GRAN TURISMO (Playstation) COMPENDIUM ver 1.0 By John "tigeraid" Culbert, Ryan "skee" Jackson and Jason "cka" Jamieson Fall 1998 Contact: John Culbert - <tigeraid@fighters.net> Ryan Jackson - <ryanjackson@usa.net> Jason Jamieson - <cka@fighters.net> This FAQ and all my others can be accessed at the following sites: http://www.riffraffracing.home.ml.org Wanna talk? You can contact me on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) as tigeraid, on channels #capcom, #fighters.net, #vfhome, #tkn, and #cars :), or cka on #fighters.net, #special and #teenteen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARGIN CHECK ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1234567890 .......... MONOSPACE, DAMMIT! :) If the dots above line up with the numbers above them, then you can read this document with ease. If they aren't lined up, the margins will be all screwy and generally make this a bitch to read. It was created using MS-DOS Editor, and as such it is best viewed by this. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPYRIGHT INFORMATION ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I'm getting sick of the bullshit going around with others stealing FAQ writer's hard work without permission or credit. A certain unmentionable gaming mag stole A2 stuff from me a while ago (*ahem*EGM*cough*hack), and on-line people who don't want to put effort into doing this stuff also copied from me (this means you, Davis!!) So here it is: All work and information contained within this document Copyright 1998 John Culbert <tigeraid@fighters.net>, Ryan Jackson <ryanjackson@usa.net> and Jason Jamieson <cka@fighters.net> unless otherwise stated. This FAQ is for private and personal use only. It can only be reproduced electronically, and if placed on a web page or site, may be altered as long as this disclaimer and the above copyright notice appears in full. Any information used from this document, quoted or no, should have this author's name somewhere clearly as acknowledgement. Feel free to distribute between others, but this FAQ is not to be used for profitable/promotional purposes; this includes being used by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. or being incorporated into magazines, etc. in ANY way. This document was created by John Culbert <tigeraid@fighters.net>, Ryan Jackson <ryanjackson@usa.net> and Jason Jamieson <cka@fighters.net>. Give credit where it is due. Gran Turismo is (tm) of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) Inc. and (c) 1998 Sony Computer Entertainment. Chevrolet models and likeness property of General Motors, inc. Dodge models and likeness property of the Chrysler Corporation. Mazda models and likeness property of Madza Motor Corporation and Madzaspeed. Toyota models and likeness property of Toyota Motor Corporation. TVR models and likeness property of TVR Engineering Ltd. Astin Martin models and likeness property of Astin Martin Lagonda Limited. Nissan models and likeness property of Nissan Motor Company Ltd. Honda and Acura models and likeness property of the Honda Motor Company. Subaru models and likeness property of Subaru/Fuji Heavy Industries Inc. Mitsubishi models and likeness property of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1.0 - Version Updates 2.0 - Introduction 3.0 - Car Types 3.1 - Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive 3.2 - Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive 3.3 - Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive 3.4 - Front Engine, 4 Wheel Drive 4.0 - Basics of Driving 4.1 - Accelerating w/Automatic Transmission 4.2 - Accelerating w/Manual Transmission 4.3 - Braking for corners 5.0 - Driving Techniques 5.1 - "Apexing the Turn" -- how to best navigate a corner 5.2 - Sliding through corners 5.3 - Navigating the S-Turn 5.4 - General Tips Cornering with RWD 5.5 - General Tips Cornering with 4WD 5.6 - General Tips Cornering with FWD 5.7 - Cornering with traffic 5.8 - Drafting 5.9 - Differences in handling with the Dual Shock 6.0 - Car Discussion 6.1 - Honda/Acura 6.2 - Nissan 6.3 - Chevrolet 6.4 - Dodge 6.5 - Subaru 6.6 - TVR 6.7 - Astin Martin 6.8 - Toyota 6.9 - Mitsubishi 6.10 - Mazda 7.0 - Car Rankings/Opinions 7.1 - Best RWD car 7.2 - Best FWD car 7.3 - Best 4WD car 7.4 - fastest car (top speed) 7.5 - best stockcar 7.6 - best power/weight ratio 8.0 - The Tracks 8.1 - High Speed Ring (3.1 km) 8.2 - Trial Mountain (3.979 km) 8.3 - Grand Valley East (3.025 km) 8.4 - Clubman Stage Route 5 (2.466 km) 8.5 - Autumn Ring (2.95 km) 8.6 - Deep Forest (3.58 km) 8.7 - Special Stage R5 (3.776 km) 8.8 - Grand Valley (4.96 km) 8.9 - Special Stage R11 (4.894 km) 8.10 - Autumn Ring Mini 9.0 - Parts 9.0 - Exhaust System 9.1 - Brake System 9.2 - Engine Upgrades 9.3 - Transmission Upgrades 9.4 - Turbo Chargers 9.5 - Suspension Upgrades 9.6 - Tire Upgrade 9.7 - Other (Weight Reduction, Race Mod) 10.0 - Car Setup (Simulation Mode) 10.1 - Springs 10.2 - Ride Height 10.3 - Dampers 10.4 - Camber 10.5 - Stabilizers 10.6 - Brake Setup (ABS brake levels) 10.7 - Turbo Boost Levels (Turbo charger levels) 10.8 - Gear Ratios (Rear End gears) 10.9 - Downforce (Rear wing/spoiler, front air dam) 11.0 - Licence Test 11.1 - B Class Licence 11.2 - A Class Licence 11.3 - International A Class Licence 12.0 - Simulation Mode Races/Cups 12.1 - Sunday Cup 12.2 - Clubman Cup 12.3 - GT Cup 12.4 - GT World Cup 12.5 - Special Race: FWD cars 12.6 - Special Race: RWD cars 12.7 - Special Race: 4WD cars 12.8 - Special Race: Light-weight cars 12.9 - Special Race: US vs. Japan 12.10 - Special Race: US vs. UK 12.11 - Special Race: Japan vs. UK 12.12 - Special Race: Top Speed Race 12.13 - Special Race: Normal Cars 12.14 - Special Race: SS R11 Endurance 1 12.15 - Special Race: SS R11 Endurance 2 12.16 - Special Race: Hard-Tuned 12.17 - Special Race: Grand Valley 300km Endurance 13.0 - Simulation Mode Tips 14.0 - Arcade Mode Tips and Cars 15.0 - Arcade Bonus, Tips and Tricks, GameShark Codes 16.0 - Favorite Cars--what the authors drive 17.0 - Pet Peeves--What we would've liked to see 18.0 - Around the Web--additions from the readers 19.0 - Resources 20.0 - Credits/Wrap up ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.0 VERSION UPDATES ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1.0 - none, this is the first version of the compendium ;). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.0 INTRODUCTION ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Well, with the success I enjoyed with my San Francisco Rush: The Rock FAQ I figured that, with some help, I could compile a truly informative document for Gran Turismo (There are plenty of www sites on the subject, but not much in the way of text documents, except for Vestiroth's). Without a doubt GT is one of the most enjoyable games we have ever played, and with the exception of many sites exchanging performance data and other great stuff, there is not a helluv a lot of hardcore text info on this game. And without a doubt, this is a game that requires a LOT of patience, practice and time to play enjoyably and keep enough challenge going so as not get bored. Gran Turismo is one of, if not THE best racing games ever created. This truly ranks among the greats. Firstly, the level of realism in the driving itself is unbelievable, the only thing that's missing is the full steering wheel, and clutch, brake and gas pedals ;). The cars are perfectly accurate to their real-life versions, and the modifications possible to the cars are truly effective and life-like as well. Along with this level of realism in the actual driving, the game alone is simply FUN to play. The CPU is challenging and sometimes even wiley, but not sickingly difficult. The Arcade mode provides true stockcar racing at its best with a selection of unmodified cars that you can race in Time Attack, 1 Player or against a friend in 2 Player mode. As you place first in the 1 Player tracks, more tracks and more cars are revealed, among other things. In addition to the Arcade mode is the almost RPG-like Simulation Mode, where you begin as a lowly racecar driver without even a car and only 10,000 bucks in your pocket :). The object then is to pass your tests to get your racing licenses, and as you go, continue to modify your car and buy new ones, working to the next level of racing. This mode of the game is sickeningly fun and can literally mean days of enjoyment and challenge. Finally, what also makes Gran Turismo such an amazing game are the graphics and sounds. The graphics are some of the smoothest, most-detailed ever seen in a racing game. The level of realistic animation is so high that you can make out the smallest detail, such as lettering, on a car. The car also moves quite realistically, from perfect renditions of body roll to the weight transfer from back to front ("nose-dive" ) caused by braking. When watching the replays, you'll swear you're watching a race on TV. The sound effects, while not quite having the "punch" I wish they had, certainly fit MOST of the cars quite well. Also there is the excellent BGM--there are is a good variety of music to be listened to here, all of the tracks being fast-paced and great for driving. In particular, the song by Garbage and the BGM for the Options screen stand out as our favorites, both of which will play during the races. When it comes down to it, Gran Turismo is a truly amazing game that simply CANNOT be rented once or twice. ANY true racing-game fan will positively drool over GT, and even the casual driving player will find themselves drawn towards this game. Without a doubt this is one to BUY, and will make a fine addition to your collection of PS games. (Now that the shameless plugging of the game is through, let's get down to business :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.0 CAR TYPES ^^^^^^^^^ 3.1 - Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive The classic drive train setup, it's not really that efficient, but it delivers the best acceleration and often top speed, so the majority of performance cars still use this type. As stated, the advantage to these cars is raw power, acceleration and speed. However the downside to these cars is that they tend to get "loose" in the turns; the back-end of the car wants to slide outward in the corner. This is known as oversteering. Quick reflexes and experience are required to drive these cars, with great skill in "countersteering" (see section 5.2). However when it comes to accelerating out of the corner, and blowing them away down the straightaway, these cars are really fun to drive and the true cars of the masters. Beginner versions of Rear Wheel Drive cars include the Madza Eunos Roadster (Miata). Advanced cars in this class include the TVR Cerbera, Corvette and the ever-popular Dodge Viper. 3.2 - Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive These are cars that have the engine located at their front, under the hood as you may normally see. However the thing to note is that the power is delivered to the FRONT WHEELS, not the rear wheels. Most conventional cars these days run FWD. On the one hand, Front Wheel Drive cars are much more efficient because they eliminate most of the drive train (eg. drive shaft), thus reducing frictional horsepower. On the other hand the engines in FWD cars tend to make a lot less power (being MOSTLY 4-cyl and 6-cyl cars) because they are situated over the front wheels, which may put a strain on suspension and make acceleration sluggish. There are real-life exceptions of course, like the Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. Back to the game however: The true advantage to Front Wheel Drive cars is that the wheels used for steering the car are also pulling the car. Thus the car has increased traction and better responsiveness in the corner. In addition the weight transfer from back to front caused by braking is actually an ADVANTAGE in these cars, since it will apply more traction to the front wheels. The car's rear-end tends to stick like glue around the corner, since there is no power spinning the back wheels--instead, FWD cars tend to UNDERSTEER or "Push", meaning that the front of the car wants to ride up to the outside of the corner, as opposed to turning TOO sharp and sliding out. For this reason, proper apexing of the corner (see section 5.1) is required, especially when driving this kind of car. Also note that, due to this huge weight transfer onto the drive wheels, they will tend to wear quite fast and lose traction--this becomes a serious problem when running longer races. Beginner versions of Front Wheel Drive cars include the Honda Civic and Mazda Demio A-Spec (aka "The Little Shopping Cart That Could"). Advanced cars in this class include the Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. Note however that just about any Front Wheel Drive car, in stock condition, can be considered a beginner's car and all are excellent for novices. 3.3 - Front Engine, 4 Wheel Drive These are the best of both worlds above, really. On the one hand, they tend to have more horsepower than Front Wheel Drives, yet usually less horsepower than the Rear Wheel Drives. 4 Wheel Drive vehicles are special because power from the engine is delivered to all FOUR wheels. Therefore, these cars have good acceleration, and more importantly they handle GREAT in the corner. They can hold a turn quite well for the same reason the FWD can, because the wheels doing the steering are also getting the power they need to grip the track--along with this the rear wheels are also pushing them through the corner too. Thus, the 4WD cars tend to be the quickest THROUGH the corner. They hold the corner well, but can also get loose since the rear wheels can spin almost as much as Rear Wheel Drive cars--however more often than not they also understeer as well, so as with the FWD, proper apexing of the corner is essential, and it is often easier with 4WD since it holds a very tight corner. Four Wheel Drives are basically a happy medium between the other two main classes--they can beat the FWD cars in the corner usually, and they can put up a healthy challenge to the RWD cars down the straightaway. When it comes down to it, the top 4WD cars (eg. Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo) are just as good a choice as the RWD cars, since they can make up the lost straightaway speed in the corners. Stock 4WD cars usually cannot keep up with cars like the Viper, but with HP and Suspension mods, they can more than handle the job. Beginner versions of 4 Wheel Drive cars include the Mitsubishi Lancer GSR and Nissan Pulsar. Advanced cars in this class include the Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo and Skyline GTR Vspec. 3.4 - Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive These special cases are different from other RWD cars because the engine is mounted midway through the car, instead of at the front. These cars tend to handle the weight transfer into the corner much better, since they do not have the tremendous weight of the engine sitting at the front. They basically handle the same as Front Engine-RWD cars, though they tend to oversteer less because of the lessened weight transfer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.0 BASICS OF DRIVING ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 4.1 - Accelerating w/Automatic Transmission Acceleration with an Automatic Transmission is simple--step on the gas ;). Note however that starting from a static position (eg. beginning of race) still requires you to moderate your RPM... This of course also depends on your drive-train type. Generally, if you're running a RWD car, keep the RPM fairly low when the signal to go arrives--if your RPM is too high, you will crawl from the starting line smoking your tires off. Typically you keep RPM at this time around 3000 or so, less depending on your HP or gearing. If you're geared really high towards acceleration, you may want to begin as low as a 1000 RPM or so. You also have to keep turbo-lag in mind... turbo charged cars require you to keep the revs up no matter what, or throttle response will become nill for an agonizing moment. When accelerating with Front Wheel Drive cars, you will rarely spin the tires. Keep the RPMs up in the high range either way. Same goes for 4WD cars, though you usually get a little smoke out of these. Remember: smoking the tires a little when the green flag drops is not a problem, as long as you get up to speed quick enough. The RPM you start at is something you need to get a feel for, since it varies with every car, but generally 4WD and FWD allow you to basically pin it. 4.2 - Accelerating w/Manual Transmission Same notes about starting from a green flag, but some words on shifting are needed. For those who don't know, a Manual Transmission will not change gears unless you tell it to, meaning you can start in 1st gear and if you don't shift, the car will redline and eventually stop gaining speed (and if this were real life, you'd over-rev the engine and blow it up too ;). In the long run, a stick is a much better choice as it provides quicker acceleration (since you can shift a little later than an auto would, edging out that last little bit of HP in that gear), and gets you out of the corner faster too; an automatic with often stay in a certain gear through a corner, and end up accelerating too slowly out of the corner. Downshifting for cornering allows you to accelerate much quicker out of the corners and gives improved response during and coming out of slides (and if you're not careful, can take ya for a loop too ;). To properly shift your gears, wait for the tach (tachometer, the gauge on the bottom right of your screen) to reach near redline, then shift up. If you wait too long and bring the RPM right up through redline, you may stop gaining horsepower and lose a bit of acceleration (and again, if this is real life, you'd blow the engine). Sometimes however this helps during cornering, to keep it in a lower gear to prevent heading up into the wall. See section 5.0 for more info on cornering. So overall, the basic idea is to shift when the needle is entering the red ;). 