Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec: Playstation 2 version - Tuning Guide - Version 2.8
By: Minesweeper (Nathan Norris) Email: minesweeper1@hotmail.com
minesweeper2@hotmail.com
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NEWSFLASH, ALL PEOPLE WANTING ADVICE FROM ME PLEASE READ:
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I stopped playing this game a while back, so most of what's in this guide
I've forgotten. Just because I have a guide, that doesn't mean I'll keep
playing this game forever. If you ask for advice I won't be able to give it
to you. My guide IS my advice.
I also never have and never will give out tuning setups for specific cars.
You're supposed to learn how to tune yourself from this guide. I heard a
proverb on this on the GT3 messageboard at www.gamefaqs.com: "Give a man a
fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life."
You won't learn anything about tuning if I give you specific setups for your
cars.
Table of Contents
1: Introduction
2: Revision History
3: Parts Guide
4: Tuning Guide
5: Thanks for Reader's Notes
6: Thanks
7: E-mail Policy
8: Copyright
Gran Turismo is the best racing series ever according to most gamers, yet a
Most people who play this game does not understand a large part of this game
called tuning. To most people, "tuning" is simply purchasing and then
installing a lot of expensive parts on a car, then racing it. This may win
most races, but wouldn't it be nice if those people with the bottomless
wallets could squeeze even more performance from their vehicles? This is
where this guide comes in, to help you tune up your cars to your liking so
that you can win even more races easily. Move on to...
Version 1.0 8/3/01 - First Edition. There isn't much here yet because I was
in a rush to beat everyone to the punch who was planning on working on a
tuning guide. Don't worry, I will improve on it later.
Version 1.1 8/4/01 - Now that my document is up, I can breathe easy and
start actually putting quality information into it. I also added an ASCII
header and posted a tip from James Puckett.
Version 1.5 8/11/01 - I was updating my Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3
walkthroughs today, so while I was at it, I decided to put in some notes
from my readers.
Speaking of readers, I have a general announcement for all of you who are
reading my document. This document is not complete. I would like for you
to share your experiences in GT3 with me concerning tuning. I could put
your notes into my guide and as such this would become a kind of "melting
pot" for all our information. I'm serious, it will make my life easier, and
maybe many other people's tuning lives easier.
Version 2.0 9/10/01 - I added a reader's note, Bryan Ogden, and added a
couple of things that I didn't realize were missing. Also I reformatted the
tuning FAQ to make it easier to read.
Version 2.1 9/15/01 - Drac cbu-anga told me a car that can use the AYC
controller. It's the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII. Email me if you find
another one.
Version 2.8 8/14/02 - I have a small copyright revision today and a new
email address. http://faqs.ign.com may now host my guides, and my new email
address is minesweeper2@hotmail.com.
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OIL CHANGE
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Price: 250
My comments: This technically isn't an upgrade, but after many annoying
emails concerning this, I decided I'm going to finally put it in. I thank
the guys on the GT3 messageboard at www.gamefaqs.com as being the first to
help me to understand this. When you first buy your car, it'll have a
certain amount of HP. As you drive it, the HP deteriorates, and stops at a
certain point.
Usually you ought to change your car's oil every 200 miles. This can revive
like about 50-60HP. Cars however, will lose some HP for good after
continued usage. It's usually not enough to be significant though, like
maybe about 10-20HP. Also, if you give your car several oil changes right
after you buy it, you'll get a little extra HP for the first miles. You
can't change your oil during a tournament, so be sure you've got a fresh oil
change before entering into one.
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These parts are a critical part of any high-speed machine, no matter what
others might say. That juiced-up engine isn't going to do you much good on
a curvy track if you don't have good brakes to slow down. Suspension is
also critical unless you want to rattle your teeth and your car every time
you hit something larger than a pebble, causing you to potentially lose
control.
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SUSPENSION/SPORTS
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Average price: 3,200
My comments: I do not buy this, the SUSPENSION/FULL CUSTOMIZE is standard
equipment when it comes to my suspension needs. Plus the
SUSPENSION/SEMI-RACING offers lots more options for only about 3,000 credits
more. But, if you are on a tight budget and aren't willing to shell out an
extra 12,000 credits, then buy this.
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SUSPENSION/SEMI-RACING
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Average price: 7,400
My comments: I seldom buy this, as I settle for only the best parts except
for when I am having a major cash-squeeze. It will serve you better than
the SUSPENSION/SPORTS, allowing you to adjust several other
suspension-related settings. You should always choose this over
SUSPENSION/SPORTS if you can or don't have the cash for SUSPENSION/FULL
CUSTOMIZE.
