Formula Renault downshifting problem

Well, this has been buzzing for a while. It is time to fix it.

Since its debut, Formula Renault has been suffering from this annoying behavior and many, many pro racers and even real life racers are still complaining about it. Check summary Duane Burns wrote:

As is quite well known with this car it has issues when changing down gears, the car has over rev protection and this will prevent a downshift if the revs are too high and there is no disputing this. However there is a definite issue where the car will not downshift when it should and when over rev protection is not or should not be in play.

There are certain conditions which highlight the problem very clearly. All you have to do is go to the skid pan, get the car up to as high a speed as you can and then brake in a straight line, brake as you would in a race, hard but not locking any tyres. From 7th down to 4th it will shift normally and easily, once you reach 4th it will not shift down again until you are nearly at a stop and the auto clutch engages to prevent the engine stalling.

My guess it is somehow related to the rear wheels rotating at the same speed. If you repeat the test but brake in a gentle arc it will downshift as normal. On a race track it is less prevalent, for instance braking for the hairpin at Zolder I will normally get down to 3rd with no problem but then have to wait until I have started turning into the corner before I can shift down to 2nd. I have also noticed that if braking at half strength it will normally shift down through the gears ok.

I have uploaded a video of some testing to show this occurring and highlighting the difference between braking in a straight line or a curve.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kl26i0rf3yxrr8e/Gearbox%20Test.rpy?dl=0

Real world driver and FR champ Lando Norris has also commented regarding this issue.

It’s kinda like the real car, but it’s not as bad as iracing make it, you really can downshift faster IRL