Microsoft Game Studios Forza Motorsport 3 User Manual

INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

Prima Games
An Imprint of Random House, Inc.
3000 Lava Ridge Court, Suite 100
Roseville, CA 95661

www.primagames.com

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INTRODUCTION ___________________________________ 2

WELCOME, RACE FANS! ________________________________________ 2

PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES ____________ 7

INTRODUCTION _______________________________________________ 7

Contents

UPGRADES _____________________________________ 16

UPGRADING OVERVIEW ______________________________________ 16
PART VARIANCE AND PRICING ________________________________ 17
PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES _________________________ 17
TRACK-SPECIFIC UPGRADING ________________________________18
FINAL COMMENTS ___________________________________________ 18

TUNING _________________________________________ 23

OVERALL TUNING STRATEGY __________________________________ 23
COMMON MISTAKES _________________________________________ 23
TIRES _______________________________________________________ 23
GEARING ____________________________________________________ 24
ALIGNMENT _________________________________________________ 25
ANTI-ROLL BARS _____________________________________________ 26
SPRINGS ____________________________________________________ 26
DAMPING ____________________________________________________ 27
AERO _______________________________________________________ 27

WRITTEN BY: JAMES MAZUREK

The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of
Random House, Inc., registered in the United States
and other countries. Primagames.com is a registered
trademark of Random House, Inc., registered in the
United States.

© 2009 by Prima Games. All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage or retrieval system without written permission from Prima
Games. Prima Games is an imprint of Random House, Inc.

Senior Product Manager: Mario DeGovia
Associate Product Manager: John Browning
Design & Layout: In Color Design
Manufacturing: Stephanie Sanchez & Suzanne Goodwin
Copyeditor: Cinamon Vann

Special thanks to Shammi Mohamed and Chris Vanover.

Trademarks, design patents and copyrights are used with the approval
of the owner Audi AG.

© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Forza
Motorsport, the Forza Motorsport logo, the Microsoft Game Studios
logo, Turn 10, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are
trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

All trademarks, trade dress, design patents, copyrights, and logos are
the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

All products and characters mentioned in this book are trademarks of
their respective companies.

Please be advised that the ESRB Ratings icons, “EC,” “E,” “E10+,”
“T,” “M,” “AO,” and “RP” are trademarks owned by the Entertainment
Software Association, and may only be used with their permission and
authority. For information regarding whether a product has been rated
by the ESRB, please visit www.esrb.org. For permission to use the
Ratings icons, please contact the ESA at esrblicenseinfo.com.

Important:

Prima Games has made every effort to determine that the information
contained in this book is accurate. However, the publisher makes no
warranty, either expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, effectiveness,
or completeness of the material in this book; nor does the publisher
assume liability for damages, either incidental or consequential, that
may result from using the information in this book. The publisher cannot
provide any additional information or support regarding gameplay, hints
and strategies, or problems with hardware or software. Such questions
should be directed to the support numbers provided by the game and/
or device manufacturers as set forth in their documentation. Some
game tricks require precise timing and may require repeated attempts
before the desired result is achieved.

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BRAKING ____________________________________________________ 28
DIFFERENTIAL _______________________________________________ 29
TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING _____________________________________ 30
TELEMETRY __________________________________________________ 30
COURSE TUNING ____________________________________________ 31

CAR CUSTOMIZATION ____________________________ 33

COLOR SELECTOR ___________________________________________ 33
DECAL LAYER MANAGEMENT _________________________________ 34

CAREER MODE __________________________________ 37

OVERVIEW ___________________________________________________ 37
GETTING STARTED ___________________________________________ 37
DIFFICULTY LEVEL AND BONUS EARNINGS ____________________ 38
DRIVER LEVEL _______________________________________________ 39
CAR LEVEL ___________________________________________________ 40
SEASON PLAY _______________________________________________ 41
EVENTS _____________________________________________________ 41

ONLINE EXPERIENCE ____________________________ 43

FIND RACE __________________________________________________ 43
PRIVATE RACE _______________________________________________ 43
CUSTOM MULTIPLAYER OPTIONS _____________________________ 43
LEADERBOARDS _____________________________________________ 47
STOREFRONT ________________________________________________ 47
AUCTION HOUSE _____________________________________________ 48

TRACKS _________________________________________ 49
CARS _________________________________________ 100
APPENDIX ____________________________________ 165

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James has been authoring official strategy guides for over eight years
and has been a member of the professional gaming press for more than
a decade. In addition to his passion for gaming, he’s the definitive car
guy; tuning modern Japanese sports cars, rebuilding vintage American
muscle cars, attending vintage car auctions, and drag and road racing
whenever and wherever he gets the chance. Having visited more than
10 of this country’s premier racetracks, his current favorites are Road
America (Elkhart Lake, WI) and Joliet Autobahn Country Club (Joliet, IL).

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

This guide would not have turned out as well as it did without the
support of many people. First and foremost, I’d like to thank Don
Gaetke or “GTDon” for serving as my eyes and ears into the world of
highly competitive Forza Motorsport racing. Second, a special thanks
to Frances King at Microsoft for the tremendous amount of assets that
were provided in such a short period of time. Third, I’d like to thank the
design and editing team of Targa Funk, Mark Bernard, and Cinamon
Vann for creating one of the best looking strategy books I’ve ever been a
part of. And of course, thanks to the fine folks at Prima Games including
Andy Rollieri, Mario DeGovia, and John Browning. They are professional
in every way and this guide would not have been as polished without
their help.

ISBN: 978-0-307-46574-0

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome, Race Fans!

Welcome to Prima’s Official Strategy Guide for Forza Motorsport 3. Inside this book, you’ll find a wealth
of information about the world of Forza Motorsport; from single-player Career mode to the absolute
highest level of competitive multiplayer, we’ve got you covered.

In the past, racing guides have suffered from having information scattered in too many sections,
making it difficult for the reader to easily reference or look up particular issues. With this guide, we’ve
condensed and focused all related data into the proper chapters to help the reader find exactly what
they’re looking for in the most efficient manner possible.

Sure, you can bounce around from section to section, glancing over things if that’s your style.
Or you can read the book from front to back—as we intended—and come out with a significant advantage
over your peers.

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IntroductIon ProfessIonal drIvIng technIques uPgrades tunIng car customIzatIon career mode onlIne exPerIence tracks cars aPPendIx

hOw tO use this eGuide

This Forza Motorsport 3 eGuide has a custom navigation system to allow you to easily find content within the eGuide and
move between sections as you choose.

The main menu puts all of the eGuide

sections for Forza Motorsport 3 at your

fingertips. You can select the Menu

button from any eGuide page to return to

the main menu at any time.

Of course, you can also use the “page

forward” and “return to beginning” icons

to navigate through the eGuide.

For any other questions about your

Forza Motorsport 3 eGuide, check out

the help button.

Enter keywords to find a specific word

or phrase.

Within each Forza Motorsport 3 eGuide

section, all sub-sections are displayed for

easy navigation.

Guide Overview

With the fluff out of the way, let’s get down to it. The guide is laid out in eight primary sections:

Chapter 1: prOfessiOnal drivinG teChniques

This chapter delves into the hard-core
racing strategy utilized by top Forza
Motorsport drivers from around the
world. This is where you’ll find advanced
information on driving tips, assists,
apexing turns, and different types of
drivetrain setups. Don’t skip this section!

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CHAPTER 2: UPGRADES

With driving techniques behind you,
reading this section on available car
upgrades makes a heck of a lot more
sense. Find out everything there is
to know about individual parts, and
how to apply that knowledge to
handling builds, speed builds, and
combination builds.

CHAPTER 3: TUNING

CHAPTER 4: CAR CUSTOMIZATION

After establishing a solid base in
driving techniques and upgrading,
it’s time to apply it as you read
through the practical, in-depth
sections on tuning your car for
the track.

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Chapter 4 covers the specifics of
car customization, creating custom
vinyls and liveries, and applying
decals.

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CHAPTER 5: CAREER MODE

This section highlights what to
expect from Career mode, along with
some specifics on the different types
of events.

CHAPTER 6: ONLINE EXPERIENCE

CHAPTER 7: TRACKS

This chapter details the features
found in the online portion of Forza
Motorsport 3. We discuss the
different types of race events, the
Auction House, the Storefront, and
the various custom options when
hosting multiplayer races online.

Looking for detailed maps, target
times, or data on any of the
game’s 100+ tracks? Check out
our complete track section for all
the details.

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CHAPTER 8: CARS

No racing guide is complete
without a section detailing the
individual cars. Shown alongside
photos of the cars, you’ll find the
car data you care about the most
in this handy reference guide.

CHAPTER 9: APPENDICES

The very back of the book is the place to go
for the hardest of hard core. If you’re looking
for charts, data, and more charts, then this is
the place for you. Here we’ve broken down
the multitude of Forza Motorsport 3 content
into separate, usable chunks. If you liked
the master car section but are looking for
more of a compact, text-based comparison,
look no further. Our appendices also
contain a master unlock chart, a complete
manufacturer reward list, a full Career mode
event list, and a complete list of all Xbox 360
Achievements.

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DRIVING ASSISTS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS LAUNCHING BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER THE LINE TURNS

PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES

IntRoductIon

The following driving techniques are used by all professional and expert Forza Motorsport
simulation drivers around the world. These techniques closely follow many of the same principles
used by race car drivers in the real world.