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SUSPENSION/FULL CUSTOMIZE
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Average price: 17,000
My comments: OH YEAH! This is what I'm talking about! You can alter almost
anything suspension-related. This will be critical if you want to improve
your car's cornering more and lessen it's bouncing every time it mounts a
curb. You won't regret making this purchase for a car that you use often.
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SPORTS BRAKES
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Average price: 4,800
My comments: A vital part of any high-speed vehicle. The standard brakes
are typically rather poor for use in races. These will be very much needed
in cars that have a hard time turning.
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BRAKE BALANCE CONTROLLER
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Average price: 11,000
My comments: This will be important in tuning your car's cornering abilities
to your liking, as the description suggests.
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If you are like most people, this category is probably the one that you like
to spend the most money on, and it's also one of the most important
categories of upgrade parts in the game.
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MUFFLER & AIR CLEANER/SPORTS
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Average price: 1,700
My comments: Ignore this and get the MUFFLER & AIR CLEANER/RACING, it's not
THAT expensive.
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MUFFLER & AIR CLEANER/SEMI-RACING
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Average price: 3,000
My comments: Same as MUFFLER & AIR CLEANER/SPORTS's comments.
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MUFFLER & AIR CLEANER/RACING
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Average price: 5,000
My comments: This should be one of your first upgrades for any car as this
part is cheap and adds a decent amount of HP.
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I was racing a tuned VW New Beetle 2.0 with NA tune up stage 3, various
other
engine upgrades, and muffler & air cleaner/racing. I found to my horror
that the poor thing could barely go from 0 to 2000 RPMs. I guess there was
just not enough low-end torque. It would literally just sit there
powerless. I was baffled. Since it doesn't shift into any gear, not even
1st, when its revs are so low, changing the gear ratios didn't help.
Luckily, I stumbled onto the answer. I downgraded to muffler & air
cleaner/semi-racing. Not only did that fix my low-end torque problem but it
also boosted my HP! There may be other cars that would benefit from the
semi-racing muffler instead of the full racing one, I don't know.
Submitted by: Allen Ano
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The Beetle probably had poor low-end torque because it is a relatively
low-powered car, with a straight pipe, also that I'm pretty sure that
Volkswagen motors require backpressure to soften the valves. Also, since you
cannot increase the stroke of the engine, most of the tuning will increase
horsepower rather than torque. Pay close attention to the powerband, i.e. at
what rpm does your car have 300 horsepower. If all your power is at 6500
rpm, your car will be able to maintain speed, but will make poor power until
it reaches that engine speed.
Remember that torque is prerequisite for acceleration, as it is the
measurement in feet that the engine will move the car in one combustion
stroke. Then you can realize why Honda's don't set the fastest 1/4 miles
even with a lot of horsepower, because the stroke is very short, despite the
modification of engine bore.
Submitted by: Hepster6500
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NA TUNE UP/STAGE 1
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Average price: 4,900
My comments: Buy this only if you are on a cash squeeze. NA TUNE UP/STAGE
2 is a LOT better.
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NA TUNE UP/STAGE 2
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Average price: 13,000
My comments: This is a terrific upgrade for its price. Your acceleration
and speed improve dramatically. It's a LOT less expensive than NA TUNE
UP/STAGE 3, yet it delivers a respectable amount of HP. This is standard
equipment on most of my cars, unless they can use NA TUNE UP/STAGE 3 or can
only use turbos. I like NA Tune much better than turbos. NA doesn't have
as much wild acceleration, giving it easier control.
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NA TUNE UP/STAGE 3
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Average price: 80,000
My comments: Good luck trying to scrape together enough cash to buy this
bad boy. But if you can, prepare to be blown away. You car will have
eye-popping performance in terms of speed and acceleration.
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About your comment on Stage 3 NA, like the Stage 4 Turbo Kit, it also
delivers a very difficult to control amount of power. Even though the power
doesn't appear in such a brutal way, it is still more than enough to cause a
lot of time wasting wheel spin( the Corvette C5R and the Chevrolet Camaro
Race Car are good examples).
Submitted by: Tiago Alves
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PORT POLISH
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Average price: 5,500
My comments: This upgrade is cheap for the amount of HP it delivers, about
like the MUFFLER & AIR CLEANER/RACING, only this time the upgrade is
permanent.
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FULL-ENGINE BALANCING
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Average price: 12,000
My comments: This may seem overpriced, but it will help your top speed
some, especially with slow cars
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Anyway, I just want to bring up the full engine balancing. You list this as
overpriced for the HP it gives. The FEB is actually a good deal for a car
with a low top speed, as the balancing does a good job improving top speed,
especially with a customized transmission. This is especially helpful for
cars that have a slow time on the test tracks.
