Noob help: knowing what class to tune to

  • Thread starter Copperbad
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Copperbad

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Hey everybody, first post!

I've never been much for racing games until now. Maybe that's because Forza4 isn't so much a racing game as it is a state of the art physics simulator that happens to have pretty cars in it.

I jest, it's all about the cars. And the cars are the subject of this post.
I'm just beginning to monkey with custom tunes, it's a wonderful experience so far, though a bit daunting. I've read up on the different tuning options and what they influence as far as handling, more experimentation should yield a better understanding.

Until that time, I had a quick question: How do y'all decide what class to tune a car into? I'm a bit lost when trying to decide what a viable option for, say, B class would be, since it can be something tuned up from E or even down from A.

I know when I like a car, and I just need a little help in determining what class that car would be the most efficient in. From there, the finer aspects of tuning can be tinkered with.

If examples would help, I'm big into the 69' Pontiac Trans Am, the Ford GT, and the BMW 2002. If i were to begin i a car that i liked, how would I go about figuring out the "most effecient" class for them to be tuned into?

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm sure I'll have more questions soon
-Copperbad
 
Welcome to ForzaPlanet. :)

Probably the easiest rule of thumb would be to mind your tire widths; in FM4, tire width makes a world of difference in terms of available grip and handling manners. So while you could tune up the 2002 Turbo into the same range as an upgraded 135i, for example, you'll likely find the 2002 is more difficult to handle, because it's an old car with skinnier tires. Age isn't the sole determining factor, since there are old supercars and new economy cars, obviously; you just need to pay attention to what size tires a particular car can fit.

In classes F-C, you can often get away with ~200mm or less. In class B, you'll probably want a bit more. In class A and above, it might be best to stick to cars that can fit at least ~250mm tires. Everything else should be pretty straightforward, just don't forget to upgrade your tire compound too. 👍

P.S. I've found that in FM4, if you save a setup with wider tires but stock wheels, when you load that setup later it might revert to the stock widths. So be sure to swap to another rim style.
 
That's really good to know man, thanks!

I actually had a question about tire compound as well. Should I always (generally) be upgrading to sport/race? It sometimes jumps said car up into the next class (before any other upgrades) when I was planning to run it in the original PI.
 
If a car is already confident through the corners in stock form, you probably don't need to upgrade the tires until you add more power or remove a lot of weight. Otherwise, it's good to go for the best tires you can fit into a PI class.

On the other hand, if you can handle dialing it down to Sport or Street/Stock tires, you'll gain more speed and acceleration for your class, which can make a big difference on Xbox Live where everyone tends to run Race-spec everything. Depending on the track, they might never make up the difference in the corners.

Other Sport parts can give you a similar edge over Race-spec competition; for example, reverting back to Sport Weight Reduction opens up some PI for more power and top-end, and Sport suspension parts help keep you from rolling the car on bumps and rumble strips, something you see all the time with stiffly-sprung cars in multiplayer.
 
Wolfe
Other Sport parts can give you a similar edge over the competition; for example, Sport Weight Reduction opens up some PI for more power and top-end
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Doesn't installing this upgrade usually bump up the PI rather than lower it? I could have sworn...
 
Sorry, I should have been more clear. I meant in contrast with using Race parts; the Race Weight Reduction.
 
With my personal tuning experience, I'd rather make sure it's comfortable and stable all around. Sometimes, that's harder than one'd think. I had built a Peugeot 206 to A600, and it still felt like it was being pulled by a freaking chain. But every car is different, and it really is up to the person driving the car to decide whether or not they like the tuning. Everyone has a tuning style that fits them.
 
For sure dude, and I really relate to the idea of tinkering with a car until it feels right and...whatever class it's in at that point, that's the "ideal class".

Looking to the tire width as a guidline is certainly something I'm interested to try out this evening, thanks again for that Wolfe.
 
I'd also suggest picking up (if you can), the ForzaDroid app. I used it on a Miura I bought and tuned and it made the car much more at home and comfortable.
 
CyanideCola
I'd also suggest picking up (if you can), the ForzaDroid app. I used it on a Miura I bought and tuned and it made the car much more at home and comfortable.
Click to expand...

My advise is, drop the calculators. They hinder you, and you never really reach your potential with them. I wish I would have avoided them but I started out with one.

If you have any question with a particular aspect of tuning, I'll gladly give my NONE expert tips. I'm still learning more about this aspect of the game every day.

Also, I probably should read the rules before posting this link, but this site has helped me a TON. http://diy-racetuning.net/
 

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