FORZA 3 MOTORSPORT NEWS INFORMATION XBOX HINTS TIPS AND TRICKS

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NOTE: The following setups have been provided by other Forza 3 Players or have been used using a tuning calculator. Please note that tuning is different for each player, track and vehicle, hence the followig tunes are merely to provide a feel of the tuning direction.

D Class MINI COOPER S:

 

Details for the race are as follows:
Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 10:00 EST
Laps: 4
Damage: Cosmetic
Collisions: Default (we don’t want some turd ruining it)
Tires and Fuel: Simulation

 

 

Make: Mini
Model: Cooper S
Tuned by: Dewstain
Painted by: Dewstain

Buildsheet:

UPGRADES:

Engine and Power

Race Intake
Race Exhaust
Street Ignition

Platform and Handling:

Sport Transmission, Stock Driveline, Stock Weight, everything else Race

Tires and Rims:

Stock Tires
Stock Width
18″
Borbet Design BS Rims

Body and Aero:

Forza front bumper
Forza wing

TUNE:

Tires:
Front = 27
Rear = 28

Gearing:
Final = 2.75
1st = Can’t Change
2nd = Can’t Change
3rd = Can’t Change
4th = Can’t Change
5th = Can’t Change
6th = Can’t Change

Alignment:
Front Camber = -0.8
Rear Camber = -0.7
Front Toe = 0.3
Rear Toe = 0.1
Front Caster = 5.4

Anti-Roll Bars:
Front = 7.30
Rear = 23.20

Springs:
Front = 405.6
Rear = 503.1
Front Height = 4.8
Rear Height = 4.9

Damping:
Front Rebound = 4.2
Rear Rebound = 10.5
Front Bump = 3.4
Rear Bump = 3.0

Aero:
Front = 125
Rear = 150

Braking:
Balance = 45%
Pressure = 100%

Differential:
Front Accel = 16%
Front Decel = 0%

D Class 1969 Dodge Charger

Speed: 5.8
Acceleration: 4.5
Braking: 3.3
Handling: 3.0

 Upgrades:
Engine: Race Positive Displacement Supercharger (stock powertrain)
Handling: All Race except for Stock flywheel, stock driveline, and stock weight reduction.
Tires and Rims: Stock tires and width, 17 inch rims, Brabus monoblock IV
Aero: Forza Race Rear Wing

 Tune:
Tires: 32, 32 (55 55 for hotlapping)

Gearing:
FD:3.60
2.15
1.41
1.03
0.82
0.72
.1 (not used)

Camber: -.7, -.5
Toe: 0.0, -.5
Caster: 7.0

AR Bars: 40, 29

Springs: 306.3, 313.8
Ride Height: 8.5, 7.2

Damping: 16.0, 18.0
Bump: 2.5, 2.5

Aero: NA, 150

Breaking Force: 46% front
Pressure: 110%

Acceleration: 5%
Decceleration: 3%

D Class 1968 Shelby GT500

Tune:

Tires 29fr/28r

Gears

Fd: 3.25

1st 3.60

2nd 2.15

3rd 1.50

4th 1.20

5th 1.00

6th 0.86

Alignment

Camber -0.8fr/ -0.6r

Toe  0.1fr/-0.2r

Caster 6.0

Anti Roll Bars 25.00 front/22.50 rear

springs 514.0fr/448.0 r

Ride height 7.4 frnt/ 7.5 r

Damping

Rebound 5.0 frnt/ 11.0 r

Bump 2.5frnt/ 5.0r

Brake Balance 43%

Brake pressure 110%

Differential 16% accel 21% decel

 

D Class AE86 Sprinter Tureno

Build

Engine and Power

None

Handling and Platform

Brakes – Stock
Springs and Dampers – Race
Anti-Roll Bars – Race
Transmission – Race
Clutch – Race
Flywheel – Street
Driveline – Stock
Differential – Race
Weight Reduction – Race

Tyres and Rims

Tyre Compound – Bridgestone Race
Tyre Width – 225/50R14
 

The Set Up – Tsukuba

Tyre Pressure 29 PSI Front / 27 PSI Rear

Gearing – FD 3.00 / 1st 3.16 / 2nd 2.17 / 3rd 1.62 / 4th 1.31 / 5th 1.12 / 6th 0.97

Alignment
Camber -1.1 Front / -0.9 Rear
Toe 0.2 degrees front / -0.2 degrees rear
Front Caster 6 degrees

ARB 6.97 Front / 15.12 Rear

Springs 250.6 lb/in Front / 230.3 lb/in rear
Ride Height 5.6 in front / 5.8 in rear

Damping
Rebound 8.8 front / 9.1 rear
Bump 5.0 front / 2.8 rear

Aero – 49lb front / 51 lb rear

Diff  28% Accel / 12% Decel

D Class Renault 5 Turbo

I love racing this car around Motegi and Motegi East where it does the best but also like giving it a blast around the longer tracks such as Silverstone International and the Grand Prix Version.

Tune: GSI Daney
Paint: carlcooper
Price: Free Tune / Paint 35k
Sellers: Spot Performance Team
Tune Type: Grip
Track type: Short / Medium

BUILD:
Springs: Race.
Anti Roll Bars: Race.
Transmission: Race
Clutch: Race.
Flywheel: Street.
Driveline: Street.
Differential: Race.
Tyre Compound: Race Bridgestone.
Rim Style: Enkei RP F1.
Front Bumper: Race Forza.
Rear Wing: Race Forza.
Rear Bumper: Race Forza.

TUNE:
Tyres: 28, 28.
Gearing: 3.17, 3.30, 2.10, 1.55, 1.34, 1.20, 1.11.
Alignment: -0.6, -0.4, 0.1, -0.1, 5.6.
Anti Roll Bars: 32.49, 7.39.
Springs: 128.5, 162.2, 5.0, 5.1.
Damping: 2.9, 3.5, 1.9, 1.7.
Aero: 50, 95.
Braking: NA.
Differential: 35%, 7%

 D Class 1991 BMW M3

Make/Model: 1991 BMW M3 E30
Class: D 400 HP: 215 Torque: 180 lb-ft Weight: 2634 lbs

Ratings
Speed: 3.6 Accel: 3.4 Brake: 4.6 Cornering: 4.4 Rarity: 6.3

Info: I know the D 400 BMW Driver Training M3 E30 isnt the fastest D class car, but i just want to do something different.

Some lap times: 

Motegi Road Course West: 42.037

TT – Copperhead: 53.715

TT – Copperhead Reverse: 53.887

Aids used: none

Mods
Front Bumper: Race
Rear Bumper:
Sides: N/A
Spoiler: Race
Hood: N/A

Chassis Mods
Brakes: Stock
Suspension: Race
Anti-roll bars: Race
Trans: Race
Clutch: Race
Flywheel: Stock
Driveshaft: Sport
Differential: Race
Weight Reduction: Stock

Tires
Tire compound/manufacturer: Stock
Wheel width: Stock
Wheel diameter: 19
Wheel make/model: Zender Dynamic

Tuning:
Tires(psi) F/R: 29/29

Gearing:
FD: 3.59
1: 3.25
2: 2.33
3: 1.80
4: 1.45
5: 1.22
6: 1.05

Alignment
-Camber F/R: -0.8 / -0.8
-Toe F/R: 0.0/ -0.2
-Caster: 5.5

Anti-roll Bar F/R: 12.69 / 11.23

Springs F/R: 484.1 / 309.7
Ride Height F/R: 4.5 / 4.5

Dampers (rebound): 8.2 / 7.8
Dampers (bump): 7.5 / 5.6

Downforce: 45 / 50

Braking
Balance: N/A
Pressure: N/A

Front Diff Accel: 60%
Front Diff Decel: 50%

 D Class Peugeot 206 RC

 

Class: D 400 HP: 187 Torque:158 lb-ft Weight: 2166 lbs

Ratings: Speed: 4.1 Accel:3.1 Brake: 4.4 Cornering: 4.4 Rarity:

Info: 

Some lap times:

Engine Mods 

Intake: Street

Exhaust: Stock

Ign.: Stock

Fuel: Stock

Camshaft: stock

Block: stock

Intercooler: Stock

Turbo: Stock

Centrifugal S/C: Stock

Pos. Displ. S/C: Stock

Engine/Drivetrain swap: Stock

Chassis Mods 

Brakes: Sport

Suspension: Race

Anti-roll bars: Race

Trans: Race

Clutch: Race

Flywheel: Race

Driveshaft: Race

Differential: Race

Weight Reduction: Sport

Tires 

Tire compound/manufacturer:Street BFGoodrich

Wheel width: Stock

Wheel diameter: 19

Wheel make/model: Gram lights57C

Areo Mods 

Front Bumper: Stock

Rear Bumper: Stock

Sides: Stock

Spoiler: Stock

Hood: Stock

Tuning: 

Tires(psi) F/R: 29/29

Gearing:

FD: 4.59

1: 4.17

2: 2.21

3: 1.52

4: 1.15

5: 0.97

6: 0.88

Alignment 

Camber F/R: -0.8 / -0.8

Toe F/R: 0.0/ – 0.2

Caster: 5.6

Anti-roll Bar F/R: 7.42 /13.27

Springs F/R: 479.5 / 280.8

Ride Height F/R: 6.3 / 6.3

Dampers (rebound): 8.3 / 4.6

Dampers (bump): 4.1 / 2.3

Downforce: 0 / 0

Braking 

Balance: N/A

Pressure: N/A

Diff  

Front Diff Accel: 30%

Front Diff Decel: 0%

All of Forza 3’s ten different classes explained and listed with the number of races and points you can gain per race.