4.3 - Braking For Corners (by tigeraid) Whenever I try to teach beginners how to take a corner, the most common mistake they make is braking too late. Braking really should not be used TO corner, rather to slow FOR the corner. Oftentimes when you brake during your turn, you will either slide out too much, or understeer and cause your car to drift up to the corner. Braking at high speeds usually results in uncontrollable sliding. My father's a stockcar driver, and his philosophy on cornering is fairly simple: "If the wheels aren't rotating, you have no no control", meaning that if the wheels are not rotating because you have applied the brakes, they will follow the intertia and slide in the direction the car is going, frequently towards the outside of the corner. Thus, brakes should be used BEFORE the corner--I cannot stress this enough. Now, with the tweaking possible in Simulation Mode, allowing you to adjust the strength of your front and back brakes, this can be compensated for somewhat, but the basic idea still remains. This problem with braking is especially evident when driving RWD cars, because of the torque they generate through the corners combined with the weight transferring OFF of the drive wheels from braking. Either you will get very loose and lose control, or you will understeer and not be able to recover in time. Remember, BRAKE WHEN ENTERING THE CORNER, then turn and downshift when needed. See section 5.0 for more info. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.0 DRIVING TECHNIQUES ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ First a couple of notes: -OUTSIDE/INSIDE: referring to the "outside" or "inside" of a turn--pretty straight-forward, the "outside" of, say, a left turn would be the right side of the turn; the "inside" of that turn would be the left side. -WEIGHT TRANSFER: when entering a corner in a car in real life, you will notice that your weight will shift to the outside of that corner. This is known as centrifugal force. Ever swing a bucket of water around, and the water stays in the bottom of the bucket even when upside down? That's centrifugal force. The same thing applies to cars entering corners. Throughout the corner the weight of the car will shift to the outside. More specifically, the weight will shift from the inside rear of the car to the outside front of the car, because there is still forward inertia from entering the corner. This back to front weight transfer is applied further if braking occurs. Weight transfer is what causes both understeering and oversteering (see below). In addition to the weight transfer caused by centrifugal force and intertia, braking also comes into play (See section 4.3.) 5.1 - "Apexing the Turn" -- How To Best Navigate a Corner Apexing the turn refers to taking the fastest and shortest possible line around the corner. This is usually accomplished by starting on the outside of the turn, diving to the inside, and coming out on the outside again. Thus: ____________________c____ / | | | b___________ In this rather simple example of a perfect | | 90 degree turn, the idea is to get from | | point a to point c, but THROUGH b, taking | | the shortest route around the corner. | | Obviously, apexing a corner is easier the | | bigger, wider and more gradual the turn |a | is. Running faster cars, especially RWD, | | may require you to slide the back end out | | when you reach point b to prevent from hitting the outside around point c (see 5.2 below). There are other ways to apex a turn, depending of course on the shape of the turn. On a really sharp hairpin or "almost-hairpin" turn, a different path must be chosen: ____________ / \ | \ | \ | \ | b___ \ In this example, the idea is to get from | | \ \ point a to point c, but this time the |a | \ \ nose of your car should already be | | \ c \ pointing around to point b. This can be | | | | done by sliding the car around with a RWD | | | | or even 4WD, or slowing down and taking | | | | the turn sharp enough with the FWD. | | | | Ideally you should end up on the outside of the corner, point c. It is especially important to start this turn far to the outside near point a. If you hug the inside and attempt to turn into point b, often your car will end up nose-first outside the corner (in the grass, dirt or the wall). 5.2 - Sliding through corners Sliding is done most often with RWD cars, but also occurs with 4WD. Sliding the car refers to turning a corner so sharply that you swing the back end of the car out, sliding the back tires around. Sometimes this can be a bad thing but in most cases, it is the best way FOR a car to take a corner, to prevent you from understeering and drifting to the outside of the turn. One must note however, that careful control must be used to ensure that you do not "spin out" or "loop" the car, or you're in big trouble. To slide effectively, it is best to approach the corner and brake EARLY, being sure to point the nose of your car toward the inside part of the corner--if it's a right hand turn, crank the car to the right so that the nose points to the inside of the turn, while applying the brakes. Let off the brakes early so that you do not spin out, or simply slow the car down too much. If all goes well, the back of your car will slide around to the outside of the turn. But you're not done yet; if you just hammer the gas and go, you will either loop it, or smack your rear quarterpanel against an outside wall. You now have to "countersteer" to bring the car back. We may refer to this throughout the Compendium as "counter(ing)", "bringing it out/back" or "correcting". This is when you counteract the affects of a slide by steering into it. For example, if you were to take a hard right turn, the back end of the car would slide out to the left--in order to "correct" this, turn the wheels to the left; this will bring the back end around in the proper direction (hopefully in time :). The amount you have to turn the wheel in correction depends on the severity of the slide and the handling of your specific car. In the case of the 4WD car, the slide is often much easier to correct, as the front wheels will also pull the car's front end outward since they also have power delivered to them. Get used to this quick countersteer, so you do not end up "overcorrecting" and sending the front end careening to the outside of the turn instead. 5.3 - Navigating the S-Turn Navigating an S-Turn requires good timing and expert setup. One must take the first turn while taking into account how he will enter the second one. The basic principle follows the idea of apexing a turn--take the shortest route possible, so less turns are needed. | d| | | \ \ \ \ / / ____________/ / / c / / / | / | b___________/ In this example, the idea again is to get | / from point a to point d, but to take the | | shortest route possible, through b and c. | | In this particular diagram, this is pretty |a | simple, being almost a straight line. | | Now, in extreme cases, the corner at point c may be a much sharper left turn, and thus you must be prepared to start an early slide (or slow and turn early with FWD) AS you come out of your first turn. To do this, simply jerk it quickly in the other direction, remembering to countersteer quickly. In addition, it is often best to apply the brakes briefly around the outside of the center turn (point c as above) to perform this slide, or to otherwise slow you enough that you don't hit the outside of the middle turn (below point d as above). 5.4 - General Tips Cornering with RWD When driving a RWD car around a corner, you must always be ready to countersteer--when using a normal D-pad controller, this can often be done by quickly tapping to countersteer. If you simply hold in the outside direction you will overcorrect and be in even bigger trouble. If you find yourself understeering too much, with your nose heading to the outside of the turn, it is possible to throw yourself into a sharper slide, even from a gradual one you may be performing. To do this simply crank it sharper and longer than you did initially. Sometimes you may even have to briefly tap the brakes to get the tires sliding. Worst case scenario, you will smack your ass-end into the outside wall (if any) and be off. This is a good technique to use on corners with outside walls if you find yourself losing a slide, but try not to do it often on open turns unless you're SURE the sharper slide will keep you on the pavement. Hitting the grass can often be worse than spinning out. For cases like this, "peppering" the brakes (tapping them briefly for a short period) and letting off the gas will also work to slow the car down enough, and at the same time not allowing it to understeer too much. The problem with this is that, with RWD cars, this may cause you to slide too much... This will take practice, you need a definite feel for it. 5.5 - General Tips Cornering with 4WD Always remember that VERY quick recoveries from slides are commonplace with 4WD, so practice the proper amount of correction needed, to prevent you from overcorrecting. A mistake that plagues beginners became popular first in Sega Rally, which became known as the "pinball effect": players correct too quickly and end up bringing the nose into the outside wall (if any), then try to correct again and bounce of the inside wall, then back out, etc... If you're in an open turn and this happens, chances are you'll just fishtail wildly and loop it anyways. And always remember, you will most often outhandle the other cars in the corner with 4WD, so don't be afraid to attempt to pass them on the outside, but of course always be weary of dirty tactics (see section 5.7 ;). 5.6 - General Tips Cornering with FWD Braking is, in fact, one of your best friends when driving a FWD. It is pretty difficult to slide uncontrollably when braking with a FWD, unless you TRY to do it ;). So, don't be afraid to apply the brakes a little if you find yourself understeering, but still be careful not to give it TOO much, or you will push up into the outside. 5.7 - Cornering with traffic >From the smash-bang world of stockcar racing, you can learn many devious techniques for out-DRIVING your other opponents. So, you're a measly Toyota Supra with oh, let's say 280 hp. Up ahead of you leading the race is the powerful Dodge Viper GTS, with 449 hp. What to do? You just aren't fast enough! So what... OUTDRIVE 'EM. One of the most common driving rules in the racing business is that passing on the inside is easier. Of course, if you totally outhandle the other car you can probably pass on the outside pretty easily, but it's always easy to pass them on the inside. When you do this you take a shorter route around the corner than they do, and also tend to get a better run into the corner. But what's even better is a classic short-track technique, commonly referred to as "using" the other car. When you get up on the inside of another car in the corner, DON'T let off the gas and DON'T brake. Let the other car act as your guide, as your "wall", if you will. You can ride them all the way around the corner without letting up and take right off when you come out of the turn. The other car also prevents you from moving to the outside of the corner, and usually keeps your ass-end around the corner too. This is not so easy against experienced human players, as they can fight back--for example, they can let off ever so briefly early in the corner and cause you to fly off ahead of them into the wall, or outside of the turn either way--However this is a VERY easy way to beat the CPU. You will often see the whole field of computer cars check up as they reach the outside of the turn; don't follow their example :). Instead, just plow right into the turn and USE the cars on the outside. Often this can slingshot you from last place to first in one turn. See section 14.0 for some more tips. 5.8 - Drafting Also known as "slip-streaming", this makes use of another car's air resitance to increase your speed. When a car moves, it must push against the air, causing a resistance. The shape of the car can determines its amount of wind resistance, i.e. if it is aerodynamic, more of the air tends to flow easily around the car, then become a direct force against it. The less wind resistance you have on your car, the faster it will go (and alternately, air flow can create downforce on parts of the car to gain more traction, i.e. the rear wing/spoiler, and the front air dam). So, what do you do if you get caught walking in a wind storm? You try and find someplace, perhaps a doorway, where the wind cannot hit you--you're creating a barrier against the wind. Drafting is based on this principle; obviously, if there is an object in front of your car blocking the air, it will greatly decrease the wind resistance on your own car. Thus, in order to draft, you tuck behind another car in front of you, taking the wind resistance off of your car and allowing to accelerate to a greater speed. Simply, once you notice yourself almost running into the back of the car in front, slip off to the side, and your built-up speed will allow you to literally slingshot around the car. This technique is ESPECIALLY important in the Megaspeed Race to get into the lead. This is also an excellent way for slightly slower cars to gain an edge--if you get a great exit off of a corner leading to a longer straight and manage to get behind a slightly faster car for a moment, you can draft it and slip by. NOTE: drafting only works at fairly high speeds, and you of course have to be fairly close behind the car in front for the draft to work. In other words, drafting is important on places like High Speed Ring or the Test Track, but is pretty much non-existant on lower-speed track like Autumn Ring Mini or even most of Deep Forest. BTW, some of you may have heard the top speed records on the internet ranging from 280-385 mph. AFAIK, there is no way for a car to do this by itself ('cept with the Gameshark), however drafting during the Megaspeed Race with the highest top-speed cars (eg. fully modded Supra RZ, GTO Twin Turbo or Skyline) will allow you to attain these speeds. 5.9 - Differences in handling with the Dual Shock The Dual Shock provides analog control. What this allows you to do is moderate the amount of pressure you apply to the controls. This in effect makes it act more like a real steering wheel--if you're coming up on a long, easy curve, you can simply apply a small amount of pressure and take the turn nice and smooth, as you would turning the steering wheel just a little bit in real life. When using the normal D-Pad on an easy curve, you have to tap it repeatedly in short increments. The analog allows you to not only stop this tapping, and thus stop the quick jerks and sliding from the car, but also it may help you shave a couple hundredths of a second of your lap times. We DEFINETELY recommend the Dual Shock controller for Gran Turismo, also because it has the "rumble-pack" addition to it, which creates small vibrations in the controller when you skid the tires, hit other cars or objects, or even accelerate with a hard-running engine. It's not as if you can't PLAY the game without it, it's just a really nice addition to an already great game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.0 CAR DISCUSSION ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Note: some figures are currently missing for the more obscure cars. Additions are welcome, this will be updated. 6.1 - Honda/Acura Honda is a good solid manufacturer of cars. Although they tend to lose out in the A Class of stock/arcade racing (except for the NSX), Honda features an excellent addition to the C Class and holds its own in the B class as well. Honda also dominates the FWD class with cars like the Civic 3-Door and Prelude Si VTec--there's a good chance that, if you wanna win the Front Wheel Drive challenge, or use a damn-good C-class car in Arcade Mode, that you choose a modded Honda. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- ACURA NSX: -Drivetrain: Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 290 hp @ 7300 rpm -Torque: 224 ft.lbs. @ 5300 rpm -Weight: 3068 lbs. -Price: 91,070 -Notes: ACURA NSX TypeS: -Drivetrain: Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 7300 rpm -Torque: 224 ft.lbs. @ 5300 rpm -Weight: 2910 lbs. -Price: 103,570 -Notes: ACURA NSX TypeS Zero: -Drivetrain: Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 7300 rpm -Torque: 224 ft.lbs. @ 5300 rpm -Weight: 2779 lbs. -Price: 98,570 -Notes: ACURA INTEGRA GS-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 170 hp @ 7600 rpm -Torque: 128 ft.lbs. @ 6200 rpm -Weight: 2667 lbs. -Price: 19,580 -Notes: ACURA INTEGRA TypeR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 195 hp @ 8000 rpm -Torque: 130 ft.lbs. @ 7500 rpm -Weight: 2594 lbs. -Price: 22,280 -Notes: ACURA NSX-R LM GT2: -Drivetrain: Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 549 hp @ 8200 rpm -Torque: 355 ft.lbs. @ 8200 rpm -Weight: 2314 lbs. -Price: 500,000 -Notes: Limited Edition available from dealer only '93 HONDA PRELUDE Si: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 160 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 156 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 2865 lbs. -Price: -Notes: '93 HONDA PRELUDE VTec: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 190 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 158 ft.lbs. @ 5500 rpm -Weight: 2932 lbs. -Price: -Notes: HONDA PRELUDE: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 195 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 156 ft.lbs. @ 5500 rpm -Weight: 2954 lbs. -Price: 18,830 -Notes: HONDA CIVIC SEDAN: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 127 hp @ 7800 rpm -Torque: 107 ft.lbs. @ 7300 rpm -Weight: 2517 lbs. -Price: 18,280 -Notes: HONDA CIVIC 3-Door: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 106 hp @ 7800 rpm -Torque: 103 ft.lbs. @ 7300 rpm -Weight: 2253 lbs. -Price: 17,280 -Notes: HONDA CIVIC (Racer): -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 182 hp @ 8200 rpm -Torque: 118 ft.lbs. @ 7500 rpm -Weight: 2314 lbs. -Price: 19,980 -Notes: '93 HONDA del Sol S: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 102 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 98 ft.lbs. @ 5200 rpm -Weight: 2286 lbs. -Price: -Notes: '93 HONDA del Sol Si: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 125 hp @ 7800 rpm -Torque: 106 ft.lbs. @ 7300 rpm -Weight: 2286 lbs. -Price: -Notes: '91 HONDA CIVIC CR-X Si: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 152 hp @ 7600 rpm -Torque: 100 ft.lbs. @ 7000 rpm -Weight: 2138 lbs -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (FF Challenge) HONDA ACCORD SEDAN: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 170 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 165 ft.lbs. @ 5500 rpm -Weight: 3284 lbs. -Price: 23,540 -Notes: HONDA ACCORD WAGON: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 145 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 147 ft.lbs. @ 5500 rpm -Weight: 3196 lbs. -Price: 26,980 -Notes: HONDA del Sol LM EDITION -Drivetrain: Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 563 hp @ ? rpm -Torque: 147 ft.lbs. @ 5500 rpm -Weight: 1962 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (Lightweight Special) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.2 - Nissan Similar to Honda, Nissan provides a great selection of RWD cars, as well as one of the better all-around cars in the game, the 4WD Skyline series. It also has a good all-around FWD car in the Primera as well--an excellent car for beginners in Sim Mode. