Full Traction Control (TC) Too Slow On F1 22 (Tips & Fixes)

A lot of players on the latest F1 22 video game are finding traction really hard to master on the Medium or No Traction Control settings, something which we’ve covered elsewhere. But they’re also reluctant to switch back to Full TC, either out of principle, or because it just feels too slow and bogged down, especially out of slow corners.

Whilst this is definitely true, there are also ways to optimize lap times (or at least, reduce the speed lost) when using the Full Traction Control (TC) assist in F1 22. That’s what we’re going to cover in this post.

Here’s a quick summary of some key tips on this topic:

  1. It’s not clear that Medium Traction Control is quicker in overall lap time than Full TC on F1 22, when each setting is optimized.
  2. You can minimize the time lost out of corners on Full TC by still driving as though you’re using Medium TC, with progressive throttle modulation.
  3. You can run more aggressive setups when on Full TC to deliver sharper turn in and faster cornering.

Therefore, it’s not the end of the world having to use Full Traction Control on F1 22, and you can still deliver competitive lap times once you get used to, and learn to optimize, this setting. And you can definitely be a lot more consistent and spin less than users on Medium or No TC, which can be a clear advantage in online racing.

With proper application of the throttle, it’s possible to drastically reduce that horrible bog-down effect out of corners that you feel on Full TC. Let’s cover some key tips on driving with better pace and consistency on F1 22 with Full Traction control.

Note – This article is mainly covering the difference between the Full Traction Control (Full TC) and Medium Traction Control (Medium TC) assists settings. I can’t really speak for comparisons with No Traction Control, since I haven’t used this setting on F1 22, already struggling enough with Medium TC.

Is Medium Traction Control Quicker Than Full Traction Control on F1 22?

This is the first thing I want to explore in this post – based on my play on the F1 22 game so far, I’m not even convinced that Medium Traction Control (TC) is even quicker than Full Traction control, once you optimize driving style on the Full TC setting.

It’s a common cliche among sim racing enthusiasts that Using Medium or No Traction control is generally quicker than having it on Full once you master it fully, and on previous versions of the F1 games, it was definitely true. I used Medium TC from the F1 2017-2021 games myself, and it was definitely quicker. But I’m not seeing that on F1 22 – traction is much harder this year and if anything, it seems to be the other way around in the early days of the game.

I’ve interacted quite a bit on YouTube and forums with others, and they’ve also confirmed this from their experience. I’m just not seeing Medium TC as substantially quicker than Full TC, once you’ve got used to full TC and drive in a proper way using the setting (see section below for more on this).

For sure, acceleration out of certain slower corners is quicker when on Medium Traction control – you can clearly see this in time delta’s on Time Trial. The lower assist setting is limiting the revs and acceleration less, allowing better drive off some heavier traction zones (eg. Turn 3 at Austria). But in terms of overall lap time on many tracks, I’m NOT seeing Medium TC as being substantially quicker than Full TC once you’ve used it for a while.

My own experience of this is just that I would struggle on Medium TC getting drive out of twisty corners, always creeping round on the throttle, overly cautious because I was afraid of spinning with this really sensitive handling model on F1 22. Laps times were way down using this setting, but when I switched to Full TC, in all cases I blitzed my Medium TC lap times because I could be so much more confident on the throttle, and also run more aggressive setups (see section below for more on this).

And when I say blitzed, I mean blew them out of the water – not even close! Anything from 0.7-1-5+ seconds per lap faster on Full TC than Medium TC. It is true that reducing or switching off Traction Control requires a lot of time and practice to get used to, but even allowing for improvements in lap time after a while on the Medium TC, I don’t see any way I could match these Full TC lap times if using Medium TC, even after a lot of practice.

At best, on some tracks, I might be able to get them more or less equal, so that Medium and Full Traction Control could deliver roughly the same lap times. Perhaps on some easier tracks like Austria, a tenth or two faster on Medium TC at best.

But I don’t see how I could ever be substantially faster on Medium TC, even with a lot of practice on this setting. The lap time difference to Full TC is (for me at least) too great to make up, no matter how much time I spend trying to master Medium TC.