• 1 Testing:

Designed mainly as an introduction to the various cars and style. You start out of course with the wonderfully responsive Audi R8 Quartro to get your skill level worked out, which the AI helps determine. You can still change this difficulty level, but the AI simply wants to see your skill levels, it then seems to work out the opponent difficulty for you, which helps a great deal. Your first main Test is then back into th “F Class” cars so you can work your way through the pack.

Testing:

1. Asian Open – 3 Races – 6000 points
2. European Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
3. All American Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
4. FWD Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
5. RWD Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
6. AWD Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
7. 2 Door Challenge – 3 races – 6,800 points
8. 3 Door Open – 3 races – 6,800 points
9. 4 Door Open – 3 races – 6,800 points
10. 5 Door Open – 3 races – 6,800 points

---

• 2 Amateur:

An area where you will build your experience with the different cars, working up the ladder towards the higher end cars. Do not be discouraged with these, or think that they are beneath you as a driver. A great deal of fun and most importantly, experience can be gained through constant playing of these classes.

Amateur 1:

1. FWD Elite Open – 3 races – 12,900 points
2. Asian Elite Open – 3 races – 12,400 points
3. French Elite Open – 3 races – 12,000 points
4. RWD Elite Invitational – 3 races – 12,700
5. Mid-Engine Elite Open – 3 races – 11,600 points
6. Nth American Elite Open – 3 races – 13,100 points
7. German Elite Invitational – 3 races – 14,600 points
8. British Elite Invitational – 3 races – 15,100
9. AWD Elite Open – 3 races – 14,100 points
10. Italian Elite Open – 3 races – 15,800 points

Amateur 2:

1. Super Mini Road Test – 3 races – 11,500 points
2. Coupe Road Test 1 – 3 races – 13,300 points
3. Saloon Road Test 1 – 3 races – 11,700 points
4. Hot Hatch Road Test – 3 races – 13,100 points
5. SUV Road Test – 3 races – 12,200 points
6. Coupe Road Test 2 – 3 races – 13,800 points
7. Saloon Road Test 2 – 3 races – 14,600 points
8. Coupe Road Test 2 – 3 races 13,200 points
9. Supercar Road Test 3 races – 15,400 points
10. Prototype Road Test – 3 races 16,100 points

Amateur 3:

1. American Muscle Showdown – 3 races – 11,100 points
2. Inline 4 Showcase – 3 races – 11,400 points
3. Normal Aspiration Runoff – 3 races – 12,500 points
4. Boosted Proving Grounds – 3 races – 13,500 points
5. Six-Cyl Fast & Furious – 3 races – 12,700 points
6. Ultralight Showdown – 3 races – 13,100 points
7. Executive Car Open – 3 races – 14,300 points
8. Eight-Cyl Supreme GT – 3 races – 13,600 points
9. Ten-Cyl Salute – 3 races – 15,000 points
10. Twelve-Cyl Flagship Trophy – 3 races – 14,300 points

---

• 3 Manufacturer:

Manufacturer 1:

1. Integra Owners Meeting – 4 races – 22,900 points
2. Hyundi Owners Meeting – 4 races – 21,100 points
3. Mitshubishi Owners Meeting – 4 races – 22,700 points
4. Skyline Owners Meeting – 4 races – 23,400 points
5. Subaru Owners Meeting – 4 races – 21,500 points
6. Honda Acura Owners Meeting – 4 races – 24,100 points
7. Mazda Owners Meeting – 4 races – 23,800 points
8. Fairlady 2 Cup – 4 races – 23,300 points
9. Nissan Infiniti Owners Meeting – 4 races – 24,200 points
10. Toyota Lexus Owners Meeting – 4 races – 23,700 points

Manufacturer 2:

1. Peugeot Racing Club – 4 races – 20,600 points
2. Sweden Racing Club – 4 races – 22,200 points
3. V.Dub Racing Club – 4 races – 22,300 points
4. Vahxall Racing CLub – 4 races – 24,200 points
5. Lotus Racing Club – 4 races- 23,400 points
6. SEAT Racing Club – 4 races – 23,300 points
7. BMW Owners Club – 4 races – 22,900 points
8. Audi Racing Club – 4 races – 25,800 points
9. Mercedes- Benz Racing Club – 4 races – 25,800 points
10. Porsche Racing Club – 4 races – 26,600 points

Manufacturer 3:

1. Firebird T.A. Track Days – 4 races – 22,400 points
2. Focus Track Days – 4 races – 22,000 points
3. Chrysler Track Days – 4 races – 23,300 points
4. Pontiac Track Days – 4 races – 23,500
5. Mustang Track Days – 4 races – 24,100 points
6. Ford Track Days – 4 races – 23,800 points
7. Chevrolet Track Days – 4 races – 26,400 points
8. Corvette Track Days – 4 races – 26,00o points
9. Dodge Track Days – 4 races – 25,900 points
10. Viper Track Days – 4 races – 26,400 points

Manufacturer 4:

1. World Sub-Compact Shoot Out – 4 races – 20,500 points
2. American Muscle Shoot Out – 4 races – 20,100 points
3. Euro Hatch Shoot Out – 4 races – 21,400 points
4. Lightweight Shoot Out – 4 races – 22,500 points
5. German SUV Shoot Out – 4 races – 22,400 points
6. JDM Imports – 990’s Shoot Out – 4 races – 21,800
7. Speedstar Shoot Out – 4 races – 23,500 points
8. Premium Sedan Shoot Out – 4 races – 25,100 points
9. Prestigious Shoot Out – 4 races – 23,800 points
10. Ultimate Speed Shoot Out – 4 races – 26,200 points

Manufacturer 5:

1. Civic V’s Golf – 4 races – 22,100 points
2. Celica V’s Silvia – 4 races – 22,300 points
3. Tarmac Rally – 4 races – 22,300 points
4. Mustang V’s Camaro – 4 races – 22,800 points
5. Supra V’s Fairlady 2 – 4 races – 22,600 points
6. German Sports Line Challenge – 4 races – 25,800 points
7. NSX V’s Skyline – 4 races – 24,900 points
8. Fastest Fleet Shoot Out – 4 races – 27,100 points
9. Ferrari V’s Porsche – 4 races – 25,800 points
10. Lamborginhi V’s Ferrai – 4 races – 26,500 points

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• 4 Semi Professional:

Semi Pro 1:

1. Puma 150 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 42,700 points
2. Recaro 200 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 44,800 points
3. Bilstein 250 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 46,500 points
4. Toyo 300 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 49,300 points
5. Sparco 350 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 48,900 points
6. BBS 400 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 54,500 points
7. Stoptech 450 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 54,900 points
8. Bridgestone 500 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 50,700 points
9. Motul 600 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 55,800 points
10. K&N 700 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 55,800 points

Semi Pro 2:

1. Class F Pre-’00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 41,600 points
2. Class F Post ‘00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 43,400 points
3. Class E Pre ‘03 Asian Tour – 5 races – 45,200 points
4. Class E Post ‘03 Asian Tour – 5 races – 45,800 points
5. Class D Pre ‘00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 46,500 points
6. Class D Post ‘00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 47,400 points
7. Class C Asian Tour – 5 races – 49,400 points
8. Class B Asian Tour – 5 races – 52,000 points
9. C;ass S Asian Tour – 5 races – 58,000 points
10. Class R2 Asian Tour – 5 races – 61,000 points

Semi Pro 3:

1. Class F European Tour – 5 races – 41,000 points
2. Class E European Tour – 5 races – 43,400 points
3. Class D European Tour – 5 races – 45,000 points
4. Class C European Tour – 5 races – 49,200 points
5. Class B European Tour – 5 races – 47,900 points
6. Class A European Tour – 5 races – 53,800 points
7. Class S European Tour – 5 races – 53,700 points
8. Class R3 European Tour – 5 races – 54,800 points
9. Class R2 European Tour – 5 races – 59,000 points
10. Class R1 European Tour – 5 races – 63,000 points

Semi Pro 4:

1. Class F Nth American Your – 5 races – 44,700 points
2. Class E Nth American Your – 5 races – 44,000 points
3. Class D Nth American Your – 5 races – 46,900 points
4. Calss C Nth American Your – 5 races – 47,200 points
5. Class B Nth American Your – 5 races – 53,000 points
6. Class A Nth American Your – 5 races – 56,000 points
7. Class S Nth American Your – 5 races – 58,000 points
8. Class R3 Nth American Your – 5 races – 63,000 points
9. Class R2 Nth American Your – 5 races – 64,000 points
10. Class R1 Nth American Your – 5 races – 66,000 points

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• 5 Professional:

Professional 1:

1. Yaris S Trophy – 6 races – 68,800 points
2. MX5 Miata Trophy – 6 races – 72,000 points
3. ABARTH 500 ESSEESES Trophy – 6 races – 79,000 points
4. Mini John Cooper Works Cup – 6 races – 82,000 points
5. Hyundi Geniesis Coupe Tour Trophy – 6 races – 83,000 points
6. F355 Challenge Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 91,000 points
7. Murcielago LP640 Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 65,000 points
8. Porsche 911 GT3 Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 85,000 points
9. Ferrari F430 Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 90,000 points
10. FXX Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 101,000 points

Professional 2:

1. Aussie Touring Car Championship – 6 race – 111,000 points
2. Porsche 911 GT3 Showdown – 6 races – 111,000 points
3. German Racing Car Showdown – 6 races – 110,000 points
4. American GT3 Invitational – 6 races – 109,000 points
5. GT3 Invitational – 6 races – 109,000 points
6. GT2 Invitational – 6 races – 116,000 points
7. Japanese Invitational – 6 races – 119,000 points
8. Dream Machine – 6 races – 117,000 points
9. GT1 Invitational – 6 races – 119,000 points
10. LMP Invitational – 6 races – 116,000 points