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- FAIRLADY Z VERSION S 2by2: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 227 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 201 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 3240 lbs. -Price: 32,500 -Notes: FAIRLADY Z VERSION S TWIN TURBO 2by2: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 286 ft.lbs. @ 3600 rpm -Weight: 3461 lbs. -Price: 42,300 -Notes: FAIRLADY Z VERSION S 2seater: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 227 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 201 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 3152 lbs. -Price: 30,500 -Notes: FAIRLADY Z VERSION S TWIN TURBO 2seater: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 286 ft.lbs. @ 3600 rpm -Weight: 3373 lbs. -Price: 39,300 -Notes: R32 SKYLINE GT-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 260 ft.lbs. @ 4400 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: R32 SKYLINE GT-R VSpec: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 260 ft.lbs. @ 4400 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: R32 SKYLINE GT-R NISMO: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 260 ft.lbs. @ 4400 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: R32 SKYLINE GTS-t Type M: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 212 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 195 ft.lbs. @ 3200 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: R32 SKYLINE GTS25 Type S: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 187 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 170 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: R32 SKYLINE GTS4: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 247 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 195 ft.lbs. @ 3200 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: R32 SKYLINE GTS25t Type M: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 249 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 217 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: R33 SKYLINE GT-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 271 ft.lbs. @ 4400 rpm -Weight: 3373 lbs. -Price: 48,850 -Notes: R33 SKYLINE GT-R VSpec: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 271 ft.lbs. @ 4400 rpm -Weight: 3395 lbs. -Price: 53,900 -Notes: S14 SKYLINE Q'S: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 158 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 139 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2623 lbs. -Price: 17,950 -Notes: S14 SKYLINE K's: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 217 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 203 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2755 lbs. -Price: 23,950 -Notes: '91 S13 SKYLINE Q's 2000cc: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 138 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 132 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '91 S13 SKYLINE K's 2000cc: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 202 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 203 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '88 S13 SKYLINE Q's 1800cc: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 133 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 117 ft.lbs. @ 5200 rpm -Weight: 2403 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (FR Challenge) '88 S13 SKYLINE K's 1800cc: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 202 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 203 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: SIL EIGHTY: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 198 hp @ rpm -Torque: ft.lbs. @ rpm -Weight: 2579 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (FR Challenge) PRIMERA 2.0Te -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 148 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 137 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2601 lbs. -Price: 24,020 -Notes: 180SX Type X: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 202 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 203 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2689 lbs. -Price: 24,980 -Notes: 180SX Type S: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 138 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 132 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2645 lbs. -Price: 19,400 -Notes: '91 PULSAR GTi-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 227 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 210 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2689 lbs. -Price: -Notes: NISMO GT-R LM: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 661 hp @ 7600 rpm -Torque: 467 ft.lbs. @ 7100 rpm -Weight: 2513 lbs. -Price: 500,000 -Notes: Limited Edition available only at dealer ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.3 - Chevrolet You'll have to excuse us, especially tigeraid, but we're serious GM lovers. As such, you MAY just see a BIT of bias here or there... :) Anywho, we think personally that GT could've made a little more effort with Chevy, because the cars available here don't truly show the awesomeness of Chevrolet. The current generation 'vettes available here are really not that great, compared to cars like the Viper GTS. It would've been nice to see a Corvette C5 in here, which would certainly be a challenge for the freakin' Dodge! Or for that matter, the Z28 with the LS1 package. Anyway, this is rambling.... see section 16.0 for more discussion on this. Either way, Chevrolet still makes a decent showing in GT. The Camaro is just plain FUN to drive, especially the 30th Anniversary edition. Both Camaros can be modded much more for a more competitive car (unbelievable handling, though not much as far as REAL speed). In addition the two '96 Corvettes can be truly competitive in modded form, though they lose out a fair bit to the Viper in stock form. And of course, the classic Stingray is a hoot to drive, even if it does handle like a wet noodle. :) Once you get a hang of its power sliding though... CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- '67 CORVETTE STINGRAY COUPE: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 450 hp @ rpm -Torque: ft.lbs. @ rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '96 CORVETTE COUPE: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 330 hp @ 5500 rpm -Torque: 341 ft.lbs. @ 4400 rpm -Weight: 3218 lbs. -Price: 45,350 -Notes: '96 CORVETTE GRAND SPORT: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 330 hp @ 5500 rpm -Torque: 341 ft.lbs. @ 4400 rpm -Weight: 3218 lbs. -Price: 49,250 -Notes: CAMARO Z-28: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 285 hp @ 5200 rpm -Torque: 325 ft.lbs. @ 2400 rpm -Weight: 3461 lbs. -Price: 24,770 -Notes: CAMARO Z-28 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 279 hp @ 5200 rpm -Torque: 325 ft.lbs. @ 2400 rpm -Weight: 3461 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (Clubman Cup) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.4 - Dodge Dodge only carries four models, but that's all it needs. Although we carry a bit of bias against Dodge, we have to admit that the Vipers are truly a joy to drive and blow away most of the compitition, especially dominating stock/ Arcade races. All models are RWD and A Class. Now if only the Concept Car wasn't so DAMN ugly... CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- VIPER RT/10: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 449 hp @ 5200 rpm -Torque: 491 ft.lbs. @ 3700 rpm -Weight: 3187 lbs. -Price: 68,800 -Notes: VIPER GTS: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 449 hp @ 5200 rpm -Torque: 491 ft.lbs. @ 3700 rpm -Weight: 3240 lbs. -Price: 80,040 -Notes: CONCEPT CAR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 220 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: n/a -Weight: 2160 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Not for Sale CONCEPT CAR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 560 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: n/a -Weight: 1329 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (UK vs. US) VIPER GTS-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 680 hp @ rpm -Torque: n/a -Weight: 2753 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (US vs. Japan) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.5 - Subaru Subaru's a little limited in Arcade mode, but nonetheless they do have some great models. Truly, Subaru IS the beauty of all-wheel drive, because ALL of the their models are 4WD. Also interesting to note is that all but TWO of their cars (both versions of the Alcyone) are A class. The Impreza is truly a competitive car when fully modded as well. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- ALCYONE SVX Version L: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 237 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: ALCYONE SVX S4: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 237 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 3505 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (4WD Challenge) LEGACY TOURING SEDAN RS: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 250 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 3042 lbs. -Price: 27,330 -Notes: LEGACY TOURING WAGON GT-B: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 250 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 3152 lbs. -Price: 29,330 -Notes: '93 LEGACY TOURING SPORT RS: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 247 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '93 LEGACY TOURING WAGON GT: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 247 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: IMPREZA WRX-STi TypeR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 253 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2733 lbs. -Price: 30,000 -Notes: '96 IMPREZA Sedan WRX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 242 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2755 lbs. -Price: 25,550 -Notes: '96 IMPREZA Sedan WRX-STi ver. III: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 253 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2755 lbs. -Price: 28,850 -Notes: '96 IMPREZA Wagon WRX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 237 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 224 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2843 lbs. -Price: 25,220 -Notes: '96 IMPREZA Wagon WRX-STi ver. III: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 253 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2865 lbs. -Price: 28,850 -Notes: '95 IMPREZA Sedan WRX-STi ver. II: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 256 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '95 IMPREZA Wagon WRX-STi ver. II: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 256 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '94 IMPREZA Sedan WRX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 217 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 206 ft.lbs. @ 3500 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '94 IMPREZA Wagon WRX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 256 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: IMPREZA RALLY EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 585 hp @ 7600 rpm -Torque: 410 ft.lbs. @ 7100 rpm -Weight: 2160 lbs. -Price: 500,000 -Notes: Limited Edition available only at dealer ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.6 - TVR TVR is really not THAT bad. The problem is that, in stock form, the TVRs handle like wet noodles. Mind you, when you can get the handle of the Cerbera especially, it can even keep up with the Viper everywhere but top-end. In Sim Mode, a MODDED TVR can be quite competitive, once it gets some tires and suspension under it. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- CERBERA: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 350 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 320 ft.lbs. @ 4500 rpm -Weight: 2425 lbs. -Price: 84.800 -Notes: GRIFFITH 500: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 340 hp @ 5500 rpm -Torque: 351 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2336 lbs. -Price: 83,200 -Notes: GRIFFITH BLACKPOOL B340: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 335 hp @ 5500 rpm -Torque: 365 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2336 lbs. -Price: 79,800 -Notes: CERBERA LM EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 581 hp @ rpm -Torque: n/a -Weight: 1984 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (UK vs. Japan) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.7 - Astin Martin Another English manufacturer of powerhouses, Astin Martin provides only A Class cars and, similar to TVR, are not too hot in the handling department in stock form, and not as fast as top runners like the Viper down the straights. Again however, with modded suspension and good tires, these can hang with the best of them. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- DB7 COUPE: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 335 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 266 ft.lbs. @ 3000 rpm -Weight: 3802 lbs. -Price: 150,000 -Notes: DB7 VOLANTE: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 335 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 362 ft.lbs. @ 3000 rpm -Weight: 4133 lbs. -Price: 164,000 -Notes: DB7 COUPE: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 328 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 266 ft.lbs. @ 3000 rpm -Weight: 3802 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (Megaspeed) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.8 - Toyota Toyota is arguably the most well-rounded manufacturer in the game. They provide an excellent A-Class selection for Arcade mode, including real treats like the MR2 in arcade mode. Their A-Class cars are also excellent Sim Mode projects that are easy to build up. Toyota also has one of the fastest top-speed cars in the game: The Toyota Supra RZ when fully modded. Toyota also offers a good selection of FF cars, and also carries one 4WD model, the Celica GT-FOUR, also an excellent all-around car. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- STARLET GLANZA V: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 133 hp @ 6400 rpm -Torque: 116 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2028 lbs. -Price: 14,300 -Notes: COROLLA LEVIN BZG: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 163 hp @ 7800 rpm -Torque: 119 ft.lbs. @ 5600 rpm -Weight: 2270 lbs. -Price: 16,900 -Notes: SPRINTER TRUENO BZG: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 163 hp @ 7800 rpm -Torque: 119 ft.lbs. @ 5600 rpm -Weight: 2270 lbs. -Price: 16,900 -Notes: CELICA SS-II: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 177 hp @ 7000 rpm -Torque: 141 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2645 lbs. -Price: 21,360 -Notes: CELICA GT-FOUR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 251 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 224 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 3042 lbs. -Price: 32,660 -Notes: '92 MARK II TOURER V: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6200 rpm -Torque: 268 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: '92 MARK II TOURER S: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 177 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 174 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: -Price: -Notes: CHASER TOURER V: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6200 rpm -Torque: 278 ft.lbs. @ 2400 rpm -Weight: 3240 lbs. -Price: 32,220 -Notes: CHASER TOURER S: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 197 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 188 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 3086 lbs. -Price: 27,500 -Notes: SOARER 2.5GT-T: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6200 rpm -Torque: 268 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 3439 lbs. -Price: 34,800 -Notes: MR2 G-LIMITED: -Drivetrain: Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 177 hp @ 7000 rpm -Torque: 141 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 2733 lbs. -Price: 23,600 -Notes: MR2 GT-S: -Drivetrain: Mid Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 242 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 224 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2821 lbs. -Price: 27,130 -Notes: '95 SUPRA SZ-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 222 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 210 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Weight: 3196 lbs. -Price: 32,000 -Notes: SUPRA RZ: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 5600 rpm -Torque: 318 ft.lbs. @ 3600 rpm -Weight: 3328 lbs. -Price: 43,900 -Notes: SUPRA MA70 GT TURBO LIMITED: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 237 hp @ 5600 rpm -Torque: 253 ft.lbs. @ 3200 rpm -Notes: SUPRA JZA70 GT TWIN TURBO-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6200 rpm -Torque: 268 ft.lbs. @ 4800 rpm -Notes: AE86 COROLLA LEVIN GT-APEX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 128 hp @ 6600 rpm -Torque: 110 ft.lbs. @ 5200 rpm -Notes: AE86 COROLLA SPRINTER TRUENO: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 128 hp @ 6600 rpm -Torque: 110 ft.lbs. @ 5200 rpm -Notes: CASTROL SUPRA GT: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 656 hp @ 6800 rpm -Torque: 512 ft.lbs. @ 6800 rpm -Weight: 2535 lbs. -Price: 500,000 -Notes: CHASER LM EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 655 hp @ rpm -Weight: 2777 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (GT Cup) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.9 - Mitsubishi Mitsubishi is another good all-around manufacturer. It is the dealer of what is considered the best all-around car in the game, the GTO Twin Turbo, as well as an EXCELLENT B-Class car in the FF Eclipse. Most of Mitsubishi's cars are easily modded and make for expert driving, although they carry no RWD cars. