What's so special about customization?

[SlipZtrEm]

GT is the only game that is really about car culture.

Not even remotely true.

 

[Voodoovaj]

Not even remotely true.

Totally true. What would you say this game is about then?

Schwimwaggen and Ferrari F1's in the same game. That is a clear statement about car culture on the whole. Every other car game out there is about a part of the culture, not the culture on the whole.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Totally true. What would you say this game is about then?

Schwimwaggen and Ferrari F1's in the same game. That is a clear statement about car culture on the whole. Every other car game out there is about a part of the culture, not the culture on the whole.

Oh, I only take issue with the "only" qualifier .

I think, if anything, the Museum card feature is a sign of how PD views car culture. It's certainly interesting, but in much the same way Apple limits the customization of their phones compared to Android devices, I think PD prefers to limit the "hands-on" approach to car culture. The very limited (and downright bizarre, in the case of the paint chips) customization available to us would be the first thing I point to.

That said, undoubtedly, it has the widest range of cars in its lineup, as you pointed out. It's a shame the vast majority of the four-digit lineup doesn't subscribe to that idea of variety.

 

[Voodoovaj]

Funny thing, if we go back to the genesis...GT1...the customization and the culture of modification was a huge factor in the design.

Adding big turbos to Skylines?? Heck, most folks didn't even know what a Skyline WAS! The cars were visibly lower when you lowered the suspension? UNHEARD OF at the time.

I think the franchise has lost it's way a little in terms of the reasons for the long term love from fans.

 

[Lazy Liquid]

1. So ingame you only play with original cars? Since the companies spend milions of dollars and the PD work hard to make a car as realistic as possible, you defend that this is right way to be? I hope not, and i believe not.

2 . LFA chassis into a NSX? What kind of statement is that? First of all, the NSX chassis is more optimal than a LFA chassis. Second, most of the chassis swaps in game was made to A - Diferent visuals (poked rims, mostly) and B - Change some handliny caracteristics, not only total weight and weight distribuition, but mostly the tire band and grip ratio feel. I bet that most people here wouldn´t like to mess with the handling and weight, otherwise would like to manualy have a better tire band and grip feel, plus poked rims without have to swap an entire chassis.

3. Customization in car games is a path without come back, and GT5 already started this path. Or even better, GT2 started it since there was possible to change rims on there. Im not judging nobody of what is more or less pretty. Not only with the modding scene trying to make replicas, but also the ingame customization options with narrow options, most of them with questionable visual quality.

4. Forgeting about the legal contract subjects, and only keeping the gameplay itself, the only evil side of the mods was the cheats and the limiteless options of make a car do impossible things, but what in fact what people wanted was unlock new customization possibilities. Do you really think that people more satisfied with customizations, swaps and such things like the FM crew feels the need of hacking their game? I don´t.

 

[fbccars924]

It's as simple as this, just because you have doesn't mean you HAVE TO USE IT OR YOU DIE. Those of us that would like more possibilities with our cars, In particular that one car you always find yourself driving, to distinguish yourself indefinitely from the crowd. I have one car that I haven't ran into another like it on GT5 and that's my bright orange MK3 Supra, I credit that to the fact that it's dog ugly and anyone in their right mind(obviously I'm not) would look at it and go "you dumb", But I love that car, It suits me. Not quite right but somehow cool. I want to have something that is cool, maybe make a racecar or just a goofy lookin Civic Rice bomb to cruise for giggles, If you don't want to make your cars custom and you think they're pretty the way they are, Kaz won't be holding a gun to your head saying "you better put that giant wing on there". Don't like it don't use it. I did have a period of time that I played Forza 1 and I loved the Customization I loved having some really great looking cars like my replica of James Dean's Little Bastard Posche. But, when it came to driving 9/10 i just did donuts at the Oval Course our completely trashed whatever car I felt like wrecking. I hated the Physics and tuning on Forza, Hence why I came back to GT4 and later GT5. If I could have Forza's Modding with GT5 Physics I would never get off my PS3. Imagine never seeing another car like your's (unless you have a team car with intentional duplicates) or that one replica car that you worked tirelessly on getting the decal just right.Seriously look up some of the cool stuff some of the Forza guy's make. It makes me want to go get an Xbox just for Forza(and Minecraft).

 

[ANNIHILATOR90]

I assume not many people agree or understand you. I partially agree.