The distinction between real and simulated driving
has never been so blurred, and anyone with even a
small amount of real racing experience will have a slight
conceptual advantage over those who do not. At the same
time, by closely adhering to the following proven methods,
the uninitiated driver can quickly get up to speed and rival
even the best of competitors.

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As with all sporting activities, those who master
the fundamentals enjoy the greatest success. With that
success comes even greater enjoyment and, eventually,
winning performances! Above all else, ground yourself in
fundamentals and the winning and fun will flow naturally.

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DRIVING ASSISTS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS LAUNCHING BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER THE LINE TURNS

DRIVING ASSISTS

consistent braking, though this braking will not use all the
traction available. Non-ABS players will have the car’s
full traction available, provided they maintain appropriate
pressure on the brake pedal. Too much pedal can lock up
the brakes, while too little won’t take advantage of all the
braking traction available, so extra skill is required. We
suggest leaving this assist turned on for every situation until
you feel you’ve reached professional or expert status.

STABILITY MANAGEMENT (STM)

Stability management works hand in hand with ABS to
apply individual wheel braking whenever your car needs it.
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) cars are most affected by STM

Professional and expert Forza Motorsport drivers
recommend that you use all assists at the beginning of your
career to get a feel for the cars first. This will keep your
cars on the track and leave you with less to worry about in
the beginning, allowing you to learn the basics. No need
to create frustration by declining to use the assists that
were designed to help you have fun. Even with most of the
assists turned on, Forza Motorsport 3 remains challenging.

Using assists will help casual drivers keep control
of their vehicles until they feel ready for more challenge.
Ultimately, the most skilled driver is the one who makes the
best use of assists. Remember this statement as it will ring
true throughout your Forza Motorsport experience.

AUTOBRAKE

Just as it sounds, autobrake applies the brakes for you
as you approach a corner. This simplifies driving because
you will really only need to steer and apply the throttle.
Autobrake helps any player be competitive regardless of
their experience. When you’re ready to go to the next level,
it is possible to achieve faster lap times with this assist
turned off. The only minor downside to this assist is that if
you leave it on, you run the risk of the computer applying
the brakes when you didn’t intend to do so.

ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS)

Essentially, ABS rapidly alters braking force to prevent your
wheels from locking up. ABS has been a Forza Motorsport
mainstay since the beginning of the series, and this assist
is used by everyone from beginner to expert. In Forza

Motorsport 3, ABS is more conservative than it was in
Forza Motorsport 2. It is tuned to be closer to real-world

ABS—where control of the car is paramount, rather than
pure lapping speed. In short, ABS helps players maintain

and will take some time to master without it—so it’s best left
on if you’re searching for a bit more overall car control and
less frequent spin outs.

TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM (TCS)

Traction control helps keep your car from losing traction
by cutting power when it detects wheelspin. It’s similar
to ABS in that only the very skilled can do without it,
depending on the car being used. RWD cars benefit
greatly from TCS because they’re the most likely to break
loose in the rear. It takes a great deal of practice to run
a powerful RWD car without TCS, and only the absolute
expert level drivers are able to control RWD cars with TCS
turned off.

SHIFTING

There are three types of shifting available in Forza
Motorsport 3: automatic, manual, and manual with clutch.

Automatic will shift gears (both up and down) when you get
to the proper engine RPM. You don’t have to worry about
watching your tachometer; the game will handle that for you
with this option turned on. Manual shifting requires you to
shift at the proper engine RPM (both up and down) and is
a definite step up in difficulty from automatic. With it comes
just a bit more performance because you’re able to pop off
quicker and more accurate shifts and run engine RPM a little
deeper into its powerband than you can with an automatic
transmission. Manual with clutch is just like manual, but it
requires you to actually depress the clutch every time you
shift. If you shift without depressing the clutch, you’ll miss
the shift just like you would in a real car. With the standard
controller, using the clutch isn’t easy, but it can be learned.
With a wheel and pedal setup, however, it feels very natural
if you’re used to driving a car with a manual transmission.

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DRIVING ASSISTS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS LAUNCHING BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER THE LINE TURNS

There are differences to note between a manual and
an automatic, but to say one is superior over the other
in Forza Motorsport 3 would be misleading. Automatics
have proven themselves capable of setting just as fast a
lap as any manual transmission. Like anything else, it takes
dedication and practice. Manual transmissions are easier to
drive once mastered, and they give the driver greater control
while navigating the track. (Compression braking —or engine
braking—is one example of added car control. Using all the
engine’s available powerband is another. Most of the cars
do gain a small bit of performance if you go deep into the
redline, something an automatic won’t allow.)

During a race, an automatic has the advantage of
consistency and will never miss a shift. Obviously, a manual
transmission is prone to missed shifts because of human
error. Think about it: In a professional race, one missed
shift is the difference between first and second place.
Manuals are quicker off the line, however, which is especially
important for Forza Motorsport drag racing.

All things being equal, it is widely believed that a
manual transmission has greater benefits to a driver than
an automatic even if it is not outright faster to use in most
cases. A manual is quite easy to learn and becomes second
nature after only a few dozen laps. It is for these reasons
that the experts recommend learning to use a manual
transmission right away.

it’s doing it before your very eyes in real time. Green means
accelerate, yellow means caution/coast, and red means
stop. The best part about this driving assist—and why it’s
worth leaving on—is how it automatically adjusts when you
tune or upgrade your car. If you add 100 hp in upgrades,
the colored racing line adjusts properly.

We highly recommend that you use the suggested
line as a beginner and, yes, even as a contending expert.
If you want to go fast, be competitive, and set records,
the suggested line is a must. Forza Motorsport experts
say there are very few places on any track where the
suggested line is not the best line to take.

REWIND

SUGGESTED LINE

Perhaps the most useful driving assist for beginners and
experts alike, this option will display a color-coded line
that shows the optimum path around every track in the
game. Essentially, this assist is doing what entire strategy
guides and reference manuals have done in the past, but

Although rewind is technically not a driving assist that you
can select in the Assists menu, this new feature certainly
qualifies under the definition of “assist” in our book. This
feature lets you rewind any portion of a race to get a better
crack at your second, third, or fourth lap around. If you
consistently run great laps on a track but just can’t seem
to master one specific turn, this is your chance to attack it
from several different perspectives, all without re-racing the
entire track from the beginning. (This is useful for Hot Lap
and against the AI in Career mode, but it’s not available in
Test Drive or online.)

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DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTSDRIVING ASSISTS LAUNCHING BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER THE LINE TURNS

DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS

FR: FRONT ENGINE, REAR-WHEEL DRIVE

Examples of FR cars: BMW
M3 E46 Coupe, Ford Shelby
GT500, Toyota Supra RZ

This type of layout puts the engine in the front and the
drive wheels in the rear. Known to many as the “classic”
drivetrain layout, FR is easily the most popular of all
drivetrains but remains the most difficult to master. With
oversteer in abundance—both entering and exiting a
corner—it takes a silky smooth touch to get it just right.

Drivetrain layouts are an extremely important—if not the
most important—option when selecting a car that’s right
for you. Each drivetrain layout has a very distinct set of
driving characteristics, and it’s always a good idea to have
an understanding of what makes certain cars perform
better than others for your particular driving style. Although
this chart isn’t the end-all discussion on drivetrain layouts,
it offers a clear breakdown of all seven different types
present in Forza Motorsport 3.

Standard controller users will have an easier time with
these than wheel users.

ADVANTAGES

» Good weight transfer and traction at all power levels
» Versatile setup; great for road courses, ovals, drifting,

and drag racing

DISADVANTAGES

» Heavier than FF setups
» Oversteer is abundant

FF: FRONT ENGINE, FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE

Examples of FF cars: Honda
Civic Type-R, MINI Cooper
S, Peugeot 206 RC

This layout puts the engine and drive wheels in the front
of the car and comprises mostly smaller, low horsepower
import cars with a tendency to understeer. FF cars are
perfect for tight and twisty road courses. They’re also very
good for new wheel users to cut their racing teeth on.

ADVANTAGES

» Difficult to spin out
» Compact, simple, and easy to upgrade

DISADVANTAGES

» Severe understeer when exiting corners
» Poor weight transfer and weight distribution from

front to rear

FA: FRONT ENGINE, ALL-WHEEL DRIVE

Examples of FA cars: Audi
RS 4, Mitsubishi Lancer
Evolution X GSR, Nissan
Skyline GT-R V-Spec

This configuration places the engine in the front of the car
but adds front and rear differentials with power going to
all four wheels. This is most often seen in sophisticated
sedans that are easy to drive but difficult to push to the
limit no matter what peripheral you use.

ADVANTAGES

» Extremely consistent traction and superb launches
» Very little chance of spinning out if properly tuned

DISADVANTAGES

» Even heavier than FR cars because of the extra

drivetrain parts

» Harder to push to the limit than FR or FF cars

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DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTSDRIVING ASSISTS LAUNCHING BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER THE LINE TURNS

MR: MID ENGINE, REAR-WHEEL DRIVE

Examples of MR cars: Acura
NSX, Ferrari Enzo, McLaren
F1 GT

Here, the engine is in the middle of the car and the
powered wheels are in the rear. These exotics have
oversteer, but in a more controlled package than FR cars.
Standard controller users will find the limit easier to reach
than wheel users here.