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- GTO SR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 222 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 203 ft.lbs. @ 4500 rpm -Weight: 3549 lbs. -Price: 29,980 -Notes: GTO TWIN TURBO: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 315 ft.lbs. @ 2500 rpm -Weight: 43,230 -Price: 3769 lbs. -Notes: GALANT VR-G TOURING: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 148 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 132 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 2733 lbs. -Price: 20,900 -Notes: GALANT VR-4: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 5500 rpm -Torque: 268 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 3262 lbs. -Price: 29,800 -Notes: ECLIPSE GT: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 227 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 213 ft.lbs. @ 2500 rpm -Weight: 2932 lbs. -Price: 23,600 -Notes: '94 FTO GR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 168 hp @ 7000 rpm -Torque: 137 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Notes: FTO GR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 177 hp @ 7000 rpm -Torque: 141 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2535 lbs. -Price: 18,870 -Notes: FTO GPX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 197 hp @ 7500 rpm -Torque: 148 ft.lbs. @ 6000 rpm -Weight: 2579 lbs. -Price: 23,330 -Notes: FTO GP VERSION R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 197 hp @ 7500 rpm -Torque: 148 ft.lbs. @ 6000 rpm -Weight: 2535 lbs. -Price: 21,600 -Notes: LANCER EvolutionIII GSR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 266 hp @ 6250 rpm -Torque: 228 ft.lbs. @ 3000 rpm -Notes: LANCER EvolutionIV GSR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 260 ft.lbs. @ 3000 rpm -Weight: 2976 lbs. -Price: 23,940 -Notes: MIRAGE Asti RX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 173 hp @ 7500 rpm -Torque: 123 ft.lbs. @ 7000 rpm -Weight: 2358 lbs. -Price: 17,630 -Notes: '92 MIRAGE CYBORG R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 173 hp @ 7500 rpm -Torque: 123 ft.lbs. @ 7000 rpm -Notes: FTO LM EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 541 hp @ 8500 rpm -Torque: n/a -Weight: 2050 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (US vs. Japan) GTO LM EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Four Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 613 hp @ 7000 rpm -Torque: 467 ft.lbs. @ 6500 rpm -Weight: 2821 lbs. -Price: 500,000 -Notes: Limited edition available at dealer only. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6.9 - Mazda Also a good all-around manufacturer, they make those silly Demio's... but still, all their cars are easily modified and they provide good competition in all classes. They are also, of course, the only current manufacturer to utilize Wankel (Rotary) engines. CAR LIST-NOTES -------------- EUNOS COSMO 13B Type-S CCS: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 227 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 217 ft.lbs. @ 3500 rpm -Notes: EUNOS COSMO 20B Type-E CCS: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 276 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 297 ft.lbs. @ 3000 rpm -Notes: LANTIS COUPE 2000 Type-R: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 168 hp @ 7000 rpm -Torque: 132 ft.lbs. @ 5500 rpm -Weight: 2733 lbs. -Price: 20,750 -Notes: EUNOS ROADSTER: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 118 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 101 ft.lbs. @ 4500 rpm -Weight: 2160 lbs. -Price: 17,400 -Notes: EUNOS ROADSTER V-Special: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 118 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 101 ft.lbs. @ 4500 rpm -Weight: 2182 lbs. -Price: 24,400 -Notes: EUNOS ROADSTER S-Special: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 118 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 101 ft.lbs. @ 4500 rpm -Weight: 2182 lbs. -Price: 22,250 -Notes: '91 FD EFINI RX-7 TypeR: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 261 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 217 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Notes: FD EFINI RX-7 TypeRZ: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 261 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 217 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 2755 lbs. -Price: 40,150 -Notes: FD EFINI RX-7 TypeRB: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 261 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 217 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 2777 lbs. -Price: 32,400 -Notes: FD EFINI RX-7 TouringX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 261 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 217 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 2932 lbs. -Price: 38,150 -Notes: FD EFINI RX-7 A-Spec: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 261 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 217 ft.lbs. @ 5000 rpm -Weight: 2689 lbs. -Price: 45,150 -Notes: FC SAVANNA RX-7 GTX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 202 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 199 ft.lbs. @ 3500 rpm -Notes: FC SAVANNA RX-7 EFINI III: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 212 hp @ 6500 rpm -Torque: 203 ft.lbs. @ 3500 rpm -Notes: DEMIO GLX: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 99 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 94 ft.lbs. @ 4500 rpm -Weight: 2116 lbs. -Price: 14,560 -Notes: DEMIO GL: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 99 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 94 ft.lbs. @ 4500 rpm -Weight: 2116 lbs. -Price: 13,430 -Notes: DEMIO LX G PACKAGE: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 82 hp @ 6000 rpm -Torque: 80 ft.lbs. @ 4000 rpm -Weight: 2006 lbs. -Price: 10,530 -Notes: RX-7 LM EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 597 hp @ 7600 rpm -Torque: 416 ft.lbs. @ 7600 rpm -Weight: 2116 lbs. -Price: 500,000 -Notes: Limited Edition available at dealer only. RX-7 A-Spec LM EDITION: -Drivetrain: Front Engine, Rear Wheel Drive -Horsepower: 570 hp @ rpm -Torque: ft.lbs. @ rpm -Weight: 2314 lbs. -Price: n/a -Notes: Prize Car only (UK vs. US) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.0 - Car Rankings ^^^^^^^^^^^^ In this section we break down the extensive car list to the cars that come out on top, that really shine in their respective catagories. Some of these choices are from a general consensus on the internet, some from official sources, and some of our own choices. NOTE: with the exception of Best Stockcar list, these choices also take into account how well each car can be modded, if possible, and except for Best Power/Weight Ratio no racing models are included. 7.1 - Best RWD car 1. Viper RT/10 2. Viper GTS 3. TVR Cerbera 4. Supra RZ 5. Acura NSX 7.2 - Best FWD car 1. Mitsubishi Eclipse GT 2. Honda Civic 3-Door 3. Mitsubishi FTO GP Version R 4. Acura Integra Type-R 5. Toyota Celica SS-II 7.3 - Best 4WD car 1. Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo 2. Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R 3. Subaru Impreza WRX-STi TypeR 4. Toyota Celica GT-Four 5. Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 7.5 - Fastest Car (top speed) A few fully modded cars can hit the highest speeds. Probably the top overall cars are the Mitsubishi GTO MR, '95 Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo, Nissan Skyline GTR and of course, the Toyota Supra RZ. All of these cars can be fully modded well over 900 HP, and can exceed speeds of 260 mph. The current record over the internet is somewhere around 260+ mph. 7.4 - Best Stockcar The Viper RT/10 overall wins here... although it loses slightly to the GTO in the corners, the Viper still runs quicker down the straight, which is why the Mitsubishi still runs pretty good. The TVR Cerbera, surprisingly, keeps up with the Viper down the straights, losing only SLIGHTLY on top end--it is much harder to handle in the corner, but with good experience in power sliding it can be handled pretty good. The Stingray just has to be in this list--although it almost ALWAYS requires real power sliding to take the corners, it has more than enough power down the straights (but it also loses to the Viper on top end). Provided the sliding is done properly and the driver is experienced enough, it can hold its own against better handling cars. Other cars like the Nissan Skyline, Acura NSX and both other Corvettes should probably be included in this list as well. 7.5 - Best Power/Weight Ratio TVR Cerbera LM holds onto this spot without a doubt, pumping out a great 581 horsepower while also tipping the scales an amazingly low 1984 pounds! For the most part, any of the other Limited Editions also come high in this category (eg. GTO LM, RX-7 A-Spec LM, etc...) but the TVR Cerbera wins by a long shot still. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.0 - The Tracks ^^^^^^^^^^ In this section we will brake down each track and giving you some help on the curves too... NOTE: we try here to talk about the corners in a general sense, though our experience with handling them comes a fair bit from RWD cars. In later editions of the Compendium, we may add full sections for each type of car PER corner. 8.1 - High Speed Ring (3.1 km) A great track for 2-player versus, you can spend your time worrying about your opponents and less about the track, because for most of the turns, a little slip up will not cost you the race. Turn 1- Take it flat out, plain and simple. When going into the corner at top speed off of the main straight, just make sure to cut your exit as far to the inside as possible, because at very high speeds your car can drift up toward the wall at the beginning of the next straight. Turn 2- Let off and brake slightly as you enter the turn, again making sure to apex the turn by keeping low to the inside. This will allow you to drift wide to the outside on your exit and gain maximum speed out of the corner. For most cars, you should simply have to let of briefly, then get back on the throttle midway through the corner. Turn 3- Following the short straight, a right hander into the S-Turn. It is crucial that you start on the far left and cut as far to the inside as possible, so that you don't drift to the outside and ruin your entrance to the rest of the S-Turn. If you keep real far to the inside, you can cut left real sharp to hit the inside of Turn 4. If you find yourself drifting to much, try reducing your speed a tad on the inside of this turn, which will allow you a faster exit anyways. Turn 4-If you apex Turn 3 properly and cut it left real sharp, you should come to the inside of this turn with the gas right full already. After the apex, let the car drift to the outside now on your exit to gain maximum speed. Turn 5- a very mild right, keep the accelerator pinned and stay RIGHT to the inside to set up for the final big turn. Turn 6- You will have built up a lot of speed out of Turn 5, so be sure to stay as far to the outside when entering. Brake and bring the car to the bottom of Turn 6 then floor it again at the apex to exit the turn at best speed. NOTE: for many slightly slower cars, simply letting off the gas will do, provided you keep to the bottom of the corner. 8.2 - Trial Mountain (3.979 km) An intricate course through a forest mountain area. It has some neat S-turn corners that take some good driving as well as a few wide drifting turns. Turn 1- Right off the start/finish line. Take it at full throttle, but still be sure to apex it to set up for Turn 2. Turn 2- Again, take this uphill at full speed. Turn 3- You must slide through this tunnel to gain the best exit. Off of Turn 2 you'll still be heading uphill--brake, then hold to the inside and control the slide at full throttle again. Turn 4- Can get you in a lot of trouble if not taken properly, heading you into the rocky wall. You will enter at a fair bit of speed heading downhill, so brake heavily and be VERY sure to pop the nose of the car RIGHT into the inside of this turn and swing the back end out. It is crucial you stay quite far to the inside, to avoid smacking the outside rock face. Watch the throttle for RWD on exit, this turn can loop the car fairly easy. Turn 5- Coming off the short straight, most faster cars will have to let off or brake slightly to head right, avoiding the outside rock face. Faster handling cars (or slower cars) should be able to take this wide open. Be certain to hold far to the inside. Turn 6- You may have to let off slightly after entering the tunnel to take this properly. Hold the car as far to the left as possible, running right near the wall. Turn 7- After the LOOOONG straight you'll come to a big left hander. Brake heavily and nose the car as far to the inside as possible. Slide the car around and bring the car back out at the end of the turn. Turn 8- A small S-turn that can be taken at full speed most of the time. Turn 9- a nice downhill right hander. Brake first and be sure to cut this sharply so you don't nail the "grassy knoll" on the outside. Turn 10- Another wide lefty. Brake at the end of the straight, nose the car to the inside and drift out to the side on the exit. Turn 11- a real fun turn, this is a neat left/right S-turn. You COULD cut straight across the grass of course... but that would slow ya down. To take it "properly", approach the first left wide right and brake heavy. Then soon after entering, cut right and get back on the gas. Another way to take this turn is to hold to the inside, hop over the left ground barrier ONTO the right ground barrier and back onto the straight. The advantage is that you can pretty much stay on the throttle all the way through. However you're car can EASILY get away from you coming off the second barrier hop, and really screw ya up. 8.3 - Grand Valley East (3.025 km) A nice, bright course with long straightaways, peppered with a few sharp corners that allow for some nice exciting passing (eg. turn 4). Turn 1- This begins with a shallow left into the big sweeping right. This is one of the worst corners in the game to screw up on, because if you drift to the outside and hit the dirt, it is VERY difficult to recover. Hold as far as possible to the left as you enter, then brake to very slow speed and nose the car to the inside--it's always better to drift a LOT than it is to slide out into the dirt. After the apex, hit the throttle again and roll it out, drifting it out to the left. Turn 2- This triple-S turn can be taken at full speed. Just make sure to apex properly so you don't slide it into the grass. Turn 3- Be sure to start wide left and cut it sharp for the apex, or you'll be off in the grass. After the exit, hold her to the right to set up for the Turn 4 90 degreeer. Turn 4- An excellent turn for passing if you cut it sharp enough. Take the approach wide to the right, then nose the car toward the wall corner to ensure you don't slide into the dirt on the outside. Also be careful not to get on the gas too early, it is very easy to loop a powerful enough car here, coming in at these speeds on such a sharp turn. Turn 5- A fairly quick right, with a rock face on the outside. May have to let off slightly on your entrance. Keep wide to the inside then cut it sharp to the left to grab the next corner, and avoid heading into the grass. Turn 6- Provided the Turn 5 S-Turn was taken properly, you should enter this wide right. Apex it at full speed to exit back onto the main straight at full speed. 8.4 - Clubman Stage Route 5 (2.466 km) A fun 2-player track, the corners do take some driving, but the race isn't over if you screw up here or there. Excessive speeds are possible thanks to the wide turns and long straights. Turn 1- You should be up to quite a bit of speed off of the start-finish line when you hit this turn. Try to keep a little more to the left down the straight, but not too much or you won't have room to start into the outside of the turn, and will probably hit nose-first into the inside of the tunnel. The second you hit the entrance, bring the car up high then begin your apex. If this is taken properly, you should be able to take the turn at full throttle, perhaps letting off the gas briefly at the entrance. Turn 2- Provided you took the initial tunnel turn well, you should try and exit out to the far left, hugging the wall. As you enter this right turn, do a simple, smooth apex. You should be able to take it at full throttle without getting too loose, however with higher horsepower cars you may have to correct a tad or perhaps let off a little. Turn 3- after exiting turn 2, hug the far right wall. Nose the car into the centre of the turn and brake--a general rule of thumb is to downshift to second here, but of course this will vary depending on your gears (most stock-gearing cars will work in this fashion). After accelerating out of this turn, try and keep fairly far to the right. Turn 4/5- A nice long S-turn that can be taken at full speed with minimal turning. Turn 6- You will enter this at a VERY high speed due to the long straight after the S-turns. Brake heavily, say around 100 mph and slide around, being sure to nose the car fairly far to the inside. Drift back up towards the outside on your exit to set up for the next turn. Turn 7- the final turn can be taken a little faster, but not much. Brake lightly and drift wide to come out on the outside of the corner, exiting on to the straight. Some cars should be able to take it with just letting off the throttle a little. 