Thanks guys, so if your hands leaving the wheel is a problem I guess that means a H style shifter is no good online and only useful for single player games?

Can't you drive one hand while shifting or is it that intense?

But maybe H shifter has some advantage - being held in the gear by its nature should mean no missed shifts right?
Sometimes with paddles it doesn't shift if do it too quick..

Hi Guys,

I have no experience with any form of racing, it’s been all flight sims for me so far, but I love sims and going fast (cars) so I always wanted to try sim racing. I looked past all the driving games and went straight for iRacing and glad that I did.

Just got myself a wheel and $12 iRacing, totally new but did some test runs in the Mazda and the Ford and a lot of fun!

I’d like to not begin with any bad habits, so I want to drive with the right control settings from the start if possible, some things I’m not sure about though - some very rookie questions I’d like to ask at the moment with regards to aids, and shifting etc I hope someone can help:

1. Does using aids really mean iRacing add a penalty to your time? I’m very confused because some things I googled said yes there is a penalty, and others said no there is no penalty. I’d rather there is penalties because I’d like to use a shifter… but I just want to know how it works.
2. Heel-Toe, left foot braking etc, Can I still be competitive if I want to use H pattern shifter and clutch, without heel-toe? Everyone I’ve talked to says 2 foot driving (left foot brake) will ALWAYS get the best times and wins  I’ve driven with a 5 speed and clutch in my real life car for so long, it’s just so natural. Everyone says paddles are faster! But they feel so unnatural tapping something to change gears and also ruins the immersion. Is there really disadvantage using 3 pedals and H-shifter? Can people still win like this?
3. Paddles on the Logitech G25 turn with the wheel, every review I’ve read says that the paddles attached to the base on the Thrustmaster T500RS is a “disadvantage”. I use the Logitech and found that I hate the paddles rotating with the wheel, I can’t find them easy if the wheel is turned tight… I’m starting to wish I saved more for the Thrustmaster. Maybe I will upgrade to that for Christmas. Does anyone else prefer fixed paddles? Are fixed paddles like on the TM really a disadvantage?
4. Blipping – never heard of it before trying iRacing. How important is it for me to learn? Can I still do good times without it?
5. Most important – which rookie car/track should I focus on testing/practicing to get out of rookie license?
My goal would be to move towards something like Phillip Island.
Would be good to understand which car goes with which track to train for the popular races. The site is information overload for me until I learn it all a bit more. But can anyone recommend the best rookie car/track combinations for me to focus on and learn?

Thanks all

Thanks, good to find out now that auto clutch/blip gets dissallowed once out of rookie class, best to handle blipping myself from the start