ADVANTAGES

» Often near-perfect weight distribution
» Excellent handling and weight transfer

DISADVANTAGES

» Easy to spin for the driving novice
» Requires significant track time to master

MA: MID ENGINE, ALL-WHEEL DRIVE

Examples of MA cars: Audi
R8, Bugatti Veyron 16.4,
Ford RS200 Evolution

RR: REAR ENGINE, REAR-WHEEL DRIVE

Examples of RR cars:
Porsche 911 GT2 (997),
Porsche 911 GT3 (997)

Here, both the engine and transmission are in the rear
of the car. RR is a configuration that has withstood the
test of time throughout automotive history. A good tune is
often needed to get the most from these rear-heavy cars.
Standard controller or wheel, you’ll have some work to do.

ADVANTAGES

» Physically smaller, lighter, and simpler drivetrain
» Increased acceleration and braking properties

because of weight transfer

DISADVANTAGES

» Will sometimes oversteer when decelerating
» Have a tendency to understeer at other times

RA: REAR ENGINE, ALL-WHEEL DRIVE

Examples of RA cars:
Porsche 911 Turbo (997),
Porsche 959

With this layout, the engine is in the middle of the car, but
with the addition of a front and rear differential for AWD.
MA cars offer all the power of a traditional MR supercar
with none of the oversteer. These give wheel users cars
that don’t have to compromise.

ADVANTAGES

» All the benefits of a standard MR car without

the oversteer

» Great overall weight distribution

DISADVANTAGES

» Exclusivity, parts availability, and expense
» Added weight from having the extra driveline parts

for AWD

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This layout has the engine in the rear, but it maintains
two differentials and puts power to all four wheels. RA
is probably the most difficult drivetrain to manage and
correctly tune. Standard controllers and wheel users are
equal to the task.

ADVANTAGES

» All the advantages of RR, plus improved traction

from AWD

DISADVANTAGES

» More parts, weight, and expense
» Two differentials to deal with

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LAUNCHINGDRIVING ASSISTS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER THE LINE TURNS

LAUNCHING

Every race begins from a standing grid, so launching your
car to get the early lead is a useful technique. Because
of the realistic physics present in Forza Motorsport 3, it’s
not always a good idea to redline your engine and dump
the clutch right off the line. In other racing games, this
might have been the case, but in Forza Motorsport 3, your
launches are much more dependent on the power and
torque of the car itself. If you’re driving a torque-monster,
a high RPM launch will only get you lots of wheelspin and
smoke, enabling your opponents to pull away quite easily.
So what is the best strategy? It depends on the car and who
you’re racing (other players or AI), but try the following:

1. Gradually feather the throttle at launch until you feel the

car hookup, then get on the gas hard. If you’re driving
with a manual transmission, don’t forget to shift the car
into second gear at the right RPM. (Don’t let wheelspin
fool you on the tach.)

2. If the launch worked, you’ll be going just a little bit

faster than everyone else in the pack. Try to visualize
a lane in your head and sneak through that lane as
quickly as possible before the pack bunches up for the
“group entry” into the first turn. The object is to drive
smoothly and cleanly rather than going Mad Max and
ramming everyone out of the way. If you can get past
even half the cars out of the gate, you’ve made things a
lot easier on yourself for the rest of the race.

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BRAKING

Slow in, fast out. Perhaps the most commonly referenced
term when discussing racing theory, and for good reason.
Consider this mantra: Braking is everything. Literally, it’s
that important. Consistent braking separate the golds from
the silvers and will often be the deciding factor on your
record-setting laps. Both the way you brake and the style
of braking with which you practice have a great deal of
influence on how you’ll place in races. Mario Andretti, after
winning his Formula One World Championship, said it best,
“It is amazing how many drivers, even at the Formula One
level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.”

THRESHOLD BRAKING

Threshold braking is utilizing 100 percent of a car’s braking
capability in a straight line. That last bit, the part about the
straight line, is the most important part. If you don’t take
anything else out of this entire section, at least understand
the importance here. You never, ever want to get on the
brakes full-stop while turning your front wheels. This is a
common novice mistake. If you do this, you’re guaranteed
to lose control and spin out.

Although threshold braking is about utilizing all your
car’s stopping power, remember that if you brake too hard
for the speed you’re travelling—something that’s heavily
dependent on the car itself—your front tires will become
overloaded with pressure and they’ll break loose. This is
bad because you’ll no longer be getting 100 percent of
the car’s stopping force as the tires are now beyond their
traction point.

Utilizing Forza Motorsport’s automatic line assist
is one of the best, if not the single best option that will
help train you in this area. As you’re driving, just watch
for the color change from green to red and you’re good
to go. The most amazing part is that the line auto-adjusts
in real time for the particular car you’re driving. If you add
100 hp via engine upgrades or a racing brake package,
Forza Motorsport recalculates the line and color codes
your braking time accordingly.

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LAUNCHINGDRIVING ASSISTS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER THE LINE TURNS

TRAIL BRAKING

Trail braking is an alternative way to brake for corners,
and some prefer it to threshold braking. Here, you’ll take a
deeper entry into the turn—braking ever so slightly on the
approach—with a gradual amount of braking into the apex.
Sometimes you’ll brake a little bit past the apex, depending
on what type of turn it is. The idea behind trail braking—
beyond being an alternate method for certain types of
turns—has a lot to do with passing and risk/reward trade­offs. If you’re willing to take a greater risk by turning as you
fluctuate braking power, you might just save a little bit of
time on certain types of turns.

ENGINE BRAKING

With a manual transmission selected, you can use the
engine to slow your car down by downshifting as you enter
a corner. The idea here is to let the engine do some of
the braking while taking some of the wear (namely, heat)
off your brakes. You can use this method with standard
threshold braking on a manual transmission car for
excellent results.

EMERGENCY BRAKE

The emergency brake locks up the rear wheels and causes
massive oversteer. It can be used, momentarily, to induce
a drift. It is useful when trying to get an understeering car
to rotate, or to negotiate a hairpin turn. If you’re drifting or
trying to execute opposite lock (where your front wheels
are pointed in the opposite direction your car is travelling),
it becomes more useful.

UNDERSTEER

Understeer is when the front tires lose grip before the rear
tires. To put understeer simply, your car isn’t turning as
much as you’d like it to. Understeer is caused by exceeding
the available grip that the front tires have, by either entering
a corner too fast or attempting to do too many things
with the front tires at the same time. In an understeering
situation, your car is failing to negotiate around the corner,
then washing wide on the exit. This is also known as
“pushing,” “plowing,” or running “tight.” The only way to cure
understeer (once it’s initiated) is to slow down and allow
the front tires to regain grip before you attempt to change
direction. Most production cars are set with a small degree
of understeer in their suspension because it is easier to
recover from understeer than it is from oversteer.

OVERSTEER

Oversteer is when the rear tires lose grip before the front
tires. The opposite of understeer, oversteer happens when
your car is simply turning too much and you’re prone to
spin outs. Oversteer can be set by cornering when the
chassis is slightly unbalanced, with the rear of the car
unweighted. Additionally, cars with a lower amount of
tire grip or larger amounts of horsepower can oversteer.
To control oversteer, the driver needs to smoothly steer
to where they want the car to go while calmly managing
the throttle until they can settle the rear of the car. Some
drivers enjoy having a car set up with a small degree of
oversteer to make the car easier to rotate while cornering.
(Oversteer is present in drifting, for example.)

UNDERSTEER AND
OVERSTEER

Before you start tweaking and tuning your cars, it’s a
good idea to understand what these characteristics mean
because we refer to them frequently throughout the guide.
Once you have a basic understanding, move to our tuning
section for more detailed help on how to correct these two
common racing issues.

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THE LINE

The exact path to a correct racing line isn’t set in stone but,
as mentioned earlier, the Forza Motorsport 3 racing line
is pretty close to perfect for most tracks. Below are some
technical explanations of the terms most often used when
talking about racing lines.

13

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

THE LINEDRIVING ASSISTS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS LAUNCHING BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER TURNS

APEX

The apex of a turn is the point where the car comes closest
to the inside edge of the track. This theoretical point is
merely that—theory—and is not an actual static reference
point. Think of it as a floating point, always changing
depending on the car, the type of turn, and the speed at
which you’re traveling. The important thing to remember
here is that the apex breaks all turns into two very important
sections:

1. TURN ENTRY: The first part of the turn, pre-apex,

is called the turn entry. This is when you should be
braking on your approach.

2. TURN EXIT: The second part of the turn, post-apex,

is called the turn exit. This when you should be on the
gas and accelerating out of the turn. You’ll hear us
refer to turn entries and exits quite regularly throughout
the guide.

INSIDE LINE

Driving the inside line is short
but curved so you can’t always
carry as much speed you’d like.
Here, you’re traveling closer
to the apex because there
are other cars present on the
outside, or the particular turn
you’re driving lends itself well to being driven this way.

TURNS

There are many types
of turns in Forza
Mortorsport 3. Rather
than trying to show
you the optimum path
through each type
of turn, this section
was created as more
of an informative run through of the basics. The suggested
line assist does a near-perfect job illustrating the best line
through most turns in the game, so it would be silly for us to
try to recreate that here. That being said, these illustrations
and definitions work well for review or when you have
specific questions about racing theory. Trying to save time by
cutting corners—no pun intended—isn’t a wise choice when
you’re going against the fundamentals.

