Your Account
    Log into your account here:
       Forgot Password

    Not registered? Sign Up for free
    Registration allows you to keep track of all your content and comments, save bookmarks, and post in all our forums.

Car Tuning Guide

by aj_the_one

==============================================================================
                               Gran Turismo 5
                       Car Tuning FAQ(December 1st'10)
                           Written by:Aj the One

==============================================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A. Introduction
B. Changes/Updates
C. Body/Chassis
 C1.Aerodynamics Tuning
D. Engine
E. Intake System
F. Exhaust
G. Turbo Kits
H. Transmission
 H1.Gear Adjustments
I. Drivetrain
 I1.TSD Tuning
 I2.LSD Tuning
J. Suspension
 J1.Suspension Tuning
K. Brakes
L. Tires
M. Drivetrain Characteristics
 M1.FF
 M2.FR
 M3.RR
 M4.MR
 M5.4WD
N. Favorite Car Settings
O. Legal Stuff
P. Credits

!!IMPORTANT!!Most of the descriptions for the parts are taken from the menu of
the game. I've added something to some of the descriptions but it's mostly 
game material
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A.Introduction
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello to my fellow GT fans!!! After a long wait GT5 is finally upon us and I
am exceptionally happy at the overall package that they put out. It has some
problems which need to be addressed(the Individual Gear Ratio thing pisses me
off) but it's still a great game. With that being said I decided to write a 
tuning FAQ for those who needed some help on how to tune their cars to 
perfection. Now experimentation is the key here so try out various settings to
see which one works best for you, as there is no right or wrong setup. Well
dive in!!!

My PSN ID is IntelligentAj for those who care/If you send a friend request
please put something in the body so I know where you're from. I'm on most
nights after about 11pm EST and mostly every morning since I work from 3-10pm

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B.Changes/Updates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/4/10-Capitalized the names of the Parts so they are easier to see, Changed
the downforce section as I had the Front/Rear descriptions backward(thanks
DraghonCiege), Changed the FAQ name to better reflect the contents

1/11/11-Fixed the typing errors, added new section on the Drivetrains and my
personal faovrite car settings

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.Body/Chassis
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this section you can reduce the weight of your car significantly which will
help increase your car's acceleration and cornering ability by a large margin.
You can also increase your car's rigidity which will stabilize your car as
you corner.

WEIGHT REDUCTION-Removes non-essential parts of the car to reduce overall 
weight and improve acceleration and cornering ability

Stage 1-5000/Reduces weight by a little under 10%
Stage 2-10,000/Reduces weight by a little under 10% again
Stage 3-20,000/Reduces weight by about 8%

CHASSIS REINFORCEMENT-20,000/Makes car more rigid which stabilizes the car on
corners

WINDOW WEIGHT REDUCTION-3,000/Replaces window glass with lighter material to 
reduce weight and improve cornering performance/Drops weight by 10kg

CARBON HOOD/BODY COLOR-5,000/Replaces standard hood with Lightweight Carbon 
hood to reduce weight and make you car look better/Drops weight by 5kg

C1.AERODYNAMICS
By going to GT Auto and adding a Wing to your car or other car modifications
you can adjust the downforce in the tuning menu. Now depending on the type of
car you have and how you want it to handle there are a couple of ways you can
adjust the downforce.

!!!IMPORTANT!!!As the game notes it's very easy to radically change the way
your car handles by changing the Downforce. The effect is more evident in
race cars though as you can adjust the Front and Rear setting. 

FRONT LOW/REAR HIGH-This setup is designed to make your understeer much more
than normal. It gives a small degree of control to powerful FR cars like the
Corvette ZR1 so they handle much easier. Great for FR cars or if you want your
car to have more understeer

FRONT MIDDLE/REAR MIDDLE-This is a balanced approach that will give your car 
better top speed and a slight boost in cornering without much downside. Good
for all Drivetrains though i'd recommend either an oversteer setting or an
understeer setting.

FRONT HIGH/REAR LOW-This setup will make your car tend to oversteer thus 
helping you corner easier. Be careful though as this can also make it easier
to spin out. Great for: FF,MR,4WD. I've noticed that in powerful MR cars(the
Minolta Race Car comes to mind) this setting will make the car much easier to 
spin out until about 150mph. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D.Engine
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the area where you can make your engine much more efficient and give
it more Horsepower and Torque which will increase Max Speed and Acceleration 
respectively as well as improve the overall feel of the car. I recommend 
buying the ECU before anything else as it has an enormous benefit for a cheap
cost.

**IMPORTANT**Make sure that you go to GT Auto and change your oil. This will
give a your car a nice bump in HP and Torque and make your engine perform
better.

