Since this is one of my favorite subject in the history of Gran Turismo series, I will also use the wall of text
In order to additionally elaborate on the subject, I exposed this in great detail.
Gran Turismo 2 was the first GT game that introduced adequate suspension and tyre physics in the series (first GT was very simplified in that area, despite being above majority of other games backthan). With that came the first fundamental introduction of selection of tyres as we know it today, but in the slightly different form. We had Sports, Racing Slicks, Dirt and
Control tyres.
It is important to highlight that "proper" - factory - compound was almost never automatically equipped on the cars. It was like that in GT2, it is like that in GT6.
Control tires in GT2 were the first step towards mimicing the *real-life* tyre slip/grip in the series, which is absolutely described in both GT2 in-game explanation and in game-manual. None of the cars were initially equipped with the Control-compound but player could do it for himself in order to experience the more *accurate* feel of the car. As manual says,
Control Tyres are tyres which are as close as possible in characteristics as real tyres... (player) can experience a simulation of real driving which does not feel like a game. Those tyres require quicker braking, careful steering and delicate work with the accelerator. Those are tyres specific for the surfaced roads.
Gran Turismo 3 renamed Control compound into
Simulation, clearly explaining how
those tyres offer only slightly more grip and are only suitable for professional drivers.. Same logic for compounds remained, with offering Sports, Race and Dirt tyres for *normal* selection.
Both Control and Simulation tyres in both games were always very cheap - same philosophy that remained later for GT4 and GT5 - in order to make them accessible for interested drivers in any moment. Also, no cars actually came equipped with those - road cars were always equipped with Sport compound while race cars were equipped with the Race Hard compound - logic we still have today.
Gran Turismo 4 was the first game in the series that introduced
Standard/Comfort (if I recall, US game was naming them Standard, while EU release called them Comfort) compound as *normal* selective compound with 1-2-3 range (hard/medium/soft or as GT4 was naming it, Economy/Luxury/Road), again with lowest price possible (Standard tyres carried no price - 0 Cr - in order to make the fully accessible at any moment). When you were purchasing the car (road vehicles) there was a special disclaimer after each purchase that said ...
(cars are) fitted with the Sports Medium for circuit racing. For factory spec purchase Comfort (Standard) compound.
GT5: Prologue introduced *Japanese* naming for compounds for the first time in the western-releases, as famous "N"/"S"/"R"/1/2/3/ logic. N1 were Comfort Hard, N3 were Comfort Soft, etc. Also, in the in-game manual - that majority never actually read properly - there was extremely detailed explanation of tyre-types and logic of their use. All cars were coming equipped with the Sport Hard/Medium compound by default (Racing for those few race cars), but with following explanation presented in the options:
Also, GT5: Prologue went even further and gave the list of fitting-recommendations for various *types* of the cars, covering majority of similar models in game depending of production year/power/drivetrain type/weight:
***please refer to the end of the article regarding my comment on this table
Gran Turismo 5/6 continued the same philosophy/principle where Comfort compound is the one that corresponds with almost all *factory-spec* vehicles, with notable exclusions of some supercar models that would probably be equipped with Sports Hard compound as their factory-spec tyre, but those are minority.
Greatest *issue* of GT5/GT6 is omission to actually present that philosophy in any of game-manuals: either game-manual, in-game digital manual and even in Apex book that came with Collector's Editions.
However, in some points game clearly implies such selections, such as Comfort/Soft tyre-compounds being mandatory in some Seasonals, etc. But all those *implications* are unfortunately very vague.
We have another clear example of above with post on
Japanese GT official site (
Polyphony was the one that noted that) where the Japanese finals for FT86 championship were driven on Comfort Hard (N1) compound:
To conclude, Gran Turismo series is very clear and transparent about the way tires are fitted by default on the cars. GT5/GT6 *issue* of not making it clear enough as in previous games is probably one of the 346 small details that are missing from GT5's explanations and that have to be determined by the players themselves (such as brake-bias, LSD settings or whatnot).
But it does not also mean that Average Joe is right when he concludes in way "if game have it as default, it is factory spec". It is not and it have never been.
*** GT5: Prologue Fitting Recommendation Table Comment
Since it was firstly presented in GT5: Prologue, I found this table highly applicable to my GT5 experience, as well as for GT6. I used it as a *guide* in order to understand the logic of tire-fitting and to determine tire-types for similar cars, based on models used in the Recommendation Table.
This table provides great guideline to all that want to elevate their GT experience to proper level, and it can be further expanded with decision to do not use any assists and to run with the ABS OFF (
which then calls for adjustment of the Brake Bias settings individually for every car and it is part of the another big topic).
With the recent 1.09 update, the overall physics of tires, suspensions and vehicle became even more convincing, especially if game is driven by an FFB wheel.
I have driven my beloved stock F40 without any assists even on Comfort Hard and I finally had the feel I always wanted. I hope that vocal minority of complainers will not succeed this time and I hope PD will keep the current state of both tire-physics and FFB on this point and improve from that.
FFB now has proper lateral clip and it transfers the new elasticity of the tires almost perfectly.
I drove few of my "testing" events in full and I was simply amazed with the 1.09 updates:
- F40, Comfort Hard, full-stock, no assists, no ABS
- Cizeta V16, Sports Hard, full-stock, no assists, no ABS
- Ferrari Enzo, Sports Hard, full-stock, no assists, no ABS
Every single one of them feels like magic and as it should - taming a killing machine.
Closing Comment
The choice of proper tire compound has always been the paramount in the assuring a simulation feel in the GT series, since its early days.
Sports tires fitted on Normal cars and Race tires fitted at the Race cars were always a "casual" solution to a problem of diversity (same as all cars have default Brake Bias at 5-5, for instance).
There will never be any FINITE answer to which compound goes to which car, but from the things learned through the life of the series and guidelines we got in various manuals, I have developed my own interpretation - explained above - that serves me well so far.
Also, I will never say that HP (power) is the guide for tire-compound (in the same way how weight-balance is not the guide for Brake Bias setting, for example). In my opinion, it is mixture of type of the car, year of the production and actual performance of the factory-spec tire that comes with the car (as explained on example of FT86 championship).
I love how GT series remains one of the rare simulators that allow usage of both "normal" cars and "normal grip" tires. By doing that it provides enjoyment to all types of players, without enforcing frustration with complexity (as would be driving a F40 on Comfort Soft for many players) or with casualness (as I would feel if I couldn't downgrade the compound from Sports Soft on some supercars to proper Comfort Medium or Sport Hard).
Thank you for reading 👍
Love that video, watch it once in a while for inspiration.
Feel free to use stock tune or this replica 