It's awesome to make your own creations, and for stuff like the "racing team" and "replica's" ideas I've read hear. Although if I'm honest, when I go online I rarely come across meaningful creations, perhaps some exceptions... but they're exceptions.

I wouldn't want more customization options simply because of the immaturity of some people. Go in online lobbies and if the car is not stock it is in many cases a worse creation.
I don't see why you'd want to change the wheels of a Lamborghini Aventador, for example, although I can live with that. A RUF yellow bird with a spoiler on top of it's original spoiler, orange body and green wheels. It's somewhat painful to see people actually think it looks good. I also have to laugh that some people install all parts just because it's possible rather than actually really take some time and judge "does this really make the car (look) better".

I realize not everyone thinks like that, and of course you're allowed to create whatever you like, that's also my opinion. Although personally I think it's somewhat disappointing to see that many people create something that is truly horrible (and not realize it, ).

I'm undecided I guess.



And to be honest, when I drive with a stock car in GT5, I'm mostly the one that jumps out of the crowd, as most people have a customized car.

 

[The Stig Farmer]

^Agreed, it's great to cruise around in stock cars (unmodified, not NASCARs lol), but it'd be pretty sweet to fit a racing bodkit and give it a kickass paintjob 👍

 

[Lazy Liquid]

About removable pieces...

- Why most premium have those freaking ugly and single option of body kits? Don´t tell me that these are the only and better aftermarket options around, i dont bite it. Instead, its more than obvious that front/side/rear multipile options is what really works.
- Wings removal and old style JDM side mirror swaps or removal, why not?
- Wider tire bands? Why that S15 really must use a set of tires so thin?
- In GT2 i had more rim options than i have in GT5. And why not all aftermarket rims avaliable for all cars?

For last, you guys can criticize or even dislike the bizarre creations around, same as i do. But you cant decide for the others and block their demands.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

I assume not many people agree or understand you. I partially agree.

It's awesome to make your own creations, and for stuff like the "racing team" and "replica's" ideas I've read hear. Although if I'm honest, when I go online I rarely come across meaningful creations, perhaps some exceptions... but they're exceptions.

I wouldn't want more customization options simply because of the immaturity of some people. Go in online lobbies and if the car is not stock it is in many cases a worse creation.
I don't see why you'd want to change the wheels of a Lamborghini Aventador, for example, although I can live with that. A RUF yellow bird with a spoiler on top of it's original spoiler, orange body and green wheels. It's somewhat painful to see people actually think it looks good. I also have to laugh that some people install all parts just because it's possible rather than actually really take some time and judge "does this really make the car (look) better".

I realize not everyone thinks like that, and of course you're allowed to create whatever you like, that's also my opinion. Although personally I think it's somewhat disappointing to see that many people create something that is truly horrible (and not realize it, ).

I'm undecided I guess.



And to be honest, when I drive with a stock car in GT5, I'm mostly the one that jumps out of the crowd, as most people have a customized car.

I disagree with the bolded part. This is no different than people who personalize their cars in real life. Like you said, that's just SOME people. I don't see how it's fair to not further improve customization just because some people have no taste. Even now, you can still make so hideous looking cars with the current system, just like you can make some good ones. These people aren't going to go away just because you keep things the same. You've got to take the good with the bad.

 

[Scaff]

I assume not many people agree or understand you. I partially agree.

It's awesome to make your own creations, and for stuff like the "racing team" and "replica's" ideas I've read hear. Although if I'm honest, when I go online I rarely come across meaningful creations, perhaps some exceptions... but they're exceptions.

I wouldn't want more customization options simply because of the immaturity of some people. Go in online lobbies and if the car is not stock it is in many cases a worse creation.
I don't see why you'd want to change the wheels of a Lamborghini Aventador, for example, although I can live with that. A RUF yellow bird with a spoiler on top of it's original spoiler, orange body and green wheels. It's somewhat painful to see people actually think it looks good. I also have to laugh that some people install all parts just because it's possible rather than actually really take some time and judge "does this really make the car (look) better".

I realize not everyone thinks like that, and of course you're allowed to create whatever you like, that's also my opinion. Although personally I think it's somewhat disappointing to see that many people create something that is truly horrible (and not realize it, ).

I'm undecided I guess.



And to be honest, when I drive with a stock car in GT5, I'm mostly the one that jumps out of the crowd, as most people have a customized car.