ENGINE TUNING-Improves balance of the parts in the engine and makes the engine
operate smoother, which increase power and acceleration

Stage 1-2,500/Gives a small/medium increase in BHP/Torque
Stage 2-15,000/Gives a medium increase in BHP/Torque
Stage 3-30,000/Gives a medium/high increase in BHP/Torque

**I was going to try and figure out the percentages but based on what i've
tested it wildly varies according to how strong the engine is at first

ECU TUNING-1,000/Installs a high performance Electronic Control Unit to 
improve engine performance and maximize power output. Small HP boost but 
improved engine performance

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.Intake System
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here you can improve the flow of air into the engine which will make the
engine stronger and more efficient. These uprgades should follow the engine
upgrades.

SPORTS INTAKE MANIFOLD-2,500/Minor increase to HP/Improves air intake
efficiency to increase throttle response and engine power

SPORTS AIR FILTER-250/Minor increase to HP/Reduces Air Intake resistance to 
improve engine power

RACING AIR FILTER-450/Small increase to HP/Installs a high performance Air 
Filter which reduces air intake resistance further and gives a greater
increase to power

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F.Exhaust
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your exhaust system is vitally important to maximizing your engine's 
performance. Here you can improve the exhaust and change out the manifold and
Catalytic Converter also increasing power and making your car sound much more
powerful.

EXHAUST-Replaces the standard exhaust with a higher quality Steel or Titanium
exhaust thus improving power and making your car louder.

SPORTS EXHAUST-1,500/Minor increase to HP/Stainless Steel Sports Exhaust for
High RPM's and gives your car a heavier engine sound

TITANIUM SEMI-RACING EXHAUST-7,500/Small/Medium increase in HP/Titanium Alloy
Exhaust for High RPM's

TITANIUM RACING EXHAUST-10,000/Medium/Large increase in HP/Efficient, High
Performance Titanium Exhaust for High RPM's

SPORTS EXHAUST MANIFOLD-3,500/Minor increase to HP/Engine Headers which
improve combustion efficiency and peak enging output

CATALYTIC CONVERTER:SPORTS-500/Minor increase to HP/Reduces resistance from 
the Cat converter, removing pollutants and increasing engine output. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G.Turbo Kits
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is where you can add a turbo charger to your car if your car is turbo
charged or a supercharger if your car can take one. These guys increase HP and
Torque a significant amount and make your car much faster. Care should be
taken with the Turbo kits however as the highest HP may not be the best answer
for your car.

TURBOCHARGERS-Forced induction devices which increases engine power by using
engine exhaust to power a compressor/comes with a racing intercooler also.

!!!IMPORTANT!!!Unlike Enginge upgrades each turbo kit has a specific 
application therefore you can choose which one you want without having to buy
the other 2

LOW RPM RANGE TURBO KIT-4,500/Small increase in HP/Provides excellent engine 
response and very little to no turbo lag at low RPMs but does terrible at
higher RPM ranges. Ideal for courses with little straightaways and alot of
corners as the low end acceleration this provides will help you much more.

MID RPM RANGE TURBO KIT-10,000/Medium increase in HP/Improves engine response
at the Mid RPMs and gives a good jump to power. Due to these facts this is
the most balanced Turbo Kit and will most likely be the best fit for your car
if it doesn't have an insane amount of HP.

HIGH RPM RANGE TURBO KIT-20,000/Large increase in HP/Improves engine output at
the High RPM range and as such does very poorly at lower RPMs. You will 
experience a nice amount of turbo lag if you find yourself spending alot of
time in the lower RPM ranges. Use this turbo kit if that doesn't bother you
or on High Speed courses with a small amount of corners and alot of max speed
straightaways.

SUPERCHARGER-17,500/Forced induction device that uses the crankshaft instead 
of the exhaust to power the compressor. Improves engine power in the Low to
Mid RPM range making this a good fit, if your car can support one.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H.Transmission
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can make your engine as strong as you want but if you don't have a
Transmission to send that power to the wheels you basically have nothing. Here
you can upgrade your transmission to improve your acceleration or max speed.

5 SPEED CLOSE-RATIO TRANSMISSION-6,000/As it's name implies this is a tranny
which has the gears closer together to increase acceleration but decrease top
speed. 

6 Speed CLOSE-RATIO TRANSMISSION-8,000/This is a tranny in which the gears are
spaced close together again sacrificing speed for acceleration. This has a 
higher top speed than the 5 Speed Transmission though.

FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE TRANSMISSION-20,000/Special Service Device which is
supposed to let you customize all the gear ratios individually, thus meeting
the need for any race. For some reason you can only adjust the Max Speed 
slider to the left for more acceleration or to the right for a higher top 
speed. In almost all cases I would have to recommend this as it's got the
versatility for anything.

