Help a car newbie!

[Racocac]

I got this game many years ago as a free game enclosed with a GameStar issue, and didn't play it much then (I remember struggling at what I think were VF Crew races and my cars being completely undriveable), but decided to dust it off right now. However, I do think I require some technical assistance - I don't have much experience at all with racing games, nor with real life cars actually! I'd really love it if someone could help out with a few questions I have, all of which probably seem silly and totally obvious to anyone who knows cars at all, but they're far from obvious to me...

Okay, I get how faster acceleration and higher top speed affect my car's abilities, but I'm stumped about the rest. How do horsepower, torque and brake power affect my driving? Okay, the last one seems almost-obvious, being able to decelerate faster, but how does braking power work when I'm trying to do something more complicated than just slowing down - like drifts?

As for horsepower and torque... I've no idea about what the former does, actually. It seems more like an indicator of how strong my car is, except there are parts that just increase my HP (and torque), while doing nothing with acceleration, top speed etc. About torque, my initial idea was that it sort of relates to my car's handling - that high torque is bad, or high torque relative to horsepower is bad, or maybe quite the opposite - but I'm really not sure.

So far, I've gotten up to VF Crew, won the first two series (and the sanctioned races) with a Mitsubishi Eclipse of some sort, and now decided to upgrade to a Mazda RX-8. (Using manual transmission on both.) There are two more things I'd like to ask about:

What is a good strategy for buying parts to the car in general? Any no-brainer parts one should always buy (aside from NO2), or no-brainer parts one should always avoid? I've already figured out that buying the most expensive stuff isn't always good - getting the strongest turbo made my RX-8 completely undriveable, while getting the same one I used on the Mitsubishi (a weaker type from the same brand) made handling quite reasonable. Again, I do wonder how turbos affect my car.

Thanks in advance for any help. If you're lazy, even answering a few questions helps me much more than no response at all, so please consider that. :)

[PandaCopyRight]

i see that you have been waitign for a long time with no reply... so lets start on this reply :D


First off i want tos ay that it took me a few years to figure out how the game works itself and stuff i used to just get the most expensive parts and thats about it ... failed nearly every race :P


HP and torque ...
there is a video on youtube by engineering explained that explains this quite well even tho the video is quite old ... you may not understand everything in it but it helped me to understand what each of those tihngs were
The short version for the game .... HP is more speed and torque is more force so higher HP gives you higher top speed and higher torques gives better acceleration or wheelspin if there is not enough traction but they kinda help each other out


Break power it literally mesures what it means ... the stopping power of the car (not the breaks)
since this changes with tires as well as breaks this means how good you can slow the car down and yes this helps to drift :D


About the car choices ... i recommend the best Toyota Celica as a 1st car cause when upgrading it you can get trough more than 50% of the game with it and alter on get something AWD like an Mitusbishi Lancer Evolution or Nissan Skyline (this is the fastest car in the game )


Upgrading the cars Usually the thing that give the best numbers is what you shoudl take im saying usually cause the tires .... never ever take the ones giving best numbers cause they are ment for dragracing and the car will go in a streight line really good ... but wont turn at all ... sometimes puting the bodykit can make the car understeer ... from my experience the cars handle better but thats your preference ... same with tires some make the car slide and some make the car not turn at all


If anyone thinks i said something wrong ... it may be the case and correct me :D
and if you have any questions you can message me

[OddDonkey]

I used the low end WRX to start.

[PandaCopyRight]

Originally posted by meisterkreig:

I used the low end WRX to start.

tbh you can start with any car and win untill like 30% trough the game ... maybe more (been a while since i played the game) but please for the love of god dont start with the 10sec jetta (slowest car in the game)

[Shiinyu]

Honesty as a starter the Eclipse seem to be the best. You should have actually upgraded to an RX7 or done the Ironman challenges to get free cars. You also unlock the cars in the shop so you can buy them if you decide to sell them. The reason why i say upgrading to an RX7 is, despite it having 'terrible control', once you get used to it you can easily control it's drifting and use it to your advantage. As for Ironman Challenges.. Easy - Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno (Max 400hp average), Medium - Mazda RX8 Mazdaspeed (Max 600-750hp) and Hard(Max 750-800hp average.) - Mazda RX7 Bathurst.