Professional 3:

1. Class F World Tour – 6 races – 84,000 points
2. Class E World Tour – 6 races – 88,000 points
3. Class D World Tour – 6 races – 99,000 points
4. Class C World Tour – 6 races – 100,000 points
5. Class B World Tour – 6 races – 110,000 points
6. Class A World Tour – 6 races – 115,000 points
7. Class S World Tour – 6 races – 114,000 points
8. Class R3 World Tour – 6 races – 116,000 points
9. Class R2 World Tour – 6 races – 126,000 points
10. Class R1 World Tour – 6 races – 133,000 points

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• 6 Speedway:

Speedway:

1. Class F Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 18,800 points
2. Class E Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 19,400 points
3. Class D Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 20,600 points
4. Class C Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 21,400 points
5. Class B Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 22,500 points
6. Class A Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 23,500 points
7. Class S Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 23,700 points
8. Class R3 Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 25,700 points
9. Class R2 Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 25,900 points
10. Class R1 Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 27,400 points

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• 7 Drag Racing Heats:

Drag Races:

1. 250 bhp FWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 1,890 points
2. 300 bhp FWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 1,890 points
3. 350 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 1,890 points
4. 400 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
5. 450 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
6. 500 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
7. 550 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
8. 600 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
9. 650 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
10. 700 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points

---

• 8 Closed circuit laps & races:

Closed circuit:

1. Fujimi Kaido Class F Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
2. Amalfi Coast Class E Series – 4 races – 29,000 points
3. Nurburgring Class D Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
4. Fujimi Kaido Class C Series – 4 races – 39,300 points
5. Amalfi Coast Class B Series – 4 races – 29,100 points
6. Nurnurgring Class A Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
7. Fujimi Kaido Class S Series – 4 races – 39,000 points
8. Amalfi Coast Class R3 Series – 4 races – 27,900 points
9. Nurburgring Class R2 Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
10. Fujimi Kaido Class R1 Series – 4 races – 38,700 points

Closed circuit – Lap Days:

1. Class F Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
2. Class E Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
3. Class D Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
4. Class C Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
5. Class B Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
6. Class A Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
7. Class S Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
8. Class R3 Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
9. Class R2 Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
10. Class R1 Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points

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• 9 Full-on Endurance Races:

Endurance:

1. 34 Lap Road Atlanta – 1 race – 72,000 points
2. 130 klm Circuit de Catalunya – 1 race – 74,000 points
3. 134 klm Twin RIng Mojetgi – 1 race – 83,000 points
4. 160 klm Silverstone Gran Prix – 1 race – 88,000 points
5. 32 Lap Mugello – 1 race – 92,000 points
6. 169 klm Suzuka Circuit – 1 race – 92,000 points
7. 31 Lap Sebring International Raceway – 1 race – 99,000 points
8. 128 mil Road America – 1 race – 110,000 points
9. 17 Laps Circuit de la Sarthe – 1 race – 110,000 points
10. 187 klm Nurburgring Nordschleife – 1 race – 110,000 points

---

• 10 Top of the Ladder Championships:

Championships:

1. Class F World Championships – 3 races – 18,200 points
2. Class E World Championships – 3 races – 23,900 points
3. Class D World Championships – 4 races – 36,600 points
4. Class C World Championships – 5 races – 53,000 points
5. Class B World Championships – 6 races – 82,000 points
6. Class A World Championships – 7 races – 106,000 points
7. Class S World Championships – 8 races – 157,000 points
8. Class R3 World Championships – 9 races – 216,000 points
9. Class R2 World Championships – 11 races – 314,000 points
10. Class R1 World Championships – 13 races – 428,000 points

Make sure you come back for an even more detailed breakdown soon, we will have a downloadable and printable PDF for each set of races or class, so you can find out, the tracks, number of laps and points gained for each race.

Our next set of Forza 3 details will be dealing with various racing tips for each track, as well as some driving tips for the Novice, Intermediate and Expert drivers. Dealing with such things as Assists, Gears, slight changes to the Optimised Auto-Upgrades and several other great Forza 3 tips-n-tricks.

The main thing is to have fun, but also to hone your skills so that you get the best you can from not only Forza 3, but any decent racing game. Our aim is that you will walk away from the experience much more informed, and also with a greater respect for the game, and the work Turn 10 have put into the game.

Personally I’m looking forward to the next lot of Downloadable Content, and seeing the creations that come from the Forza 3 community. The game has its bugs, all games do. There’s no such thing as the “perfect” game or a game without flaws. They all have them. Forza 3 has its share, but they do not distract from the overall experience of the gameplay or the game in general

Forza 3 would have to have the biggest selection of races available in any known racing game to date.

With 730 races, (no, I have yet to work out exactly how many laps that is, but I’m working on it…that will be in Tips #2), which are spread over a massive 220 events from 10 different categories or series ranging from 50 different real life race circuits as well as fictional tracks based on real life locations in places such as Italy, Germany, France, Nth America, England, Japan and Spain. I think you’ll need a Tourist Visa!

 What we will be doing here is hopefully help you go through and use the Events Listing which you can use to help build your Experience Level (XP) and thus gain more credits (CR), as well as win some more neat cars (Veyron). We will also discuss the various cars to use in the different classes that will give you not only a great chance at working your way through Forza 3, but help you enjoy the experience along the way.

We will also look at which cars to start off learning how to us “Assists Off” function, as well as the advanced Manual & Clutch gear changes which help gain you more credits.

By having most of the assists off, as some cars actually need them on to be tractable (drivable), you can gain an increase of your points of as much as 75% which certainly helps build those Experience Points (XP) up and also get those credits piling up in your account to start upgrading.

But like all things, you have to start – well – at the beginning, funny that, so let’s start with the different races and progress from there shall we. Naturally we’ll try and get as much stuff as possible in, but this will need to be spread across several postings and pages with updates, tips (OZ’s Forza 3 Tips), guides and general knowledge on the gameplay mechanics, some tuning tips and much more.

As you can see from the image above at the start of the page, (click to see full size) there are a great deal of events, and of course races.

I have found the Events List section very useful in getting races done and moving forward. I’m currently on Driver Experience Level 35/50 and my next is 40/50, yet only completed 15% of the career mode.

OZ’z first Forza 3 main tip – FPV

 

First Person Viewpoint. I’ve always played the game, or any real racing game or semi-sim through the in-car view, or, if not available, the closest to the screen view as possible. – Why? – realism!

Many find it difficult, citing inability to see ahead properly (well dahh, have you driven a car), sun-glare (yep, that gives it more real-life effects), poor vision on corners (no, really?!), other cars location to you (you don’t say), and more often than not, the inability to see YOU racing in your nice shinny car (poor didums).

Racing isn’t about seeing what “you look like” – It’s about driving at your best without knocking everyone out of the way to get ahead, or seeing how much damage you can deliver to your car, and others.

Anyone want to race me, and it has to be with in-car view locked, manual gears and most assists off, depending on car being used. while I’m not up at the top of the ladder, and probably never will be. But I am still in the top 1% of the leaderboard in Circuit in Class A, top 2% in Class S with varying % in other classes so far.

This is due mainly due to the fact I feel more in this viewpoint than I do in any other, I “focus” on what lays ahead, which is what a driver should be doing, and I can scope the road and track out behind and ahead of me, and have a better feel for the race in general, especially in longer races and Enduros.

In Drivers view (Cockpit or In-Car-View), the cars actually sound more realistic, the road sounds are more realistic, even down to the gravel crushing under tyres, track poles being clipped, rumble strips picking you up on corners, gauging ‘braking markers’, the sound of witches hats popping as you run over them (by mistake of course), and most importantly, the ability to use the engine and gear sound to determine the moment to change gears and the sense of speed needed in such a game.

Try it, especially at the beginning with the slower cars so that you get used to it, and you’ll find it becomes much more natural, and much more responsive than in the 3rd person lolly-pop view, which always has a much more artificial feel and responsiveness to it.

Try it in both views, and see and feel the differences, you’ll be surprised.

Plus, think about this for a second – have you EVER driven a car flying on a magic carpet about the car – no – didn’t think so

Your First Car

The good news: You don’t have to spend a dime on your first car. The bad news: Your selection is pretty weak. None of the cars offered at first could be considered fast, and some are among the most loathsome cars on the market. But two cars stand out above other others. Both the Ford Fiesta and the Honda Fit have some semblance of performance legitimacy, sporting eager handling characteristics and light weight. No, they’re not fast in a straight line, but neither is your competition. Pick one of those two cars to start and you’ll be headin’ the right direction.

Dont Waste Money on Upgrades

As you start winning races, you may get eager to spend money on upgrades. Fight this urge. Your first car will become very useless very quickly, so it’s not worth putting money into it. Early in the game, you earn so many free cars and move between such a variety of race events that money spent on upgrades is essentialy wasted. Save your cash, because eventually you will need to buy something.

Use Free Cars

Continuing the theme of fiscal conservatism, we advise you not spend money on new cars unless necessary. Through at least the first two race seasons, you can use the cars you earn from leveling up your driver to compete in more and more events. Do your best to pretend that you don’t have any money to spend on new cars—the longer you ignore your bankroll, the bigger it’ll get. You’ll need the money eventually when events require new and better cars that you can’t simply earn.