8.5 - Autumn Ring (2.95 km) An extended version of Autumn Ring Mini, a good mix of long straights, some great S-Turns and good passing opportunities on the sharper turns. Not quite a beginner's course, there are a few places where screwing up can put you right to the back of the pack. Turn 1- A sharp right turn that you hit at a fairly high rate of speed. This is also a very dangerous turn because of the dirt on it's outside, which is very difficult to recover from. Hold as far as possible to the left as you enter, then brake to very slow speed and nose the car to the inside--it's always better to drift a LOT than it is to push out into the dirt. After the apex, hit the throttle again and roll it out, drifting it out to the left. Immediately after recovering, bring the car to the right along the short straight to set up for Turn 2. Turn 2- a fairly gradual left turn leading to the S-Turns. You can often take this at full speed, or simply by letting of the gas briefly. Bring the car to the left on exit to set up for the S-Turns. Turn 3/4/5- This entire Triple-S turn can be taken at full speed, apexing the corners. Exit Turn 7 to the left to set up for the final turn. Turn 6- When driving slower or lower horsepower cars, you can usually take this at full throttle. Faster cars may have to throttle down slightly to avoid popping into the grass. This will exit back out to the main straight. Turn 7- a very fast hairpin with dirt on the outside that can loop you quickly. Keep the speed down and nose the car in to the red/white barrier, then drift wide... after which, make sure to bring it to the right to set up for turn 8. Turn 8- Brake lightly and crank the wheel all the way--you probably won't slide much, but make sure to keep your speed down so you don't drift up into the grass. This then forms into a big long gradual left turn that can be taken with full throttle Turn 9- After a brief downhill coming off of Turn 8, you'll pass under a bridge and hit a sharp left turn. The turn is fairly wide, but you can still drift and hit the grass or dirt on the outside. Brake sternly coming out from under the bridge, then try to hug the inside, exiting wide when you come back out onto the short shoot. Turn 10/11/12- after the short straight following Turn 9 comes a sharp uphill left that can be taken at full speed by apexing. Apexing is indeed crucial, because IMMEDIATELY after the apex you must nose the car to the right into Turn 11. If you don't turn off of Turn 10 sharp enough, you'll smack the outside barrier. You should be able to take both corners at full throttle with the apexing, them let off (or brake slightly) going into Turn 12 to prevent hitting the grass on its outside, exiting onto the next short straight. Turn 13- A fairly sharp right-hander that can leave you in the grass in most cases at full throttle. Either drift through it, or let off briefly to avoid sliding too far outside. Turn 14- the final exit onto the main straight. Take at full throttle. 8.6 - Deep Forest (3.58 km) Another mixture of high-speed straights and a few good turns. Great passing opportunities exist in Turns 1 and 4/5. Turn 1- entering at high speed, this is a pretty sharp left hander. Brake heavily exiting the straight and bring the nose right to the inside, but watch the throttle on high horsepower RWD cars... it is easy to get really loose on exit with this turn. Turn 2/3- easy sweeping turns after the short uphill... take at full speed. Turn 4/5- a small downhill left that turns suddenly into a sharp right. Enter the left far to its inside and brake generously, then cut the apex of Turn 5, running almost on the inside grass, then throttle back out. Turn 6- after running through the tunnel, this is a fairly gradual right- hander that can usually be taken at full throttle, but be ready to get off the gas briefly if you drift towards the grass. Turn 7- after exiting the second tunnel, a fairly gradual left-hander that can be taken at full speed, slightly uphill. Turn 8- after the uphill, a bairly noticable right heading into a long sweeping left. May have to let off the gas slightly as you enter the left. Try to exit on the outside. Turn 9- One of the more devious turns in the game that can take you by surprise. Start on the outside then apex the corner, coming down to hug the walkway on the inside of the turn. Try very hard to stay as far to the left throughout the whole turn--exiting even the slightest bit wide will usually send you into the right-side rock face entering the uphill straight. Turn 10- The long upwill straight finally exits onto a fairly gradual left turn. Let off the throttle briefly and keep to the inside to avoid running onto the grass on the right. Turn 11- Small lefthander that heads back downhill. Take at full speed. Turn 12- the final turn that heads uphill back onto the main straight. Most of the time, provided you start your apex as SOON AS POSSIBLE, you can take this at full throttle. 8.7 - Special Stage R5 (3.776 km) tigeraid's personal favorite track. This is an excellent mix of pure speed and intricate cornering, set in a beautiful night background. Good passing opportunities arise in turn 3 and the wide turn 6 hairpin. Turn 1- You should be up to quite a bit of speed off of the start-finish line when you hit this turn. Try to keep a little more to the right down the straight, but not too much or you won't have room to start into the outside of the turn, and will probably hit nose-first into the inside of the tunnel. The second you hit the entrance, bring the car up high then begin your apex. If this is taken properly, you should be able to take the turn at full throttle, perhaps peppering the gas now and then. Turn 2- Provided you took the initial tunnel turn well, you should try and exit out to the far left, hugging the wall. As you enter this right turn, do a simple, smooth apex. You should be able to take it at full throttle without getting too loose, however with higher horsepower cars you may have to correct a tad. Turn 3- after exiting turn 2, hug the far right wall. Nose the car into the centre of the turn and brake--a general rule of thumb is to downshift to second here, but of course this will vary depending on your gears (most stock-gearing cars will work in this fashion). After accelerating out of this turn, try and keep fairly far to the right. Turn 4/5- A nice long S-turn that can be taken at full speed with minimal turning. Turn 6- the track now exits from Clubman Stage R5 and enters to the rest of Special Stage R5. This is a big downhill right--brake a little and keep to the inside, possibly sliding the back end out a bit. Be ready to yank 'er back to the left to avoid hitting the wall on your exit to the straight. Turn 7- Arguably the hardest hairpin in the game, you can take it one of two ways. Either slow to as low as 40-50 mph and turn quickly, or brake from the straight and slide 'er around, peppering the gas lightly so not to induce too much spin from the rear tires (assuming a RWD car of course). The big problem that 4WD and RWD cars have in this turn is oversteering on the way OUT. This happens simply by getting on the gas too early--as said before, peppering the gas and keeping the revs up (crucial in turbo engines of course) can make a fast power slide possible, but it can get really scary. Cars such as the Viper RT/10 are EXCELLENT for this due to their wide stance and big tires. Turn 7- a nice shallow right that can be taken full throttle out of the hairpin. Turn 8- another turn that should be taken at full speed, provided you take it fully apexed. Turn 9- after the long straight you'll empty into a hard right then into the S-Turns. Brake heavily and nose the car in to the right as far as possible-- then get ready to cut left quickly. Turn 10/11- The deadly S-Turn is particularily dangerous because the outside of the 2nd turn has a small block at the beginning of the wall, which can stop you dead in your tracks. Keep your speed low and cut far to the left entering the first turn, then hit the brakes again and slip it to the right. Above all else, watch your speed. Turn 12- a BIG sweeping right, it can be taken at full speed, just keep the throttle down every so often so you don't drift up to far. You will empty out onto the Start/Finish straight. 8.8 - Grand Valley (4.96 km) An extra-long version of Grand Valley East, this is a very difficult course with a few deadly turns that can leave you at the back of the pack with one slip-up. Note however that these turns can also be used to wipe out the competition ;). Turn 1- This begins with a shallow left into the big sharp right. This is one of the worst corners in the game to screw up on, because if you drift to the outside and hit the dirt, it is VERY difficult to recover. Hold as far as possible to the left as you enter, then brake to very slow speed and nose the car to the inside--it's always better to drift a LOT than it is to slide out into the dirt. After the apex, hit the throttle again and roll it out, drifting it out to the left. Turn 2- A gradual left turn. Take at full throttle. Turn 3/4- an uphill S-Turn. Gradual, it can also be taken at full throttle. Be especially careful of your exit from turn 4 using high-power cars with stiff suspension, it's quite rough. Turn 5- Similar to the first turn, this is a very sharp right hander with dirt on the outside. Keep the car far too the left, brake heavily on the straight and nose the car right to the inside. Watch your throttle on the exit, it's very easy to give it too much gas here and loop it. Turn 6- After a short straight, a long sweeping left. Let off the throttle briefly in the middle part of the corner to bring the car further to the inside and set up for Turn 7. Turn 7- A sharp right hander, let off briefly exiting Turn 6 (and in some cases, tap the brake lightly), then get back on the gas early and drift around it to set up for the next turn. Turn 8- An excellent turn for passing if you cut it sharp enough. Take the approach wide to the right, then nose the car toward the wall corner to ensure you don't slide into the dirt on the outside. Also be careful not to get on the gas too early, it is very easy to loop a powerful enough car here coming in at these speeds on such a sharp turn. Turn 9- After exiting the tunnel the short straight leads to a sweeping left turn. Let off the gas briefly to settle into the corner, then get back on it mid-way through and bring it back. Turn 10- a long sweeping right that exits out onto the bridge. You will enter at full throttle, but let off briefly a little from the exit of the tunnel to prevent drifting to the outside grass on exit. Turn 11- after the LONG straightaway on the bridge, you'll enter a long sweeping right. Enter at full throttle, then let off until the car starts to turn in the corner. Then get back on the grass and keep the car cranked to the right. No braking is required because of how wide the turn is. Turn 12/13- after the straight exiting Turn 11, you'll come to a left/right S-Turn. Brake heavily and nose the car far inside to the left, then crank it to the right to apex Turn 13. Even with apexing, you usually have to get on the brakes again as you begin to enter Turn 13. Most cars should be in 2nd or even 1st gear after entering Turn 12. Turn 14- a long gradual straightaway curving into a gradual left. Take all at full throttle. Turn 15- the final corner exiting onto the main straight, most cars can take it at full speed, but you may have to let of briefly if you find yourself drifting. 8.9 - Special Stage R11 (4.894 km) Largely considered the most difficult course in the game, another of tigeraid's favorites. SS R11 is full of many intricate S-Turns and quite a few high-speed sharp corners... A true grasp of proper braking is a neccesity on this track if you intend to get around without smacking all of the walls. And of course, it also contains the deadly Turn 9/10, which can make short work of any driver within traffic. A real rush once you get through the course unscathed, however ;). Turn 1- you will enter at a high rate of speed off of the main straight, but it is sweeping enough that you can take this at full speed. Be certain to exit as far to the outside as possible. Turn 2- a heavy 90-degree right turn. Brake heavily coming off of turn 1 and slide the car around the turn, apexing as soon as possible. Ideally, you really should be started into the slide while still on the small straight, allowing you slide the whole car around the turn. Turn 3/4- a left/right S-Turn, it can usually be taken at full speed. If you notice yourself drifting out a little exiting turn 4, let off the gas briefly to avoid smacking the guardrail. Turn 5- another sharp right turn, you carry a fair bit of speed entering and often you may exit way too loose, so keep off the gas when driving a high horsepower RWD car. Turn 6- a perfect 90-degree left turn, enter it wide enough and you should only have to let off the gas briefly. Turn 7- a big right hand hairpin, hug left and brake heavily, then nose the car deep to the inside. It can be difficult to control high horses coming out of this corner too, so be careful not to give it too much throttle on exit. Turn 8- a sweeping left, can be taken at full speed. However the end of this turn is a hard left, be sure to brake fairly hard and slide it around. Turn 9/10- a square-shaped turn, it can be taken at full speed but it is VERY easy to clip the corner of the wall on entrance OR exit, even if you're a bit off--and no matter how hard you hit, it will bring you almost to a dead stop, or spinning you out. If you have to, slide like crazy around it--you may lose a fair bit of speed but it's a lot better than hitting that wall. Turn 11- off of the square turn, a gradual left uphill curve... take it at full speed. Turn 12/13- Turn 11 will empty you onto a short shoot, then into a FAST right/left S-Turn. Brake heavily and nose the car to the right for an apex EARLY... provided you end up on the right through Turn 12, you can take Turn 13 with minimal throttle and sweep it easily. Turn 14- after a small straight comes a sweeping left-hander. You should be able to take this with no braking, just let off the throttle and apex it properly. Watch the throttle on exit. Turn 15- After a small uphill through a closed intersection, you'll enter a lighted tunnel. Hug a fair bit to the left on entrance, then let off AS you enter the tunnel. Brake and let the car drift high briefly, then tap the gas to bring the nose into the inside. Then drift the car around the the corner, peppering the gas as neccesary. Turn 16- A square-shaped turn after a very short straight exiting the tunnel. Hold to the right and brake briefly, then get back on the gas mid-way through the corner, and drift through the exit. Turn 17- After a small straight, you'll come to a big right-hand hairpin. This hairpin is KILLER for spin-outs, it's very easy to give it too much throttle. Brake heavily on the outside coming off the straight and nose the car in. Pepper the gas but be VERY careful with it. Turn 18/19- Another S-Turn coming off a long straight after the hairpin. Hold far to the left and brake heavily coming off the straight. Nose the car FAR to the inside of Turn 18 while staying off the throttle, then nail the throttle and drift through the apex of Turn 19. Turn 20- The final turn is a gradual uphill right exiting onto the main straight. Can be taken at full throttle, letting off briefly if you drift upward. 8.10 - Autumn Ring Mini A tiny version of Autumn ring, it contains one hairpin that requires some skill, but otherwise just a small, fun track. Excellent 2-player track. Turn 1- a very fast hairpin with dirt on the outside that can loop you quickly. Keep the speed down and nose the car in to the red/white barrier, then drift wide... after which, make sure to bring it to the right to set up for turn 2. Turn 2- Brake lightly and crank the wheel all the way--you probably won't slide much, but make sure to keep your speed down so you don't drift up into the grass. Turn 3- Immediately after exiting turn 2 you will come to a small straight, then a sharp uphill right. Brake generously and start the turn wide to avoid hitting the grass. Exit the turn on the far left to set up for 4. Turn 4- VERY sharp downhill right, often catches people by surprise because it is initially kinda hard to see. Brake heavily and nose the car into the curve--there's a very good chance that you'll slide, no matter what car you drive. If you understeer for this turn, you'll hit grass AND wall. Turn 5/6/7- This entire Triple-S turn can be taken at full speed, apexing the corners. Exit Turn 7 to the left to set up for the final turn. Turn 8- When driving slower or lower horsepower cars, you can usually take this at full throttle. Faster cars may have to throttle down slightly to avoid popping into the grass. This will exit back out to the main straight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.0 - Parts ^^^^^ Now we'll take a look at what modding your car is all about, and how each modification affects your overall performance. 9.0 - Exhaust System Sports- works well with turbo-powered engines. When used with Naturally Aspirated engines, low-end torque drops a tad, but torque at higher RPMs is improved. Semi-Racing- Competition air intake with Polyurethane filter, along with low-friction exhaust. This system is best suited to produce more power at higher RPM, thus it works well with high-end turbo engines. Racing- Racing air funnel with a higher intake efficiency, and a straight-pipe and muffler design best suited to racing engines running at high RPM. Unlike the other systems, the full racing filter/exhaust drastically reduces low-end torque. RPMs will crawl very slow before reaching higher levels. This system is best used with high-output turbo engines. However, this exhaust/filter combined with lag caused by these turbo systems makes it extremely important that the engine specs and especially gear ratios are set to compensate. 9.1 - Brake System Sports Brake Pads- a definite must on all cars. These carbon-metallic pads provide stable grip and also more braking power overall. Balance Controller- also a must. This installs a proportioning valve in the brake lines, so that you can adjust the amount of braking power in both the front and rear brakes. Increasing back brakes causes oversteer as the back wheels lock up, and alternately a front brake increase causes understeering. 