- 319
- deadly310
Ill give a little guide for those who don't know how to tune there cars or don't even now what tunning is. "i don't own this im just borrowing this for educational purposes" enjoy and feel free to comment.
By: Anthony Accinelli (From: Strength Gamer)
Believe it or not, Gran Turismo 5 requires that you actually know how to tune your car. Sure you may win the majority of your races by simply buying the best hardware and hopping into a race, but you're eventually going to lose. That's when tuning comes into play. Don't know the difference between a Drivetrain and Transmission? Did you read the word "Chassis" and pronounce it like it's spelled (chass + is)? You're going to need some help. Read below and contribute if you can!
Body/Chassis
You start off with the stock crappy, heavy build. When you go into the "Body/Chassis" menu, you are confronted with your standard Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 options, with Chassis Reinforcement, Window Weight Reduction, Carbon Hood, and Carbon Hood Body Color as options to your right.
Awesome, right? Definitely- if you know what the hell any of that means. Let me break it down.
Cars are heavy. Your goal is to make your car go fast. A heavy car goes slower than a lighter car. The point of a weight reduction is so that you can make your fat car skinny, in turn making it faster. Makes sense right?
The Chassis Reinforcement is going to allow for less body roll. Body roll is that feeling you get when cornering too fast and your car starts to shift to one side. By reinforcing the body, your car becomes more rigid, decreasing body roll and adding a lot more stability. Especially around corners.
Carbon Figer Hoods are incredibly lightweight, therefore allowing your car to go faster. If you don't like the black hood, go with the body color one (it's the same price for some stupid reason).
So what does this all mean? It's a quick fix that will gain you quite a bit more handling and acceleration. While this is certainly not going to give you that 200+ horsepower gain you are looking for, you can spend between 10,000 and 15,000 credits here and see a large improvement in both the handling and acceleration of your car. I wouldn't mess with the Chassis Reinforcement unless you are in the higher ranks and are going to be using said car for a lot of races.
Engine
This is a fairly straightforward upgrade. Upgrading your engine via Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 adds acceleration and overall power (therefore increasing speed).
The ECU upgrade is going to be your best friend in this category. In case you weren't aware, your car is controlled by a computer known as the ECU. This badass little machine regulates your engine. While it is definitely a required piece of engine awesomeness, it is usually stock programmed in a way that tones your engine down. By purchasing an ECU, both in game and in real life, you are able to tune it to give you more horsepower, more torque, more top speed, even more gas mileage if you want. Pick this beast up as quick as possible, especially at only 1,000 credits to see a massive upgrade in your engine and also your car's overall performance.
Intake System
This should be your first step in the car upgrading pyramid. What a cold air intake system does is cool the air entering your car. This increases overall power. It's essentially there to increase the amount of oxygen for the combustion of fuel.
Ever see cars with a massive hole in their hood (also known as a hood scoop)? That is installed so that more air can enter the engine (usually aimed at a massive intake system). You will see MASSIVE improvements in your car's performance by installing this upgrade.
I suggest installing the "Racing Air Filter" right away, saving up some money, and then purchasing the "Sports Intake Manifold". You should easily see an increase of roughly 40 horsepower with these two upgrades (and it will only cost you 2,950 credits total).
Exhaust
Besides making your car sound like a badass monster, exhaust once again increases the efficiency of your engine, allowing for a faster response. Think of your exhaust like your intestine. The better, cleaner, larger your intestine is, the easier and more efficiently crap will be able to flow out of it. That's the same logic behind a better exhaust system.
You will have three main choices at first, in the Sports Exhaust, Titanium Semi-Racing Exhaust, and Titanium Racing Exhaust. While the Titanium Racing Exhaust is clearly the most powerful choice, stick to the Sports Exhaust at first (only 1,500 credits instead of 10,000). If you find that you need a little pick me up, try your intake system or your engine upgrades. Still not winning? Go for the big guns.
Your options on the right side are a Sports Exhaust Manifold (essentially just allowing for better exhaust output, giving your engine more power), and a Sports Catalytic Converter. The Catalytic Converter (which I will refer to as the Cat from now on) is sort of like a pollution filter. I'm all about saving the planet, but in this process it clogs up your exhaust, making for a whole lot less power. Being that this is simply a game and not real life, take that crap off, install the Sports Cat, and watch your baby fly!