Submitted by: James Puckett
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DISPLACEMENT UP
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Average price: 6,000
My comments: Almost no car can use this upgrade, so I can't say much about
it. Uhh, it increases your HP. :)
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Displacement up, when available (Skylines can use it) is a very good
upgrade. Although the improvement in hp isn't very big, the torque increase
is great, and it spreads out throughout the rev range, allowing for easier
control of acceleration.
Submitted by: Tiago Alves
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RACING CHIP
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Average price: 1,500
My comments: This is a very cheap upgrade, so it should be one of the first
things on your shopping list when you start buying parts for you car.
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Do not scoff at this category because the parts are cheap, it is vital for
tuning your car's acceleration and top speed to your liking. Also you will
need it for more effective gear changing.
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CLUTCH/SINGLE
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Average price: 1,800
My comments: Ignore this and get the CLUTCH/TRIPLE PLATE, as its not that
much more expensive.
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CLUTCH/DOUBLE PLATE
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Average price: 2,700
My comments: Same as CLUTCH/SINGLE.
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CLUTCH/TRIPLE PLATE
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Average price: 4,900
My comments: This is needed in conjunction with the FLYWHEEL/RACING, to
improve your acceleration. It should be easy for you to afford this part,
as its super-cheap.
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For the clutches you suggest a triple plate no matter what. I found that
although a triple plate does improve acceleration more than the double
plate, it does come with a problem. Certain cars, like the Audi TT, benefit
more from the double plate because the gear ratios hit a problem when you
have them tuned to maximize hp. The car revs up to quickly to shift gears
and you end up with the speedometer needle bouncing while the car wants to
shift up but can't because of the gear ratios. I found that when I used the
double plate this problem was eliminated and actually helped me accelerate
faster as my car shifted faster.
Submitted by: knohbodi
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On the triple plate clutch with cars like the Audi TT, you are gonna want to
master manual transmission to counter that problem. If you can get it right,
the over reving won't be a problem. Also take advantage of the pressure
sensitive control function. At the start line use this to your advantage and
keep your tachometer around 1000 and 2000 RPM's and you be fine.
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FLYWHEEL/SPORTS
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Average price: 450
My comments: Ignore it and take the FLYWHEEL/RACING. It's super cheap and
far better than this thing.
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FLYWHEEL/SEMI-RACING
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Average price: 700
My comments: Same as FLYWHEEL/SPORTS.
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FLYWHEEL/RACING
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Average price: 1,200
My comments: Buy this, as you need it with the CLUTCH/TRIPLE PLATE to
improve acceleration. Another super cheap part that anyone should be able
to afford.
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DRIVESHAFT/CARBON
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Average price: 3,000
My comments: Like most everything else here, this is super cheap as well.
Get it for better acceleration.
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TRANSMISSION/SPORTS
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Average price: 5,700
My comments: Ignore this item. The TRANSMISSION/SEMI-RACING is better and
it is also generally the same price.
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TRANSMISSION/SEMI-RACING
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Average price: 5,700
My comments: If you can, ignore this item as well and buy the
TRANSMISSION/FULL-RACING. It offers lots more in the way of fine-tuning
your car than this.
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TRANSMISSION/FULL-RACING
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Average price: 11,000
My comments: This is a MUST for every tuner. It will allow you to mess
around with the gear ratio, giving you the ability to fine-tune your cars
acceleration and speed to suit the track. Never drive a car without it!
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LIMITED-SLIP/1WAY
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Average price: 4,500
My comments: Ignore this and get the LIMITED-SLIP/FULL-CUSTOMIZE SERVICE,
it only costs about 2,000 credits more and offers far more options for
tuning acceleration, deceleration, and turning.
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LIMITED-SLIP/1.5WAY
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Average price: 4,500
My comments: Same as LIMITED-SLIP/1WAY.
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LIMITED-SLIP/2WAY
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Average price: 4,500
My comments: Same as LIMITED-SLIP/1WAY.
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LIMITED-SLIP/FULL-CUSTOMIZE SERVICE
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Average price: 6,600
My comments: Take this over all the other similar parts, as it provides
more tuning options, and that's what we're after in this guide :) Allows
you to adjust acceleration, deceleration, and handling.
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Duhhh, Duhhhhh, DUHHHHH....DU DUMMMMMMMM!!! Yes, this is the category that
everyone has been waiting for, the turbos! It goes without saying that
having one of these provides some big benefits on the track.