9.2 - Engine Upgrades ROM Tuning- this computer chip revises the programming of the engine performance. This will adjust the air/fuel charge to the engine according to its needs, as well as keeping proper ignition timing. Overall the ROM gives you a few more horsepower through these adjustments, and all-around improves the performance and responsiveness of your engine. This chip is a logical step to go along with exhaust/filter upgrade to make your engine run better. Port Polishing- This is a grinding and polishing process for the intake manifold, to improve air flow and engine response. Horsepower increase is small, but Port Polishing compliments naturally aspirated engines very well. Engine Balancing- Balancing and blueprinting of the engine involves measuring all parts of the bottom end to spec (i.e. pistons, connecting rods) and installing a fully balanced, strengthened and lighter crankshaft. This increases overall power in the bottom end and allows for higher revving. Should be used before fully modding the top end. Overboring- Increasing Displacement means boring out the cylinder walls to increase their diameter, and crank and connecting rods are modified to increase the stroke of the pistons. This increases Torque at all points of the RPM range. Naturally Aspirated Tuning 1- Compression ratio is increased, along with adjustment of valve and ignition timing, and replacement of the exhaust headers. This NA Tuning increases top-end power while maintaining torque at low RPM. Naturally Aspirated Tuning 2- Heads are reformed and compression is again increased. High compression valve springs and high-lift racing cam are also added, giving much higher horsepower output. Power at high RPM is SIGNIFICANTLY increased, but sacrifices some low-end torque. Naturally Aspirated Tuning 3- Weight reduction through use of lighter, higher-strength material in the valve train, pistons, cam and crankshaft reduces frictional horsepower. The Cam's lift and duration is increased again to very high proportions, giving great power output at high RPM. Due to the cam, timing and compression characteristics, pretty much the entire power band is at mid to high RPM, so keep the revs up! 9.3 - Transmission Upgrades Close Ratio Gear Box- This replaces the normal transmission assembly, giving closer gear ratios throughout each gear. This allows you to keep the revs up and generate better horsepower even when downshifting for corners. Quite good for Naturally Aspirated Engines. High Ratio Gear Box- ratios are now even closer than the Close Ratio Gear Box, best for cars with a narrow power band--thus, constant shifting at these close ratios is required, which may give problems when running high torque engines. Racing Gear Box- Each gear is replaced with gears designed specifically for racing. Every gear can be adjusted with precision to aid the car gain top end speed (on longer, faster tracks i.e. High Speed Ring), or acceleration (Autumn Ring Mini). 9.4 - Turbo Chargers Cars that can be turbo charged SHOULD be, but note however that you shouldn't neccesarily go right out and buy a level 4 with intercooler... The more Turbo Boost you have, the more Turbo LAG you have. Turbo Lag is the term used for the sluggish lag a turbo charger creates a low RPM. When driving a car with Significant Turbo Boost, you have to keep the RPMs pretty high when starting from the line, to prevent UNBELIEVABLY slow acceleration. In addition, if you screw up and spin, out or go in the dirt or grass, during a race while running lots of boost, it will take you forever to get back up to speed. Thus, buying a Level 1 Turbo Charger is an excellent mod for big horsepower, but does not have much turbo lag. A Level 2 Turbo Charger has a bit of lagged acceleration, but mid-range and top end speed is increased substantially. The Level 3 kit is designed for 0-400 m acceleration, so mid-range power is high. Again though, acceleration is sluggish from low RPM. The Level 4 is all-out high RPM power, perfect for races like the High-Speed Challenge. INTERCOOLER: always buy the Sports Intercooler for sure, as it reduces the temperature of the of air running through the turbo charger. The Racing Intercooler provides even more horsepower, cooling the intake air at the same capacity of the Turbo itself. However this heavy-duty intercooler also decreases engine response, again making acceleration sluggish at low RPM. For this reason it is best suited for high-end Turbo and top speed. 9.5 - Suspension Upgrades Sports Suspension allows for minor adjustment of handling characteristics, having three settings for the both front and rear shocks and the ability to set camber. The Semi-Racing kit allows for harder adjustment of the shocks (5 settings) and springs, as well as ride height and camber. The full Racing Support is by far the best, allowing full suspension adjustment. This includes shocks, springs, ride height and camber that can be adjusted to their full capabilities. One of the first items to buy for sure. 9.6 - Tire Upgrade The softer the tire, the easier it will wear under pressure. Alternately, softer tires provide better grip in the corners, and more traction allowing the power to transfer better to the ground. Generally on ANY car, you want to run Soft/Soft tires to provide maximum traction and power. However when running the endurance races or longer races where tire wear becomes a factor, you have to consider putting hard tires on the NON- drive wheels, to allow you to stay out of the pits longer. Thus, for RWD cars you may want to run Hard/Soft, and opposite for FWD cars. 4WD cars are a tossup of course ;). 9.7 - Other (Weight Reduction, Race Mod) Weight reduction should always be performed on your car (sequentially as well), because this will increase not only your speed, but also improve handling ability and decrease tire wear. Full race modding basically means turning your street car into a full-fledged racer. You get a brand-new paint job and added lettering and decaling with sponsorship--but it's not just looks ;). Full weight reduction is applied, as well as improvements in tread depth and accomodation for larger tires. To top it all off, aerodynamic improvements are made to the body and a full wing and front air dam are added, allowing you to adjust downforce on both ends of the car. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.0 - Car Setup (Simulation Mode) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Here we'll take a look at setting up your car for optimal performance. 10.1 - Springs This setting adjusts the stiffness of the springs in the front and rear suspension. Stiffer springs support weight transfer and body roll much better and make the ride much more responsive. However, stiff springs can cause the car to become unstable over rough surfaces. If you have really stiff suspension when you go off a jump, for example, you may have trouble keeping the car straight as you land. General Tip: since weight is transferred to the front of the car when entering a corner, the general idea is to keep the front suspension much stiffer than the rear. If the rear suspension is softer it will also increase traction (not applicable with FWD). Hence it is one of the best ways to deal with tightening or loosening up the car--if the car is understeering in the corner, drop the stiffness of the front springs so the weight falls more heavily on it. Alternately, setting the front suspension softer is often better on FWD cars to increase traction on the drive wheels. SUMMARY: RWD -> Rear springs fairly lower than front springs FWD -> Front Springs fairly lower than rear springs 4WD -> varies, usually pretty neutral, experiment for each car. 10.2 - Ride Height Ride Height is the measurement from the bottom of the back and front bumpers to the ground, given a flat service. The lower the car's centre of gravity sits, the better it accepts weight transfer, thereby reducing body roll. This makes for a much stiffer, smoother transfer through the corner and better stability under braking. However if the ride height is too low, the car will bottom out due to the suspension's stroke being shortened. This setting goes hand in hand with Spring Ratio and dampening level. SUMMARY: RWD -> Rear a little lower than the front FWD -> Front a little lower than the rear 4WD -> varies, usually pretty neutral, experiment for each car. 10.3 - Dampers This increases or decreases the dampening ratio of the shock absorbers. If the shocks are too soft, the car will handle sluggishly entering and exiting the corners. If the damper is to hard, it will make the car unstable going over bumps, similar to stiff springs. General Tip: again, softening is required on the rear of the car, more than the front. The front should be stiff to compensate for the weight transfer, but not too much--it will make the car difficult to handle on uneven surfaces, as well as making it difficult to turn coming out of corner exits. If the ass-end is hopping around too much and losing traction, decrease the rear dampening value, for example. Whenever your car is unstable, the Dampening level should be your first adjustment. SUMMARY: for all types, generally keep both values low, with the rear end slightly lower than the front. 10.4 - Camber Camber is the term used to describe the wheel's angle in relation to the ground, given a flat surface. Zero (degrees) camber means the wheel is totally perpendicular to the ground surface. If the wheel is cambered negatively, it is tilted inwards, so that the top of the wheel is further into the car. When the weight transfers to the outside of the car in the corner, a wheel with Zero camber will actually lean outward (positive camber) so that it rides up onto the sidewall of the tire. This is known as "plowing" or "rolling". In real life racing, the worst problem with plowing is that it wears the outside and sidewall of the tire, in extreme cases even tearing chunks out of the rubber. In addition, you will lose a fair bit of handling in the corner. Most often, the outside front tire will push, causing an understeering condition due to its loss of traction. However, if the wheel is cambered negatively a few degrees, it will return to Zero camber during weight transfer, because all of the weight is leaning it outward. So cambering allows the tire to return to a perpendicular position and gain its maximum traction. NOTE: loss of traction due to tire plowing also creates a more serious problem; braking power is significantly reduced, since the contact patch of the rubber that is braking is lessened. This occurs if the tire plows OR if the tire has too MUCH camber. -Outside Right Wheel- | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ / ------------- ------------- ------------- Zero Camber Negative Camber Positive Camber General Tip: when a wheel is cambered, it will sit on that angle down the straightaway. Therefore, a RWD car should camber the Front wheels a fair bit to help in the corners, but you should keep the rear wheel camber minimal so that you do not lose traction down the straight. Alternately, you don't want much camber on the front wheels of a FWD car, but you will need a bit since understeer is a big problem with FWD. Treat 4WD as you would RWD, so that you can keep speed down the straight but not sacrifice handling. SUMMARY: RWD -> Plenty of camber on the front, experiment for your personal style. Keep rear camber quite low to prevent traction loss. FWD -> very little front camber to prevent traction loss, plenty of camber for the rear, experiment for your personal style... 4WD -> usually a little camber on both, experiment for each car. 10.5 - Stabilizers Stabilizers, often referred to as anti-roll bars, do just as the name suggests--compensate for body roll. The three choices (soft, medium, hard) really depend on driving style more than anything else. These allow you to compensate for straight-line weight transfer which, when used with stiff suspension, gives you the ability to account for weight transfer forward AND to the outside during cornering. Like most suspensions settings, too hard a setting will cause instability over rought surfaces--if the anti-roll bar is too stiff, it will transfer too much weight to the opposing wheel and cause it to bounce around. After setting the suspension, test each stabilizer to choose which one you like the best. SUMMARY: Rear bar should be fairly high, front depends on your style 10.6 - Brake Setup (ABS brake levels) In my opinion, probably the most important all-around settings for handling. The Sports Brakes and Balance Controller should be your first buys, ESPECIALLY if you're modding a RWD car. The Balance Controller makes use of a proportioning valve to adjust the amount of braking force to rear and front brakes respectively. As most people know, if the back wheels lock up, you slide. The Balance Controller allows you to reduce the amount of back brakes while increasing the amount of front brakes. More front brakes will slow you and allow you to start into your turn much more sharply, while not sliding out by locking up the back wheels. Alternately, too much front brake will cause the car to understeer. General Tip: usually we keep the front brakes a little bit higher than the back, so that sliding is a fair bit more controllable. You want SOME back brakes, so that you have sufficient stopping power. Usually, it's a good idea to start with both front and back brakes at the same value, then adjust depending on the handling. Also remember that brake balance can depend a lot on driving style. Sliding can of course be controlled, and some may prefer to ALWAYS power slide through a corner--in a case like this, you want more back brakes. However, too much back brakes will cause the rear wheels to slide and lose traction. Note that you should keep this setting similar even for FWD cars, because you will not lose handling provided you brake properly (See section 4.3). SUMMARY: RWD -> slightly higher on front brakes to prevent serious oversteer (eg. our setting for modded Camaro Z28 -> Front=11, Rear=7 or 8). FWD -> a little less on the front to prevent serious understeer. 4WD -> varies, usually pretty neutral, experiment for each car. 10.7 - Turbo Boost Levels (Turbo charger levels) See 9.4 for information on each Turbo kit. The Turbo levels can be adjusted. Quite simply, this is an easy way to adjust for top end or acceleration. A high boost setting gives that raw top end speed, perfect for courses like the High Speed Ring, and races like the High-Speed Challenge. Alternately, if you lower the boost level, you will sacrifice high-RPM horsepower, but give you more of the gear-grinding acceleration, better for courses with plenty of hard corners (eg. Trial Mountain). 10.8 - Gear Ratios (Rear End gears) These settings affect the shifting range of each gear. Generally, there's not really that much modification needed in between gears... the Final Gear Ratio is what's truly important. In relation to Turbo Boost, you can adjust acceleration. A high final gear ratio results in better acceleration, but sacrifices top speed. Thus, for races like the High-Speed Challenge, you may want to lower this number significantly. Adjusting specific gear range is really only needed when working with Turbo Chargers. You can adjust seperate gears depending on where you find a speed loss with Turbo. Typically you can often increase the 1st gear ratio to give a closer shift to 2nd gear, allowing for slightly better acceleration from start. 10.9 - Downforce (Rear wing/spoiler, front air dam) Also a very important handling characteristic. Downforce is the term used to describe the way the air runs over the car. Downforce on certain parts of the car will push it downward to improve handling. Increasing downforce over the drive wheels improves traction and stability in the corners. Thus, increased traction causes better response from that part of the car. Downforce on the front air dam will increase traction to the front wheels, improving response and decreasing understeer. Downforce on the rear decreases oversteer. General Tip: to make handling overall better, use a lot of downforce on both ends of car, especially RWD to REALLY make it hold a turn. However, it's not much of a problem to lower downforce on the wing of a FWD car, since it only really needs traction on the front wheels. If you find yourself losing out a bit on the straights and you cannot, for some reason, make it up in the corners, then reduce downforce altogether to get a little more speed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.0 - Licence Test ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Big thanks to Vestiroth (Mark Kim) for these excerpts from his GT Licence FAQs. 11.1 - B Class Licence B-1: STARTING AND STOPPING PART 1 Test Car: Mazda Demio Time Limit: 36"000 Pre-requsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: The first 1000 Meters of the Test Course. Before you learn how to corner, you must learn how to start and stop a car, right? Well, this is the first test that you should take. In order to pass the test with the least possible time, I strongly recommend that you use Manual Transmission. Since the Mazda Demio's rather light, don't brake too early or you may fail the test. Don't brake too late or you will touch beyond the finish line. As you brake, try to keep the foot off the pedal and try downshifting so that you can stop at the finish line without drama. To summarize, it's accelerate, brake, and come to a complete stop at the Finish Line, and downshifting helps to lower the speed. B-2: STARTING AND STOPPING PART 2 Test Car: Mitsubishi GTO Twinturbo Time Limit: 27"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: The first 1000 Meters of the Test Course. You will have to accelerate, brake, and come to a complete stop at the finish line just like the first test. This is a lot harder than Part 1 of the same test because the Mitsubishi GTO Twinturbo is a fair bit heavier. Again, use Manual Transmission. As you pass the 900 Mark, you may have to allow 100M of error so that you can compensate for the amount of fat the GTO has. Again, keep your foot off the gas while braking, and downshift as you cut your speed to land at the finish line. I would acclerate, and a *little* after the 900M sign dissipates at the top of the screen, I would remove my foot from the gas while braking almost simultaneously, and I would downshift to 