90-DEGREE TURN (RIGHT ANGLE, L-TURN)

These types of turns aren’t
extremely common but they
appear enough to worry about.
Usually an outside line works best
here to keep cars off the grass
or walls. The proper lines will
vary—as shown by the suggested
line—so it’s important to pay close
attention to the variances on the
specific track you’re racing.

180-DEGREE TURN (HAIRPIN)

These are tight, sharp turns placed
to take the driver a complete (or
often near) 180 degrees. The
best lines for hairpins are often
early apexes, as shown. As with
every other type of turn, it’s very
important to take note of the
suggested line until you get a
better understanding.

OUTSIDE LINE

The outside line is a longer trek
through the turn—farthest from
the apex—and is always near
the wall or outside runoff area
of a track.

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

THE LINEDRIVING ASSISTS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUTS LAUNCHING BRAKING UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER TURNS

CHICANE

Chicanes are severe kinks placed
in high-speed areas of a track with
the specific intent of slowing down
drivers. One of the most common
problems when approaching a
chicane is entering with too much
speed. Too many players want to
rush in and blaze through the chicane
way too fast, causing catastrophic
failure as they clip a wall or barrier
somewhere during the transition. If you’re driving too fast,
you’ll have trouble. Yes, the idea is to “straighten the turn
out” as much as possible, but finding that correct speed
can be done only with practice.

KINK

Kinks are similar to
chicanes, only much
less noticeable at
lower speeds because
the bends tend to be much less severe. The strategy
for taking kinks is similar to chicanes, where you try to
“straighten them out” at a target speed. Every kink has an
optimum speed where it can be taken with little trouble.
Some of our track strategies point out these specific spots.

SWEEPER

Sweepers
are very
large radius,
high-speed
corners
found on the more open areas of the track, often
connecting two straights together. They are very common
on many of Forza Motorsport’s tracks.

DOUBLE APEX

This is a turn that—at
first glance—appears
as two separate
turns yet should
be treated as one.
The suggested line
is almost always spot-on with these types of turns, often
showing the classic outside-to-outside approach.

CONSTANT RADIUS

Constant
radius turns
hold the
same angle
throughout
the turn.
In theory,
these are the
easiest to drive because your steering input should remain
constant throughout the turn.

INCREASING RADIUS

These turns start
off sharp but
slowly become
wider as the
turn progresses.
These are often
best taken with
an early apex, as
shown by the suggested line.

DECREASING RADIUS

Decreasing radius turns begin
wide but gradually become
tighter and tighter. These
are among the most
difficult turns to
master because
the apex is so deep
inside the turn. The
optimum line is often
a late apex with a sharp angle, as shown.

ELEVATION CHANGES

Although technically not a “type”
of turn, elevation changes will
substantially alter the strategy for
each of the aforementioned turns.
Many tracks have decreasing
elevation 90-degree turns, for
example. Others have increasing
elevation, decreasing radius turns.
It gets quite complicated when you
start factoring in all the different
combinations. What you need to know is that elevation
plays a major role in the proper line through a turn. If the
surface is perfectly flat, that’s great. Sometimes it’s not,
and you’re left with a much more complicated problem.

15

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UPGRADING OVERVIEW PART VARIANCE AND PRICING PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES TRACK-SPECIFIC U PGRADING

FINAL COMMENTS

UPGRADES

upgRadIng oveRvIeW

Upgrading your car can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t have any knowledge of what you’re doing.
Building a competitive Forza Motorsport car is no easy task. There are hundreds—if not thousands—of
different combinations for each car. Given the amount of upgrades available in Fortza Motorsport 3, the
best idea is to follow a set of upgrading rules. In this section, we detail the various types of upgrades,
along with some strategies for selecting certain upgrades over others.

QUICK UPGRADE

If hard-core upgrade strategies aren’t your thing, the
developers have incorporated a Quick Upgrade option that
automatically chooses upgrades for your car. These are the
same upgrades that can be individually purchased and the
cost is the same, but Quick Upgrade represents a one-stop
shop for quickly getting a car into a given Car Class. In
Season Play, Quick Upgrade will attempt to match your
car to the target Car Class of your next event. Outside of
Season Play, you are free to choose any Car Class that
your car can attain (not all cars can reach all classes). One
final note: if you don’t have enough credits to purchase the
required upgrades, Quick Upgrade will get you as close as
it can with what you can afford.

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

PART VARIANCE AND PRICINGUPGRADING OVERVIEW PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES TRACK-SPECIFIC UPG RADING

FINAL COMMENTS

paRt vaRIance and pRIcIng

Performance gains for all upgrades depend
specifically on the car in question. A race exhaust might
add 18 hp and 15 lb-ft of torque to a higher end A-class
car, but only 10 hp and 6 lb-ft of torque on a lower D-class
car. Sometimes the variance is the opposite, with the lower
class car benefitting more from a part than the higher class
car. It all depends on the circumstance. You’ll also find
variances—although less pronounced—among cars of the
same class. (Pricing works in a similar fashion. Usually, the
lower class cars have less expensive upgrades, but the
prices vary considerably from car to car.)

As you move up into the higher classes—mostly B

class or higher—you’ll find that Street upgrades often aren’t
Before we get started, know that most upgrade parts come
in three flavors: Street, Sport, and Race. Street upgrades
are minor upgrades over stock, while Sport upgrades are
considerably better and sometimes include adjustable
settings. Race upgrades are the highest possible
performance parts available and they contain the most
intricate tuning settings.

available because the car has a stock part that is most

likely equivalent to a street-type performance part. Moving

up to A class (and higher) often removes everything except

straight Race upgrades. This happens within the lower

classes too, but it’s most readily apparent as you progress

up the Performance Index.

peRFoRmance Index and classes

For your quick reference, there are 11 car classes

ranked by Performance Index—with the higher number

theoretically representing the better car—as follows:

» X: 1000+

» R1: 901 - 999

» R2: 801 - 900

The primary strategy when upgrading in Forza Motorsport 3
is to upgrade to the limits of a specific class. The idea is to
make your car as competitive as possible within a specific
class—hopefully optimized for the base car you’ve chosen—
rather than trying to upgrade a particular car as much as
possible. Plenty of fun and competition can be had in the F,
E, and D classes. Don’t overlook them as a waste of time
and effort. Remember that the farther you go up the scale,
the less room there is for error. People driving R1-class
cars have mastered the same fundamentals as those who
are driving F-class cars, but the difference is everything is
happening at a much faster rate and it requires a bit more
skill in the faster cars.

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» R3: 701 - 800

» S: 601 - 700

» A: 501 - 600

17

» B: 426 - 500

» C: 351 - 425

» D: 276 - 350

» E: 201 - 275

» F: 100 - 200

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

TRACK-SPECIFIC UPGRADINGUPGRADING OVERVIEW PART VARIANCE AND PRICING PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES

FINAL COMMENTS

tRack-specIFIc upgRadIng

Although the aforementioned strategy works for all types
of tracks, sometimes you’ll need that extra bit of guidance
for specific tracks. Keep these two tips in mind.

SHORT TRACKS

On the shorter, tighter tracks, try to utilize tire upgrades
first. Adding aero and downforce parts is also helpful. If
you have PI points leftover, weight reduction can be used
to enhance a car’s handling. Try to hold off on adding
power to a car for short tracks if possible. The idea on
short tracks is to utilize parts that will help you hold the
most momentum through corners and ignore the urge for
more power.

LONG TRACKS

Here, you want to leave out less effective parts and focus your available PI points on horsepower and torque. With a good
amount of power added, utilize suspension and transmission upgrades, too. Depending on the length of the course, driver
preference, and car class, weight reduction and tire upgrades may be interchanged.

FInal comments

Depending on your ability to control your car—or as you

become more experienced with a given car— handling

aspects may eventually be replaced with power. Ultimately,

more power does translate to more speed. If a track lacks

handling areas and you’re experienced enough, experiment

and push yourself to build more powerful cars and go

faster!

If you’re less experienced, however, you may actually

drive faster in a slower, more stable car. Remember that

you will always be sacrificing consistency for speed when

building a car for longer tracks. While it may be tempting

to stuff 1,000 hp in your FF hatchback to slay a Ferrari, if

the power is uncontrollable it will do you no good in a race
when the track gets curvy. If you take nothing else from this entire chapter, remember these key points:

1. Always maximize your PI carefully.

2. Balance your builds with power and handling.

3. Take the tracks into account.

4. Don’t add too much horsepower!

5. Avoid turbos whenever possible.

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

UPGRADING OVERVIEW PART VARIANCE AND PRICING PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES TRACK-SPECIFIC UPGRADING

FINAL COMMENTS

UPGRADE CHART

Below is the complete upgrade chart, including descriptions for every upgrade category in Forza Motorsport 3. This section
gives a cursory examination of exactly what to expect from each upgrade.

Upgrades

Upgrade

Icon

Engine and Power

Upgrade Upgrade Description

Air Filter

Intake, Throttle

Body, and

Carburetor

Fuel System

Ignition

Exhaust

Camshaft

Air filter upgrades help maintain cooler
intake air temperatures and help the
engine breathe more freely.

These upgrades provide smoother air
flow and increased volume into the
engine, resulting in greater power.

Fuel system upgrades provide more
efficient fuel flow and more precise
timing, as well as extracting more
power from the fuel you use.