Turbo Kits
Oh the wonderful sound of a turbo kit. There's nothing quite like shifting at a high RPM and hearing your sweet little darling whistle "I'm going to kick your ass if you try to race me". To put what a turbo does in the simplest terms possible, it takes the engines exhaust, spins it around, then shoots it out causing a severe increase in acceleration. The more in-depth description is that a turbo is used for force induction of an internal combustion engine. The turbo increases the density of the air that enters the engine. This in turn creates more power. Rather than being powered by a mechanical drive, it is powered by the car's own exhaust. Haters gotta Hate!
You will have low, mid, and high RPM Range Turbo Kits to choose from, ranging from 4,500 credits to 20,000 credits. Start with the mid range one if you can afford it (at 10,000 credits) to see a huge increase. After you win a few races, bump up to the high RPM range kit. You will notice your car won't accelerate as quickly until the higher RPM's, but that's a good thing- especially when coming out of corners into a straight stretch.
There's also a Supercharger option in this menu. While most cars with Turbo's already installed won't be able to install this beast, those that do will notice a massive increase. At 17,500 credits, it's one of the more expensive additions, but will put your car over the edge. Try upgrading the rest of your car first, or you may actually see a drop in performance when it comes to handling as your vehicle may not be equipped to handle the speed (that goes for the turbo installs as well).
Transmission
This menu is where the good players will be separated from the great players. Screw the 5 and 6-speed close ratio transmission and save up the 20,000 credits for the Fully Customizable Transmission. This allows you to open the hood, take a look at the gear ratios, and change them to both your taste and the course taste. Along with the Fully Customizable one being a better option, the 6-speed transmission is "close ratio", meaning you will get to 6th gear as quick as possible. This can be a major problem when faced with cars that have top speeds over 200, as the gear will top out the majority of the time, leaving you with a lot of top speed you will never witness. If this happens, simply switch to either the stock transmission, or go buy yourself the fully customizable one.
If you haven't messed with gear ratios before, or read the term "gear ratio" and go into a coma, pay close attention to the description below:
Every gear your car has is attached to a certain specific ratio. Since the majority of you out there are going to be playing this game with an Automatic Transmission, it's imperative that you change these as soon as possible. While it may be tempting to simply change them so that your top speed is the highest possible, I highly suggest you don't do that (unless the course is a giant straight line). You should find a delicate balance between top speed and acceleration to start.
My preference is as follows: 1st and 2nd gears are short, with 1st gear being slightly longer than second. I like this because first gear naturally grants a lot of acceleration, therefore drawing it out results in a lot of acceleration for an extended period of time. 3rd and 4th gear are slightly longer than 1st, which allow the vehicle to get to a high speed while still maintaining a lot of power. 5th gear is very short, especially considering the majority of the time you won't ever be in 5th gear for very long before hitting a corner. The reason I make 5th gear short is because I want that power and acceleration to be initiate as quickly as possible. 6th gear is incredibly long. This is where your top speed will come into play. If you don't have a car with a 6-speed transmission, then 5th gear needs to be long.
The basic idea here is that the majority of the tracks in GT 5 have very short straight stretches, leaving you in corners most of the time. Shorter gears lead to faster acceleration, which is exactly what you need when exiting a corner.
Drivetrain
No, drivetrain has nothing to do with driving a train, so stop trying to make that joke. Once you enter this menu you'll notice you can choose from a new Clutch, a new Flywheel, a Carbon Drive Shaft, a TSCD (Torque Sensing Center Differential), and an Adjustable Limited Slip Differential. Confused? You should be.
Clutch
What the clutch essentially does is change your gears. By installing a lighter clutch, or in the case of the second option, two separate discs, is speed up this process. By speeding up the shift process, you both decrease your time between shifts, all while increasing overall power and efficiency. I recommend spending the extra 1,000 credits here and going straight for the Twin Plate upgrade.