1, giving some room for error. B-3: BASIC CORNERING, PART 1 Test Car: Honda Civic Del Sol Time Limit: 30"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: From Starting Line, into the first turn, and just a little before the pre-forest straight ends at Deep Forest. You have to accelerate, corner the first turn at Deep Forest, and make your way into the finish line. Course-out (hitting the grass) is grounds for immediate failure of the test. IMHO this is the hardest of the B-Class Tests. Don't brake too blatantly since the Honda Civic Del Sol is much of a feathermobile. The ideal speed to take on the first turn at the Deep Forest is an average of 65 mph. Try to keep the racing line as smooth as you can. Cut the apex from out-and-in, stay low throughout the turn, and fast-out after the turn. If all of your wheels touches the grass, then you will fail the course. A good feel of the gas and brake pedal is required. B-4: BASIC CORNERING, PART 2 Test Car: Nissan Silvia Time Limit: 26"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: From Starting Line, into the first turn, and just a little before the pre-forest straight ends at Deep Forest. You have to accelerate, corner the first turn at Deep Forest, and make your way into the finish line. Course-out (hitting the grass) is grounds for immediate failure of the test. This is a little bit more forgiving (to me) than Test B-3 because the Silvia has more speed than the lame Del Sol. Unless you can brake a little bit earlier from Turn 1, you'll be finding yourself wandering around outside the course in no time. The key to handling Turn 1 of Deep Forest using a Nissan Silvia (240SX) is to approach, brake in a straight line, cut the apex (no course-outs, though), and get out accelerating. Stay low, and try to pepper during the turn to maintain your speed. B-5: BASIC CORNERING, PART 3 Test Car: Mitsubishi GTO Twinturbo Time Limit: 25"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: From Starting Line, into the first turn, and just a little before the pre-forest straight ends at Deep Forest. You have to accelerate, corner the first turn at Deep Forest, and make your way into the finish line. Course-out (hitting the grass) is grounds for immediate failure of the test. Face it. I hate this test because you're behind the wheel of the lardass Mitsubishi GTO (3000 GT). You may need to allow more time with this lardmobile in order to keep your speed under 67mph (my experimentation's been limited) at Deep Forest's first turn. Cut the apex, and don't accelerate until after the turn. Start the turn too late and you'll course-out. Peppering throughout the turn helps too, as long as you don't course-out while cutting. B-6: CORNERING HIGH SPEED RING'S S-TURN PART 1 Test Car: Mitsubishi FTO GP Version R Time Limit: 27"000 Prerequisite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: Turns 3 and 4 of the High Speed Ring. A really tough test because you're now asked to handle an S Curve for the first time. Since the Mitsubishi FTO is a lightweight car, don't slow down too much, and possibly take advantage of its weight and front drivetrain. The Ideal speed to undertaking these turns is an average of 75 mph. I found Turn 4 to be deadlier than the third one at High Speed Ring. Try to stay low on both of these turns, and stay centered as Turn 3 Terminates. It's important that you do not skid (instead, use rapid tap of the gas to control the speed, and fast-out as Turn 4 terminates provided that you're not going to course-out) on these turns and try to use the FTO's weight and front-drive to your own advantage. B-7: CORNERING HIGH SPEED RING'S S-Turn PART 2 Test Car: Nissan Silvia (240SX) Time Limit: 26"000 Prerequisite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: Turns 3 and 4 of the High Speed Ring. A really tough test because now you're in the wheel of a Nissan Silvia instead of an FTO, and you need to make sure that you are keeping up a smooth racing line if you want to pass the test. The Ideal speed to undertaking these turns is an average of 75 mph. I found Turn 4 to be deadlier than the third one at High Speed Ring. Try to stay low on both of these turns, and stay centered as Turn 3 Terminates. Don't overskid or you'll slow down too much, and possibly fail the test. B-8: ATTACK HIGH SPEED RING (B-CLASS EXAMINATION) Test Car: Mazda Eunos Roadster(Miata) Time Limit: 1'22"00 Prerequisite: Must complete the first seven B-Class License Tests first. See section 8.1 for info on High Speed Ring. 11.2 - A Class Licence Note: In order to start taking these tests, you must pass all eight B-Class License Tests first. A-1: Practical Cornering Part 1 Test Car: Toyota Supra RZ Time Limit: 34"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: The final stretch, to the Starting Line, into the first turn of Deep Forest. Accelerate, stay low on the final turn at Deep Forest, cut the apex of the first turn, and cross the finish line. The straightaway is a lot longer this time around. Although it sounds easy, your main concern is the first turn at Deep Forest, where you must keep your speed below 66 mph using out-and-in, slow-in, fast out without going off course, and since the Supra is on the heavy side (much to the fact that it has an understeer problem), you need to allow some time to slow down. Use the signs to slow down, and definitely brake from the outside of the turn. Start the turn when you are finished braking. Keep your foot off the gas while braking, though. Try using rapid-tap when taking on the turn, but otherwise, it's too hard to explain for now, much to the fact that you're making an entrance to the first turn of Deep Forest at speeds of up to 135mph. A-2: Practical Cornering Part 2 Test Car: Toyota Supra RZ Time Limit: 27"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: The final stretch, to the Starting Line, into the first turn of Autumn Ring. Accelerate, cut the apex of the final S-Turn at Autumn Ring, into the starting line, cut the apex of the first turn, and cross the finish line. The straightaway is long enough to make your life miserable, but shouldn't be as dizzy as with the first one--but you still have to be concerned about the Supra's understeer and weight if you want to avoid any course-outs on Autumn Ring's first turn. I found the hairpin a lot sharper than Deep Forest's. Stay at the left side of the track while on the straightaway, and try to find a nice braking spot so that you can brake to no more than 50 mph (slower if you are sloppy), cut the apex, fast-out as the hairpin terminates, and cross the finish line. Very frustrating test as there are no hairpin signs to help you slow down ahead of time. Rapid-tap as you go inside the turn. Be careful when taking on this hairpin because the Supra RZ has a tendency to understeer. A-3: Practical Cornering Part 3 Test Car: Mazda RX-7 Time Limit: 44"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: Right after the worry-aboutie Chicanes, into the final stretch, through the finish line, onto the bent and the first hairpin and just before the gentle S-turn at Grand Valley Speedway. Accelerate, stay low on the final two turns of Grand Valley Speedway, into the starting line, and onto the gentle left bent and cut the apex of the first hairpin onto the finishing line. I really hate this test because you are taking on a right hairpin turn supported by a left bent. This is SARCASTICALLY DIZZY because a straight gives you more time to prepare for the hairpin than a slight bent, but you'll have to worry about the speed that you're entering the first hairpin since you're entering this one at 140+ mph. What I would do is to stay on the right side of the track, and move towards the left on the gentle bent, and using out-and-in, I would brake at a straight line to no more than 58 mph (my experimentation's limited here), cut the apex, rapid-tap, and fast-out of the turn. Dreadful because the left bend before the hairpin can throw off your timing pretty easily. A-4: Advanced Cornering Part 1 Test Car: Nissan Skyline GTR V Spec Time Limit: 39"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: The Tunnel Hairpin, into the kaye right after the dip, onto the medium right before the tunnel, and finally into the medium left before the straightaway at Trial Mountain. The key to passing this test is to take all turns without any blatant slowing down. I consider this a tough test because you need to avoid hitting the walls. To pass the test, I would cut the apex of Turn 4 of Trial Mountain, then I try to use out-and-in, slow-in, fast-out at Turn 5, and take the Medium Right at around 85 mph (rapid-tap if you think you are going to touch the grass), and cut the apex blatantly (try to slow down ahead of time) taking the medium left before the straight at 75 mph. Try to keep a smooth racing line at all costs. The reasonable speed of the sharp right is 50 mph. You may want to try out all turns at higher speeds if necessary. A-5: Advanced Cornering Part 2 Test Car: Honda Prelude Time Limit: 30"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: After the second tight hairpin, onto the Medium Left, onto the Medium Right, and onto the Sharp Left before the tunnel at Grand Valley Speedway. I'm glad that you're given a break here because you're on the wheel of a front-drive car right now. The ideal speed for the first two turns is 85 mph. I found the medium right a little sharper than the Medium Left. Be sure that you take advantage of the Prelude's Front Wheel Drive while taking on the first two turns. Try to cut the apex of all turns. The third turn before the Tunnel is your main concern. Cut your speed to around 50 mph, out-and-in, and fast-out as you exit the turn. Be careful not to frontup the Tunnel as this is grounds for immediate fail. You must be a careful driver in order to take the final sharp turn of this test with ease and zest! Powersliding on the final turn is OK, but be sure that you don't course-out at all, though. A-6: Advanced Cornering Part 3 Test Car: Toyota MR2 Time Limit: 27"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: Into the Deep Forest's S-Turn before the Medium Right before the tunnel, onto another Medium Right right after the first tunnel, onto the second tunnel and into the finish line at Deep Forest. Your main concern in this test is the grass on both sides of the track. Touch the grass too long and you'll fail the test. Hit the beginning of the Tunnel and you'll fail the test as well. Ease up on the Forest S-Turn, and at the Left before the First Medium Right, brake slightly at a straight line, and cut the apex. Brake to under 70 mph for the first Medium Left, powerslide, and rapid-tap the pedal to maintain your speed. Take the second Medium left with out-and-in, slowin-fastout, and cross the finish line. Since the time limit's rather short, you need to keep a smooth racing line for as much as you can. You may have to increase your speed as your skills are getting better. An important rule while trying to cut the apex during the Forest S-Turn: Don't touch the grass as this is a sign that you are cutting the corners too blatantly. A-7: Powersliding Test Car: Subaru Impreza Time Limit: 33"000 Prerequsite: None Parts of the Test's Areas: This test takes place at a specialized ring that tests your skill in powersliding. No need for a lot of explanations here, since your goal is to simply powerslide throughout this special sliding area around 5 times. Be sure that you average about 6 seconds, and definitely take no more than 8 seconds for the first time around, and 5.5 Seconds for the remainder of the test. Spinning-out will result in severe time loss. You should try to powerslide all corners at all means. Failure to turn or blatant apex cutting will result in a failed test. Try to stay centered for as much as you can, and use a lot of rapid-tapping here. The ideal speed for each corner would be at around 30 mph. A-8: Coping with Hairpins at High Speeds (Final Exam) Test Car: Toyota Supra RZ Time Limit: 1'08"000 Prerequsite: Must complete the first 7 A-Class Tests first Parts of the Test's Areas: Right after the worry-aboutie Chicane, onto the final stretch, onto the starting line, into the first hairpin supported by the gentle left bent, onto the rough S-Turn Curve, and into the final hairpin for the finish just before the two Medium S-Turn Curves at Grand Valley Speedway. 11.3 - International A Class Licence See each respective track layout for testing tips (Section 8.0) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.0 - Simulation Mode Races/Cups ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This section will explain the requirements and difficulty of each Sim Mode race, plus give some tips on them. 12.1 - GT League: Sunday Cup "Gateway to the world of Gran Turismo. A great place to improve your skills!" Pole Position Bonus: 1,500 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 3,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 15,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Mazda Demio A-SPEC 1. Autumn Ring Mini 2. High Speed Ring 3. Grand Valley East Comments: An easy tourney for the advanced player, it is a good way for novices to hone their skills, and earn cash at the beginning of the game. Any Car is good to use for this tournament, but a very fast car is not necessary because of the competition. 12.2 - GT League: Clubman Cup "The next step after graduating from amateur class. Advanced skills required." Pole Position Bonus: 2,500 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 7,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 20,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Chevrolet Camaro Z28 30th Anniversary 1. Autumn Ring 2. Clubman Stage Route 5 3. Trial Mountain Comments: The next logical step after you've built up some cash in Sunday Cup. Good money from this, a couple of championships here will allow you to finish modding your beginning car. As well, the prize car is the 30th Anniverary Camaro, which is a great all-around car when fully modded. 12.3 - GT League: GT Cup "Pit yourself against top-class drivers in this high caliber battle fought with hard-tuned cars." Pole Position Bonus: 5,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 10,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 25,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Toyota Chaser LM 1. Grand Valley SpeedWay 2. Deep Forest Racing Way 3. Special Stage Route 5 4. Trial Mountain Comments: Requires a fairly quick car. If your beginning car was simple little car, perhaps a slower FWD car like a Primera, you're outta luck. The Camaro 30th Anniversary will certainly hold its own here, but more advanced players will most likely have started with a car that can be modded enough to easily compete here (eg. Supra MA70). The prize car is the Toyota Chaser LM, probably the first LM you'll see in the game. Keep this for a while, it's a great car for some of the Special vs. Races and even the GT World Cup. 12.4 - GT League: GT World Cup "The highest class in Gran Turismo. The ultimate challenge with real racing cars." Pole Position Bonus: 10,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 20,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 50,000 Credits PRIZE: Sim Mode GT HI-FI (in Special Race menu), Ending Movie/Credits 1. High Speed Ring 2. Trial Mountain 3. Grand Valley SpeedWay 4. Special Stage Route 5 5. Deep Forest Racing Way 6. Special Stage Route 11 Comments: some serious racing here, a fast car is required... to spend less money, the Chaser LM will do. However this requires an International A licence, so unless you get the licences early, it'd be better to win a few more races elsewhere and build up a really competitive car. No Prize car here, but you get the GT Hi-Fi mode (*drool*) and the ending movie, plus some good money. 12.5 - Special Race: FWD cars "The fastest front-engine front-drive car is...?" Pole Position Bonus: 1,500 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 5,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 10,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Honda CR-X EF-8 SiR or Toyota Celica SS-II 1. Deep Forest Racing Way II 2. Grand Valley East 3. Special Stage Route 11 Comments: a fun little race, very little money to be won here, but you may have some interest in the Prize Cars. The Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, especially race-modded, will mop the floor with this championship. 12.6 - Special Race: RWD cars "The real McCoy of sports cars. The world of front-engine rear-drive." Pole Position Bonus: 1,500 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 5,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 10,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Nissan S13 Silvia Q's 1800cc Nissan Sil Eighty 1. Grand Valley East II 2. Deep Forest Racing Way 3. Grand Valley SpeedWay II Comments: like the FWD race, pretty easy pickings, not too much money, and even the Prize Cars aren't all that great. You can walk away with the title with just about any RWD car that's even remotely fast. 12.7 - Special Race: 4WD cars "The ultimate battle of 4-wheel drive sports cars!!" Pole Position Bonus: 1,500 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 5,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 10,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Subaru Alcyone SVX S4, Toyota Lancer EvolutionIV GSR Comments: as with the two above races ;), not too much money and little competition. Any slightly-modded 4WD car can win this easily. 