This clear contrast between the Full and Medium TC settings was confirmed in a discussion I had with another F1 22 player, who unwittingly conducted a similar experiment comparing the two with a Co-op career with his friend:

“Absolutely, I think using TC is faster than not. I’m doing a 2 player career with a buddy who is using full assists and I’m using none. Its not even close. He’s destroying me every race. He’s using a gamepad and has much less experience in racing games than me. I’m using a wheel and regularly play sim-racing titles. He’s a second to 2 seconds quicker per lap every race with full assists, and my assessment is its directly related to him being able to smash the throttle out of corners while I’m tiptoeing. The game should encourage a player off of assists, not on to them, IMO”

Therefore others have noticed this as well, where the confidence that having Full TC enabled allows a player to drive with on F1 22 is giving them extra lap time that can’t realistically be made up, even spending a lot of time to master Medium TC and make small gains here and there.

To add some caveats, it’s still early days on the F1 22 game, and perhaps these gains will somehow be found once players have fully got used to Medium TC. I also can’t speak for No TC, since I’ve never even used it, having struggled enough with Medium TC.

But for the time being, I’m not at all convinced Medium Traction control is even faster than Full TC in terms of overall lap time on most or all tracks on F1 22. Full Traction Control can still deliver very competitive lap times, even with the limited acceleration out of corners.

Minimizing The Time Lost Using Full Traction Control

However, regardless of whether Full TC is slower or quicker than Medium TC, or they’re about the same when optimized, there is a very simple hack you can use whilst driving on F1 22 on Full Traction Control that can limit the extent to which you potentially lose speed versus other TC settings, and it’s best illustrated by comparing two hypothetical players, who both use Full TC, but drive differently:

  • Player #1 – Uses Full TC, but is lazy with the throttle, just stamping on it fully all the time, with no progression/modulation, cos they know the TC will kick in and save them.
  • Player #2 – Also uses full TC, but still tries to drive as though they were on Medium TC, still trying to progressively ease in the throttle and get the car straight before full throttle. They just want the full TC as a safety net to stop spins.

Based on my own testing with this, plus the testing and feedback from others who play the F1 games regularly, Player #2 is indeed quicker than Player #1, even if both use Full TC.

Therefore, if you are going to use Full Traction Control on F1 22, it’s important to still drive AS THOUGH you’re still using Medium or No Traction control, to minimize the time lost using this assist. You’re just using the Full TC as a safety net assist, to stop spinning the car if this is what’s happening too much when using Medium or no TC. But still pretend as though you’re on Med/No TC.

In other words, be progressive and modulate the throttle coming out of corners, only going full throttle once the car is pointing straight. See the last section below where we cover more tips on driving without TC, which you can also apply to driving with TC to limit time lost.

That’s basically the way you get around having to use Full Traction control, and minimize the negative effect the setting has on bogging down acceleration out of corners. Remember, traction control works by kicking in right at the moment you’d lose rear traction and the car would spin (that’s it’s purpose).

It limits the revs on the engine to keep the car from spinning, therefore the more you drive in a way that requires this setting to kick in, the more it will kick in and limit your acceleration out of corners. The less you drive in a way that requires it, the less often it will activate, and your loss in speed out of corners will be reduced.

Therefore the best way to view this setting if you use it is to see as a safety net to stop all the spins and make racing more fun and enjoyable, but still pretend (as best you can) that you’re still on Medium Traction Control, and drive as such. Perhaps switch back to Med TC for a bit periodically to remind yourself of the throttle control required on this setting.

Optimizing Car Setups When Using Full Traction Control

Another gap which needs filling in in a lot of content on this topic is the issue of car setups when using different levels of traction control on F1 22. A lot of the setup guides for F1 22 implicitly assume you are using Medium or No Traction Control, and therefore gives setups geared towards maximum stability. The front and rear wings are often spaced a long way apart to account for tricky traction and stability issues when using reduced assists.

But when you’re using Full Traction Control, this is now less of an issue. The car is much easier to control, and traction is already taken care of to stop excessive spinning (though you should still modulate the throttle properly on this setting to minimize time lost, as we covered above).

Therefore you can explore creating more aggressive car setups when using Full TC on F1 22, geared more towards maximum cornering speed rather than outright stability.

It’s early days with the setups on the this new F1 game, and I’m no expert yet, but here are some initial suggestions on settings changes to explore when using Full Traction Control.