Pick Events Wisely

In order to get by in the game’s career mode without spending money frivolously, you’ll need to be careful about the events you choose to fill out your calendar. When you’re tasked with filling out your calendar, view the specifics of each potential event. Note which events earn you the most money per race, and which require vehicles you don’t already own. Even if you’ve got a car that’s eligible, it may not be fit for competition. For example, we weren’t paying attention and entered a high speed circuit event—while our car was competitive on tight courses with lots of turns, it maxed out at a low top speed and had no chance of winning.

Assists & Difficulties

When you first start the game, you’re asked a vague question about how serious you want your racing experience. Your answer to the question dictates the various racing assists that are enabled for you by default, but you can make adjustments to these settings once you’re on the main career mode menu (choose “Set Difficulty”). By disabling assists, you can boost the amount of money you earn from every race, which helps not only your bank account but also your driver level. Some of the assists are very helpful, but some are very expendable. Here’s a quick breakdown of the lot.

autobrake Uhh, turn it off. It’s an easy +10% to your take home after a race and we find its use fairly dubious unless you are painfully new to the game.

anti-lock brakes ABS, or anti-lock braking system, is pretty useful in Forza. It’s easy to lock up your tires when braking hard into a turn, and that’ll significantly increase your braking distances (a bad thing) and reduce your steering control of the car (a terrible thing). Turning off anti-lock brakes gives you +15% to your pay, but we think it’s worth keeping on.

stability control Stability control isn’t terribly useful, which is why you only get +5% to your payouts by disabling it. Unless you’re having a lot of trouble keeping your car under control, we suggest leaving stability control disabled.

traction control You’ll find traction control very useful as you power out of corners with high-horsepower cars. But early in the game, as you’re using low-powered vehicles, traction control isn’t terribly necessary. As well, traction control on an AWD car is sort-of-kind-of redundant. We think the +10% to your pay is worth disabling traction control, though consider reenabling the assist when you get into a race that requires an unruly vehicle like a Corvette or other powerful, rear-drive ride.

shifting This is a matter of preference. If you can manage a manual shift, it’s certainly worth the +10% to your take home pay. But if you’re not used to shifting your racing games, trying to learn manual shift during a career run will likely cost you way more money than it’ll earn.

suggested line The most important part of the suggested line is the braking bit, so we suggest instantly flipping the assist to “braking only” for a free +5% to your pay. When you’re new to the game and don’t know the tracks very well, the braking line will help prepare you for corners. But as you learn the tracks and commit them to memory, you can disable the braking line for the full +15% to your pay.

opponent difficulty This setting depends completely on your skill. Experiment with higher difficulty settings to see how you stack up. If you’re having trouble with a particular event, you can drop the difficulty to get through the challenge and then bump it back up so that future events earn you more pay.

damage, fuel, tire wear Set to “limited,” you won’t feel much affect from damage, fuel and tire wear in any of the game’s early events. Only once you get to long endurance events will you really start to feel the pains of accumulated damage and forced pit stops. As long as you’ve got a decent grasp of the game’s physics, you can bump up the damage setting to “simulation” and benefit from the +15% pay while paying a bit more for repairs, but when it comes to longer events you should consider dropping the setting and taking a cut in cash.

The below chart gives an overview of how each purchased upgrade will affect your class rating.

Key

	-	+	++	+++	++++	Effect
.	-001 ~ -005	+001 ~ +015	+016 ~ +040	+041 ~ +090	+091 ~ +200

Engine and Power

Air Filter - + ++ +++ ++++ +5 hp ~ 14 hp

Intake Man. / Throttle B. - + ++ +++ ++++ +12 hp ~ +19 hp

Fuel System - + ++ +++ ++++ +6 hp ~ +21 hp

Ignition - + ++ +++ ++++ +5 hp ~ +17 hp

Exhaust - + ++ +++ ++++ +7 hp ~ +23 hp

Camshaft - + ++ +++ ++++ +13 hp ~ +50 hp

Valves - + ++ +++ ++++ +5 hp ~ +16 hp

Displacement - + ++ +++ ++++ +9 hp ~ +30 hp

Pistons and Compress. - + ++ +++ ++++ +6 hp ~ +2 0hp

Oil and Cooling - + ++ +++ ++++ +3 hp ~ +10 hp

Flywheel - + ++ +++ ++++ -2 lbs ~ -8 lbs

Platform and Handling

Brakes - + ++ +++ ++++ +1% eff ~ +5% eff

Springs and Dampers - + ++ +++ ++++ -0.27 in ~ -1.33 in

Front Anti-roll Bars - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Rear Anti-roll Bars - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Chassis Rein. / Roll Cage - + ++ +++ ++++ +37 lbs

Weight Reduction - + ++ +++ ++++ -47 lbs ~ -356 lbs

Drivetrain

Clutch - + ++ +++ ++++ -0.05 s shift ~ -0.11 s shift

Transmission - + ++ +++ ++++ -0.04 s shift ~ -0.15 s shift

Driveline - + ++ +++ ++++ -2.1 lbs ~ -13.9 lbs

Differential - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Tires and Rims

Tire Compound - + ++ +++ ++++ +0.07 grip ~ +0.13 grip

Front Tire Width - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Rear Tire Width - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Aero and Appearance

Front Bumper - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Rear Wing - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Rear Bumper - + ++ +++ ++++ — ~ —

Side Skirts - + ++ +++ ++++ -1% drag

Conversion

Engine Swap - + ++ +++ ++++ +122 hp ~ +142 hp

Aspiration Conversion - + ++ +++ ++++ +34 hp ~ +21hp

The benefits of tuning a stock vehicle for the race track can be huge. Best of all, adjustments to your car’s tuning do not affect your car’s class rating. Since these changes don’t affect your class rating, you can use tuning to improve the performance of your vehicle beyond the limits of your competition.

TIRES

Adjusting your tire pressure is a good, simple way to improve the cornering performance of your vehicle. Stock tire pressure is generally tuned for comfort rather than raw conering ability. When you take a new vehicle to the track, you should always make some adjustments to the tire pressure, usually increasing the pressure to all four tires to improve responsiveness and reduce tire roll in the corners.

However, take note that too much inflation can give you the opposite effect. An over-inflated tire will bow out in the center, reducing the contact surface. This effect is maximized as the tires heat up and the air inside expands, increasing the psi level. If you’ve reached the effectiveness limit of inflation, try reducing tire pressure to similarly affect the grip levels of your tires. If your FWD car is understeering, especially as the race wears on and the tires heat up, lower the front tire pressure to keep the contact surface flat.

Lowering tire pressure gives the tire more pliability, allowing it to conform to the ground and increase the overall contact patch with the asphalt. Accordingly, lowering tire pressure can help straight acceleration. But low pressure comes with negative side effects that become evident during cornering, as the more pliable tire rolls under lateral acceleration and gives you sloppy handling.

One thing to remember is that a little adjustment goes a long way. Differences of just a few psi between wheels can have a big effect, so don’t get extreme with the adjustments.

GEARING

Gearing ratios determine how many turns of the driveshaft result in a single turn of the wheels (the car’s wheels, not your steering wheel). A higher ratio (e.g. 3:1) makes it easier for the engine to rev high and reach max horsepower output quickly, but minimizes the top end speed of the gear. The effect of high gear ratios is quick acceleration with a sacrifice to top speed. A low gear ratio (e.g. 0.8:1) is harder for the engine to turn but improves top-end speed in that gear. The effect of a low ratio is slow acceleration with high top speed.

Lower gears should have higher ratios, while higher gears should gradually move to lower ratios. Sudden drops in the ratios between gears (e.g. having a first gear ratio of 3:1 and a second gear ratio of 1:1) will make it difficult to keep your engine revving within its peak power band. Most engines make the most power in the upper limits of their rev range (like between 4,000 RPM and 6,500 RPM). If the jump between two gear ratios is too large, your engine will drop too many revs on the upshift, dropping below the optimal powerband. This drop in revs will make for slow acceleration until you can muscle the revs back to their peak power.

Imagine a curved line on the gearing graph that connects the right edges of the ratios for each gear. A gradual curve will make it easier to keep your engine revving within its optimal RPM range. However, a curve too dull will restrict the range of your gear ratios. A sharper turn will naturally give you more range between gear ratios, but as we mentioned earlier it may also cause the engine RPMs to drop too much between upshifts. Experiment with your car to find its peak power band and adjust the gears to keep your revs within that RPM range while giving you the acceleration or top speed you need for a given track.

Quick Acceleration and less end speed                                                          High top speed, slower acceleration

Many tracks will not allow you to reach the maximum speed of your vehicle. In these cases, it’s a good idea to increase your gear ratios to improve your acceleration. Other tracks, however, are all about top speed. On these tracks, it’s worth sacrificing some acceleration by lowering your gear ratios to make for better top-end speed.

ALIGNMENT

There are three categories of alignment you can adjust: camber, toe and front caster. Each setting should be adjusted only slightly between testings to avoid dramatic changes to handling. As well, these settings can negatively affect tire wear, so consider running different setups on longer races where tire wear is a factor.

CAMBER

Camber deals with the tilt of the wheels when viewed from the face of the car. Wheels with the tops tilted inward have negative camber, while wheels with the tops tilted outward have positive camber. There’s generally no racing application for positive camber, though some degree of negative camber can help cornering. As the car hits hard into a corner, centrifugal force will naturally roll the weight of the vehicle outwards. Negative camber helps keep the tire flat on the asphalt during this weight transfer. However, too much negative camber will prevent the tires from sitting flat during straight acceleration and braking, reducing grip in those situations

TOE

Toe is the tilted angle of the wheels when viewed from above the car. Positive toe moves the fronts of the wheels inward together, while negative toe has the fronts of the wheels pointed outward, away from each other. The effects of toe are limited, other than affecting tire wear, though a little positive toe can give the characteristic of understeer, while a little negative toe can give the characteristic of oversteer.