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TURBO KIT/STAGE 1
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Average price: 5,000
My comments: Take this only if you are on a tight budget and can't afford
any better kits. It provides a good dose of HP for its price though.
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TURBO KIT/STAGE 2
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Average price: 14,000
My comments: This will likely be the most common kit you will buy, either
because the better kits aren't compatible with your vehicle or you don't
have the cash for the super expensive kits beyond this one. It will help
you out quite a bit in lots of races.
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TURBO KIT/STAGE 3
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Average price: 45,000
My comments: This is where the kits start to get super-expensive. You will
not be disappointed in the HP you get from this thing. This is typically
the kit I buy the most, as the TURBO KIT/STAGE 4 is super expensive plus the
extra power can be a disadvantage on tight, twisty tracks like Rome.
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TURBO KIT/STAGE 4
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Average price: 85,000
My comments: This is the most expensive upgrade you can purchase in this
game. It will give your car mega speed and all, but I would much rather
take TURBO KIT/STAGE 3 as the power it gives you is more controllable than
what you get with this monster, not to mention I don't have to shell out
almost 100,000 credits for it. It's not compatible with hardly any cars
anyway.
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To counter the turn problem all that is needed is a high setting on the
brake control system. On all my cars that have Turbo stage 4, a high setting
has given me response of a stage 2 or 3 turbo equipped car.
Submitted by: NeoBahamut
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Another thing about turbo-charging is that it makes for poor low-end no
matter what. The larger the turbo (i.e. stage3 and 4), the faster the
exhaust gases need to move to spool the turbine and to create more air
density in the intake manifold. Since the big turbo won't be spinning fast
at low rpm, you will not be producing boost until high-rpm. This is why I
stick to stage 1 and 2 turbos. Since the exhaust gases are used to create
the boost, there has to be a certain amount of back-pressure in the system,
otherwise they will not spool properly. Turbo engines will have better low
end power and torque with a more restrictive exhaust system. That's why they
tend to benefit from the semi-racing air cleaner and exhaust system. It's
too bad we can't pick and choose our mufflers and air-cleaners, because a
restrictive exhaust and a cone filter would benefit a turbo engine the best.
Submitted by: Hepster6500
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INTERCOOLER/SPORTS
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Average price: 1,800
My comments: Ignore this item and take INTERCOOLER/RACING.
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INTERCOOLER/RACING
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Average price: 3,000
My comments: This will give your turbo a small boost in power. Uhh, that's
about it.
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The type of tires you put on your car is EXTREMELY important, as the manual
says, your tires are the only way your car's power gets it to move. Without
wheels, even a car with 10,000 HP is worthless. You should be picky about
what kind of rubber is going over those wheels. Your choice of tires is
especially important when you get to Professional League, when all the races
are 10 laps at the minimum and creating a lot of wear and tear on your
wheels.
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SIMULATION TIRES
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Average price: 6,000
My comments: For people who really want this game to be realistic, they
will want this. For the rest of us, we should disregard it as it will only
make winning races even harder than it already is. No sense in giving the
computer more advantages over us than they already have.
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SPORTS TIRES
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Average price: 6,000
My comments: Forget these cheap pieces of engineering, they will do you
little good beyond the Beginner League as they have a short life and
mediocre turning ability at best.
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RACING TIRES
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Average prices:
-SUPER-SLICK: 10,500
-SLICK: 13,500
-MEDIUM-SLICK: 16,500
-MEDIUM: 22,500
-MEDIUM-SOFT: 27,500
-SOFT: 35,000
-SUPER-SOFT: 47,500
My comments: The tires higher on the list provide a longer life, but less
cornering potential. The lower on the list you go, the more cornering
ability you get, and the lesser amount of life you get. After Beginner
League, I recommend you don't even CONSIDER buying anything on the lower
half of the list, as the tires down there simply don't last long enough for
you to finish races without pitting, costing precious time.
In fact, I recommend you stay away from the lower half period and get right
into MEDIUM-SLICK tires or lower in Beginner so you can get a feel of the
lesser cornering power and learn how to deal with it while the competition
is not so fierce. You will have to deal with these tires a lot in Amateur
and especially in Professional if you hope to win. So, you should get used
to it at the start of the game before things get rough, not to mention
you'll save a lot of money on this expensive rubber.
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DIRT RACING TIRES
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Average price: 22,500
My comments: These will allow your car to race on dirt. Umm, that's about
all I have to say :)
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LIGHTWEIGHT/STAGE 1
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Average price: 1,300
My comments: You should buy this as one of your first upgrades, as it helps
with most every performance category of your car. Not to mention it is
quite cheap.