Ignition upgrades help the engine
burn fuel more efficiently to produce
more power. Adding better coils, spark
plugs, and ignition wires can make a
significant difference in engine power
and performance.

Exhaust upgrades let the engine
breathe more freely, creating more
power by reducing back-pressure
and extracting exhaust gases more
efficiently.

Upgraded camshafts let your engine
rev to a higher rpm, producing more
torque and power. The net result is a
higher redline with more power in the
high-rpm range.

Upgrades

Upgrade

Icon

Upgrade Upgrade Description

Superchargers provide more power
by compressing the air-fuel mixture

Centrifugal

Supercharger

Positive
Displacement
Supercharger

Turbocharger

(Single)

Turbocharger

(Twin)

Intercooler

Restrictor

and forcing it into the engine at
more than atmospheric pressure.
Centrifugal superchargers build boost
in proportion to rpm and noticeably
improve power at the top of the rpm
range.

Positive displacement superchargers
produce low boost across a wide range
of rpm and a noticeable improvement
in low-end and mid-range torque.

Turbos provide major power increases
by using exhaust gases to spin a
turbine, which compresses the air-fuel
mixture and forces it into the engine at
more than atmospheric pressure.

Twin turbos offer similar performance
gains to a single turbo, but reduce
much of the lag and spooling effect
associated with the single setup.

Intercoolers make the air-fuel mixture
cooler and therefore more dense,
providing more energy per stroke.

Removing a race car’s restrictor lets
full-blown race cars reach their full
potential. This is only available on
high-end, competitive race cars.

Valves

Displacement

Pistons and

Compression

Oil and Cooling

Flywheel

Upgraded valves improve intake and
exhaust gas flow, allowing your engine
to breathe freely and produce more
power.

Displacement makes the engine
more durable by increasing the bore
size. It also makes the engine more
responsive across the entire rpm
range.

Piston and compression upgrades
include high-strength heat-resistant
pistons and modifications to optimize
compression for improved power.

Oil and cooling upgrades help protect
the engine from friction, heat damage,
and pumping loss.

A lighter weight flywheel gives the
engine better throttle response and
acceleration.

Platform and Handling

Brakes

Springs and

Dampers

Front Anti-roll

Bars

Rear Anti-roll

Bars

Chassis

Reinforcement

and Roll Cage

19

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Upgraded brakes increase braking
power and decrease brake fade due to
excessive heat.

These control weight transfer, maintain
optimum ride height, and can allow for
adjustable toe, caster, and camber.

Front anti-roll bars provide extra
stability when cornering. By tying the
left and right sides of the suspension
together, anti-roll bars make the car
ride more level and reduce body roll.

These act exactly like front anti-roll
bars but can instead help reduce or
induce oversteer.

These upgrades increase the rigidity of
your car and reduce chassis flex.

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UPGRADING OVERVIEW PART VARIANCE AND PRICING PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES TRACK-SPECIFIC U PGRADING

FINAL COMMENTS

Upgrades

Upgrade

Icon

Drivetrain

Upgrade Upgrade Description

A lighter car accelerates, brakes,

Weight

Reduction

Clutch

Transmission

Driveline

Differential

and handles better than a heavier
one. Reducing weight increases the
overall performance of the car in many
different areas.

Upgrading the clutch allows your
engine to handle upgraded horsepower
without damage.

Transmission upgrades make shifts
quicker and more efficient. They can
also allow individual gear adjustments.

You can improve throttle response and
acceleration by decreasing the weight
and rotational inertia of the driveshaft.

A limited-slip differential locks the
wheels at a preset point to limit the
difference in rotational speed between
tires. When properly tuned, this
improves traction.

Upgrades

Upgrade

Icon

Aero and Appearance

Upgrade Upgrade Description

These upgrades range from cosmetic
to functional and have the potential

Front Bumper

Rear Wing

Rear Bumper

Side Skirts

Hood

to increase front downforce. The race
versions are fully adjustable, which is
great for specific-track tuning.

Like front bumpers, these upgrades
range from cosmetic to functional
and have the potential to increase
rear downforce. The race versions
are fully adjustable, which is great for
specific-track tuning.

Rear bumpers have the potential to
decrease lift at high speeds.

Side skirts can help improve top speed
by reducing drag, but performance can
be decreased by adding weight.

Upgrading to a lighter hood reduces
overall weight and adjusts weight
distribution for improved performance.

Tires and Rims

Tire Compound

Front Tire

Width

Rear Tire Width

Front Rim Size

Rear Rim Size

Rim Style

Upgrading tires to softer compounds
increases grip, while the harder
compounds extend tire life.

Upgrading front tire width can enlarge
the contact patch with the pavement,
granting better traction.

Upgrading rear tire width can enlarge
the contact patch with the pavement,
granting better traction.

Upgrading to larger rims lowers tire
sidewall size and increases rigidity.
This improves responsiveness, but it
can also increase unsprung weight.

Upgrading to larger rims lowers tire
sidewall size and increases rigidity.
This improves responsiveness, but it
can also increase unsprung weight.

Upgrading to lighter rims can decrease
rotational inertia and improve handling.

Conversion

Engine Swap

Drivetrain

Aspiration

Conversion

Swap

An engine swap will completely
replace the engine in your car. New
engines may possess more power,
different driving characteristics, and
reduced weight, but every engine
has its own distinct upgrade path.
Be aware that your current engine
upgrades will most likely not transfer
over if you do an engine swap.

Like the engine swap, a drivetrain
swap places an entirely new drivetrain
in your car. Current drivetrain upgrades
will most likely not carry over when
you perform a swap.

Like the two previous swaps, adding
a variety of turbochargers and
superchargers will directly affect the
performance of your car.

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UPGRADING OVERVIEW PART VARIANCE AND PRICING PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES TRACK-SPECIFIC UPGRADING

FINAL COMMENTS

WHEEL WEIGHT CHART

This wheel weight chart will help you get a better idea of the overall weight differences that each of the wheels possess.
Note that there are no actual weight ratings available per wheel, so the weight differences shown are versus our test car’s
stock wheel weights. Your wheel weights will be different depending on the car you’re upgrading, but their relative weight
to one another will always remain the same. This chart remains useful when scanning for the lightest wheels in the game,
for example.

Wheel Weights

Brand Wheel

5 Zigen

Advan

American Racing

Asanti

ATS

BBS

Blitz

Borbet

Boyd Coddington

Brabus

Buddy Club

Center Line

Compomotive

Cragar

Dropstars

Technospeed Type 03

FN01R-C

GN+

ZR+520

RGII

Super Advan Racing

Version 2

Torq-Thrust M

Outlaw II

AF 118

AF 134

AF 140

Classic

RK

RE

RS-GT

Technospeed Z1

CB

A

Slayer

Monoblock IV

Monoblock VI

Monoblock S

P1 Racing QF

Auto Drag III

CXR

ML

TH2

M05

Smoothie

Street Lock D

Window

S/S Super Sport

DS03

Weight

(lbs)

-22

-12

-18

-28

-22

-8

-8

-2

-2

-2

-15

-22

-15

-15

-12

-18

-12

-5

-12

-12

-12

-12

-32

-15

-25

-8

-5

-2

-5

-8

-8

-8

Price

(cr)

3,700

3,600

3,600

3,700

3,700

3,500

3,500

3,400

3,400

3,400

3,600

3,700

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,500

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,800

3,600

3,700

3,500

3,500

3,400

3,500

3,500

3,500

3,500

Wheel Weights

Brand Wheel

DUB

Dymag

Enkei

Fikse

Gemballa

Gram Lights

Halibrand

Hamann

Hole Shot Wheels

HRE

iForged

Kosei

Konig

Lexani

Lorinser

K1-Racing TS-Version

Big Chips

Presidential

9 Spoke

RPF1

NT03+M

RS6

Tarmac Evo

Profil 5

Profil 5S

FM/10

Le Mans

Turbo Sport

57C

57 Optomise

T57-RC

Sprint II

PG-III

Edition Race

Hole Star

Solid

445R

546R

Astra

Fabulous

RT Sport

After Burner

Briteline

Daylite

LTC-701

LTC-704

Mistik Spikes

RSK 6

LM 6

Weight

(lbs)

+24

+24

-32

-28

-18

-8

-2

-25

-25

-12

-22

-15

-18

-18

-15

-12

-12

-15

-32

-32

-15

-18

-18

-18

-28

-12

-32

-25

-28

+24

+24

+24

-5

-8

Price

(cr)

3,200

3,200

3,800

3,700

3,600

3,500

3,400

3,700

3,700

3,600

3,700

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,800

3,800

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,700

3,600

3,800

3,700

3,700

3,200

3,200

3,200

3,500

3,500

21

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UPGRADING OVERVIEW PART VARIANCE AND PRICING PERFORMANCE INDEX AND CLASSES TRACK-SPECIFIC U PGRADING

FINAL COMMENTS

Wheel Weights

Brand Wheel

Lowenhart

Mickey Thompson

Modulare

Momo

Motegi Racing

Oettinger

OZ Racing

Racing Dynamics

Racing Hart

RO_JA Motorsports

Rota

LDR

ET Drag

Classic Lock

M3

M7

GTR

TEN-S

Traklite 2.0

SP10

Traklite 1.0

Type RXX

Type RE

Superleggera III

Forged

Superturismo GT

RS 2 Modular

RGS

J5 Pro

C4

R2-7

R2-5

J.SPL

P45R

Tarmac 3

Weight

(lbs)