CASTER

Caster is the angle of the steering relative to the wheels. Imagine the front forks on a bicycle wheel. Typically, the front forks point forwards from the handle bars (the steering). This angle of the steering, in both bicycles and cars, is known as positive caster.

Positive caster will naturally center the direction of the wheels, lending some stability to straight-line driving. As well, some degree of positive caster can help in cornering. During hard cornering, the suspension of the front wheels compresses and the wheels naturally take on a negative camber which, as we described earlier, helps grip in the corners. This effect is enhanced by positive caster.

However, too much positive caster will make the car fight cornering. Because of the natural tendency of wheels with positive caster to center themselves, too much positive caster will make a fight of turning the wheels into corners.

ANTI ROLL BARS

Anti-roll bars increase the vehicle’s rigidity and stability under hard cornering by effectively tying together the left and right sides of the vehicle. Hard corners will cause the body of a car to roll away from the turn. You can adjust the stiffness of anti-roll bars to counter the body roll and tweak the cornering characteristics of your vehicle.

Generally, increasing front anti-roll bar stiffness will also increase the tendency to understeer. Conversely, increasing the stiffness of the rear anti-roll bars will increase the tendency to oversteer. It’s a good idea to tweak the stiffness to an even level that suits the vehicle before adjusting for understeer or oversteer. When it comes time for the fine-tuning, it’s often better to soften the anti-roll bars to correct understeer and oversteer rather than stiffen. If the anti-roll bars are too stiff, you’ll get some instability on rough roads and hairiness in tight corners where the inside tires may lift off the ground.

SPRINGS

Most vehicles come from the factory with fairly soft springs made to deal with rough public roads. On the track, however, the range of lumpy road surfaces is much narrower. The generally smoother track surfaces make suspension stiffening a very helpful adjustment in the corners. However, like all things in tuning, too much of anything will negatively impact your lap times.

Stiffer suspension will better control suspension travel and the always-changing nature of your wheel camber. By holding wheel camber more constant, you can effectively keep the tires flat against the pavement for improved grip. Too much suspension travel will cause the camber angle to change—since suspension does not travel straight upward, but rather in an arc—which will result in vastly different levels of grip depending on the weight balance of the vehicle at any given moment.

Though as we mentioned, too much suspension stiffness can be a bad thing. Too-stiff suspension will not have the travel necessary to properly deal with imperfections in the road surface. Slight bumps in the road will then cause the tires to skip and lose traction. As such, stiffening the front suspension too much can cause understeer, while stiffening the rear suspension too much can cause oversteer. Conversely, you can reduce understeer and oversteer by softening the front and rear suspension, respectively.

As suspension load increases, the wheel travels into the vehicle in an upward arc. Too much travel (from too soft suspension) results in vastly different wheel camber depending on suspension load.

RIDE HEIGHT

Ride height is another adjustment you can make to the suspension. Generally, you want as low a ride height as possible without bottoming out the suspension on rough roads and under heavy weight transfer. However, balancing the front and rear ride height can let you play with your vehicle’s center of gravity. A higher ride height in the rear will shift the car’s center of gravity forward, which may help front tire grip.

DAMPING

While spring stiffness determines how much travel is in the suspension, dampers, also known as shocks, control the rate at which a vehicle’s springs oscillate. Picture hitting a large bump at high speed in a standard road-going vehicle. After the bump, the car’s suspension will continue to oscillate, bouncing up and down as the springs settle back down to their normal state. While this oscillation is good for driver comfort on public roads, it’s not so desirable on the race track. The fluctuating weight balance during such oscillation can make tire grip unsteady, fluctuating with the suspension travel.

Stiffer shocks will control the oscillation of the suspension for a steadier weight balance. As well, stiffer springs will increase the speed of weight transfer, letting you more quickly and predictably redistribute the weight of the car with acceleration and braking. However, too-stiff shocks can overpower the springs, reducing their effectiveness at dealing with imperfections in the road and contributing to a loss of traction on uneven road surfaces, including bumps, dips and rumble strips.

AERO

Aerodynamic downforce acts as added weight, pushing down on either end of the vehicle to enhance the traction of the tires. Note that the effect of downforce increases with speed, and at low speeds downforce has little if any effect. Add downforce to the front of the car and you’ll effectively give the front tires some added traction at speed. Add downforce to the rear of the car and you’ll boost the grip of the rear tires at speed.

However, the benefits of downforce come at a cost. As we said, downforce effectively adds weight to the vehicle, which limits top-end speed and acceleration. Increase downforce sparingly to correct for understeer and oversteer tendencies, especially in powerful rear-wheel-driven vehicles that tend to break loose over sweeping high-speed turns.

BREAKING

Generally, you want braking to be even between the front and rear wheels. However, as you make changes via upgrades and other tuning, you may offset the balance of braking. If you find that the vehicle tends to understeer or oversteer under braking, you may have a braking imbalance.

You can correct for some amount of braking oversteer by moving the braking balance forward. Conversely, you can correct some understeer by moving the braking balance rearward. Too much braking balance to the rear, however, will upset stability under braking, while too much forward braking will contribute to understeer. Look for a neutral balance in the braking so that you feel neither understeer nor unsteady oversteer under hard braking conditions.

DIFFERENTIAL

A differential splits power between the left and right halves of a car’s driven axle(s) and allows either half of the axle to rotate at a different speed than the other. Letting both axle halves rotate independently—thus rotating the two wheels at different speeds—is necessary for maintaining traction in a turn. In corners, the wheel on the inside will naturally rotate less than the wheel on the outside as the inside wheel travels a shorter distance. Without the allowed slip of a differential, the wheels would be locked into the same rotational speed and either the inside or the outside wheel would skip and lose traction.

Notice that the line on the inside of the turn—where the inside wheel travels—is much shorter than the line on the outside of the turn, where the outside wheel travels. Because of this difference in distance, a differential is required to allow the wheels to spin at different speeds to maintain optimal traction.

Performance vehicles have a special type of differential, called limited-slip. A limited-slip differential (LSD) does what it says—it limits the slip allowed by the differential. Remember, the slip of the differential is what allows the wheels to rotate at different speeds. However, there is a limit to this benefit, and an LSD helps by locking the rotation of both wheels at a certain level of slip. Slip is good for cornering, but not for acceleration and braking.

When traveling in a straight line, as in under hard acceleration or braking, you want both wheels rotating at the same speed. A limited-slip differential makes this happen. Increasing the acceleration and deceleration rates of the differential will make the LSD lock the wheels together sooner. Decreasing the rates will allow for more differential slip before the LSD kicks in.

Increasing the acceleration rate of the differential in a rear-wheel-drive vehicle will tend to make more oversteer as you exit a corner, hard on the accelerator. Increasing the acceleration rate of the differential in a front-wheel-drive vehicle will, conversely, contribute to added understeer as you accelerate out of a corner, as the wheels lock together and begin to lose traction under acceleration. Too low a setting in either drivetrain configuration will result in decreased acceleration and braking efficiency. Keep the LSD settings relatively high without adding to your vehicle’s natural tendency to oversteer or understeer. If you find the car tends to lose traction to the powered wheels as you accelerate out of a corner, consider lowering the setting of the LSD.

PICKING UPGRADES

When purchasing upgrades, it’s pretty obvious which parts are better. The more the cost, the higher the gains and the further to the right on the list they are, the better the parts—that’s a no brainer. But what makes part choosing difficult is trying to stay within car class restrictions. As you purchase upgrades for your vehicle, you affect the class rating of the car. Higher class vehicles will naturally be better performers than others, but many races restrict how high your class can be. If a particular race limits you to racing C-Class vehicles only, you’ll want to put together the beefiest C-Class car you can muster without taking the upgrades too far and bringing the car to a B-Class.

Generally speaking, the upgrades that most affect your vehicle class are power upgrades, weight reduction and changing tires to a stickier compound. Upgrades to other areas of your vehicle will generally result in very minor changes to your class rating (sometimes none at all), though that doesn’t make their effects less valuable. For example, upgrading your brakes hardly affects your class rating, but having a better set of stoppers can dramatically improve your lap times.

Carefully choose upgrades that will only minorly affect your class rating. If you find that you’ve broken the limit of your class, you can remove some upgrades or make some upgrades that negatively impact your class rating. Making changes to a number of Body and Aero parts will actually drop your class rating slightly. And while these changes may hurt your top-end speed, it won’t matter on most courses—in fact, you may gain a decent handling boost in the upgrade.

Real racing is a very complicated affair, but it boils down to three basic essentials: braking, accelerating, and cornering

BREAKING:

If you think braking is as simple as mashing the brake button (or brake pedal), it’s time to snap to reality. Braking is as important, if not more so, than accelerating when it comes to realistic, technical racing. Poor braking can dramatically affect your lap times. Proper braking technique, conversely, will set you up to swing through corners drama-free and ready to peg the accelerator at the soonest moment possible.

As a general rule, combining braking inputs with steering inputs will result in oversteer, often to catastrophic effect. In simpler terms, don’t brake while turning. Braking is much more effective when done in a straight line, scrubbing off speed much faster than braking while turning. If you try braking during a hard corner, you’ll effectively divide the potential grip of your tires between turning and braking. This division of grip results in both poor turning and poor braking. If you’re braking during a turn, you’ve waited far too long before using the brakes.

Since you undoubtedly need to drive through turns slower than the straights that precede turns, treat braking as a necessary preparation for turning. As you approach a turn—well before entering the actual corner—apply the brakes while making as few steering wheel corrections as necessary. If you time your braking properly, you’ll have slowed down enough that you can ease through the corner without further need of the brakes.

