Hitting Rev Limit when Blipping Throttle

Zzyzx

Warren Williams
Hi,
Sometimes when I blip on a downshift I hit the rev limit. Is this wrong? I'm driving the Formula Retro and its limit is 10500, so irl would I blow the engine? It seems worse in this car maybe because it's more powerful. If I drive a slower car I can avoid the issue easier.

Thanks. :)
 
Your blip should only be about 1/4 the throttle while you have the clutch in and should be VERY quick. (heel-toe) If you're doing it slowly, or mashing the gas that could be why you're hitting the limiter. If you're hitting the limiter you're definitely blipping too hard. Would you blow the engine? Probably not, but it isnt good for the engine, it would eventually let go down the line.
 
Hitting the rev limiter is indeed to much, you only need to blip as much to keep the revs matched and relatively high when you aren't using autoclutch.

To get familiar with it, when practicing trail-braking for example, just exagerate for a few laps by not lifting off the throttle at all and keep 20% to 25% of your throttle applied under braking. From there the step to a properly matched blip is much easier.
 
OK I've been thinking about this a few days.

I'm using this video as reference as it's the same car track combination:

(BTW this driver is blipping VERY hard. I thought a blip of 1500-2000 revs was sufficient.)

Anyway, would it help to alter the places at which I change gear?

So taking, for example, the Sunset Bend (turn 4) and Clubhouse Bend (turn 5) combination I have two options:

a) I could change down twice before Sunset - from 5th to 3rd - then change down to 2nd before Clubhouse, or
b) I could change down once before Sunset - from 5th to 4th - then change down twice before Clubhouse - from 4th to 2nd. It's easily possible to take Sunset in 4th.

The reason I ask is because I've sometimes found that I hit the limiter more on faster corners because, by definition, the revs are higher in those corners. In this example it would be Sunset.

Also, in the first corner (Crowthorne) I've found if I hold the brake a little longer and perform the downchange(s) later that allows the revs to drop a bit. The driver in the video seems to be skipping gears from 5th to 3rd.

At Keeukop bend, the one that leads on to the main straight, I have been taking it in 2nd but I have found I can just about take it in 3rd, therefore bypassing the need for a blip at all - like the driver in the video does.

Finally I can also turn down the sensitivity on the throttle axis. Last night I turned it all the way down to 10% and it helped a bit.

Any thoughts?
 
If your revs are so high that you need to be rev matching near the limiter, you dont need to downshift at all. Sounds like you're making it seem harder than it is. The only thing you do when you blip is match the revs of the next gear. There is not set amount, no specific process or anything. If you're shifting down, clutch in -- blip gently (about 25% throttle) and let the clutch out. If the back comes around on you while you're down shifting, you aren't blipping high enough. If you hit the limiter, you're blipping too hard.

An "in sim" example -- here is an old video of mine before I upgraded my pedals to what they are today. However this should also give you a good idea of what you should be aiming for:
FAST FORWARD 2 MINUTES TO SKIP THE INTRO TALKY BITS

 
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