Flywheel
Upgrading your flywheel allows your engine to speed up a lot more quickly. The flywheel essentially turns the transmission, storing kinectic energy and propelling the vehicle around. By upgrading to a lightweight flywheel, you once again increase efficiency, allowing your engine to change speed rapidly. Go with the Semi Racing one here.
Carbon Drive Shaft
The Carbon Drive Shaft isn't necessarily a must-own upgrade. You won't see a horsepower increase, but you will notice that your engine responds a lot quicker and acceleration is slightly better. I wouldn't go with this unless you are trying to get every upgrade for your car.
Torque Sensing Center Differential
This allows you to tweak the torque differential of the front and rear tires of a 4WD drive car. While this may not seem like a big deal at first, it sort of is. Keep in mind that the majority of your car's torque distribution should be in the rear tires. This in turn pushes your car forward rather than pulling it forward. While this is how you should have the set up the majority of the time, in rally races (on non-paved surfaces), you may want to change this.
While this is a personal preference of mine, if I know a track is going to be uphill the majority of the time, I will change my settings to 59% front, 41% rear. What this does is allow my car the opportunity to pull itself up the hill rather than push. This limits the amount of backend shifting and sliding that you may encounter.
During paved courses however, especially those that see very little corners, I will shift the TSDC to something like 70% rear, 30% front. This is simply because there will be no real reason for my car to have to pull itself out of corners or uphill.
Mess with this a little bit to find your perfect feel, but the above generalizations should help you a lot.
Adjusted Limited Slip Differential
When driving, especially while racing, the tires on the inside of the corner will sometimes lift off the ground. Problem here is that the engine will then shift power to this side of the car, realizing that there is a loss of traction. You now have power being shifted to a wheel that isn't even on the ground... that's not a good thing.
That's where the LSD comes into play. This mechanism will limit the rotational difference between the left and right drive wheels. In other words, the power shift between the two.
Why is this good you ask? Because by lowering the rotational difference, the wheels be able to have more traction on the road. Along with that, braking will be much, much more effective.
So I should just lower it all the way then? No, not at all. Please, please don't do that. Remember, everything comes with a cost. By lowering the rotational difference, you sacrifice turning ability, often leading to understeer. Ultimately, it's a tale of driver preference. My preference is to just lower it, and just enter corners at a slightly lower speed.
4WD- If you are driving a 4WD vehicle, I recommend that you use as little of the LSD as possible. A lot of the times this will lock all four wheels up, causing severe understeer. Because all four tires are trying to move, the power tends to split and sort of freak out. Word of advice, don't use it if you are driving a 4WD vehicle.
FF- If you are using an FF vehicle, be careful with LSD as well. They tend to have very little power to begin with, so installing this will only cause the power to shift. I recommend decelerating LSD as much as possible. If you are in a vehicle with over 300 horsepower (or right around there anyway), feel free to accelerate it as there will be enough power to go around.
Another important piece of advice is that cars below roughly 450 horsepower don't see a lot of tire rotation (at least not enough to make a huge difference). There simply isn't enough power going to them to make it noticeable.
Suspension
Oh suspension, how I loathe thee. This is by far one of the most important, and easily overlooked aspects of racing- and one that I simply can't stand messing with.
Suspension is important for a few main reasons. The first is that it increases aerodynamics, which in turn increases both acceleration and top speed. Another benefit a great suspension system is the ability to both turn and brake. The final benefit is that a lowered race car just looks sick as hell.
Don't even bother with the Fixed Kit in this menu, and just jump straight to the Adjustable one. Not the Fully Customizable one at first (unless you can afford it, then please be my guest).
Once you have this installed on your car, you'll be able to adjust the ride height of both your front and rear ends. You'll also be able to adjust your wheel alignment. I'll explain these now:
Wheel Alignment
By the book the "wheel alignment" is the adjustment of the angle of the wheels in relation to the rest of the car. In other words, do they tilt towards or away from the car. This is then split into "negative camber", where the tops of the wheels lean in towards the car. What this essentially does is give the tire a lot more contact with the road when being on a curve, while sacrificing contact when being on a straight stretch.