+24

-25

-8

-12

-15

-12

-8

-28

-22

-28

-12

-5

-8

-5

-12

-2

-14

-8

-8

-8

-25

-12

-15

Price

(cr)

3,200

3,700

3,500

3,600

3,600

3,600

3,500

3,700

3,700

3,700

3,600

3,500

3,500

3,500

3,600

3,400

3,600

3,500

3,500

3,500

3,700

3,600

3,600

Wheel Weights

Brand Wheel

RS Watanabe

Speedline Corse

Team Dynamics Racing

Tenzo R

TSW

Volk Racing

WedsSport

Weld Racing

Work

Zender

Cyclone

2014

Pro Race 1

Pro Race 2

DC-6 V1

RS-5

Trackstar 4

Catalunya

Hockenheim R

RE30

TE37

SA-70

SA-97 F

TC 105 N

AlumaStar 2.0 Drag

Race

XD9

CR Kai

Equip 01

Design DH

Challenge

Dynamic

Turbo 2

Weight

(lbs)

-32

-22

-22

-25

-12

-12

-32

-12

-5

-32

-25

-25

-28

-28

-25

-25

-12

-8

-2

-15

-15

-8

Price

(cr)

3,800

3,700

3,700

3,700

3,600

3,600

3,800

3,600

3,500

3,800

3,700

3,700

3,700

3,700

3,700

3,700

3,600

3,500

3,400

3,600

3,600

3,500

Prima Official Game Guide

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22

INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

OVERALL TUNING STRATEGY COMMON MISTAKES TIRES ALIGNMENT ANTI-ROLL BARS SPRINGS

DAMPING AERO BRAKING DIFFERENTIAL TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING TELEMETRY COURSE TUNING

GEARING

TUNING

oveRall tunIng stRategy

Tuning is the least understood aspect of Forza Motorsport strategy. Unfortunately,
there is no “win button” when it comes to creating and applying a proper tune.
Tuning is a labyrinth of advanced and sometimes even secret knowledge that has
brought about the advent of “tuning houses” within the Forza Motorsport community.
Tuning houses are groups of players who create specific tunes for cars and tracks
with the intention of selling them online. The concept behind tuning houses is simple;
they use their combined knowledge and numbers as a consensus force multiplier.

After extensive testing over time, tuning houses can produce exquisitely tuned cars.
Acquiring a tuned car like this is easy—if you have the credits—but with so many cars, tracks, and types of builds, it’s a good
bet that you’ll have to do some tuning yourself from time to time.

Before we get into the hard stuff, we should say that having a “perfect tune” or setup on your car does not guarantee
a win. Conversely, being without the best tune possible is not an excuse for losing. The truth is that tuning does not make
the difference between winning and losing a race; skill and practice do. Nearly all the fastest Forza Motorsport drivers in
the world began their racing careers with bone stock cars. To this day, most of those very same drivers will say they aren’t
particularly great tuners. Instead, they’ve relied on endless laps of practice and their innate ability to get a true feel for the
cars before ever touching a single adjustment. This tells us that there really isn’t an advantage to tuning a car over stock
when it comes to pure driving technique. Properly understanding a car’s basic performance envelope is just as effective as
a good tune. (Then again, an elite Forza Motorsport driver paired with a really solid tune usually equals new lap records.)
When you accept that such achievements are only reached because of the expert driver’s fundamental understanding of
the car in the first place, you’ll gain the right perspective on tuning and its relative value to the average driver.

common mIstakes

One of the biggest

mistakes new drivers

make is moving one

of the many selector

switches too far at

once. Moving any

of the adjustments

more than one
increment at a time is enough to affect the entire tune of
your car. To counter this common mistake, try to make
single-increment adjustments with proper track time and
data logging to find out if your adjustment did more harm
than good.

Another common mistake is losing track of your
optimum tune by not saving it immediately or by saving
it incorrectly. The best way to keep track of your tuning
progress is to save your setup by lap time at a particular
track. If you run a good lap—let’s say 1:23.998 at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca—then you should save it as “123
998 Laguna” immediately. Lap times are specific to your

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class and track, so you don’t need to include the track
name. The benefit to this system is when you run a faster
1:23.997, simply save that number over the old number
and you’re done. This way you’ll always have the setup
that performed best for you—without scrambling through
scribbled notes and strangely named files—along with a
record of the best lap time you set with that particular car
at that raceway. Take advantage of Forza Motorsport 3’s
save and organization features!

tIRes

TIRE PRESSURE

Adjusting tire
pressure between
front and rear is
simple yet very
unforgiving—only
move the sliders one
or two psi at a time
and then note the
results on the track.

23

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

TIRESOVERALL TUNING STRATEGY COMMON MISTAKES ALIGNMENT ANTI-ROLL BARS SPRINGS

DAMPING AERO BRAKING DIFFERENTIAL TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING TELEMETRY COURSE TUNING

GEARING

You can’t transmit your car’s power and handling potential to the road without the right tire setup, because tire pressure
affects a tire’s peak grip, responsiveness, and wear. Adjust front tire pressure when the tires are cold so they reach peak
grip after they heat up to race temperatures.

Setting tire pressure lower causes the tires to heat

PRO TIP! TIRE PRESSURE CHANGES

faster but can reduce overall responsiveness. Setting tire
pressure higher can increase speed and responsiveness
but makes the tires more prone to sudden loss of grip.
Setting front pressure closer to peak than the rear
improves turn-in and reduces understeer, but too much of a
difference can cause excessive oversteer.

Tires reach peak friction at 32 psi; however, as long
as you’re running a race psi of 30–34 degrees, you’re still
in good grip range. Race psi (and race temperature) is
measured after a few laps, when your tires have heated up
and reached their performance levels.

Experiment by tuning pressure in small increments,
because one to two psi can make a big difference. Also,
base this adjustment on
pressure! If you want to adjust race pressure, take note of
your tires’ pressure after a few warm-up laps when they’ve
reached peak grip as indicated on your heat telemetry tab,
then come back and adjust here.

For example, if your race psi after three warm-up
laps (possibly more—refer to telemetry to confirm peak is
reached) is 36, you’re 4 psi off the peak grip level of 32 psi.
Go back to the Tuning screen and decrease your cold psi
by 4, regardless of the cold pressure reading. This way you’ll
hit peak race psi on the track during your next session!

race

tire pressure, not cold tire

PRO TIP! TIRE HEATING CAUSE AND EFFECT

When you see inconsistencies in overall tire heating, use the following information to improve tire performance.

Tire Temperature

Condition

Center hotter than edges Tire pressure too high Reduce 1 psi for each 5°F difference

Edges hotter than center Tire pressure too low Add 1 psi for each 5°F difference

Inner edge hotter than outer Too much negative camber Decrease negative camber

Outer edge hotter than inner Not enough negative camber or too much toe-in Increase negative camber or decrease toe-in

Tire below peak temperature range Tire pressure too high, tire too wide, or springs/sway bars too soft

at that axle

Tire above peak temperature range Tire pressure too low, tire too narrow, or springs/sway bars too stiff

at that axle

Front tires hotter than rear Car is understeering (pushing). Too much front spring/sway bar, not

enough rear spring/sway bar, front pressure too low, rear pressure
too high, front tires too narrow, rear tires too wide

Rear tires hotter than front Car is oversteering (loose). Too much rear spring/sway bar, not

enough front spring/sway bar, rear pressure too low, front pressure
too high, rear tires too narrow, front tires too wide

Cause Recommended Adjustment

Decrease tire pressure, reduce tire width, or stiffen up
springs and sway bars on that axle

Increase tire pressure, increase tire width, or soften up
springs and sway bars on that axle

Soften up front spring and sway bar, stiffen up rear spring
and sway bar, increase front pressure, or decrease rear
pressure

Soften up rear spring and sway bar, stiffen up front spring
and sway bar, increase rear pressure, decrease front
pressure

FORWARD GEARS

geaRIng

note

Some conditions might have multiple causes, so one or more
adjustments may apply. Make only one adjustment at a time to

evaluate the effects.

speed on a track, you probably need to tune your drive ratio
more toward acceleration.

On longer tracks where top speed is more of a focus, get
the most out of your gear ratio by using all available rpm.
Adjust the slider so the top of the last gear bar just touches

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24

On short tracks, you
can easily adjust
your entire gearing
toward acceleration
using the final drive
ratio slider. If you
can’t get anywhere
near your car’s top

INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

GEARING

DAMPING AERO BRAKING DIFFERENTIAL TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING TELEMETRY COURSE TUNING

ALIGNMENTOVERALL TUNING STRATEGY COMMON MISTAKES TIRES ANTI-ROLL BARS SPRINGS

the graph’s top right edge. Note your gear ratio on the
display, benchmark, and keep adjusting it slightly while
going back and forth to the Benchmark screen. When you
find your maximum top speed, note the gear ratio and save
your setup for maximum top speed.

Leave individual gear-ratio adjustments to the experts.
Sound knowledge and specific track-biased objectives
are required to balance individual gears, so you can leave
these alone for the most part. However, if you discover
your favorite racing team’s gear ratios for a certain track,
do some adjusting and try them to see if they’ll work for
you too.