  • Aero Wings – Explore bringing the front and rear wings closer together instead of spaced out, and even the front wing higher than the rear wing on some tracks, instead of vice versa. I’m using more or less level wings at the moment. This will give you sharper turn in and cornering and can help with lap times, especially on twisty circuits with less straights.
  • Differential – The way the car delivers it’s power both on and off throttle:
      • On Throttle – 60 is a good base setting for easy application of traction, increasing it may give better lap time on some tracks. Reduce to 50 in the wet.
      • Off Throttle – Can be lowered to 50-55 for sharpest cornering when turning off throttle. I’m using 50 on most tracks. Shouldn’t ever need to go above 55 on F1 22.
  • Camber/Toe – Governs the geometry (angle) of the front and rear tyres. Here’s some good templates to test:
      • Right-right-left-left (2.5/1.0/0.5/0.2) – Delivers maximum straight line speed but reduced responsiveness. Try on circuits with long straights like Monza, Austria.
      • Right-left-left-left (2.5/2.0/0.5/0.2) – Delivers maximum stability and responsiveness. Works well on most tracks as a baseline.
  • Suspension Settings – Governs the front/rear suspension, anti-roll bars, plus ride height. You can stick with the defaults, but here’s some other templates to test as well:
      • Maximum response – 11-1-11-1-3-4 – Delivers very sharp turn in and response, but can be too much for some players.
      • Moderate response – 8-1-8-1-3-4 – A nice middle ground template that tones down the responsiveness a little bit. A good baseline I use on most tracks at the moment.
      • Inverted setup – 2-7-2-7-3-4 – This setup works really well at Austria for some reason. Not sure why. Can always try on other tracks as well.
      • Try raising the ride height by 1 or 2 clicks either in wet conditions, or on tracks where you’re driving over kerbs a lot to optimize lap times.

F1 22 Car Setups Explained

 

Here are some good YouTube channels with car setup guides:

Load their base setups in, and modify them if you like to see if you can get better lap times with different wing and camber/suspension settings. You might find you get good lap times with the wings spaced apart even on Full TC, so it’s down to personal preference. Right now, I’m liking having the wings close together and going for a pointy front end with good turn in and responsiveness.

Tips On Switching To Medium Or No Traction Control

It is true that the bog down effect out of corners when using Full Traction Control can feel and sound horrible, and some players can’t bring themselves to switch back to Full TC on F1 22, especially if they’ve been using Medium or No TC for years already.

If this is you, then you’ve no option but to try and get used to Medium or No TC as best you can, even though it’s a lot harder on the latest game than previous titles.

See the great video below for some good pointers on mastering No/Medium TC on F1 22:

 

Here’s some summary pointers from the video:

  • Aim to get the car rotated into a corner as quickly and sharply as possible without losing control. The Off Throttle Differential is the crucial setting for this – reducing it increases car rotation while turning into a corner.
  • For prolonged corners, gently (not fully) and progressively ease onto the throttle while accelerating out the corner, until the car is fully out the corner and pointing straight.
  • Also try short-shifting through the gears (quickly shift up gears sooner than the game would do for you if on Automatic gears) when coming out of slow corners, to control traction better and reduce wheel-spin.
  • Never apply excessive throttle while the car is still twisted and in the middle of, or turning through, a corner.
  • Only go full throttle once the car is fully pointing straight out of a corner.
  • If you’re trying to be gentle and progressive with throttle input, and are still struggling losing control of the car out of corners, then increase the Throttle Linearity from the Controller Calibration setting in small increments, as covered in the section above.
  • Also do all these things even when driving with Full Traction Control, to minimize the time lost on this setting.

There’s also some settings changes you can make from Controller Settings to make handling a little easier on F1 22.

Go to Settings….Controls, Vibration & Force Feedback, select your current controller setup/scheme, select Edit….Calibration.

Here’s a summary of some changes you can make:

  • Steering Deadzone – Can increase very slightly if you’re having trouble with the car twitching on straights. Leave as it is if you’re not having problems
  • Steering Linearity – Increase in increments of 10 and test if the handling is feeling too twitchy and unstable.
  • Throttle Linearity – Increase in increments of 10 and test if you’re having trouble controlling traction out of corners.

See our article on the difficult handling on F1 22 for more on this, plus other tips if you’re struggling.

Oliver

I've been an avid F1 gamer for well over 10 years and put my experience and knowledge to use on this blog to help fellow racers.

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