H1.GEAR ADJUSTMENTS

!!!IMPORTANT!!!Hopefully Polyphony realizes that they screwed up big time and
make the gears individually adjustable as this not being able to adjust the
gears individually is anathema to most real racing fans.

With the Fully Customizable Transmission you can alter the top speed slider in
the tuning menu of your car. The further to the right you move the slider the
faster your car will be but the slower it will accelerate. Inversely the more
to the left the slider is the faster your car will accelerate but it will have
a slower top speed. The Ideal level changes for each car so I can only tell
you to get on a practice track and test to see at which level your car flies
through it's powerband but still gets a high enough top speed that doesn't
take forever to get to.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I.Drivetrain
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your drivetrain is almost as important as your transmission when it comes to
acceleration and max speed. Here you can change your clutch and flywheel to
improve shifting and engine performance. You can also add a Limited slip
Differential and a Torque Sensing Center Differential.

SINGLE PLATE CLUTCH-1,500/Engages and Disengages the transfer of torque 
between the engine and gears.

TWIN PLATE CLUTCH-2,500/Reduces the size of the clutch by using two plates. 
This reduces momentum when the clutch spins and increase engine response and
grear changes.

CARBON DRIVE SHAFT-4,500/Reduces drivetrain momentum which improves engine
response

TORQUE SENSING CENTER DIFFERENTIAL-15,000/A differential that can alter the
torque distribution in a 4WD car from 10/90% or 50/50%. If you have a 4WD car
I highly recommend getting this as it can basically change the handling 
properties of your car

!!!IMPORTANT!!!This can only be used for 4WD cars, which is a shame because it
is one of the best upgrades in the game. 

I1.TORQUE SENSING DIFFERENTIAL TUNING

This is an invaluable tool to 4WD cars as it can totally change the way the
car handles by shifting the amount of torque the front and back wheels. You
make the car handle like a 4WD drive car, balanced without too much over/under
steer, or you can shift the torque to the back and turn it into a MR or FR 
like monster.

**My car for these tests if the Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro as it's a high powered
beast and also handles like a dream making it perfect for these tests!!

FRONT TORQUE 50%/REAR TORQUE 50%-This is the most balanced configuration and
will please most people because it doesn't go to far with either extreme. With
this you can expect a balanced car which will take corners at a medium speed
and very small likelyhood of spinning out, unless the rear tires are on grass
or dirt, then nothing can help you.

FRONT TORQUE 40%/REAR TORQUE 60%-With this setup your car will still be stable
but you'll feel that the car is a little looser which will let you take 
corners easier. Still not much likelyhood of spinning out with this config as
long as you have beginner level throttle control.

FRONT TORQUE 30%/REAR TORQUE 70%-At this level you'll start noticing that your
car starts to get quite loose. It's still able to stick to the road and if you
know how to handle your car this is in most cases the best of both worlds as
it takes corners much easier than at lower levels and still keeps you from
spinning out in a lot of circumstances. Just a warning though: Don't go to
this level until you have spent a good amount of time with your car and know
it's handling properties

FRONT TORQUE 20%/REAR TORQUE 80%-At this point differences from the other
levels are greatly evident. You'll notice that it's quite easy for your car
to spin out now if your not careful. The car handles a little better on faster
corners but slower corners are more of problem since the car essentially acts
like a FR car with a little more control. I personally think this level is too
much but i'm sure some will like it.

FRONT TORQUE 10%/REAR TORQUE 90%-Now on this level the difference between the
lower configurations are extreme. On this setting your car acts like a full
fledged High power FR car meaning plenty of fishtailing at low to medium 
speeds. If you like to drift however then this setting is for you as a tap of
the E-Brake will send you on your way to an extreme drift. Like the setting
before this I can't recommend this unless you have a supreme command of your
car... or if you like to drift.

I didn't cover the 5% increments cause the differences between them aren't
that great. If one setting seems like too little or too much just adjust it in
5% increments until you find the setting which works for you.

Final Thoughts-I can't begin to describe how important this feature is to 4WD
cars. It can take the most out of control car and turn it into a smooth beast
capable of taking cornering at nice speeds and ripping through races. If you
have a 4WD car you need to make adjusting this one of your priorities.
 
ADJUSTABLE LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL-7,500/Fully adjustable LSD that controls
the rotation difference between the left and right wheels. You can change the
limit for both acceleration and braking. 

I2.LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL TUNING

The Limited Slip Differential can be just as important to car performance as
any of the other tuning options. It can act during Acceleration, Deceleration
or both. The more the LSD can limit the rotational difference between the
left and right wheels, the more traction will be retained and the more stable
braking will be, this however will reduce your car's turning ability, leading
to understeer.