ACCELERATION

Much like braking, acceleration doesn’t often mix well with cornering. The effect of acceleration on cornering is highly dependent on your vehicle’s drivetrain (see our TUNING section for more details), but the general rule is the same. By accelerating during a turn, you effectively divide the potential grip of your tires between two functions, acceleration and turning. In some cars, this results in understeer, during which the turning potential of the car is compromised, and instead of turning as sharply as possible the car will push toward the outside of the turn. In other vehicles, oversteer is induced, during which the tail end of the car swings out, making the vehicle more difficult to control in the turn and crippling acceleration potential.

That said, there are very few times when you can use the accelerator without touching the steering. The lesson here is not that you should never steer and accelerate at the same time, but rather that you need to understand the effects of combining the two actions. The real lesson here is to practice moderation. If you’re deep into a turn with the steering cranked to the extreme, pegging the accelerator is only going to ruin your turn. It may not be obvious in theory, but think of the opposite action: If you’re running pedal-to-the-metal down a long straight, cranking the steering wheel left or right is going to severely wreck your acceleration (and probably more).

How you moderate your acceleration should be directly related to how hard you’re steering. Through a slight right bend, you can ease the steering a little right without stepping off the accelerator. If, however, you’ve just slowed down for a sharp hairpin, you’ll want to only feather the accelerator as you crank the steering to maintain the modest speed you’ve set up for the corner.

After you’ve navigated a turn and pointed the car straight, center the steering and nail the gas to get out of the corner. In a perfect racing line, it’s okay if your acceleration out of the turn results in minor understeer that pulls the car away from the apex and to the outside of the corner. Use the full width of the course to keep the straightest line possible when accelerating out of a bend.

TURNING

Now that you’ve got a basic understanding of the effects of braking and acceleration on your ability to turn the car, it’s time to understand a key principle to cornering: Slow in, fast out.

The gist of the principle applies to every corner you take. Exiting the corner at the highest possible speed is the ultimate goal of every turn. If you’re fast out of a corner, you’ll carry that speed into the following straight. But in order to exit a corner at the highest possible speed, it’s necessary to enter the corner slowly.

As we explained earlier, before entering a corner, you want to apply the brakes as you approach your turn. From inside the corner, feather the throttle lightly, just enough to maintain a constant, low speed. Turn into the corner and aim the car for the corner’s apex (more on this later). Once you’ve made it through the meat of the turn, center the steering and nail the accelerator to get out of the corner as fast as possible.

When approaching a corner, you typically want to brake along the outside edge of the turn. Doing so will allow you to cut a gradual turn toward the apex. If you come into a corner from the inside of the track, you’ll effectively reduce the radius of the turn, resulting in a loss of speed through the corner (and out of it). A more gradual turn radius, started from the outside of the track, will allow you to maintain a higher speed while adhering to your racing line.

The apex of the turn is the point in your racing line that comes closest to the inside of the turn. Typically this is where you transition from turning to straightening the car for acceleration out of the corner. Visualizing the proper apex will give you an idea of what your racing line should look like through a particular corner.

After hitting the apex on the inside of the turn, let your acceleration pull the car back toward the outside of the turn. Use the full width of the course to cut as straight a path as possible as you exit the corner. Staying straight as possible will let you accelerate more effectively, adhering to the original mantra: Slow in, fast out.

WEIGHT TRANSFER

Now that you’ve got a basic understanding of proper driving technique, it’s time to look a bit more in-depth into the physical mechanics at play in high-speed racing. Weight distribution and weight transfer concern the effects of weight balance on the handling dynamics of your vehicle. These dynamics are always changing as you race, as everything you do affects the distribution of weight in your vehicle.

When the vehicle is at a complete stop, its weight balance is at its most neutral. A perfectly balanced car will have a 50/50 weight balance, with half of the car’s weight pushing down on the front wheels and the other half of the weight holding down the rear wheels. While only a few cars actually achieve a perfect weight balance, this general idea applies.

Naturally, the weight balance of a non-moving car is instantly changed the moment the vehicle kicks into motion. Upon acceleration, the weight balance is shifted backward. As the car lunges forward, the front end of the vehicle lifts while the tail end of the vehicle dips down. This shift in the weight balance dramatically affects the grip of the tires. Under hard acceleration, the front tires lose grip while the rear tires gain traction from the added weight. As acceleration slows, weight balance gradually returns to a more neutral state.

The opposite effect can be seen under hard braking. As a car brakes hard, the nose of the car dips down while the tail tends to lift. In this situation, the weight balance of the car is shifted forward. The front tires of the car gain traction from the additional weight while the rear of the car loses some grip potential as the pressure of the weight shifts away from those wheels. This shift in weight balance is why a car’s front wheels handle most of the braking.

As weight balance transfers fore and aft of the car, dynamics such as cornering ability and grip for acceleration are affected. The effects of weight transfer vary depending on the drivetrain type of the vehicle. For more details on the specifics, keep reading.

VEHICLE DRIVE TRAIN TYPES

The main components of a vehicle’s drivetrain that relate to weight distribution and transfer are the position of the engine and the wheels that are powered by it. Many low-end economy cars are front-engine, front-wheel-drive, while sportier rides tend to favor the front-engine, rear-wheel drive setup. There are also mid-engine arrangements and all-wheel-drive vehicles. Each variation affects the handling and acceleration dynamics of vehicles.

ENGINE PLACEMENT

The placement of a vehicle’s engine directly affects the weight balance of a car. A front-engine vehicle will tend to have a frontal weight bias. While this may help give the front wheels traction during cornering, it may also result in too little weight holding down the rear end of the car. Under extreme speed, this lack of traction in the rear quarters of the car may result in oversteer, as the tail end breaks loose and kicks out ahead of the front wheels. Still, you’ll find the vast majority of vehicles have their engines located at the front of the car, from econoboxes like the Chevrolet Cobalt to performance powerhouses like the Corvette Z06.

Conversely, you’ll find very few vehicles with a rear-engine arrangement. Pretty much only Porsche is crazy enough to put their engines at the far rear end of their 911 (some Volkswagens do it, too). The added weight to the rear may help keep the rear tires planted during acceleration, but may also contribute to oversteer if the weight is pushed too far in a corner. As well, having the weight of the engine at the back of the car tends to eliminate understeer. More commonly though, you’ll find vehicles with a mid-engine arrangement. Though the engine is still located aft of the driver, it’s positioned more toward the center of the vehicle, in front of the rear axle. This mid-engine arrangement gives a vehicle the benefit of improved weight balance. Vehicles like the Lotus Elise and Ferrari F430 have this mid-engine arrangement.

Front Wheel Drive

A front-wheel-drive (FWD) car has engine power delivered to the front wheels. The benefit of this setup is easy, simple control that’s difficult to lose. Front-wheel-drive vehicles are great cars to start with because they’re typically not as rowdy as other drivetrain setups. A mistake in a FWD vehicle will generally result in manageable understeer, rather than out-of-control oversteer. The downside is that the FWD setup is inherently detrimental to acceleration.

As we discussed earlier, as a vehicle accelerates its weight balance transfers to the rear wheels. As the weight shifts away from the front wheels, those front wheels lose traction. Since the acceleration of a front-wheel-drive car is dependent on the traction of the front wheels, this weight transfer limits acceleration. Also, high-powered FWD vehicles tend to suffer from torque steer. As the front tires share the responsibilities of both acceleration and steering, there’s a real chance that quick acceleration off the line can tug the steering left or right. As such, you’ll find that few performance-minded cars have FWD drivetrains

REAR WHEEL DRIVE

The vast majority of performance vehicles are rear-wheel-drive (RWD). The inherent strength of RWD is clear when you understand weight transfer. As we explained, under acceleration the weight balance of a car shifts backward, pushing down on the rear wheels. This added weight means added traction, a must for quick acceleration both off the line and out of corners.

The downside to rear-wheel-drive is that it tends to be more difficult to control than other drivetrains. Hop into a powerful RWD vehicle like the Corvette Z06 and you’ll quickly become familiar with the monster known as oversteer. During cornering, application of the throttle will tend to break traction to the rear wheels and send the rear end of the vehicle scooting out ahead of the front wheels. In road racing, this is never a good thing. Not only does the loss of traction to the rear wheels result in reduced speed, but it’s also potentially dangerous. Unchecked oversteer can quickly send your car into a spin and off the track.

Despite the learning curve for RWD vehicles, this drivetrain setup is generally regarded as the best for road racing application. Skilled drivers can work with the driving characteristics of rear-drive vehicles for an optimal balance of control and speed.

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE

 

In all-wheel-drive (AWD) vehicles, engine power is delivered to all wheels of the car, though usually not all at once. AWD vehicles have a sort of inherent, if not simple, traction control system. Most typical, low-end AWD vehicles will favor power delivery to the front wheels. However, if the car senses that the powered wheels lose traction, the car’s computer automatically transfers the power away from the low-traction tires to other tires that do have plenty of traction.

The benefit of AWD is especially apparent during hard acceleration off the line. As the car’s computer shifts power to the wheels with the most grip, AWD vehicles really hook up with the asphalt and go. All-wheel-drive strengths are even more pronounced in compromised driving conditions, like driving on a wet track or driving in dirt. The benefits are also helpful in corners where power-on oversteer is minimized by the car’s computer wizardry.

