thought I would post my general upgrade formula that works pretty well to make your stock car into a racer.

pretty standard stuff, but might be of a help to some.

1. Decide what class you will race in and then build up to the top of the class.  Don't blow off the lower classes, they can be fun to race in.  Especially with American Muscle Cars (my preference).

Pick class.  D, no reduction in weight.  C, Street reduction.  B, Sport reduction or

Street reduction with engine improvements.  (Thank you Lars)

2. No engine upgrades for lower classes.  A lot of HP and no handling is a bad combo.

3. Tires.  The very first upgrade to do.  You need good tires.  Choose the best material, width, and rim size.  Don't leave class and come back to this and downgrade to stay in class as you need to.

4. Brakes.  It is essential that these be adjustable.  You can't race the muscle cars without adjustable breaks.

5. Transmission.  I find it imperative to be able to adjust the Final Drive Ratio so I can control my exiting of turns.

6. Aerodynamics.  Being able to adjust downforces on the rear of a RWD car is nice.  Not essential, but nice.

7. Suspension.  All remaining points should be used here to upgrade stock specs as much as possible.

8. Go back and downgrade 3-6 until suspension gives you a lot of adjustments for tuning.  Make sure you are at the top of your class when finished.

In the higher classes, engine upgrades come next.  Will leave that for another post.

I won't go into tuning at this point.

hope this helps...not really a formula for upgrading but a nice guide line to get a great racer in your class with lots of tuning possibilities to suit your individual driving style.

 

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Nice list but I would add weight reduction fairly high up.

I agree.  My list is really for the lower classes...D,C, and maybe B.  Street weight reduction will take you into C immediately.  Sport will take you to B.

My favorite racer right now is the GT500KR.  I have it at the top of class C with street weight reduction, stock engine, sport tire compound and as many tuneable suspension upgrades as possible.  It has turned into a nice racer.

Thanks for the reply!!! You are right....perhaps the very top of the list should say:

 

Pick class.  D, no reduction in weight.  C, Street reduction.  B, Sport reduction or

Street reduction with engine improvements.

 

 

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OK, now I have given a basic "formula" to upgrade.  This is the same for tuning.

1. Pick a track that has a nice variety of turns and straight aways.  Practice on it over and over till you know the line and the track very well.  Tuning on a track that you don't know is a waste of time.

I like the second proving ground track.  It has a sharp turn, a wide turn, an S turn and a good straight away.

2. In the lower classes you will not be able to tune everything.  but hopefully you will decide which parts to buy that will suit your tuning needs.  The first thing to tune is tire pressure.  As a rule I only lower tire pressure on the back tires.  If you have Aero improvements you must tune this at the same time as this effects grip.

3. Final Gear Ratio.  If you have the ability to tune this, experiment with this next to get comfortable shifting and to lower acceleration out of turns so that you reduce skidding.  I don't drift.  This is not a drifting set of rules.

Hopefully at this point you are getting through turns well enough.  Watch telemetry carefully now for bottoming out your springs.

4. Adjust your antiroll bars now.  Stiffen them just enough to stop bottoming out from occuring.  it is ok if it only happens a small amount.  I personnally don't like it at all.

5. You can now start to look at springs, damping, caster, etc....if you have those adjustments.  Typically in class D and C you probably won't as they are not high on the list of tuneable parts at this level.  You can't have everything.  I would suggest sticking to class C for a beginner at tuning.  You have less to think about as you cannot make all upgrades to tuneable parts.

6. Adjust the breaks.  Front breaks should have more bias than the back.  Keep adjusting until breaking feels good.  Watch telemetry and see how even the breaks are gripping.  Try to hit the breaks on a straight away with various hardness and watch the telemetry.  Changing break pressure can be a big help if you use the hand controller like me.

7. Start to play with your differential now if you can.  You will find that you can really make some interesting handling changes here for cornering.

8. Go back and adjust Aerodynamics.  I generally find that after this procedure my car is a bit tight.  A slightly loose race car is a good one in my opinion.  It allows you to push the edge of the envelope and improve your lap speeds.  Also go back and tweak in order recording lap times as you go.

This list is only a suggestion and I think it is not the only one or the best one.  It is just the one I use.  I find having a plan of action for upgrading and tuning makes the procedure fun and enjoyable.  It is frustrating to just change things at random.  Follow an ORDER and stick to it.  It works.

 

My final comment here is avoid upgrading everything and ending up in too high of a class for your skill level at tuning.  Start low and you will begin to understand how everything works.  This stuff is what makes this game fun.  Without it you would have PGR3 (which I really like too....but it isn't the same kind of game).

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Props for this Copperjacket

Finally someone who is willing to provide help for those who don't understand how to tune correctly.  Great Job Copperjacket.  I just picked up a Renault Cleo and since its a RWD  I will definetly look into adjustable downforce.  I already purchased the best spring upgrade and rim size upgrade.  I was going to upgrade the engine but after reading your posting I will hold off.  I will follow the rest of your advice.  Are there any Cleo specific tips to keep in mind.  Recommended settings and specific upgrades would be appreciated. 

Thank You,

ArsenalFC786.

Nice post!
I haven't got the game yet, but I will certainly be using your 'guide' as a general guideline, at least until I get the hang of it.

Thanks, Copper. I was having a hell of a time trying to get the tuning right. I will give this a try tonight.

Twilight:

Thanks, Copper. I was having a hell of a time trying to get the tuning right. I will give this a try tonight.

tonight.....
Wish it was released here in Europe....

I've done (or seen it done) for real when I was young, but have never done it in a video simulation before.  I like Forza a lot.  this is as realistic as I could have hoped for.  It is still a video game, but it is very well done.