1. Trial Mountain II 2. Grand Valley SpeedWay 3. Special Stage Route 5 II 12.8 - Special Race: Light-weight cars "Fierce battle with lightweight cars!!" Pole Position Bonus: 2,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 5,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 10,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Mazda Eunos Roadster or Honda EK Civic Type-R 1. AutumnRing Mini II 2. Clubman Stage Route 5 3. Deep Forest Racing Way II Comments: a fun little race, you'll probably see some wild stunts here due to the cars having slight weight--lotsa high-flying ;). You can walk away with this championship with some decent mods on most light-weight cars. Our personal favorites are the Mazda Eunos Roadster, fully modded, and an Acura Integra GS-R. ;) Here is a list of possible cars that can quilify for this race: Toyota Scarlet Glanza V Toyota Corolla Levin BZG Toyota Sprinter Trueno BZG Toyota AE86 Corolla Levin GT-APEX Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX '94 Mitsubishi FTO GR '94 Mitsubishi FTO GPX Mitsubishi FTO GPX Mitsubishi FTO GP Version R Mitsubishi Mirage Asti RX '92 Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg R Acura Integra GS-R Acura Integra Type R Honda Civic Sedan Honda Civic 3-Door Honda Civic Racer '93 Honda del Sol S '93 Honda del Sol Si '91 Honda Civic CR-X Si '93 Honda Civic 3-Door '93 Honda Civic Sedan '89 Mazda Eunos Roadster NORMAL '90 Mazda Eunos Roadster V-SPECIAL '92 Mazda Eunos Roadster S-SPECIAL Mazda Eunos Roadster NORMAL Mazda Eunos Roadster V-SPECIAL Mazda Eunos Roadster S-SPECIAL Mazda Demio GL-X Mazda Demio GL Mazda Demio LX G-Package 12.9 - Special Race: US vs. Japan "Japanese and American cars meet head on!" Pole Position Bonus: 3,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 10,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 20,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Dodge Viper GTS-R or Mitsubishi FTO LM Edition 1. Trial Mountain II 2. Special Stage Route 5 3. High Speed Ring 4. Grand Valley East II 5. Special Stage Route 11 Comments: pretty competitive, with a lot of full racing cars in the mix. You'll need a fairly fast car to be any good here, but the Prize Cars are definetely worth it, esp. the FTO LM. 12.10 - Special Race: US vs. UK "British sports cars vs American sports cars" Pole Position Bonus: 3,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 10,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 20,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Mazda RX-7 A spec LM Edition or Dodge Concept Car (Racing) 1. Trial Mountain II 2. Special Stage Route 5 3. High Speed Ring 4. Grand Balley East II 5. Special Stage Route 11 Comments: again, fairly competitive with some great cars as prizes. 12.11 - Special Race: Japan vs. UK "The clash between Japanese sports cars and British sports cars!" Pole Position Bonus: 3,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 10,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 20,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Honda del Sol LM Edition or Cerbera LM Edition 1. Trial Mountain II 2. Special Stage Route 5 3. High Speed Ring 4. Grand Valley East II 5. Special Stage Route 11 Comments: a VERY important race because one of the Prize Cars is the Cerbera LM Edition, commonly known as the fastest overall car in the game (due to its amazing power/weight ratio). 12.12 - Special Race: Megaspeed Race "Who will win the ultra-high-speed battle?" Pole Position Bonus: 5,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 10,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 30,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: DB7 Coupe 1. High Speed Ring 2. Test Course 3. High Speed Ring II Comments: excellent racing only on the high-speed courses. A VERY fast car is required here, as well as a good grasp of drafting techniques. Here are our recommendations for cars to use: 1. Mitsubishi GTO (fully modded) 2. Nissan Skyline (fully modded) 3. Supra RZ (fully modded) 4. NSX TypeS (fully modded) 12.13 - Special Race: Normal Cars "The world's fastest commercially available car is...?" Pole Position Bonus: 10,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 50,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 100,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX-STi version III 1. AutumnRing Mini II 2. Grand Valley East II 3. Clubman Stage Route 5 II 4. Deep Forest Racing Way II 5. Special Stage Route 11 Comments: the most profitable championship in the game, and still one of the easiest. Race either a Viper RT/10 or a TVR Cerbera and you can practically walk away with the championship, since this is a stock-only race. Winning all races, poles, and the championship can net you over 400,000 credits, plus a Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX-STi version III, one of the best 4WD cars in the game. 12.14 - Special Race: Hard-Tuned (No Racing Models) "This is where hard-tuned cars battle it out. Which car will claim the world number one spot?" Pole Position Bonus: 10,000 Credits 1st Place Race Bonus: 50,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 100,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX 1. High Speed Ring II 2. Grand Valley SpeedWay II 3. Clubman Stage Route 5 II 4. AutumnRing II 5. Special Stage Route 11 II Comments: no full race mods allowed here, so fine tuning of the suspension is required to get the most out of the car in the corner. Any hard-modded cars should do fine here, be they GTOs with around 900 hp, or modded vipers or the like too. 12.15 - Special Race: SS R11 Endurance "A midsummer night festival held on SS Route 11, a specially built urban circuit." Pole Position Bonus: 20,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 150,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Nissan Silvia LM Comments: Approx. 2 hours are required for this race, and it can try your skills for consistancy and technique. With this many laps, it's fun to drive a slightly slower car than the CPU to make it interesting. Pit stops are required here, and of course, it takes place on arguably the most difficult course in the game :). 1. Special Stage Route 11 12.16 - Special Race: SS R11 Endurance 2 (No Racing Models) "A midsummer night festival held on SS Route 11, a specially built urban circuit." Pole Position Bonus: 20,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 150,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Nissan Nismo LM Comments: Same as above, with no racing models. So again, fine tuning of the suspension is required to stay consistant in the corners. 1. Special Stage Route 11 II 12.17 - Special Race: Grand Valley 300km Endurance "Race through Grand Valley Speedway, a course with the best view in Gran Turismo racing." Pole Position Bonus: 20,000 Credits CHAMPIONSHIP BONUS: 150,000 Credits PRIZE CAR: Toyota Castrol Supra GT 1. Grand Valley SpeedWay Comments: also a very long race, screwing up can leave you a fair bit behind but at least you have many laps to make it up ;). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.0 - Simulation Mode Tips ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For the beginner, possibly only with the B licence and no real knowledge of the game, it is important to choose a car that can get you through Sunday Cup unscathed for the first time--not neccesarily to win, but to start racking up a few bucks. An excellent beginner's car would be the Nissan Primera 2.0Te, a FWD car with decent handling, and can be modded to be a little quick, but still well within the grasp of a novice. Beginners should stick with Sunday Cup until their first car is fully modded--from here they can try it on Clubman Cup, or sell it and the Mazda Demio(s) won in the Sunday Cup to buy a faster car and work from there. Try for a faster FWD car (eg. Eclipse GT) or even a 4WD or RWD car if the beginner thinks they have some more experience. For the more advanced player, it's better to start with a faster car, usually a RWD. A Mazda Savanna RX7 is an excellent choice, but by far the best all-around beginning car is the Toyota Supra MA70. This can be bought used from the dealership for an affordable price, and is already pretty quick in its stock form--you should be able to mop up the competition in Sunday Cup. After a few mods, move on to Clubman Cup and get the Camaro, and continue to mod both cars. The MA70 can be fully modded to be QUITE fast, with 600+ HP. From here you can go to most races and be competitive while building money. Well into the game, you should have a variety of different cars. A car for each Special Type Race (RWD, FWD and 4WD), as well as a Megaspeed car (GTO Twin Turbo is a good start ;), a car for Normal Race (A Viper or TVR should be all you need), and a Hard-Tuned Car (fully modded GTO or Skyline minus the Racing Mod is good, or pretty much any car with a high-tuned engine). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.0 - Arcade Mode Tips and Cars ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Arcade mode is the classic "Beat the other guys" type of racing in GT. This mode isn't as feature-packed as the sim mode, but it's good mainly for the fact that it has a 2 player duel, spread on 8 unique tracks. You cannot use modified cars in this mode (use memory card battle in Sim mode if you want this), nevertheless it's still a great deal of fun. 2 Player Tips: Ride your opponent into the wall (see section 5.0). Doing this ensures your safety at the bend, while letting the other player slow down tremendously and have to catch up. Just be ready to brake heavily if you find the opponent slowing quickly to let you fly by them to the outside. Cutting off opponents: Use the radar to keep track your enemies' vehicle, and try to stay in front at all times. One of the best ways to do this is to learn how to look backwards (R1), and to block your opponent's line as he/she tries to pass you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.0 - Arcade Bonus, Tips and Tricks, GameShark Codes Arcade Bonus: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Here's what you recieve by beating the arcade tracks: High Speed Ring -> Autumn Ring Trial Mt. -> Deep Forest Grand Valley East -> Special Stage R5 Clubman Stage R5 -> Grand Valley Autumn Ring -> Toyota Dealership Deep Forest -> Subaru Dealership Special Stage R5 -> Dodge Dealership Grand Valley -> TVR Dealership And, for beating all 8 courses in Normal mode, you get to see a movie and credits. For beating all 8 on Difficult, you gain the Hi-Res replay mode, but it can only be used on night stages due to lack of memory on the PS console. Truly a sight to behold though. Gameshark Codes: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >From the Official Gameshark Codes Page, www.gameshark.com. For Gran Turismo Version 1.00 1. Nitrous Boost (P1): d00bc1c60004 800b6f3e0006 d00bc1c60004 800b6f420006 2. Nitrous Boost (P2): d00bc2860004 800b7c720006 d00bc2860004 800b7c760006 Notes: this affects the replay. Also note that the Analog Controller is required for this code to work--you have to use the right analog stick to hit the nitrous. 3. Wad o' Cash Code: d009aace0009 8009b86600ff 4. Automatic B-Licence: d009aace0009 8009e3b40303 d009aace0009 8009e3b60303 d009aace0009 8009e3b80303 d009aace0009 8009e3ba0303 5. Automatic A-Licence: d009aace0009 8009e3bc0303 d009aace0009 8009e3be0303 d009aace0009 8009e3c00303 d009aace0009 8009e3c20303 6. Automatic IA-Licence: d009aace0009 8009e3c40303 d009aace0009 8009e3c60303 d009aace0009 8009e3c80303 d009aace0009 8009e3ca0303 7. First Arcade Bonus Items: d00816d80000 800816d80405 d00816da0000 800816da0004 d00816dc0000 800816dc0405 d00816de0000 800816de0004 d00816e00000 800816e00405 d00816e20000 800816e20004 8. Second Arcade Bonus Items: d00816e40000 800816e40404 d00816e60000 800816e60004 d00816e80000 800816e80404 d00816ea0000 800816ea0004 d00816ec0000 800816ec0404 d00816ee0000 800816ee0004 9. Third Arcade Bonus Items: d00816f00000 800816f00404 d00816f20000 800816f20004 d00816f40000 800816f40404 d00816f60000 800816f60004 10. Arcade Mode; Start on 2nd Lap: d00b68b00000 800b68b00002 For Gran Turismo Version 1.1 1. First Arcade Bonus Items: d00817880000 800817880405 d008178a0000 8008178a0004 d008178c0000 8008178c0405 d008178e0000 8008178e0004 d00817900000 800817900504 d00817920000 800817920004 2. Second Arcade Bonus Items: d00817940000 800817940404 d00817960000 800817960004 d00817980000 800817980404 d008179a0000 8008179a0004 d008179c0000 8008179c0404 d008179e0000 8008179e0004 3. Third Arcade Bonus Items: d00817a00000 800817a00404 d00817a20000 800817a20004 d00817a40000 800817a40404 d00817a60000 800817a60004 4. Arcade Mode; Start on 2nd Lap: d00b68e00000 800b68e00002 5. Wad o' Cash (Press Start+Select in Sim Mode): d009ab6e0009 8009b8f600ff 6. Automatic B-Licence (Press Start+Select): d009ab6e0009 8009e4440303 d009ab6e0009 8009e4460303 d009ab6e0009 8009e4480303 d009ab6e0009 8009e44a0303 7. Automatic A-Licence (Press Start+Select): d009ab6e0009 8009e44c0303 d009ab6e0009 8009e44e0303 d009ab6e0009 8009e4500303 d009ab6e0009 8009e4520303 8. Automatic IA-Licence (Press Start+Select): d009ab6e0009 8009e4540303 d009ab6e0009 8009e4560303 d009ab6e0009 8009e4580303 d009ab6e0009 8009e45a0303 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- *John Culbert* "Drive it like it's stolen!" Likes: GM (esp. Pontiac--Trans-Am, GTO), RWD cars, Short-track oval racing Dislikes: Dodge ('cept for the Viper ;) Fav C Class- Mazda Eunos Roadster (Miata) Fav B Class- Mitsubishi Eclipse GT Fav A Class- TVR Cerbera, Dodge Viper RT/10, Corvette Grand Sport, Toyota Supra RZ -Favorite Sim Mode Starting Car: Toyota Supra MA70 -Favorite Cars to Drive: Fully modded Chevy Camaro Z28 30th Anniversary Dodge Viper RT/10 Fully Modded FD Efini Mazda RX-7 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (modded) TVR Cerbera LM Fully modded Mitsubishi Eclipse GT -Favorite Courses: Special Stage R5, Clubman Stage Route 5, Special Stage R11 *Ryan Jackson* "Get the hell outta the way." Likes: rough driving Dislikes: TVR and Astin Martin Fav C Class- Nissan Primera 2.0Te Fav B Class- Mitsubishi FTO GPX Fav A Class- Dodge Viper RT/10, Chevrolet Corvette 427 Stingray -Favorite Sim Mode Starting Car: Primera 2.0te -Favorite Cars to Drive: Fully modded Nissan Primera 2.0Te Chevrolet Corvette 427 Stingray Fully modded Dodge Viper RT/10 -Favorite Courses: Deep Forest, Autumn Ring, High Speed Ring *Jason Jamieson* "Fuck the brakes, that's what the wall's for!" Likes: AMC, Buick Dislikes: Good driving ability Fav C Class- Honda Civic 3-door Fav B Class- Mitsubishi Eclipse GT Fav A Class- Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo -Favorite Sim Mode Starting Car: none -Favorite Cars to Drive: Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo, Chevrolet Corvette -Favorite Courses: High Speed Ring, Clubman Stage Route 5 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17.0 - Pet Peeves--What we would've liked to see ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Although we love this game a LOT, there are a few things we would've liked to see. First and most importantly, MORE MANUFACTURERS. Personally, we couldn't care less about Honda or Nissan or even Subaru. We understand that it is originally a Japanese game, not to mention the bullshit they must have to go through to get licenses to use all these cars. But instead of a lot of these Japanese cars, it'd be nice to see some European cars (eg. BMW) an ESPECIALLY more American cars. Chevrolet and Dodge were good choices obviously, but they left out two other major high-performance manufacturers: Ford and *PONTIAC*!! (In case you didn't know already, tigeraid is a bit of a Pontiac fan ;). Also we would've liked to see them put more into Chevy, like below: CHEVROLET: C Class -> '97 Cavalier Z24 Coupe B Class -> '97 Monte Carlo (or maybe Monte Carlo SS) A Class -> C5 Corvette(!), Camaro Z28 SS (for that matter, ANY better vette than the ones here... ZR1 perhaps? :) PONTIAC: C Class -> Sunfire GT Coupe B Class -> Grand Prix GTP A Class -> Any Firebird/Trans-Am, Trans-Am WS6, Firehawk FORD: C Class -> ZX2 Coupe B Class -> Probe GT A Class -> Mustang Cobra, Mustang GT This would be nice to see, especially because Pontiac would do quite well in the FWD class with the Grand Prix. And, as said above, it'd be nice to see a few European makes in the mix too, like any of the new BMWs, Audi or even Mercedes. Another pet peeve is that we think the game should have the option of a damage mode, such as Andretti Racing. Give an option in the Options menu to turn damage on/off... this would give more realism when turned on and help you learn how to drive more smoothly and precisely, and if you want a race where you can smash all over and not be damaged, turn the damage off. It'd also be neat to see some more classic cars show up. We like how they included the 427 Stingray, that's one of our all-time favs. However we wouldn't mind seeing some other classic musclecars, for any class, such as the '71 Trans-Am HO, '77 Trans-Am Special Edition, '65 GTO... um... oh yeah, other than Pontiac :), maybe a 68 Mustang Fastback, and for all those Dodge boys out there, something like the '69 Daytona, or a Barracuda. And finally, other than the cars, we think the soundtrack was quite good, but more tracks would be nice, and even more important, how about SHUFFLING during a race!? Dunno about the rest of you, but racing for 60 laps to the SAME song can get really annoying. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18.0 - Around the Web--additions from the readers To be filled in when we get some feedback. :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19.0 - Resources *Playstation Magazine *Vestiroth's Licence FAQs (check out http://www.verasnaship.net) *Gran Turismo Home Page: www.granturismo.com *Gran Turismo On-line: www.gtonline.net (currently down) *IRC Channel #granturismo (currently down--visit #tkn and #capcom though!) *Mousse Lee's <mousse@pixi.com> initial version of the GT FAQ *thanks to Microplay Videogame Stores (www.microplay.com) *no thanks to Blockbuster Video (poor selection and five dollar rentals!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20.0 - Credits/Wrap up Special thanks to all of the resources above, especially channel #granturismo for lots of great discussions and arguments. Thanks all around to John "tigeraid" Culbert, Ryan "skee" Jackson, Jason "cka" Jamieson, Bobby Marker, John Charette, Mark Sajatovic, Tyler "Dodge Boy" Stewart, Kerry "Rose" McKeown, Sam "Top Speed Record" Reckzin and Devon "Lord Minicus" Bridge for research and competition. Thanks also to all those who posted to www.granturismo.com with their set-up tips and board messages. You can access this FAQ and many others at these pages: http://www.riffraffracing.home.ml.org You can e-mail us at: <tigeraid@fighters.net> <ryanjackson@usa.net> <cka@fighters.net> NEED ALL THE BEST ON-LINE INFO ON FIGHTING GAMES? COME CHECK OUT FIGHTERS NET AT WWW.FIGHTERS.NET. UNBIASED, HARDCORE INFO ONLY! "I said it before and I'll say it again--democracy simply doesn't work!" -Kent Brockman, the Simpsons ^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^# END! FIN! CAPUTSKI! THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE! THE FAT LADY HAS SUNG!