**Like the other tests I used my Audi R8 5.2 for these tests to get a handle
on how it affects 4WD cars and my Corvette ZR1 '09 RM for the FR car feel. 
Also NO MATTER WHAT CHANGES YOU MAKE HERE THROTTLE CONTROL IS THE MOST 
IMPORTANT THING!!!! If you have great throttle control you can keep your tires
on the ground and get as much power as you can from your engine to the road.

INITIAL TORQUE-This is the amount torque necessary for the LSD to kick in. As
the in-game description says it makes your car more stable by preventing
sudden changes in performance when the LSD is actived during Acceleration and 
Deceleration.

FR/MR-At low levels you won't really notice a difference in how the car 
handles. I didn't notice a difference until I put the torque up to about 35 at
level the understeer becomes more pronounced and the car a little easier to
handle. This does absolutely nothing for the rear wheels spinning problem so
this won't provide much relief from spinning out. I recommend keeping this
high if you want a lot of understeer and low if you want the car to handle a 
little loosely.

4WD-Since you can adjust both the front and rear IT you have a chance to make
a little more of a dent in the handling of the car. By increasing the value
on the front wheels you will make the car understeer more and by increasing
the value of the rear wheels you will make the car oversteer more. It should
be noted that is nowhere near as huge a difference as is seen with TSD. Since
most 4WD cars handle pretty well i'd recommend keeping the front value low
around 10-15 and the rear value high about 40-50 if you want the car to 
corner a little better. 

ACCELERATION SENSITIVITY-Adjust how the LSD will act when the accelerator is
pressed. 

FR-I maxed this setting out at 60(by default it was 40)with the intial torque
at the same level and the car understeered significantly more than with the
previous settings. Throttle control is still vitally important with the
ZR1 but this makes the car a little easier to drive, though do to the 
pronounced understeer you'll have to brake earlier when cornering. Same
recommendation as above: High if you want more understeer and for the car to
behave with a little more sanity and low if you want to try and slide around
corners.

4WD-Like the Initial Torque increasing the value to the Front wheels while
keeping the rear value low result in more understeer, making the car more
stable but at the cost of some cornering ability. Icnreasing the rear value
while lowering the front vaule will have the opposite effect of giving the
car more oversteer and cornering capabilities. Since 4WD cars are relatively
easy to handle I 'd recommend a Low Front/High Rear setting as you get the
benefits of increased cornering without the drawback of spinning out.

DECELERATION SENSITIVITY-Adjust how the LSD will behave during deceleration

FR-I started by maxing this out(as well as the IT, and AS) and the understeer
in the car is extreme. On a brighter note this seems to do something to reduce
the amount that rear wheels spin at lower speeds making the car slightly 
harder to spin out. Also the car will be much more stable when braking the
higher this is. I'd recommend IT=30,AS=50,DS=40 with the ZR1. It has a good
balance of understeer to control the car's worst excesses but not enough to
hamper the original powerful feel of the car.

4WD-Like everything else in this section(noticing a pattern?)increase the
Front Value/Decreasing the Rear value will make your car understeer even 
further. This will also make you car more stable while braking also. Likewise
Decreasing the Front Value/Increasing the Rear Value will make the oversteer
slightly. With this I have noticed the smallest change from other configs.
Honestly you can just leave this as is, at least in a 4WD car.

Final Thoughts- LSD is very important for FR cars as the handling properties
will change significantly according to what you set. 4WD cars not so much. You
will get a much larger effect on 4WD cars by adjusting the Brake Balance
controller and Torque Sensing Differential. Most importantly don't forget to
try out your configuration before you race, this way you have a handle on your
car.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
J.Suspension
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is where you can buy and adjust the Suspension system of your car which
can widly affect how your car handles and sticks to the road. When modifying
these settings attention should be paid as you can completely screw up your 
car with the wrong setup.

FIXED SPORTS KIT-3,000/Suspension kit which lowers the ride height and has 
stronger springs than the deafult suspension.

HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE SPORTS KIT-4,500/Suspension Kit in which you can change both
the ride height and shock absorbers.

FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE KIT-15,000/Racing Suspension which allows you to adjust all
aspects of your car's suspension including the Roll Bars, Camber and Toe Angle
I Highly recommend that you get this.

J1.SUSPENSION TUNING

Once you get the Fully Customizable Kit you can adjust various aspects of your
suspension and all of these will significantly affect how your car handles. 
You can really screw your car up big time if your tweak a section here the
wrong way so be very careful and clear on what you want your car to do before
making any adjustments.