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LIGHTWEIGHT/STAGE 2
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Average price: 5,500
My comments: Same as LIGHTWEIGHT/STAGE 1.
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LIGHTWEIGHT/STAGE 3
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Average price: 22,500
My comments: I recommend not getting this one, as the money you pay will
not make up for what you get for this upgrade.
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AYC CONTROLLER
**************
Average price: 10,000
My comments: This gives you the ability to control the vehicle's yaw. This
part is only for Mitsubishi Lancers. This discovery was made by Drac
cbu-anga. Toby Knight says the reason this item cannot be used on anything
other than Mitsubishis is because it is a trademark of Mitsubishi Motors.
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VARIABLE CENTER DIFFERENTIAL
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Average price: 10,000
My comments: I have changed my mind about this item, as it is vital for
improving a 4WD vehicle's handling to your liking. It really helped me out
tuning my RUF CTR2's cornering.
Ahhh, yes, this is the real bulk of the walkthrough, and I am assuming over
half of you came to look at this. Fear not, I will help you make yourself a
master tuner and guide you through these confusing menus and meters. I will
not tell you preset settings for cars here, because I will teach you how to
read
these menus and become an effective tuner yourself.
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SPRING RATE
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This is one of the most influential settings you can adjust. The higher the
number, the stiffer your springs. Stiff springs will help your car corner
better, but your car also won't react well if you go over the curb. If its
too stiff, you car may even jump into the air if it goes over a curb. You
should have stiff springs on tracks that aren't very bumpy or twisty. If
your course has lots of ups and downs, like Seattle for example, then you
should soften up the springs. This will make the car harder to steer, but
at least you won't go flying if you jump the curb.
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RIDE HEIGHT
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In general, you want the ride height as low as possible to reduce the center
of gravity and air resistance, and also to boost cornering. If you do lower
your car, make sure you have adequate suspension to reduce the side effect
of the car bouncing when going over a curve. Be sure to increase the shock
bound and the shock rebound to cover the lower height.
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SHOCK BOUND
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This adjusts the shocks' movement in compression. It should be set about
the shock rebound's level divided by 2. If you make this too strong, the
car will be stiff and will bounce over corners instead of smoothly crossing
over them.
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SHOCK REBOUND
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This adjusts the shocks' movement in expansion. It should be set about 2
times as high as shock bound. Both shock bound and rebound are critical
when making your car's ride height lower.
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doing what you suggested is a good rule to correct oversteer...you
see...these two suspension settings are probably the most effective in fine
tuning your car to handle exactly how you want it to handle through the
turns:
using your rule; setting the rebound higher than the bound makes the car
have more oversteer....doing the opposite can actually make your car go
through the turns with more understeer....but it doesn't stop there....you
can actually control it more than that:
-low rear rebound, and high front bound makes your car very loose into turns
(oversteer)
-low front rebound, and high rear bound makes your car very loose out of
turns (oversteer)
-high front rebound, and low rear bound makes your car very tight our of
turns (understeer)
-high rear rebound, and low front bound makes your car very tight into turns
(understeer)
so you can actually set up your car to handle in and out of turns just how
you like it
Submitted by: Brian Ogden
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Increasing the number on shock bound does not make the shocks stiffer. In
fact, Macpherson struts are not stiff at all. Shock bound controls the speed
at which the coil spring is allowed to compress. So, with a high shock bound
setting, the car will pitch it's weight forward more quickly under braking,
where one with a lower shock speed will tend to understeer because the
weight does not transfer properly. This is one aspect of the game that I
feel was explained very poorly in the settings menu in the game, because it
was entirely wrong, and confused many people about what it is that struts
do. That said, rebound is the same way. When the rebound is set high, the
spring will be allowed to decompress very quickly. When the bound is low and
the rebound is high, the car will understeer because it will not allow the
springs to transfer the weight properly.
Submitted by: Hepster6500
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CAMBER ANGLE
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This lets the tires lean a little to the side. Adding to the camber will
allow the car to make more effective use of the wheels while cornering.
Setting it too high will reduce braking power, but not if you only adjust
the front and back to around 3 and 4 degrees.
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You can also use camber angle to reduce over/under steering (although only
to a certain point). This has the advantage of not disturbing the car's
behavior in any other aspect, saving you the trouble of having to readjust
anything else. This is also true with downforce, but has a bigger effect on
the car, so it should be used lightly.
