Scrogs 97 Posted August 8 Am I supposed to change my gearbox and tyres from practice sessions to races? Like....should I have a practice gearbox and tyre selection then change them for qualifying/ race days? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scottishwildcat 187 Posted August 8 Whatever works best for you. But yes, swapping in older parts for practise sessions is pretty common. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marioho 686 Posted August 8 (edited) Shalom, Scroggs! It depends. Are you asking what the game expects from you or if that's something extra you can do to optimize your performance? The game will automatically change your tyres and gearboxes between practice sessions and qualy/race. That's on par with the real thing. In F1 each team receives an assortment of tyres for each GP, and there's a number of sets they need to return at the end of every session. So at the end of FP1, your team will automatically give back the two most worn out sets of tyres, no input needed from you, and so on until race day. With gearboxes it is similar in the sense that FIA basically allows two gearboxes for the teams to use at any given time, one for practice sessions 1-2 and one for the practice session 3, qualifying and race. Again you will automatically change to the correct gearbox as you advance through the weekend. The only input the game really requires is for you to change your gearbox sets when you hit the 6 races quota: after that number of GPs the FIA allows the teams to get a new set of gearboxes (again 1:1) with no penalty. Now if you wanna know how to get the best out of your allotment, then yes, there are actions you can take. You see, your quota of tyres is per GP, not per session. You just need to give back two sets after every practice session, but there's nothing saying you need to use two or only to in each. Maybe you're on a intense FP2, trying to settle on a setup, and wanna use a third set of Softs that usually would be kept for FP3? There's nothing holding you back, Scrogs! The same with qualifying. You did 1-2 laps but feel like you still have it in you to shave some tenths off your lap time? Just fit a new set and hit the track! The info you need to plan your decisions or to keep tabs on what is happening is in that computer screen you access when your car is in the garage. Just navigate to the Car Settings screen and there will be one tab for the setup and one tab with your tyre sets info. Regarding the gearbox, yes, you could switch back and forth between old gearboxes and your current one if you're that much worried about the latter's wear rate and there's no denying it would be beneficial. But personally I never did that, never saw the need given the wear rate I get from my components. I'd wager it is more common to see people fitting in an old ICE or Turbocharger just to go crazy on the throttle in practice without worrying about wearing their "main" component before the race. Actually, in real life teams do this all the time! More often than not they do not wear a component down hard before fitting a pristine one; they plan their usage according to the calendar so that they have e.g. a set for power-hungry tracks and a set aero heavy tracks. Edit: Regarding tyre sets and rules yet again, would you believe that chap Chain Bear has a video about it on Youtube too?! At this rate one could safely assume he's one of the good ones. Anyways, I'm linking directly to the 3:25 mark where he goes over this whole kerfuffle, but I do recommend the whole video. Edited August 8 by marioho 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scrogs 97 Posted August 9 Brilliant reply marioho. I really enjoyed reading it and I've certainly learnt more about gearboxes and tyre use in regards to F1. I'm learning more every day....but I've still got so much more to learn! 😉 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