RIDE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT(mm)-Here you can adjust the height of the front and
back of the car seperately. A lower Ride Height will give your car a lower
center of gravity and will increase will make your car more responsive. A
mistake alot of people make is setting their car too low to the ground then
when they go up a hill or go over a bumper their car gets tempermental and out
of control. If your car takes corners well then a lower front and a higher 
rear make sense as it will make the car corner better.

**IMPORTANT**You should make sure that for courses with a high amount of
elevation(Nurburgring and Trial Mountain come to mind)you should make your
Ride Height lower and your springs slightly higher.This will help counteract
all the jumping your car will be doing as a result of elevation change.

SPRING RATE(kgf/mm)-You can adjust the hardness of your suspension here. The
harder you make the spring rate, the less your car will pitch and roll and
the sharper it will move. Also a rule of thumb is the lower the your car is
the stronger the springs should be to compensate for the shortened length. If
you springs are set high(just testing I set mine to 16.0 for the front and 
back)the car will be much more responsive on the track.

DAMPERS(Extension)-These are designed to reduce the amount that the springs
expand by limiting the amount that they can move. These should be set to be
stronger than when they are compressed. The deafult seems to be fine as the
car handles hill well and gets a little boost to it's cornering.

DAMPERS(Compression)-These are designed to reduce the amount that the springs
compress. This determines the resistance is when the springs are compressed 
and as a result shouldn't be too strong as it would make the suspension tight
and reduce the car's cornering. I'd recommend making them also slightly lower
than the default(My R8 is set at 4)

ANTI-ROLL BARS-You can adjust the stiffness of the Anti-Roll Bars here which
activate when the car rolls. As the game says you'll have a similiar effect
on your car's handling. You can adjust these to make your car understeer by
having the front Bars High and the rear Low. You can increase the oversteer
by doing the opposite. Since this is according to your driving style i'll let
you decide which to use.

CAMBER ANGLE-You can adjust the Negative Camber here which is when the top of
the tires lean inward more than the bottom when looking at the front of the 
car. This is quite effective as the higher the Negative Camber is, more of the
tire stays on the road when cornering. You don't want to set this too high
though as your car won't drive in a straight line. I've found that a angle
of 3.0 front/3.0 rear will improve cornering without negative side effects.

**IMPORTANT**The higher you make the Camber Angle the faster your tires will
wear down as more of the tire will be in contact with the road. This should
factor in to how high you set the camber angle. You should also be prepared
to drive with a little more tire wear in the longer races.

TOE ANGLE-Here you can adjust the Toe Angle which is the angle of the tires
when looked at from above. You can have a "Toe-in" which is when the front
of the tire are further in than the back of tire. Inversely "Toe-out" is
when the front of the tire is out further than the back. If you want the
car to understeer generally you should have a Toe-in for the front and rear
tires, this will also make your car more stable on corners.

UNDERSTEER- You should have a Toe-in for the front and rear tires this will
also make your car more stable on corners. A level of .20 for the front and
rear will cause sufficient oversteer. Recommended for FR/MR cars as they 
benefit from the understeer and cornering stability.

OVERSTEER- You should have a Toe-out for the front and rear tires as this will
make your car oversteer. I use a level of -.20 for my 4WD cars as this gives
the cars more oversteer with no negative effects. Recommended for FF/4WD/MR
cars as they generally are much more stable on corners and handling and will
benefit from the added manuverability. 

Final Thoughts-Your suspension is very important and you can find significant
gains in this section if you take the time out to tune your car and constantly
adjust settings to find what works. You should spend time here getting your 
car to handle the way you want it to. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K.Brakes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naturally,since these are things that stop your car, these are a vitally 
important part of any car especially a race car. Having enough stopping power
can shave vital seconds off of your lap times or just make your races easier.
I'm not sure why they got rid of the purchaseable Brake Kit but you can 
control the Brake Balance Controller which is just as important as anything
for controlling your car.

BRAKE BALANCE CONTROLLER-This adjusts the sensitivity of your front and rear
brakes. As a result you can control whether your car will understeer or
oversteer by your decision in this area. If you put the Front and Rear brakes
to the front then your car will understeer but your brakes will have a 
significant amount of stopping power. If you put the balance to rear for both
brakes then your car will oversteer somewhat but your brakes will be weak. 
It's a good idea to have the Front Brakes at 3 or below and the Rear at 7 or
above if you want your car to oversteer. The inverse will also be true if you
want to understeer. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
L.Tires
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the power in the world doesn't mean anything if you don't have a good set
tires to transfer that power to the road. Here you can buy various sets of
tires for your car. There are many types and the situation for each will be
somewhat different.

COMFORT TIRES-Hard Tires which handle poorly. In previous GT games these would
have been a nicer version of simulation tires.