Adjusting the final drive ratio (the ratio of the ring and
pinion gears in the differential) affects acceleration and top
speed by scaling the ratios of all the gears in the gearbox.
Choosing the right ratio matches your engine’s power and
torque to the circuit on which you’re racing. To determine
the final drive ratio, divide the number of teeth on the ring
gear by the number of teeth on the pinion gear. A ring gear
with 41 teeth and a pinion gear with 10 teeth yields a ratio
of 4.10:1, so the driveshaft rotates 4.1 times for each turn
of the wheels. A higher ratio results in higher acceleration
at the expense of top speed, while a lower ratio sacrifices
acceleration for speed in each gear. A lower ratio gives
better top speed and fuel economy.

PRO TIP! GEAR RATIO ADJUSTMENTS

Stick with adjusting the final drive ratio rather than tweaking
individual gears—it’s the best way for most players to keep
the gearbox balanced, as very small unbalanced changes
to individual gears can dramatically decrease your car’s
performance.

alIgnment

CAMBER

Camber requires

a very fine-tuned

adjustment,

measured in

increments of a

degree. You need

minimal adjustment

to gain benefits, and
it’s easy to have too much, which will show up as uneven
tire heating on your Heat Telemetry tab during a race or
test lap.

As a car leans during cornering, so do the car’s tires. By
adjusting camber, you can ensure the outside tire will stand
straight up when cornering, maximizing the tires’ contact

Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading expressly prohibited.

with the road at the most critical time. This will also result
in the tire heating evenly. Typical adjustment requires a
small amount of negative camber (with the tops of the tires
leaning inward).

Too much negative camber cause the tires to ride
on their inside edges. Insufficient negative camber or
excessive positive camber (with the tops of the tires leaning
outward), will cause the tires to ride on their outside edges.
Be aware that adjusting camber too aggressively can also
affect braking. To help diagnose where you need camber
adjustments, access the telemetry during a race or replay
and consult the Tires Misc and Heat tabs.

PRO TIP! TO CAMBER OR NOT TO CAMBER

A track is usually dominantly left-turning or right-turning. The
outside tires do most of the work, endure the most stress,
and provide most of the friction for cornering. Tune camber
so the front and rear tires on the dominant side stand up
straight (0 degrees camber) in the middle of a turn, thereby
maximizing their available grip.

This is no easy feat, fearless driver; in fact, it could be
the single most involved tuning process in racing, both real
world and in the game.

The track-specific process involves reviewing telemetry
from a race and taking notes on the camber in the outside
wheels at the apex of every turn on the track. It’s very
important to note here that in the Tuning screen, camber
is measured relative to the car; but in the race telemetry
screen, the camber is measured in relation to the varying
track surface.

You must consider all the track’s turns and make some
educated guesses as to how much to adjust your car’s
camber. Make very small but balanced changes between
front and rear, then return to the same track for a test run to
see if your tires are closer to 0 degrees camber while going
through their turns.

The ease with which you accomplish this 0 camber in
all turns is largely determined by the variation between all
the turns on the track. The flatter and more constant radius
the collection of turns are, the easier it is to adjust for. On
complex tracks with varying elevations, expect a tough fight
to get this adjustment just right.

PRO TIP! ADJUSTING NEGATIVE CAMBER

Generally, the more tight and windy a track, the more
negative camber you should have. Adjust the slider on both
front and rear camber more to the left—but only so far as to
keep your tires heating evenly to achieve their peak grip.

TOE

Toe (the inward or outward angle of the wheels) is another
unforgiving alignment setting. Default settings are okay,
but they might need some fine-tuning in small increments
to achieve their optimal levels. On winding tracks with tight
turns, adjust toe to slightly more negative on both front
and rear. On straighter tracks, adjust for slight toe-out, but
this decreases your turn-in response. Put more simply,

25

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

GEARING

DAMPING AERO BRAKING DIFFERENTIAL TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING TELEMETRY COURSE TUNING

ALIGNMENTOVERALL TUNING STRATEGY COMMON MISTAKES TIRES ANTI-ROLL BARS SPRINGS

it’s harder to steer with more toe-out, but your car is more
stable on the straights.

Adjust toe to sharpen turn-in response (the transition
between driving straight ahead and turning). Toe-in brings
the front of the tires closer together (negative toe) than
the backs. This increases stability but reduces turn-in
response. Toe-out (positive toe) brings the backs of the
tires closer together than the fronts. This increases turn-in
response but decreases stability. Avoid extremes, because
excessive toe-in or toe-out can wear tires very quickly.

FRONT CASTER

Adjust caster in degree increments much like camber and
toe; however, positive caster is the dominant realm by
default. You can’t have negative caster—+1 degree is the
closest you can get to 0.

“Caster” refers to the forward angle of the
suspension’s geometry (straight up and down or how
much it leans forward). Adjusting the caster (the forward or
rearward angle of the steering axis) enhances straight-line
drivability. With positive caster, the steering axis is inclined
rearward. Because negative camber increases as the
suspension compresses and/or the tires move through the
steering lock, increasing positive caster lets you run less
negative camber. This results in a straight-up tire while
driving straight ahead (good for acceleration and braking)
but provides a desirable amount of negative camber while
cornering.

PRO TIP! ADJUSTING CASTER

More positive caster means that when you turn the steering
wheel, the wheels increase their camber at a greater rate,
making the car turn more.

antI-Roll BaRs

Generally you

want stiffer bars to

control your car’s

detrimental body

sway during a race;

don’t hesitate to

adjust the slider far

to the right on both
front and rear bars. However, if your inside tires come off
the ground during a hard corner, your bars are too stiff, so
retune and soften them up slightly to avoid loss of contact
with the track.

Antiroll bars (also called “antisway bars”) provide
extra stability when cornering. They control unwanted

body movement and balance understeer and oversteer
in steady-state cornering (for example, in the middle of
a sweeping turn). When you turn left or right, the car
body tends to roll in the opposite direction. By tying the
left and right sides of the suspension together, antisway
bars make the car ride more level, keeping one side from
rolling or swaying more than the other. Decreasing front
antiroll stiffness reduces understeer. Increasing front
antiroll stiffness increases understeer, but excessive antiroll
stiffness can make the inside tires lift off the ground during
hard cornering. The balance of front and rear antiroll
stiffness affects the balance between understeer and
oversteer.

PRO TIP! WHY ANTIROLL BARS?

These torsion bars limit unwanted body movement and
therefore make your car handle significantly better. The
difference between front and rear stiffness is often the best
way to correct (and balance) your car’s understeer/oversteer
problems.

spRIngs

Spring stiffness
is measured in
how much force
is required to
compress a spring
one inch. The
difference between

soft and stiff springs
could be approximately 700 lb per inch; that means that
a soft suspension could have up to 700 lb of its own car
weight causing it to bob up and down as it travels over
rough track. A soft suspension that bobs up and down and
allows the car body to sway back and forth during braking
and acceleration or from side to side while turning limits a
car’s performance dramatically. The more you can limit this
movement across the board, the better.

tIp

Don’t set your suspension too stiff if you like to drive over the
curbs on the inside of turns—stiff suspensions don’t react well
to those kinds of bumps and tend to slow your car down.

Spring stiffness controls how the car’s weight is transferred
under acceleration, braking, and cornering. Stiffer front
springs transfer more weight, but too much can cause
the tires to lose traction under heavy load. Softening the
front springs in relation to the rear increases front grip and
reduces understeer, but too much can make the car bottom

Prima Official Game Guide

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26

INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

GEARING

DAMPING AERO BRAKING DIFFERENTIAL TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING TELEMETRY COURSE TUNING

SPRINGSOVERALL TUNING STRATEGY COMMON MISTAKES TIRES ALIGNMENT ANTI-ROLL BARS

out under heavy braking. Increasing the front springs’
stiffness in relation to the rear can reduce oversteer, but
too much can cause the car to plow through turns.

PRO TIP! SPRING STIFFNESS

Stiffer springs mean better responsiveness and higher
overall handling, as it increases the car’s ability to resist
unwanted body and suspension movement. However,
this general rule of thumb is for flat tracks only; you need
a softer suspension for tracks with uneven surfaces or a
higher degree of vertical change (i.e., Mugello).

Run the softest suspension possible while not hitting
the bump stops once during a race. These adjustments are
highly track-specific.

RIDE HEIGHT

Ride height is measured in inches above the ground—lower
is almost always better. If you’re racing a rough track, try
raising your height a half inch at a time to avoid scraping
the car’s bottom and consequently losing speed.

Ride height determines your car’s ground clearance
and center of gravity. Lowering ride height lowers the
center of gravity, which improves cornering; but lowering
it too far can cause bottoming out and sudden loss of
control. Generally you should lower your ride height as
much as possible without bottoming out.

PRO TIP! LOWER THAN A SNAKE’S BELLY

In general, lower your ride height to as low to the ground as
possible. But beware: the lower you go, the more you limit the
travel in your suspension. On bumpy tracks this could lead to
bottoming out and losing control.

dampIng

Bump damping controls the rate of compression as
the suspension goes up into the wheel wells. Increasing
front bump damping stiffness increases transitional
understeer, but excessive bump damping can make a
car skittish over rough surfaces. Decreasing front bump
damping stiffness increases transitional oversteer. Bump
damping should be 50 to 75 percent as stiff as rebound
damping to maintain stability during weight transfer when
cornering. Experiment by increasing bump stiffness to find
your car’s best damping ratio.