All you really need to know here is that if you are going to be racing on a curvy road, equip some high grip tires and crank that negative camber up a notch. Also be aware that while altering the wheel alignment certainly gives your vehicle more grip on the road, it also increases the wear on your tires. This means you will be cycling through new tires a lot more often.
You can also adjust "toe angle" in this menu, which is a term used when referencing the wheels from the top-down. The further in the angle of the tire towards the car, the higher the "toe-in" will be, with "toe-out" being the opposite. Having a higher toe-out angle in the front wheels increases cornering sensitivity, while having a higher toe-in will produce understeer. If you want acceleration at the cost of sensitive steering, toe out is the way to go.
In the case of 4WD vehicles, I recommend increasing negative tow in the front wheels, and positive toe in the rear. This will reduce understeering.
Naturally, you should increase the toe in angle on FR cars to increase their contact with the road, and increase the toe out angle of FF cars.
Suspension
This will be key to a lot of your success. I'm going to explain this as detailed, yet briefly as possible.
-Ride Height Adjustment- adjusting the ride height is a fairly straightforward process. By lowering the ride height of the vehicle, you lower your center of gravity, allowing for tighter turns. The catch to this is that if you lower it too far, your springs won't have room to move, causing your car to move like a brick (as none of the road noise will be absorbed). IMPORTANT- if you are going to lower the ride height, make sure to increase the spring rate. This will help your springs absorb more efficiently.
One thing I have noticed is that a lower front end, mixed with a higher back end will result in your car oversteering (which I prefer). On the other hand, a higher front end with a lower back end will cause your car to understeer. It's your call Chief.
-Spring Rate- Yeah I mentioned that little term above. It's important to increase the spring rate when lowering your ride height. Please don't forget to do this. At it's most basic definition, the harder your springs are, the more sharply your vehicle will move. If you have some high grip tires equipped, you should increase your spring rate. On the flip side, the lower it is set, the more understeer you will most likely encounter. A soft front and a hard rear (get your mind out of the gutter) will increase oversteer, with a hard front and soft rear will increase understeer (that's what she said, right?).
Tires
Do I really need to explain these? Buy them all and equip when necessary. If you can't figure this out, then you should go back to Need for Speed.
By: Anthony Accinelli (From: Strength Gamer)
Believe it or not, Gran Turismo 5 requires that you actually know how to tune your car. Sure you may win the majority of your races by simply buying the best hardware and hopping into a race, but you're eventually going to lose. That's when tuning comes into play. Don't know the difference between a Drivetrain and Transmission? Did you read the word "Chassis" and pronounce it like it's spelled (chass + is)? You're going to need some help. Read below and contribute if you can!
Body/Chassis
You start off with the stock crappy, heavy build. When you go into the "Body/Chassis" menu, you are confronted with your standard Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 options, with Chassis Reinforcement, Window Weight Reduction, Carbon Hood, and Carbon Hood Body Color as options to your right.
Awesome, right? Definitely- if you know what the hell any of that means. Let me break it down.
Cars are heavy. Your goal is to make your car go fast. A heavy car goes slower than a lighter car. The point of a weight reduction is so that you can make your fat car skinny, in turn making it faster. Makes sense right?
The Chassis Reinforcement is going to allow for less body roll. Body roll is that feeling you get when cornering too fast and your car starts to shift to one side. By reinforcing the body, your car becomes more rigid, decreasing body roll and adding a lot more stability. Especially around corners.
Carbon Figer Hoods are incredibly lightweight, therefore allowing your car to go faster. If you don't like the black hood, go with the body color one (it's the same price for some stupid reason).
So what does this all mean? It's a quick fix that will gain you quite a bit more handling and acceleration. While this is certainly not going to give you that 200+ horsepower gain you are looking for, you can spend between 10,000 and 15,000 credits here and see a large improvement in both the handling and acceleration of your car. I wouldn't mess with the Chassis Reinforcement unless you are in the higher ranks and are going to be using said car for a lot of races.
Engine
This is a fairly straightforward upgrade. Upgrading your engine via Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 adds acceleration and overall power (therefore increasing speed).