Submitted by: Tiago Alves
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TOE IN AND TOE OUT
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Tow means the wheels are parallel to each other. Toe out (positive number)
means the wheels are slightly sticking out from the car on bottom, while toe
in (negative number) means the tires are slightly sticking towards the car
on the bottom.
If you give your car toe out, then this will help reduce oversteer, but this
will also cause greater tire wear. If your car has understeer then give
your front tires some toe in and adjust your rear wheels to toe-out.
If its the other way around, your car is oversteering, then do the opposite.
Give your front wheels toe out and your back wheels toe in. This ought to
be left alone as it increases tire wear.
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STABILIZERS
***********
Stabilizers are like the springs. If you make both stiffer together, then
your car will handle better, but this will also reduce stability on a bumpy
road. If they are softened together, then you will have better stability on
bumpy roads, but less steering ability. There are other effects if you
alter the front and rear separately.
If you stiffen the front and soften the rear, then there will be less over
steer. If you do it the other way around, soften the front and stiffen the
rear, then understeer will be reduced instead.
Be careful with this setting, because if you set it to reduce too much
oversteer, then your car will turn like a brick. And if you turn too hard
like this, you car can spin out. If you get rid of too much understeer,
then your car will be easy to turn, way too easy to turn. So easy that
spinouts will become quite common.
#######################################################################
First, stabilizer bars are not like springs. What they do is tie the two
strut-tower bars in order to reduce chassis twist/flex. When they are
tightened they increase chassis rigidity so that the tires (both front or
both rear) will maintain a more strict contact with the road. Remember that
although increasing the load placed on one tire, you are reducing the load
on the opposite, reducing the vehicle's overall traction. That said, making
the rear stabilizer more stiff with a loose front end will make understeer
even more pronounced, because the rear end will have better traction while
that of the front has been reduced. Transversely, a stiff front stab. setup
coupled with a loose rear will make for oversteer characteristics, which
actually works quite well on front wheel drive cars.
*************
BRAKE BALANCE
*************
This is used to adjust how powerful your rear and frontal brakes will be.
If they are adjusted to the same level, a higher setting makes the brakes
more powerful, but also cuts back on turning ability, while lower settings
reduce braking power, but this will improve cornering. So, if you set them
at the same level, you should give your car the lowest setting you can
handle.
On the other hand, adjusting the brakes separately will produce other
effects. If you make your back tires have more powerful brakes than the
front ones, cornering is improved some, and your car will be more able to
turn in the corners if you brake while turning. Use this if you like to
brake in the turns. If you make your frontal brakes stronger than the rear
ones, then you car will have excellent braking power, and better cornering,
but never use your brakes in a turn as this will cause the car to tend to
slide outward. Use this if you prefer to brake early and don't use brakes
in a turn.
__ __ __ ___ __ __
| \|__||\ /|__ | |__||__|||\ |
|_/| \| \/ |__ | | \| ||| \|
***************************
LIMITED-SLIP INITIAL TORQUE
***************************
This will raise or lower the initial torque, which gives better stability in
ordinary driving. This is not ordinary driving, so this will make the car
hard to turn if you do not brake while turning. If you enjoy braking while
turning, then you may want this to be high up. If you brake early a lot,
and like to go through corners with the accelerator off then blow out of the
turn at the end of it, then set it low.
*************************
LIMITED-SLIP ACCELERATION
*************************
This helps you in exiting corners as well as helping get rid of wheel spin
if strengthened, but it also reduces cornering ability if you prefer to
brake late and in turns. Set it high if you prefer to go through turns not
braking and instead just keeping your foot off the accelerator.
*************************
LIMITED-SLIP DECELERATION
*************************
This is the opposite of LIMITED-SLIP ACCELERATION. This will help you enter
turns more easily. If this is adjusted higher, it will allow you to use
late braking and braking in turns more effectively.
**********
GEAR RATIO
**********
Ahhh, now this is what I like the best to modify. You could set each of the
gears individually. The further to the left, the quicker the gear change.
However, this lowers the top speed. The further to the right, the slower
gears will change, but this will get you higher speeds.
I would prefer to go to the AUTO SETTING at the bottom of the menu and
adjust it there. If the line is closer to "sports" on the meter, then the
car will have better acceleration and less top speed, and if it is set
closer to "wide," then the car will have better top speed but less
acceleration.
This feature can be used effectively to tune your speed to make it
appropriate for the track you are racing on. If you are a beginner at this
tuning, then only adjust the final gear if you want to complete it manually.
