifting yourself compared to using automatic transmission.

One other thing that I find helps me to be consistent and get up to speed on unfamiliar tracks quicker in a given car is that I mentally grade braking zones and turns according to the optimal gear. While this is subject to change depending on the type of car and even the gear ratio, having it as reference still provides a nice starting point, IMHO.

 

IMO correlating gears to corners is a good way to remember how quick you can be