The ECU upgrade is going to be your best friend in this category. In case you weren't aware, your car is controlled by a computer known as the ECU. This badass little machine regulates your engine. While it is definitely a required piece of engine awesomeness, it is usually stock programmed in a way that tones your engine down. By purchasing an ECU, both in game and in real life, you are able to tune it to give you more horsepower, more torque, more top speed, even more gas mileage if you want. Pick this beast up as quick as possible, especially at only 1,000 credits to see a massive upgrade in your engine and also your car's overall performance.
Intake System
This should be your first step in the car upgrading pyramid. What a cold air intake system does is cool the air entering your car. This increases overall power. It's essentially there to increase the amount of oxygen for the combustion of fuel.
Ever see cars with a massive hole in their hood (also known as a hood scoop)? That is installed so that more air can enter the engine (usually aimed at a massive intake system). You will see MASSIVE improvements in your car's performance by installing this upgrade.
I suggest installing the "Racing Air Filter" right away, saving up some money, and then purchasing the "Sports Intake Manifold". You should easily see an increase of roughly 40 horsepower with these two upgrades (and it will only cost you 2,950 credits total).
Exhaust
Besides making your car sound like a badass monster, exhaust once again increases the efficiency of your engine, allowing for a faster response. Think of your exhaust like your intestine. The better, cleaner, larger your intestine is, the easier and more efficiently crap will be able to flow out of it. That's the same logic behind a better exhaust system.
You will have three main choices at first, in the Sports Exhaust, Titanium Semi-Racing Exhaust, and Titanium Racing Exhaust. While the Titanium Racing Exhaust is clearly the most powerful choice, stick to the Sports Exhaust at first (only 1,500 credits instead of 10,000). If you find that you need a little pick me up, try your intake system or your engine upgrades. Still not winning? Go for the big guns.
Your options on the right side are a Sports Exhaust Manifold (essentially just allowing for better exhaust output, giving your engine more power), and a Sports Catalytic Converter. The Catalytic Converter (which I will refer to as the Cat from now on) is sort of like a pollution filter. I'm all about saving the planet, but in this process it clogs up your exhaust, making for a whole lot less power. Being that this is simply a game and not real life, take that crap off, install the Sports Cat, and watch your baby fly!
Turbo Kits
Oh the wonderful sound of a turbo kit. There's nothing quite like shifting at a high RPM and hearing your sweet little darling whistle "I'm going to kick your ass if you try to race me". To put what a turbo does in the simplest terms possible, it takes the engines exhaust, spins it around, then shoots it out causing a severe increase in acceleration. The more in-depth description is that a turbo is used for force induction of an internal combustion engine. The turbo increases the density of the air that enters the engine. This in turn creates more power. Rather than being powered by a mechanical drive, it is powered by the car's own exhaust. Haters gotta Hate!
You will have low, mid, and high RPM Range Turbo Kits to choose from, ranging from 4,500 credits to 20,000 credits. Start with the mid range one if you can afford it (at 10,000 credits) to see a huge increase. After you win a few races, bump up to the high RPM range kit. You will notice your car won't accelerate as quickly until the higher RPM's, but that's a good thing- especially when coming out of corners into a straight stretch.
There's also a Supercharger option in this menu. While most cars with Turbo's already installed won't be able to install this beast, those that do will notice a massive increase. At 17,500 credits, it's one of the more expensive additions, but will put your car over the edge. Try upgrading the rest of your car first, or you may actually see a drop in performance when it comes to handling as your vehicle may not be equipped to handle the speed (that goes for the turbo installs as well).
Transmission
This menu is where the good players will be separated from the great players. Screw the 5 and 6-speed close ratio transmission and save up the 20,000 credits for the Fully Customizable Transmission. This allows you to open the hood, take a look at the gear ratios, and change them to both your taste and the course taste. Along with the Fully Customizable one being a better option, the 6-speed transmission is "close ratio", meaning you will get to 6th gear as quick as possible. This can be a major problem when faced with cars that have top speeds over 200, as the gear will top out the majority of the time, leaving you with a lot of top speed you will never witness. If this happens, simply switch to either the stock transmission, or go buy yourself the fully customizable one.