#######################################################################
FYI, turbo lag exists when a cars turbo charger only spins up to a usable
RPM at high engine speeds (generally when a higher diameter turbo is used),
creating the condition of an engine that is underpowered through most of its
powerband, then takes off at high RPMs. The "lag" is waiting for the turbo
to spin up.
Submitted by: JLL
#######################################################################
#######################################################################
My first car was the Trueno Sprinter, and I invested in the cheaper HP
boosts until I could afford a Camaro. With the Camaro I worked my way up to
my 3rd car, a Lotus Esprit Sport. I tweaked my HP to about 1088 or so. I
also bought all the most expensive parts, not knowing how to properly
customize them. I bought a new transmission and a clutch triple plate. When
my max speed went from 170 to 150, I knew there was a problem.
I played around with my gearbox. I found that if you set the first 3 gears
really close, the 4th at a medium, and the 5th and 6th to the farthest
possible, you will have excellent acceleration for sprints and an extremely
high top speed in the 5th and 6th.
I reached a max speed of around 240 mph with this recipe.
*********
DOWNFORCE
*********
Think of a knife cutting through steak. The sharper the knife, the more
easily it cuts through the steak, while if it is duller, you have a harder
time cutting the meat. This is similar to how racecars must cut through air
to get better speed. The "sharper" the car is angled, the more easily it
can cut through the air, which will allow it to travel faster. Downforce
alters the angle of your car's body to alter the way air flows over the
car's body. If you have high downforce, your car will move more slowly due
to the fact it is not as aerodynamic, but this will also improve traction in
corners. If its the other way around, downforce is low, then your car will
be faster than before due to improved air flow. But, be ready for the
consequence of less handling.
#######################################################################
Downforce can have a huge affect on your cars high speed cornering. More
downforce in the front of the car will make the rear of your car swing out
more for oversteer. Clearly, doing the opposite: more downforce in the rear
will keep the rear of your car tighter to the ground...which can be used to
correct oversteer, or just make your car handle with more understeer
Submitted by: Brian Ogden
#######################################################################
#######################################################################
Basically, you described downfroce using the knife analogy, you know this.
What you misunderstood and then misrepresented in your explanation was how
altering the downforce in the game affects your car and what it is changing.
Raising the numbers has nothing to do with the body of that car, which is
what one would come to understand it as doing so from what you said. The
angel of the car does not ever change unless you raise or lower either the
front or rear ride height.
What the downforce controls affect are two things: Front downforce adjusts
something called an airdam (mounted to/on/underneath the bumber of a car)
which prevents air/regulates the airflow underneath your vehicle. At high
speeds IRL, the airflow underneath a car can become horribly disrupted by
all those mis-shapen engine parts we so love to tuck under out hoods,
causing a build up of air pressure that actually in extreme conditions lifts
the car slightly on it's front suspenions, reducing stability/cornering,
etc. The air dam reduces this effect dramatically. unfortunately, since air
is almost completely prevented from passing underneath the car (as most of
it would anyway) air resistance does build up and slow the car down, even as
it passes over the front end (hood) of the car, increasing the downward
force on the wheels.
The second thing downforce controls on a car is the rear-spoiler. This is
simply a flap on the back of every car in the game, both small and large,
medium and otherwise. Now, the spoiler controls the rear downforce through
it's adjustments or increasing or decreasing angle. The downward part of the
spoiler is foremost (nearest to the driver) and the upward part of the
spoiler is rear most. This is where your explanation of "the angle of the
car" would be appropriate, except instead it is the angel of the spoiler.
The higher the number in the game, the greater the angle, and incidentally,
the greater the downforce.
Maybe my explanations are just a bit more longwinded, and thats the
difference, but as I interpreted what you explained I felt it was somewhat
incorrrect, although not completely--you had the right idea.
**************
AYC CONTROLLER
**************
This controls the vehicle's yaw. The lower the number, the more understeer,
the higher the setting, the more oversteer. This part seems to be only for
Mitsubishi Lancers. This discovery was made by Drac cbu-anga. Toby Knight
says the reason this item cannot be used on anything other than Mitsubishis
is because it is a trademark of Mitsubishi Motors.
***********************
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM
***********************
This adjusts the throttle on all the drive wheels to fix wheelspin. It
reduces acceleration but also gets rid of wheelspin. Good for a
way-overpowered car that has RWD.
***************************
ACTIVE STABILITY CONTROLLER
***************************
This controls the braking power on all the wheels. Don't set it too low or
it won't do anything. The higher the setting the faster your brakes will
kick in. Experiment to see which setting you like the
best.