Because of the smart characteristics of an AWD drivetrain, all-wheel-drive vehicles have many of the performance benefits of a RWD setup while maintaining the easy controlability of FWD setups. However, there are some compromises. Like FWD vehicles, AWD cars tend to suffer understeer more than their RWD rivals. As well, all-wheel-drive drivetrains add weight and mechanical complexity to cars, neither of which are desirable in real-life road racing. Still, AWD vehicles present a solid balance between rear- and front-wheel-drive vehicles and should definitely be considered by neophyte racers.

GENERAL TIPS

Another motto: outside – inside – outside

By now you’re familiar with the motto slow in, fast out. That helps you decide when and where to brake and accelerate through a turn, but it doesn’t cover the line you should take through the turn. While each bend is unique, this generally applies: outside, inside, outside. Start the turn from the outside edge of the track, move in toward the inside edge to hit the apex, and then let the car move back toward the outside edge as you exit the corner and accelerate away.

Aim for the Rumble Strip:

Note the red and white rumble strips that often line the edges of a race track. These strips generally run along the edge of the course that racers are most likely to be hugging. While that may seem inconsequential, you can use the locations of the rumble strips as makeshift waypoints forming a preferred racing line. If you’re hugging the inside of a turn without a rumble strip, chances are you’ve missed the corner’s proper apex. Try to stick to the outside edges of the course when the rumble strips are present and turn in so that your apexes coincide with the inside rumble strips

Gas and Break in Moderation

By far the most important thing for new players to learn is moderation. Your gas and brake pedals are analog, not digital—use them as such. If you mash the brake pedal all the way, you can lock your tires and lose control. As well, simply mashing the gas pedal all the time is counter-productive. Though you should always practice moderation in your gas and brake application, it is especially important to do so while cornering. Heavy gassing or braking in mid-corner is never a good thing.

Sliding is Bad

Racing is a constant battle for traction. If your tires are sliding, you’ve lost the battle. Sliding is never a good thing in road racing (it can be helpful on dirt, but that doesn’t apply in Forza). Listen to your tires to gauge the limits of their grip. If you start to hear the tires break loose, ease off the accelerator or brakes to maintain control and speed.

Complete the Achievement to get the listed game score

Car Level 1 (5) – Achieve Car Level 1 in Season Play mode
Car Level 2 (5) – Achieve Car Level 2 in Season Play mode
Car Level 3 (5) – Achieve Car Level 3 in Season Play mode
Car Level 4 (5) – Achieve Car Level 4 in Season Play mode
Car Level 5 (5) – Achieve Car Level 5 in Season Play mode

Driver Level 1 (10) – Reach Driver Level 1 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 2 (10) – Reach Driver Level 2 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 3 (10) – Reach Driver Level 3 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 4 (10) – Reach Driver Level 4 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 5 (10) – Reach Driver Level 5 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 6 (10) – Reach Driver Level 6 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 7 (10) – Reach Driver Level 7 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 8 (10) – Reach Driver Level 8 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 9 (10) – Reach Driver Level 9 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 10 (10) – Reach Driver Level 10 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 15 (15) – Reach Driver Level 15 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 20 (20) – Reach Driver Level 20 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 25 (25) – Reach Driver Level 25 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 30 (30) – Reach Driver Level 30 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 35 (35) – Reach Driver Level 35 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 40 (40) – Reach Driver Level 40 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 45 (45) – Reach Driver Level 45 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 50 (50) – Reach Driver Level 50 in Season Play mode

Year 1 (50) – Complete the first year of Season Play
Year 2 (50) – Complete the 2nd year of Season Play
Year 3 (50) – Complete the 3rd year of Season Play
Year 4 (50) – Complete the fourth year of Season Play
Year 5 (50) – Complete the fifth year of Season Play
Year 6 (50) – Complete the sixth year of Season Play

Auctioneer (10) – Sell a car in the Auction House
Bottomed Out (5) – Jump five feet
Buyer (10) – Buy something using the storefront
Connoisseur (50) – Own at least one car from every manufacturer
Curator (10) – Upload a photo or movie to Forzamotorsport.net
Demon (5) – Travel in excess of 200mph
Director (10) – Complete your first Forza Motorsport movie
Drift Lap (5) – Earn over 100,000 points in a single lap
Drifter (5) – Earn over 1,000 points in a single drift section
Entrepreneur (10) – Sell a Tuning Setup, Design, or Vinyl Group from your storefront
Grease Monkey (10) – Create a car tuning file for your car
Interior (5) – Win a race using cockpit mode
Lapper (10) – Complete a time trial
Painter (10) – Create a paint job or vinyl group
Shutterbug (10) – Take a photo of your car
Sniper (10) – Win an auction by outbidding someone
Solid Gold (80) – Achieve a gold trophy in every single race in the Event list in Season Play mode
Weekday Event (10) – Complete your first weekday event in Season Play mode
Weekend (10) – Complete your first weekend event in Season Play mode
Welcome to Forza Motorsport (15) – Complete the very first race in the game
World Traveler (25) – Race at every track location in the world

I know the Nurburgring can be quite intimidating to some players as it is a huge track, with many asshole corners and curbs which can make you spin out easily, in addition to a really tight track which does not allow mistakes.

I think the most difficult part is trying to memorise the whole track, it will take you maybe even 2 endurance races in order to truely master the track. I always tend to tune my cars and test drive them on the Nurburgring as it is defenitely the best track from an all round perspective: huge straight, very fast corners, very slow corners, huge bumps and jumps, very anal curbs… this track has got it all, so if you got a good tuning set up for the Nurburgring you are pretty much ok for 75% of tracks.

Mastering the Nurburgring is key to your racing evolution, all other tracks will seem much easier etc. But, what is more important, is that your feel for the car increases tremendously, you will even notice when you added 5 kg on the same car.

I will be providing a guide for very fast laps on the nurburgring, my personal best with an Enzo was under mins 6:40, which is not bad at all. This guide will help you with ‘S’ type cars and above, however, not all S cars are the same, and I strongly suggest to go for a less powerful car with greater handling, less weight, etc. Even though the Nurburgring as an extremely long straight, the better handling is much much more important. With ‘R’ type cars the speed can be slightly higher, but still one should watch out for the same hints I will be providing here.

FULL TRACK:

Remember that most curbs on the Nordschleife are extremely malicious, so as long as you are not a master of the nurburgring, keep well away from them. The key is to have a smooth hand and keep the car on the tarmac at all times.

Have a look at the above video a couple of times in order to get a feel for the track, and read the following guide in symphony with the track map above.

TURN 1: Antoniosbuche. After the huge straight this is a left bend under the bridge which is taken at full throttle.

2: Tiergarten. This is the left uphill bend after the sort sraight following turn 1, this is taken full throttle.

3: Hohenrain. This right bend is quite important, you enter the corner at full speed but what to start breaking in order to keep the car stable for the following turn which requires hard breaking.

4: Hohenrain. Turn 4 is the slow right corner just before the pit entrance this bend is taken in second gear and requires hard breaking from a fast fifth gear to second. It is important that you stay in on the inside right as much as possible so to take the following left corner as fast as possible.

5: Hohenrain. -Left bend at the pit entrance. This can be taken at full throttle provided you came out on the right side from turn 4. I do suggest letting go off the throttle on the apex in order to stay left for the following corner which comes immediately.

6: Nordkere. On this tight right corner you want stay as close as possible to the pit wall, and be patient until you hit the second on the exit and then give full throttle.

7: Nordkere Slow left corner, break hard into second and stay close to the left curbs. Be patient in accelerating as you don’t want to be dragged on the exit curbs.

8: This is a fast right bend… with warm tires you can attempt to take it full throttle, otherwise simply let go off the accelerator.

9: Hatzenbach. This is the left bend leading immediately to a triple chicane. At the corner entrance break a little bit so the car stays stable for turn 10, for which further breaking is necessary. But if you break too hard on turn 9 you will loose a lot of momentum.

10: Hatzenbach. If you manage to stay stable out of turn 9, 10 is relatively fast right, quickly break and accelerate immediately.

11, 12 & 13: Hatzenbach.This is the triple chicane. The first left turn is full throttle, the second right is a little tap on the break and on the last left you need to break a little harder in order to avoid all curbs.

14: Hocheichen. Relatively fast right corner. Here it is important to keep a good speed for the successive circuit session, break to 3^rd gear and stay close to the right apex.

15. Hocheichen to Quiddelbacher Hohe. Fast left bend, provided that you came clean from 14, this is full throttle.

16. Flugplatz. This is the right bend after the full speed jump (Quiddelbacher Hohe), break to 5^th in order to keep the car on the inside and keep enough speed for the straight to follow.

17. Schwedenkreuz. This is a very fast left bend after the uphill straight (Kottenborn) which requires some guts, it can be taken full speed (and should be) but to get used to it simply let go off the throttle to keep stability and the line.

18. Aremberg. Right bend under the bridge. This requires some hard breaking to 3^rd gear, and do not hit the curbs.

19. This is a fast left turn which comes after a wobbly straight section (Fuchsrohe). Break to 5^th as on the apex the bumps are extremely malicious, and you want you car to remain stable for turns 20, 21 and 22 which are another 3 way chicane.

 20. Adenauer Forst. In fact this first right is a simple tap on the break at the entrance of the corner and quickly accelerate again.

21. Adenauer Forst.This left is the slowest of the three succession corners and should be taken in 2^nd gear, stay left so that you can take turn 22 much faster.

22. Adenauer Forst. This last right is a little bit tricky as it may suggest to be full throttle but the fence comes closer than you wish if you do. Coming out of 21, when you approach the apex of 22 quickly tap the break and accelerate immediately. Avoid the curbs at all costs.

 23: Metzgesfeld. This is a fast left after a full speed section, let go of the throttle to find the line, avoid the curbs on the inside, but on the outside they are benevolent.