Hard-1,200/Worst grip of all tires
Medium-1,400/Still poor grip but not as bad as hard
Soft-1,600/Like being the smartest of the dumb kids these tires are the best
of the worst

SPORTS TIRES-These are tires which are normally used for circuit racing and
as they handle decently but don't degrade as fast as racing tires.

Hard-6000/A little better than the comfort tires, these guys will last a while
Medium-7,000/A good balance of grip and durability at a cheap price
Soft-8,000/Hugs the road nicely but degrades faster than the other types, nice
if you don't want to spend 36,000 for the racing softs though there's really
no match to those.

RACING TIRES-These guys are designed for racing and you shouldn't hesitate to
throw these on your car.

Hard-15,000/These tires handle fairly well and take a while to degrade. These
will be your best friend during endurance races as nothing sucks more than
having to pit every 5 laps.
Medium-25,000/These guys are a nice balance between grip and durability and
you can risk an endurance race with these though you'll have to pit more often
Soft-36,000/The big daddy of the racing tires. Don't let the price tag fool
you, these tires are worth all the money and then some.The grip they offer is
amazing and will make your car take corners like nothing. They have a really
crappy degradation rate though as they won't last more than a couple of laps.
But for every race that's 5 laps I strongly recommend using these tires.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M.Drivetrain Characteristics
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been thinking of ways to improve the FAQ and an explanation of the 
different types of drivetrains and how they affect the handling of the car
seemed like a good idea. With that being said I'll try to explain the acronym
and also give some insight into how it affects the performance of the car.

!!!IMPORTANT!!!I'll only cover the Drivetrains which are in the game as there
a couple that are missing but these are variations of the ones listed. These
are also commonly called layouts also. When I say a high value I mean at least
65% or above the middle value

M1.FF(Front-Engine, Front-Wheel Drive)

Description-As it's name implies with this drivetrain the engine is housed in
the front of the car and that's also where the torque is transferred. This is
popular for most mass produced consumer cars as they are very easy to drive.
Examples: Honda Civic and almost all commonly driven street cars

Cars Tested-Hona Civic Integra Type R '04, Honda Civic Type R(EK)'97, Honda
Civic Mugen Motul Race Car SI '89, Honda CR-Z@ '10

Advantages-Exceptional control, Virtually no chance of spinning out, excellent
for beginners

Disadvantages-Exceptionally strong understeer, most cars are underpowered
making them less useful later in the game

Handling Characteristics-With no modification you will find that these cars
have a very wide cornering arc and will even feel a bit unresponsive as the   
understeer is very strong in these cars. Slow-in, fast-out will be a little
harder in these cars but they are excellent for beginners offering a smooth
ride

Summary/Opinion-In short these cars are excellent for beginners as they will
help you get acclimated to the physics of the game without punishing you 
harshly for mistakes. The understeer can be a curse for some people and a 
blessing for others which speaks for itself. Most of the cars will become
obsolete later in the game with the exception of the Honda Civic Integra Type
R '04 and the Civic Type R(EK)'97 as when these cars are race modded they can
easily outperform mid level cars and on some courses can even hang with the
supercars!

Oversteer Settings-The front Downforce should be maxed out and the rear should
be as low as possible as this will make the biggest difference in giving the
car more oversteer. Also having all the front suspension settings low and the
rear settings high will add oversteer as will having a camber in the range of
2.5-4.0 for the front and rear. A Negative Toe Angle of 0 front/-.40 rear 
will make the car loose but give it much needed oversteer as well. The brake
balance should also have a low front setting and a high rear setting.

!!!IMPORTANT!!!Due to the High Camber Angle this setting will kill your front
tires much faster than normal so expect your tires to heat up quicker than 
normal and wear much faster

Understeer Settings-The inverse of everything above will increase the car's
natural tendency to understeer. The deafult settings for any FF car will give
you sufficient understeer but if you want to increase it then having a low
front downforce and high rear downforce will go a long way towards that. Also
having low front suspension settings and high rear settings will do the trick
also. Finally the Camber should be left at 0 for the front and rear and the
Toe angle should be positive with anything above .30 increasing the understeer

M2.FR(Front-Engine, Rear-Wheel Drive)

Description-In this layout the engine is mounted in the front of the car
whereas the torque is transferred to the rear wheels. Most sports/luxury cars 
have this layout as they can accomodate a bigger and more powerful engine and
the weight distribution is nearly ideal, staying around 45/55. Examples: Chevy
Corvette ZR1, Mercedes Benz SLS AMG'10

Cars Tested-Mazda Miata MX-5, Corvette ZR1 RM, Mercedes Benz SLS AMG'10, Mazda
RX-7, Nissan 350RZ Gran Turismo 4 Ltd.(Z33) '05

Advantages-A high amount of oversteer, smaller cornering arc, great weight
distribution, excellent drifting ability

Disadvantages-Very hard to control, A high amount of oversteer, Heavier
average weight

Handling Characteristics-These cars generally have very strong oversteer. 
Corners are easier take than in FF cars but throttle control is paramount in
these cars as flooring the gas while the wheel is turned will result in the
rear wheels losing traction and your car spinning out unless you can control
it. This drivetrain is hard to learn but once you master it these cars are a  
a force to be reckoned with.