I have been reading a lot of posts asking about tuning and such, but have never seen answers.  mine is just one strategy and I bet there are many other better ones.  I hope some other guys will post their ideas here too...I would love to read them.

Being a mechanical engineer, I know that tweaking designs requires a "plan" or an order.  Your order and sequence should be your own, that is the fun...but having a template to upgrade and tune is the most important part of the process.  If your plan is bad, don't be afraid to throw it away and design another one!

I have only upgraded and tuned the muscle cars so far.  And I am being careful to stay in my skill class...C is my favorite.  B will come soon.

 

cheers.

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Oh Luv, I don't have any advice other than play with the sway bars as well as the springs.  things get very complicated when several changes play against each other.  I would try to avoid that in the beginning.  And add that after you have a feel for the "basics"....For example...learn to adjust your Final Drive Ratio before adjusting individual gears.  Sway bars before springs.  tire pressure before downforce.  etc...

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LENGTHY!  ONLY READ IF YOU NEED AN EXAMPLE FOR FOLLOWING MY GUIDE LINES.  Many of you don't need to read this I am sure.

Here is a concrete example of how I used my above "templates" to build my Class C550 GT500KR.

Get lots of wins on the D circuit to get enough money to do this all at once.

Stock Engine (no money for this).  Street Weight Reduction.

1. Upgrades

a. Sport Tire Compound, 225/55R17, matching rim size (American Racing Torg Thrust).  I had to come back to this and decrease my original width and increase my rims to get some more money for later suspension upgrades.  I hated to thin my nice fat tires, but had to so I could get a sport transmission later on.  it is a game of give and take.  remember having every upgrade is for experts...that will come in a few weeks (or months for me....I wish I could play more).

b. Race Breaks.  Need the best you can get on any racer and you will be able to adjust them.  I think one of the most important upgrades.

c. Sport Transmission.  the Race one is nice, but in the beginning adjusting individual gears is tricky.  Also not enough money in C class for this luxury.  Final Drive Ratio will get the job done in tuning for now.

d. Put on the Forza Spoiler.  I need downforce to prevent my rear end from sliding out.  It slows you down, but in this class that is not a bad thing at all.  Control in the corners is.  Remember, I drive those late 60's RWD beasts made in America.  LOL.  Plus this lowered my overall rating too.  More stuff to buy!

e. Now on to the suspension.  Increase every thing as far as possible.  Some of them cost money but don't increase rating.  They are essentially free...put them in where you can.  Don't sell the old parts...you may need to switch some back as you try to stay under that 551 mark!  I end up with:  Race Breaks, Sport Springs, Race ARB, Sport Transmission, Race Clutch, Street Fly, Stock D-line, Race Differential, Street Reduction.

I did have to go back and make some reductions to keep under the 551.  Notice I have no alignment or spring adjustments.  To stay under 551, I made this decision, I will stabalize my turns with my sway bars, FDR, differential and aerodynamics.

2. Now I have a decent racer with some nice tuning options.  On to tuning it.

This is such a driver specific thing, you may not like what I am doing....that's ok, but if you are new, you may want to try these final values.  After you race a few laps on your favorite test track.  RESET the defaults and see the difference!  For my style of driving, it is incredible.  My swerving, spinning beast has been tamed.

Now this is important.  I use some of the assists.  some days all, some days none.  The tuning will change depending on which ones you use.  This set up is for ALL 3 assists.

first number is front, second is back.

a. Tire Pressure  30/28

b. FD Ratio 3.10

c. AR Bars 10.54/13.61

d. Aero 102 pounds (increase if you are sliding in turns....but remember a little loose is good!  also hit those turns smoothly...slow in, fast out.)

e. Brakes  63/37  pressure 100 (experiment if you use the hand controller)

f. Differential  Acc:50  Deacc:62

Also important!  Testing on proving grounds track 2.

Can this be improved upon?  Absolutely.  My guidelines led me here.  No doubt a different set of "rules' would lead to different upgrades.  Every track is different and will change tuning.  Every assist off, will change tuning, every driver will change tuning.  But this might be a nice set to try and see how the method works.

Best. CJ

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anyone got any tips for tuning a crx!

I would suggest building 2 or 3 cars per class.  One that has just handling upgrades, one that has just HP upgrades, and one that is a good mix of both.  Use the fast one on sunset peninsula, the handling one on Maple Valley... you get the idea.

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http://www.trackpedia.com

2006 S60R 6M, Sonic Blue

Thanks for this guide... This worked GREAT on my camaro ss when I tried some similar settings today, however, not so good on my renault clio. I'm at wits end on why it's understeering so much.

Tips?      

good tutorial on tuning. I also perfer going for cornering before hp upgrades.

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As a complete Forsa newbie....thanks.  Thank you oh so much.  :D

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Thanks for the guide, about time someone put something up for those of us with questions.

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Dracken Cratered

Your are welcome.  It seemed to me that it was needed.  My info btw is more from my real life experiences than that of a gamer.  I think the developers did a good job on this game.

make sure to experiment with your own "template" for upgrades and tuning.  It really makes the game very deep.  it is not just about racing.  A unique game for sure.

 

cheers.

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Jmel.  I have only been tuning the late 60's muscle cars.  Shelby GT500KR, Dodge Charger, Camaro....etc...It is my real passion as I used to own some of these when I was a kid....long time ago....I loved those cars.

Cars today are better and very different.  Much better in many ways....I would have thought that my guidelines would work for them all...but maybe not!  try to come up with a plan for ugrading and tuning and see what happens.

The "plan" and "order" is the important idea I am trying to get accross.  changing things randomly cannot be the best way to go.  ;)

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