24: Metzgesfeld. This is a hard left and should be taken in 3^rd gear. It is important to stay left so that you can take the following bend full throttle.

25.Metzgesfeld. Slight right bend which can be taken full speed if turn 24 was clean.

26. Kallenhard. This is a downhill right bend. It is a relatively quick corner as the key here is to break to 3^rd gear and maintain momentum throughout the corner until you hit the second bump and give full throttle. With a bit of training this can be taken even in 4^th gear.

27&28: Straight after Kallenhard. Fast left right section: let go of the throttle in the first left and you can give full throttle on the following right.

29: a fast right leading to a tight left corner. This right should be taken in 4^th – 5^th gear.

30: Wehrseifen. Very sharp left with a right bend at the corner entrance. I suggest start breaking down to 4^th or 3^rd when you enter the slight right bend before the corner, let go off the break to position you car in the perfect line and then continue breaking down to second or even first. Avoid the curbs!

31: This is a fast right immediately after turn 30, and here let go of the gas to find the line and accelerate immediately. Avoid all curbs!

32: Breidscheid. This is a left bend at ‘the house’. This is taken in 3^rd or even 4^th but it is vital that you do not break too late here because if the wheels lock up you will end up in the fence. Avoid the curbs as they are extremely high!

33: Ex-Muhle. This is a relatively quick right uphill bend, relatively quick that is if you stay on the right side and avoid the bumps and especially the curbs. It can be taken in 4^th but most probably in a high 3^rd.

34: Full speed left bend

35: Berg Werk. This is a slower right bend. You want to break to 3^rd or 4^th and maintain the speed Once you hit the apex accelerate full throttle. Avoid the malicious curbs!

36. Kesselchen to Mutkurve. Throughout this forest section there are a couple of left/right bends which are taken full speed with precise driving. However you will approach a left bend (Mutkurve, name says Guts Corner – says it all) which will require you to tap the break in order to stay stable.

37: This is a fast right, which requires a little bit of adjusting, that is let go of the gas and quickly accelerate again. Avoid the curbs, they will catapult you out of the track!

38: Klostertal. This is a hard right before the famous ‘Karussell’. A relatively hard right, because just the corner entrance is slow, and if you break enough and hit the apex right you will find that you can accelerate pretty early (feeling the bumps). 3^rd to 4^th gear should do.

39: Karussell. The famous ‘Karussell’ of the renown Nordschleife. This is a very tricky corner and you can loose or gain a lot of time. The key is to stay on the inside line, as the inclination will allow you to maintain much more speed. Enter the corner slowly so that you can position your vehicle precisely on the inclined cement part, vital is to maintain the speed and be patient until you feel that you can give full throttle, which should be right at the apex. If you accelerate too early you will be thrown out of the inclined part and you will end up in no mans land. If you are too slow, you are not appreciating the increased speed the inclination allows you to go.

40: This is a fast uphill left, let go of the gas for stability and immediately accelerate again.

41 & 42: Hohe Acht. Fast left – right section. You need to break enough for the first left, so that the following right can be taken very fast in synchronisation with the bumps, the curbs on the turn exit are basically nonexistent.

43:  Hedwigs Hohe. This is the start of a series of ‘dodgy’ corners, all decorated with interesting graffiti on the tarmac. This dodgy right is taken in third gear and it is important that you stay right.

44&45:  Wippermann. Dodgy fast right left combination. You need to tap the break on the first right, accelerate and tap the break the same way for the left turn 45.

46. Eschbach. This is a dodgy but fast right bend. It is fast if you manage to break just enough to stay on the right apex.

47. Eschbach. This is a dodgy relatively fast uphill right. Break to 3^rd or even 4^th and maintain the speed staying on the apex, careful with the bumps when accelerating. The curbs on the inside are well crap.

48: Eschbach. This is a fast 3^rd gear left bend.

49: Brunnchen. This is a right bend. This is quite fast because the corners on the outside will allow you to accelerate early.

50: Brunnchen. This is a similar turn as turn 47. A fast right bend which needs to be taken cleanly in order to keep momentum.

51: Eiskurve. Slow left, break down to second gear.

52: Sprunghugel. This is the double right bend after the jump (Pflanzgarten). This is where your suspension set up really shows, a good set up will allow you to take the jump extremely fast and still be able to break in a stable position. It is a fast double right but you want to have 4^th or 5^th gear in order to stay on the track.

53: Sprunghugel. Left bend after the double right. Very, very fast bend however you will need to let go of the gas for better stability.

54: Full speed uphill right bend

55: Leading to Schwalbenschwanz. This is a slight right bend which immediately leads to a hard left. At the corner entrance you can maintain full throttle but once you feel the centrifugal force dragging you out, start breaking, otherwise you will not be in a clean line for the following left turn.

56. Schwalbenschwanz. Relatively slow left turn, break to 3^rd or 4^th  gear, on this corner you can accelerate pretty early preparing for the second left hand ‘Karussell’.

57. Schwalbenschwanz. This left hand ‘Karussell’ is much faster than the previous one. You can enter relatively fast but need to break hard just before the apex in order to stay on the inclined side, once you hit the apex it’s full throttle again.

58: Galgenkopf. Fast right hand bend, tap the break down to 5^th or 4^th gear.

59: Dottinger Hohe. Last right bend before the eternal straight. This simply requires a gentle let go of the gas in order to keep the inside line and immediately accelerate again in order to maximise you speed on the straight.

 

 

Tuning your car can be a lot of fun and despite all the frightening comments on the net, it is relatively easy. Quite frankly you just need to stop and think logically.

What I will be providing here, is a guide how to start tuning your car without doing any damage to your racing experience.

First of all, I am a Ferrari fan, so this tuning will mainly help you with rear wheel drive and front/middle engine. Second, this tuning applies to those players who are unfortunate not to have a race wheel.

Let’s start off with the basics. Remember that different tracks require slightly different tuning and each player has a different feel of how comfortable he likes to get through corners. What is most important for game pad player is to have excellent handling, hence this tuning guide will help you maximise your handling and grip with very basic set up.

Tire Pressure: I normally recommend to leave tire pressure as it is, however in endurance races you don t want your rear tires to heat up quicker than the front, as this leads to uncomfortable few laps until the front tires reach temperature and in the long run your rear wheel tires will wear out sooner than the front ones. Again, depending on the track, slightly increase the rear tire pressure a few notches in order to justify this disequilibrium of tire wear, it will not balance out completely as it is a rear wheel car we are talking about here.

For increased grip, slightly decrease both tire pressures, but avoid extreme as the car will start to wobble in fast bends. WithFerraris the rear pressureshould be slightly lower than the front.

Suspensions: Once you have a racing suspension, notice the standard tune. Suspension will help you a great deal on different tracks. Remember that with a rear wheel car you want your rear suspensions to be harder than the front once as you want more traction on the real wheels, but if you feel that when you accelerate the car under steers too much, or when you break hard, the nose of the car dips in too much, increase the stiffness by a few notches and you will notice a great difference. On tracks such as Suzuka, you want a generally ‘hard’ set up, but don’t exaggerate otherwise when you hit the curbs the car may result in unexpected behaviour and may break out. On tracks such as the Nurburgring, Maple Valley or the Amalfi Coast you want a softer set up in order for the car to absorb all bumps and still keep traction: this will result in much greater handling and grip than a hard set up.

A ‘hard’ set up means that you increase the parameters by the same proportion as the standard tuning, whilst decreasing by the same proportion if a ‘soft’ set up is required.

Note that with ‘R’ type cars, the suspensions can be set up slightly harder as the cars generally absorb bumps and curbs much smoother.

 

Tire Alignment, Camber, etc: As a basic set up, I would leave this alone as this is very different for every car and track. These set ups are already for the professional tuner, hence I would suggest the Forza 3 online tuners for custom solutions.

 

Down force: If it is not an oval race, I would strongly suggest for all game pad players to increase down force drastically on the car you are driving. Do not worry about the loss in speed as the increase in corner speed will definitely make up for it. Once you start enjoying the increased handling you can start playing about with the down force in order to increase the top speed. This is particularly important on tracks like Catalunya or Mugello, where you want enough down force to be fast in the corner sections but not too much in order not to loose too much speed on the large straights.

With Ferraris I suggest to increase rear and front down force, but the front down force should be a few notches lower than the rear, this is to avoid that the rear breaks out. On ‘R’ type cars I suggest the opposite, the front down force slightly higher than the rear, this will help you tremendously when entering a corner. If you would apply this to a standard Ferrari, the front comes in the corner faster than the rear which may result in over steer.

 

Breaks: Depending on the track, you want your break balance to be slightly biased towards the front. The front break is the most efficient in deceleration, but extreme set up will result in immediate wheel lock up which drastically reduces your break energy. I normally suggest between 51-55% max. and when you do break and see that the ABS signs come on, you want to ‘pump’ the break button, that is quickly let go and immediately press it again… this requires a little bit of training, but will greatly improve your breaking ability.

Break pressure should be increased to something like 135% for game pad players, a setting which does not apply to ‘R1’ vehicles, but again remember that this setting may result in premature wheel locking, so again let go of the break button and immediately press it again (this action must be performed as quick as possible).

 

Differential: The great option with this is that you can convert your four wheel drive to rear wheel drive (great for me as I hate four wheel drive cars). Anyways, for standard Ferraris it always works to increase the acceleration differential a little bit. If you notice that the car slips a lot, or is unstable when breaking, increase the deceleration differential as well.

 These are very basic settings which will introduce you to the world of tuning without creating damage to your car.