- 3,957
- Cleveland
Just ran some numbers on the benefit vs. cost of modding your car to boost acceleration, something relatively easy to look at using the 1000m time trial.
Used the 323 GT-X '92, base 175hp, 1200kg. Confidence in these numbers is pretty low since I didn't do multiple runs and average, but some big picture results are clear.
Summary: Flywheels give 5x more bang for the buck than any other mod. Weight reduction doesn't produce nearly the acceleration boost I expected, perhaps taking weight off the drive wheels also reduces traction to counter-act the benefit of more hp per mass. And don't bother with any but the triple clutch... otherwise:
Numbers below are in terms of $ per % reduction in 1000m time:
Fly-2 $233
Fly-3 $287
Fly-1 $291
Turbo-1 $1,193 175->192hp (and probably NA-1)
Intercooler-1 $1,346 175->178hp
Intercooler-2 $1,486 175->184hp
Clutch-3 $1,505
Chip $1,518 175->178hp
Driveshaft $1,518
Muffler-1 $1,551 175->178hp
Muffler-3 $1,582 175->187hp
Turbo-2 $1,586 175->227hp
Muffler-2 $1,962 175->182hp
Turbo-3 $3,064 175->272hp
Clutch-2 $3,218
Wt Red.-2 $3,393
Clutch-1 $3,968
Wt Red.-1 $4,013
The best absolute reductions in 1000m time aside from Turbo-2 and 3:
Turbo-1 3.77%
Fly-3 3.48%
Clutch-3 3.19%
Muffler-3 3.03%
So if you're into cheap tuning your cars to see what they can do with the least amount of investment, go with flywheel first, then Turbo-1 or NA-1, then your intercooler, clutch, chip, driveshaft and muffler as applicable, then finally look at weight reduction.
Tires and suspension make a slight very expensive difference. Note also this car is in the moderately expensive to mod category, and prices don't change consistently for all parts, most notably looking at the racing chip, which is much cheaper or more expensive as the case may be, so that for cheap to modify cars it's actually the next thing you'd want to buy after Turbo-1 or NA-1, and for more expensive to modify cars you can wait til after Turbo-2 or NA-2 to get your bang for the buck.
Didn't want to try to play with close transmissions or custom settings, which will make a big difference by keeping you in your power band. If you run the 1000m and don't hardly get into 5th (in a 5 speed), get the close gearing but only after Turbo/Na-2 mod, unless you're trying to stay under some hp limit. If you're still in 4th, get the super close. If you're thinking about custom gearing, you're not really tuning on a budget, are you?
Also of course the results of modding different cars will be different, which is why I listed the hp boosts given by the mods I was looking at. For some cars, Turbo-1 or NA-1 gives only a very modest boost to performance, and for others it can be quite significant. Also, tires might be much more useful to a FR or FF or a more powerful 4WD than to this 175hp 4WD which has little wheelspin.
And the final note: of course if you're looking to run a hilly track in a low power vehicle the flywheel may bite you in the ass. And beware that this is just acceleration I'm talking about here. Tires, suspension, and weight reduction will all dramatically improve handling and your ability to come out of a corner faster, so that they are more important than acceleration for getting good lap times. And especially in low-power low-license races, the game's rubber-band AI is most easily beaten with good handling, since so long as you're not messing up too badly, even low power vehicles that get blown away on the straights by the competition will win easily by cornering better before the home stretch, and even after the bastards pass you, they seem to stop trying once they're only .3-.5 secs ahead of you, making it extremely easy to take them on the corner if only you have the handling.
Used the 323 GT-X '92, base 175hp, 1200kg. Confidence in these numbers is pretty low since I didn't do multiple runs and average, but some big picture results are clear.
Summary: Flywheels give 5x more bang for the buck than any other mod. Weight reduction doesn't produce nearly the acceleration boost I expected, perhaps taking weight off the drive wheels also reduces traction to counter-act the benefit of more hp per mass. And don't bother with any but the triple clutch... otherwise:
Numbers below are in terms of $ per % reduction in 1000m time:
Fly-2 $233
Fly-3 $287
Fly-1 $291
Turbo-1 $1,193 175->192hp (and probably NA-1)
Intercooler-1 $1,346 175->178hp
Intercooler-2 $1,486 175->184hp
Clutch-3 $1,505
Chip $1,518 175->178hp
Driveshaft $1,518
Muffler-1 $1,551 175->178hp
Muffler-3 $1,582 175->187hp
Turbo-2 $1,586 175->227hp
Muffler-2 $1,962 175->182hp
Turbo-3 $3,064 175->272hp
Clutch-2 $3,218
Wt Red.-2 $3,393
Clutch-1 $3,968
Wt Red.-1 $4,013
The best absolute reductions in 1000m time aside from Turbo-2 and 3:
Turbo-1 3.77%
Fly-3 3.48%
Clutch-3 3.19%
Muffler-3 3.03%
So if you're into cheap tuning your cars to see what they can do with the least amount of investment, go with flywheel first, then Turbo-1 or NA-1, then your intercooler, clutch, chip, driveshaft and muffler as applicable, then finally look at weight reduction.
Tires and suspension make a slight very expensive difference. Note also this car is in the moderately expensive to mod category, and prices don't change consistently for all parts, most notably looking at the racing chip, which is much cheaper or more expensive as the case may be, so that for cheap to modify cars it's actually the next thing you'd want to buy after Turbo-1 or NA-1, and for more expensive to modify cars you can wait til after Turbo-2 or NA-2 to get your bang for the buck.
Didn't want to try to play with close transmissions or custom settings, which will make a big difference by keeping you in your power band. If you run the 1000m and don't hardly get into 5th (in a 5 speed), get the close gearing but only after Turbo/Na-2 mod, unless you're trying to stay under some hp limit. If you're still in 4th, get the super close. If you're thinking about custom gearing, you're not really tuning on a budget, are you?
Also of course the results of modding different cars will be different, which is why I listed the hp boosts given by the mods I was looking at. For some cars, Turbo-1 or NA-1 gives only a very modest boost to performance, and for others it can be quite significant. Also, tires might be much more useful to a FR or FF or a more powerful 4WD than to this 175hp 4WD which has little wheelspin.
And the final note: of course if you're looking to run a hilly track in a low power vehicle the flywheel may bite you in the ass. And beware that this is just acceleration I'm talking about here. Tires, suspension, and weight reduction will all dramatically improve handling and your ability to come out of a corner faster, so that they are more important than acceleration for getting good lap times. And especially in low-power low-license races, the game's rubber-band AI is most easily beaten with good handling, since so long as you're not messing up too badly, even low power vehicles that get blown away on the straights by the competition will win easily by cornering better before the home stretch, and even after the bastards pass you, they seem to stop trying once they're only .3-.5 secs ahead of you, making it extremely easy to take them on the corner if only you have the handling.
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