If you haven't messed with gear ratios before, or read the term "gear ratio" and go into a coma, pay close attention to the description below:
Every gear your car has is attached to a certain specific ratio. Since the majority of you out there are going to be playing this game with an Automatic Transmission, it's imperative that you change these as soon as possible. While it may be tempting to simply change them so that your top speed is the highest possible, I highly suggest you don't do that (unless the course is a giant straight line). You should find a delicate balance between top speed and acceleration to start.
My preference is as follows: 1st and 2nd gears are short, with 1st gear being slightly longer than second. I like this because first gear naturally grants a lot of acceleration, therefore drawing it out results in a lot of acceleration for an extended period of time. 3rd and 4th gear are slightly longer than 1st, which allow the vehicle to get to a high speed while still maintaining a lot of power. 5th gear is very short, especially considering the majority of the time you won't ever be in 5th gear for very long before hitting a corner. The reason I make 5th gear short is because I want that power and acceleration to be initiate as quickly as possible. 6th gear is incredibly long. This is where your top speed will come into play. If you don't have a car with a 6-speed transmission, then 5th gear needs to be long.
The basic idea here is that the majority of the tracks in GT 5 have very short straight stretches, leaving you in corners most of the time. Shorter gears lead to faster acceleration, which is exactly what you need when exiting a corner.
Drivetrain
No, drivetrain has nothing to do with driving a train, so stop trying to make that joke. Once you enter this menu you'll notice you can choose from a new Clutch, a new Flywheel, a Carbon Drive Shaft, a TSCD (Torque Sensing Center Differential), and an Adjustable Limited Slip Differential. Confused? You should be.
Clutch
What the clutch essentially does is change your gears. By installing a lighter clutch, or in the case of the second option, two separate discs, is speed up this process. By speeding up the shift process, you both decrease your time between shifts, all while increasing overall power and efficiency. I recommend spending the extra 1,000 credits here and going straight for the Twin Plate upgrade.
Flywheel
Upgrading your flywheel allows your engine to speed up a lot more quickly. The flywheel essentially turns the transmission, storing kinectic energy and propelling the vehicle around. By upgrading to a lightweight flywheel, you once again increase efficiency, allowing your engine to change speed rapidly. Go with the Semi Racing one here.
Carbon Drive Shaft
The Carbon Drive Shaft isn't necessarily a must-own upgrade. You won't see a horsepower increase, but you will notice that your engine responds a lot quicker and acceleration is slightly better. I wouldn't go with this unless you are trying to get every upgrade for your car.
Torque Sensing Center Differential
This allows you to tweak the torque differential of the front and rear tires of a 4WD drive car. While this may not seem like a big deal at first, it sort of is. Keep in mind that the majority of your car's torque distribution should be in the rear tires. This in turn pushes your car forward rather than pulling it forward. While this is how you should have the set up the majority of the time, in rally races (on non-paved surfaces), you may want to change this.
While this is a personal preference of mine, if I know a track is going to be uphill the majority of the time, I will change my settings to 59% front, 41% rear. What this does is allow my car the opportunity to pull itself up the hill rather than push. This limits the amount of backend shifting and sliding that you may encounter.
During paved courses however, especially those that see very little corners, I will shift the TSDC to something like 70% rear, 30% front. This is simply because there will be no real reason for my car to have to pull itself out of corners or uphill.
Mess with this a little bit to find your perfect feel, but the above generalizations should help you a lot.
Adjusted Limited Slip Differential
When driving, especially while racing, the tires on the inside of the corner will sometimes lift off the ground. Problem here is that the engine will then shift power to this side of the car, realizing that there is a loss of traction. You now have power being shifted to a wheel that isn't even on the ground... that's not a good thing.
That's where the LSD comes into play. This mechanism will limit the rotational difference between the left and right drive wheels. In other words, the power shift between the two.
Why is this good you ask? Because by lowering the rotational difference, the wheels be able to have more traction on the road. Along with that, braking will be much, much more effective.
So I should just lower it all the way then? No, not at all. Please, please don't do that. Remember, everything comes with a cost. By lowering the rotational difference, you sacrifice turning ability, often leading to understeer. Ultimately, it's a tale of driver preference. My preference is to just lower it, and just enter corners at a slightly lower speed.