PRO TIP! BUMP DAMPING STIFFNESS

Excessive bump damping makes the car skittish over rough
track surfaces—keep it relatively soft.

REBOUND STIFFNESS

Like bump dumping stiffness, rebound stiffness is
measured numerically; the value indicates how resistant the
suspension is to movement, but in the opposite direction of
bump damping.

Rebound damping controls the rate of extension
as the suspension rebounds away from the wheel wells.
Adjusting front rebound damping stiffness fine-tunes your
car’s balance going into and out of corners. Increasing
front rebound damping stiffness increases transitional
understeer. Decreasing front rebound damping stiffness
increases transitional oversteer. Try different damping
stiffnesses in the front and rear to fine-tune your transitional
understeer/oversteer balance.

PRO TIP! SETTING DAMPING STIFFNESS

Always set rebound stiffness first, then adjust bump
damping stiffness to around 50 to 75 percent of the
rebound stiffness as a starting point. Make your fine-tuned
adjustments from there.

Tuning your car’s
damping improves
handling by
increasing grip.
Stiffening front
damping adds grip
at the rear. Damping
controls the
suspension’s rate of travel in two directions.

BUMP STIFFNESS

Bump stiffness is measured numerically; the value
indicates how resistant the suspension is to movement.
Bump damping is important for your suspension to handle
properly; if you adjust it to the far right, your car performs
as if it had no shocks.

Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading expressly prohibited.

aeRo

Installing a front

valence or race

bumper adjusts front

downforce. Install

an adjustable wing

for rear downforce.

Downforce is

measured in
additional pounds exerted from the top of the car toward
the ground. However, a car with too much vertical force
exerted on it will eventually be unable to move, so more is
not always better. Eventually the benefit severely impacts
your performance.

27

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INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

OVERALL TUNING STRATEGY COMMON MISTAKES TIRES ALIGNMENT ANTI-ROLL BARS SPRINGS
DAMPING BRAKING DIFFERENTIAL TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING TELEMETRY COURSE TUNING

AERO

GEARING

Air flowing around a car creates lift beneath it, which
impairs handling. Increased downforce keeps your car
in better contact with the road, heats up the tires more
quickly, and improves handling. However, too much
downforce can cause excessive drag, which decreases
maximum speed and increases tire wear and fuel
consumption.

PRO TIP! ADJUSTING DOWNFORCE

Adjust downforce to create a top-speed bias or a cornering
bias on certain tracks. Make quick adjustments and monitor
their effects to your top speed in the Benchmark screen to
roughly ascertain how much of a trade-off you’re making.
Don’t underestimate its effects, though; you could be
looking at top speed changes of 15 to 25 mph if you adjust
to a full cornering bias on both front and rear.

PRO TIP! DRAFTING, DRAG, AND DOWNFORCE

The maximum drafting effect is achieved at half-car lengths from the lead car, but the draft slipstream extends as far out as 12
car lengths, where the effects peter out to nothingness. When you’re within the draft, various effects occur to both the lead car
and the trailing cars, including decreased aerodynamic drag, decreased front downforce, and decreased rear downforce. The
charts below illustrate these effects.

LEAD/TRAILING CAR

110%

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

PERCENTAGE TOTAL

40%

0.5 12

CAR LENGTHS

Aerodynamic Drag Front Downforce Rear Downforce
Lead Car Trailing Car

Tuning downforce only alters your car’s performance if there is a difference at both ends of the car. If you tune both front
and rear to 125 lb, there might be less of a difference than if you adjust front downforce to 85 lb and rear downforce to 0 lb.
Remember, it’s the difference between these two values that alters the car’s performance, not adjusting them both to equal
values.

In summary, plan ahead for the type of race and track and your racing style. As we’ve shown here, drafting significantly
affects how your downforce contributes to your performance on the track.

At half-car lengths, the trailing car is experiencing only 70
percent of its normal drag through the air, approximately 60
percent of its tuned front downforce, and approximately 45
percent of its tuned rear downforce. The lead car experiences
some small benefits but nothing like the trailing car.

Draft affects drag and downforce on both ends of the car;
this is because air is not passing over your aerodynamic body
parts (if installed). Consequently, the trailing car can actually lose
about half its downforce. This means you shouldn’t rely on your
downforce during races in which you plan on drafting a lot; but if
you’re flying solo on the track during hot laps, then go crazy with
the downforce.

While drafting, you must be wary of the decreased forces
exerted on your car. You are going faster, and you don’t have as
much downforce helping you brake and steer. This means you
must hit the brakes earlier and maybe even apply a bit more
steering input to get that extra dig into the corner. If you’re not
paying attention to the effects, you may consistently steer wide
as you draft into corners. Also, if your downforce is tuned to
maximize cornering, you’ll likely notice a significant difference in
your car’s performance while drafting.

BRakIng

BRAKE BALANCE

The only way to
create and maintain
balance is to keep
the slider somewhere
in the middle of
the adjustment
spectrum—100

percent front bias
makes as little sense as 100 percent rear bias. Due to the
variance in car construction and factors such as weight

Prima Official Game Guide

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front percent, and after many performance upgrades, you
should fine-tune this adjustment to get front and rear tires
to lock up at the same time—that is always the main goal
unless you’re trying to get creative with specific oversteer/
understeer conditions during heavy braking.

A car’s level of grip and the way it handles weight
transfer under acceleration or deceleration affects its
brake balance. As you upgrade and tune your car, you will
probably need to adjust brake balance to maximize brake
performance. By controlling the relative distribution of
hydraulic pressure between the front and rear brakes, you
can affect which tires lock up first under heavy braking.
This in turn affects braking distance and understeer/
oversteer balance while braking. Adjusting brake balance

28

INTRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES UPGRADES TUNING CAR CUSTOMIZATION CAREER MODE ONLINE EXPERIENCE TRACKS CARS APPENDIX

OVERALL TUNING STRATEGY COMMON MISTAKES TIRES ALIGNMENT ANTI-ROLL BARS SPRINGS
DAMPING AERO DIFFERENTIAL TRACK-SPECIFIC TUNING TELEMETRY COURSE TUNING

BRAKING

GEARING

rearward increases oversteer during braking at the expense
of stability. Adjusting brake balance forward increases
understeer and improves stability but can lead to excessive
understeer when braking. Avoid extremes, which increase
braking distance and your lap times.

PRO TIP! CREATING BALANCE

The ideal brake balance is generally the point at which all four
tires lock up at the same time.

PRESSURE

The 0 to 200 percent variance in brake pressure
adjustments gives you ample opportunity to find the perfect
setting. As in real-world racing, some drivers have heavy
feet and others are more tentative. This setting depends
primarily on your driving style and where you prefer it to be,
rather than where it should be for optimal results. Leaving
the setting at its default level is the easiest to learn and
control.

Adjust overall brake pressure so the tires will lock
under hard braking but won’t lock prematurely with just a
small amount of pedal travel. Reducing total brake pressure
increases the amount of pedal travel required to lock the
tires. If you reduce it too much, the tires won’t lock at all.
Increase total brake pressure if the tires are not locking
under hard braking, but don’t overdo it or the tires will lock
too easily, sending the car out of control.

PRO TIP! BRAKE PRESSURE

In the real world, this adjusts how much pedal travel is
required to lock the brakes (simply known as “brake sensi­tivity”). This adjustment translates in the game to how easily

it is to lock your brakes during button presses.

dIFFeRentIal

The differential
allows the tires on
each side of the car
to turn at different
rates, since the
inside tire travels
a shorter distance
around a turn than
the outside tire.

A limited slip differential locks at a preset point to
limit this difference in rotational speed, providing maximum
traction under acceleration and/or deceleration.

FRONT AND REAR
ACCELERATION

The higher the percentage setting, the smaller the
difference in wheel rotation it takes to achieve differential
lock under acceleration.

The acceleration differential setting adjusts how much
of a difference in wheel rotation is required to lock the
differential under acceleration. Increasing the acceleration
setting makes the differential lock more quickly under
acceleration.

On rear differentials, increasing the acceleration
setting can increase oversteer in rear- and all-wheel-drive
cars. For high-powered vehicles, this increase is necessary
to maintain adequate grip, but excessively quick differential
locking can impair handling. Reducing the acceleration
setting makes the differential lock more slowly.

On front differentials, reducing the acceleration setting
can reduce understeer in front- or all-wheel-drive vehicles.

PRO TIP! ACCELERATION SETTINGS

On high-powered cars that exhibit heavy acceleration,
adjustments to front and rear acceleration are often
necessary to keep your car gripping the track. In this case,
increase the percentage setting.

FRONT AND REAR
DECELERATION

The higher the percentage setting, the smaller the
difference in wheel rotation it takes to achieve differential
lock under deceleration.

The deceleration differential setting adjusts how much
of a difference in wheel rotation is required to lock the
differential under deceleration.

Increasing the deceleration setting makes the
differential lock more quickly under deceleration, but
excessive differential locking can impair handling. On
rear differentials, decreasing the deceleration setting can
reduce lift-throttle oversteer in rear- and all-wheel-drive
cars.

Reducing the deceleration setting makes the
differential lock more slowly. On rear differentials, reducing
the deceleration setting can increase lift-throttle oversteer
in rear- and all-wheel-drive cars.

PRO TIP! DECELERATION PRESETS

Increase the percentage deceleration setting for front and
rear to cause the differentials to lock more quickly when
under deceleration.

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