Oversteer Settings-A low ride height combined with other suspension settings
tilted towards the rear will give more oversteer as will having the rear 
downforce as low as possible and the front as high as possible. The camber
should be above 3 for the front and rear and the Toe angle should be somewhere
above -.20 for the front and rear. The brake balance should be tilted towards
the rear also at 2/8 or something similiar. WARNING: This will make your more
unstable than normal and subsequently harder to control.

Understeer Settings-A high Ride Height and other suspension settings tilted
towards the front should increase the car's understeer as will having the
front downforce low and the rear high. A 0 Camber Angle and positive Toe Angle
around about .30-.40 should make the car understeer sufficiently. The brake
balance can be set at 1/1 as this will make the car understeer more but will
make the brakes stronger.

M3.RR(Rear-Engine, Rear-Wheel Drive)

Description-In this layout both the engine and drive wheels are at the rear of
the car, thus placing the Center of Mass at the rear of the vehicle. This 
drivetrain is rarely used for sports cars anymore with the exceptions being
Porsche and RUF.

Advantages-

Disadvantages-

Handling Characteristics-

Oversteer Settings-

Understeer Settings-

M4.MR(Mid-Engine, Rear-Wheel Drive)

Description-In this layout the engine is placed right in front of the rear 
drive wheels, behind the cockpit. This is by far the most popular layout for
Race Cars as most of the race cars in the game have a MR drivetrain. Examples:
F1 Racing Cars, Toyota Minolta Race Car '88, Ferrari Enzo Ferrari '02

Cars Tested-Toyota Minolta Race Car '89, Formula Gran Turismo, Audi R10 TDI
Race Car '06, Ferrari Enzo Ferrari '02, Ford GT '06

Advantages-Cornering ability, Excellent Acceleration, Excellent Responsiveness
Excellent weight distribution

Disadvantages-Relatively hard to control, Can feel a bit floaty

Handling Characteristics-These cars handle similiar to FR cars with a little
more oversteer and a slighty lower chance of spinning out. The responsiveness
on most of the cars I tested was great, both acceleration and braking were 
quick. In most cases the cars corner with little difficulty but spinning out
can be a problem if turning hard while flooring on the gas at low to medium
speeds. 

Oversteer Settings-Once again a high front Downforce and low rear Downforce 
will give the car extreme oversteer. Low front settings and high rear settings
for the suspension will also increase the oversteer. You should have a camber
of at least 3 in the front and rear and a Toe of about -.20 for the Front/Rear
for maximum oversteer. Brake balance should be set at 1/1 since this will help
give the car some much needed control and make your brakes a little stronger.

Understeer Settings-For the race cars all you need to adjust is the downforce.
By having a low front/high rear setup you will not only make the car more 
stable and less prone to spin out, you'll also give the car more understeer.
If you want to add to this, standard rules apply so high front/low rear
suspension settings, no Camber and positive Toe for the front/rear will work
wonders for understeer. If you find your race car is unstable or hard to 
control this setup will work great though it'll probably result in slower lap
times.

M5.4WD(Four-Wheel Drive)

Description-In this layout the engine is plaved in the front of the car but
the torque is distributed to all 4 drive wheels commonly through a center 
differential. Since this differential can send more torque to the rear wheels
or keep the torque equally balanced, these cars are very versatile. Examples:
Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro '09, Lamborghini Murcielago '09

Cars Tested-Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro '09, Lamborghini Murcielago LP-640 Super-
veloce '09, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 '08, Nissan GT-R '07, Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution GSX-R '07

Advantages-Exceptional Flexibility, Excellent Grip/Traction, Cornering Ability
Ease of driving

Disadvantages-Light to moderate understeer

Handling Characteristics-Generally these cars are quite stiff when first taken
on the road. Cornering is a little harder due to the understeer but it's very
hard to make these cars spin out. One of the best traits of 4WD cars is the
Torque Sensing Differential which lets you alter the handling of the car. More
Torque to the rear gives the car more oversteer and it handles like a FR/MR 
car. More balance gives the car understeer and makes it handle looser than a
FF but tighter than FR/MR.