**************************************
VARIABLE CENTER DIFFERENTAL CONTROLLER
**************************************
This option is for 4WD cars ONLY. It will allow you to adjust how much
power goes to the front wheels and the back wheels. The percentage is how
much power is going to the front wheels of the car. If you give the front
less power, your 4WD car will behave more like an FR car. This is VERY
critical to getting rid of the stiffness of 4WD cars and giving the wheels
more freedom of movement. This is at the sacrifice of some stability
though.
On the other hand, if you adjust it closer to where the power distributed
between the wheels is nearly equal, then your car will be very stiff and
hard to turn. This will help if you take your car to rally races a lot, but
for road racing, it can make turning a HUGE pain. Then again, you won't be
able to make your stiff 4WD spin out on pavement if you tried to do it on
purpose!
This is where I will put your name if you submit a tip that could be good
for making this document more accurate, more thorough in exploring tuning,
whatever, as long as it improves this walkthrough. I also wouldn't mind
hearing tips from the rest of you either, it would help me out big time as I
don't have the time to do everything, and it would also help out other
readers with their problems.
- James Puckett for the small tip about the Full Engine Balancing
- Allen Ano for the information about the mufflers
- JLL for the correction about turbo lag.
- Bryan Ogden for the hints about shock rebound and bound.
- Drac cbu-anga for telling me a car that can use the AYC Controller.
- (Unknown) for telling me that most of the Mitsubishi Lancers can also use
the AYC Controller. (please tell me your name so I may credit you, I
accidentally deleted your email.)
- knohbodi for the clutch hint.
- Tiago Alves for advice on a few things.
- PJ Marx for a complete rundown on downforce.
- R Z for a tip on gear ratio.
- NeoBahamut for advice on correcting some car problems.
- Toby Knight for confirming that only Mitsubishis can use the Yaw Control
System.
- Hepster6500 for some random things on engines, stabilizers, and shocks.
- Thanks to my dad for giving me jobs to do to pay for my Playstation 2 and
this game!
- Thanks to Polyphony for the greatest racing series ever!
- Thanks to all the people who have submitted information to me!
- Thanks to you, because you took the time to read my guide!
- BIG, Big thanks to GameFaqs, THE best video game site on the net!
I have received a lot of stupid e-mail in the past, but now it is starting
to get ridiculous so I am going to start enforcing what kinds of messages
will and will not get answered.
Please DO:
- read the whole document before sending a question. If you have time to
waste your life away on video games, then you have enough time to scan my
document for a few minutes for an answer to a problem.
- put the name of the game in the message topic. It makes it A LOT easier
for me to pick out which messages are on games and which are not. Also if
the name is not there, I might accidentally delete it, thinking it is junk
mail.
- spell correctly. I won't be able to help much with your problem if you
send me something like "Hy mn cn u hlp me wth ths 1 prblm, I cnt bt ths 1
lvl ok thnks gby."
- send a message in English. I can barely read Spanish, let alone translate
Japanese. You wouldn't believe how many messages I have received in some
foreign languages that I don't even know which continent they are from.
- be polite. Any mail with excessive flaming will be instantly deleted.
Please DO NOT:
- write the title of the message as "About your walkthrough" or something
similar to that.
- flame. I hate flaming. Especially messages with the f-word or the
s-word. These will be instantly deleted.
- send advertisements. These will be considered junk mail and will be
deleted instantly.
- ask me something that is already answered in the walkthrough or the
manual. C'mon, would you rather spend a few minutes skimming my guide, or
would you rather spend a few hours, days, or even weeks waiting for me to
get back to you?
- forget to include the name of the game in the message or on the title. I
am not a psychic. I cannot tell what game you are after if you do not
include the name in it.
- send me a message in any language other than English. The only other
language I can barely understand at all is Spanish, and even then, I can
hardly form simple sentences. So don't send the message in any language
besides English or I simply won't be able to help you.
This guide is the sole property of Nathan Norris, author of this guide.
Don't rip off this guide in part or whole, or I will be forced to act
against you. Don't rip off this guide then alter it to death and claim it
as your own. This guide may not be used for ANY profitable reasons
whatsoever, even if no money is made.
I'm tired of all these websites requesting my guides for their sites, so
from now on, these are the only sites, which may use my guides:
This makes it very simple for me to keep track of what state each version is
in each site. If you find this guide on some other site, and it is
incomplete, go to www.gamefaqs.com. before requesting help from me. Since
gamefaqs.com is the first place I send every piece of my work, they are sure
to have the most up-to-date version of my guides.
Also, if you find this guide on www.cheatcc.com, notify me immediately.
They have ripped off of me before and I'm not gonna let them do it again.