4WD- If you are driving a 4WD vehicle, I recommend that you use as little of the LSD as possible. A lot of the times this will lock all four wheels up, causing severe understeer. Because all four tires are trying to move, the power tends to split and sort of freak out. Word of advice, don't use it if you are driving a 4WD vehicle.
FF- If you are using an FF vehicle, be careful with LSD as well. They tend to have very little power to begin with, so installing this will only cause the power to shift. I recommend decelerating LSD as much as possible. If you are in a vehicle with over 300 horsepower (or right around there anyway), feel free to accelerate it as there will be enough power to go around.
Another important piece of advice is that cars below roughly 450 horsepower don't see a lot of tire rotation (at least not enough to make a huge difference). There simply isn't enough power going to them to make it noticeable.
Suspension
Oh suspension, how I loathe thee. This is by far one of the most important, and easily overlooked aspects of racing- and one that I simply can't stand messing with.
Suspension is important for a few main reasons. The first is that it increases aerodynamics, which in turn increases both acceleration and top speed. Another benefit a great suspension system is the ability to both turn and brake. The final benefit is that a lowered race car just looks sick as hell.
Don't even bother with the Fixed Kit in this menu, and just jump straight to the Adjustable one. Not the Fully Customizable one at first (unless you can afford it, then please be my guest).
Once you have this installed on your car, you'll be able to adjust the ride height of both your front and rear ends. You'll also be able to adjust your wheel alignment. I'll explain these now:
Wheel Alignment
By the book the "wheel alignment" is the adjustment of the angle of the wheels in relation to the rest of the car. In other words, do they tilt towards or away from the car. This is then split into "negative camber", where the tops of the wheels lean in towards the car. What this essentially does is give the tire a lot more contact with the road when being on a curve, while sacrificing contact when being on a straight stretch.
All you really need to know here is that if you are going to be racing on a curvy road, equip some high grip tires and crank that negative camber up a notch. Also be aware that while altering the wheel alignment certainly gives your vehicle more grip on the road, it also increases the wear on your tires. This means you will be cycling through new tires a lot more often.
You can also adjust "toe angle" in this menu, which is a term used when referencing the wheels from the top-down. The further in the angle of the tire towards the car, the higher the "toe-in" will be, with "toe-out" being the opposite. Having a higher toe-out angle in the front wheels increases cornering sensitivity, while having a higher toe-in will produce understeer. If you want acceleration at the cost of sensitive steering, toe out is the way to go.
In the case of 4WD vehicles, I recommend increasing negative tow in the front wheels, and positive toe in the rear. This will reduce understeering.
Naturally, you should increase the toe in angle on FR cars to increase their contact with the road, and increase the toe out angle of FF cars.
Suspension
This will be key to a lot of your success. I'm going to explain this as detailed, yet briefly as possible.
-Ride Height Adjustment- adjusting the ride height is a fairly straightforward process. By lowering the ride height of the vehicle, you lower your center of gravity, allowing for tighter turns. The catch to this is that if you lower it too far, your springs won't have room to move, causing your car to move like a brick (as none of the road noise will be absorbed). IMPORTANT- if you are going to lower the ride height, make sure to increase the spring rate. This will help your springs absorb more efficiently.
One thing I have noticed is that a lower front end, mixed with a higher back end will result in your car oversteering (which I prefer). On the other hand, a higher front end with a lower back end will cause your car to understeer. It's your call Chief.
-Spring Rate- Yeah I mentioned that little term above. It's important to increase the spring rate when lowering your ride height. Please don't forget to do this. At it's most basic definition, the harder your springs are, the more sharply your vehicle will move. If you have some high grip tires equipped, you should increase your spring rate. On the flip side, the lower it is set, the more understeer you will most likely encounter. A soft front and a hard rear (get your mind out of the gutter) will increase oversteer, with a hard front and soft rear will increase understeer (that's what she said, right?).
Tires
Do I really need to explain these? Buy them all and equip when necessary. If you can't figure this out, then you should go back to Need for Speed.