Oversteer Settings-Like everything else having the suspension settings titled
towards the rear will aid oversteer. The camber can be left alone or set no
higher than 1(More than this seems to make 4WD cars more stiff) and a front
Toe Angle of 0 and rear of -.40. Brake balance can be set to 9/9 as this will
help the car oversteer a little more.

Understeer Settings-Having a low front/high rear downforce setup will, like
always, make your car understeer more. Have the suspension settings titled to
front, A positive Toe Angle and no Camber should increase the understeer. The
Brake Balance can be set at 1/1 also.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N.Favorite Car Settings
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since i've gotten alot of questions on what setting I use for my favorite cars
i've decided to add the base settings that I use for my cars. I'll make
slight adjustments depending on the track but for most races these work great
for me.

***I always keep the Traction Control and ABS on 1. If you want to make your
handle a little better you can put it up to 10 but I prefer to have stronger
brakes. Of course the difference that I noted between the 2 setting wasn't
that large. My Tires are also Racing Soft whenever possible

AUDI R8 5.2 FSI Quattro'09/4WD         CHEVY CORVETTE ZR1'09 RM/FR
Aerodynamics=10 Front/25 Rear          Aerodynamics=35 Front/35 Rear
Gear Ratio= Top Speed 230mph           Gear Ratio=236mph
Initial Torque=10 Front/30 Rear        Initial Torque=30 Rear
Accel. Sensitivity=40 Front/50 Rear    Accel. Sensitivity=50 Rear
Brake Sensitivity=20 Front/35 Rear     Brake Sensitivity=40 Rear
Torque Split=30/70                     Ride Height=0 Front/Rear
Ride Height=-10 Front/Rear             Spring Rate=13 Front/Rear
Spring Rate=10.5 Front/Rear            Dampers(Extension)=5 Front/Rear
Dampers(Extension)=5 Front/Rear        Dampers(Compression)=4 Front/Rear
Dampers(Compression)=4 Front/Rear      Anti-Roll Bars=3 Front/5 Rear
Anti-Roll Bars=3 Front/Rear            Camber Angle=3.5 Front/Rear
Camber Angle=3.5 Front/3.5 Rear        Toe Angle=-.40 Front/Rear
Toe Angle=-.40 Front/Rear              Brake Balance=1 Front/Rear
Brake Balance=2 Front/8 Rear    

SLS AMG'10/FR                          LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO LP 560-4'08/4WD
Aerodynamics=0 Front/25 Rear           Aerodynamics=0 Front/10 Rear
Gear Ratio=230mph                      Gear Ratio=217mph
Initial Torque=10                      Initial Torque=10 Front/5 Rear 
Accel. Sensitivity=40                  Accel.Sensitivity=40 Front/20 Rear
Brake Sensitivity=20                   Brake Sensitivity=20 Front/10 Rear
Ride Height=-10 Front/Rear             Torque Split=40 Front/60 Rear
Spring Rate=13.2 Front/Rear            Ride Height=-10 Front/Rear
Dampers(Extension)=6 Front/Rear        Spring Rate=12 Front/Rear
Dampers(Compression)=4 Front/Rear      Dampers(Extension)=6 Front/Rear 
Anti-Roll Bars=4 Front/5 Rear          Dampers(Compression)=4 Front/Rear
Camber Angle=1.5 Front/Rear            Anti-Roll Bars=4 Front/Rear
Toe Angle=-40 Front/-.20Rear           Camber Angle=1.5 Front/Rear
Brake Balance=2 Front/8 Rear           Toe Angle=-.40 Front/-.20 Rear
                                       Brake Balance=2 Front/8 Rear

AMUSE S2000 GT1 TURBO/FR
Aerodynamics=20 Front/30 Rear
Gear Ratio=199mph
Initial Torque=7
Accel. Sensitivity=30
Braking Sensitivity=15
Ride Height=-10 Front/Rear
Spring Rate=14 Front/16 Rear
Dampers(Extension)=7 Front/Rear
Dampers(Compression)=6 Front/Rear
Anti-Roll Bars=4 Front/Rear
Camber Angle=3.5 Front/Rear
Toe Angle=-.30 Front/Rear
Brake Balance=1 Front/Rear

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N.Legal Stuff
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal or
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site except for www.gamefaqs.com and www.ign.com or as part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

Allowed Sites:
www.cheatcc.com
www.gamershell.com
http://gameguideworld.net
www.supercheats.com

Copyright 2010 Armand Sellers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O.Credits
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- The people at Polyphony Digital who created this excellent game
- Gamefaqs for posting my FAQ
- My wife for not giving me hell for writing this
- You the readers for using this and finding it useful(hopefully)

Any questions or comments regarding this FAQ please E-mail me at:

[email protected]