Part of the reason why this happens in GT5 is because you have such limited options in terms of visual modifications.

I honestly see far more garish and unpleasant looking cars on-line in GT5 that I ever have in Forza, as the limits on what you can do lead to this level of extreme (as its often the only way to make a car your own in GT5).

If you were to head into a lobby in FM4 you would spot me straight away even in a stock car, as I always pop the Pistonheads smilie on the back of my cars...



...enough to make it mine without having to resort to daftness and currently no even close to possible in GT5.

 

[ANNIHILATOR90]

I disagree with the bolded part. This is no different than people who personalize their cars in real life. Like you said, that's just SOME people. I don't see how it's fair to not further improve customization just because some people have no taste. Even now, you can still make so hideous looking cars with the current system, just like you can make some good ones. These people aren't going to go away just because you keep things the same. You've got to take the good with the bad.

True, some people will probably always make some hideous creations, no matter how many or few options there are. It won't stop people, and that's where the main problem lies; the people and not the tools. (Sounds pretty serious, lol )

Part of the reason why this happens in GT5 is because you have such limited options in terms of visual modifications.

I honestly see far more garish and unpleasant looking cars on-line in GT5 that I ever have in Forza, as the limits on what you can do lead to this level of extreme (as its often the only way to make a car your own in GT5).

If you were to head into a lobby in FM4 you would spot me straight away even in a stock car, as I always pop the Pistonheads smilie on the back of my cars...


...enough to make it mine without having to resort to daftness and currently no even close to possible in GT5.

About a livery editor, don't you see a lot of "abuse" in FZ?

 

[PepeMickey]

1. So ingame you only play with original cars? Since the companies spend milions of dollars and the PD work hard to make a car as realistic as possible, you defend that this is right way to be? I hope not, and i believe not.

2 . LFA chassis into a NSX? What kind of statement is that? First of all, the NSX chassis is more optimal than a LFA chassis. Second, most of the chassis swaps in game was made to A - Diferent visuals (poked rims, mostly) and B - Change some handliny caracteristics, not only total weight and weight distribuition, but mostly the tire band and grip ratio feel. I bet that most people here wouldn´t like to mess with the handling and weight, otherwise would like to manualy have a better tire band and grip feel, plus poked rims without have to swap an entire chassis.

3. Customization in car games is a path without come back, and GT5 already started this path. Or even better, GT2 started it since there was possible to change rims on there. Im not judging nobody of what is more or less pretty. Not only with the modding scene trying to make replicas, but also the ingame customization options with narrow options, most of them with questionable visual quality.

4. Forgeting about the legal contract subjects, and only keeping the gameplay itself, the only evil side of the mods was the cheats and the limiteless options of make a car do impossible things, but what in fact what people wanted was unlock new customization possibilities. Do you really think that people more satisfied with customizations, swaps and such things like the FM crew feels the need of hacking their game? I don´t.

They hacked FM4 and Horizon to do the same ''Hellaflush'' crap or to put Veyron engines in little Minis. No matter where you go and no matter how many options you give them, people still go and do the same stupid crap. What's the excuse in FM4? The game has great customization, I'm sure somebody said: I can't have wheels sitting like a foot out of the body so this game sucks. I'm going to hack it. It's just stupid.

It's as simple as this, just because you have doesn't mean you HAVE TO USE IT OR YOU DIE. Those of us that would like more possibilities with our cars, In particular that one car you always find yourself driving, to distinguish yourself indefinitely from the crowd. I have one car that I haven't ran into another like it on GT5 and that's my bright orange MK3 Supra, I credit that to the fact that it's dog ugly and anyone in their right mind(obviously I'm not) would look at it and go "you dumb", But I love that car, It suits me. Not quite right but somehow cool. I want to have something that is cool, maybe make a racecar or just a goofy lookin Civic Rice bomb to cruise for giggles, If you don't want to make your cars custom and you think they're pretty the way they are, Kaz won't be holding a gun to your head saying "you better put that giant wing on there". Don't like it don't use it. I did have a period of time that I played Forza 1 and I loved the Customization I loved having some really great looking cars like my replica of James Dean's Little Bastard Posche. But, when it came to driving 9/10 i just did donuts at the Oval Course our completely trashed whatever car I felt like wrecking. I hated the Physics and tuning on Forza, Hence why I came back to GT4 and later GT5. If I could have Forza's Modding with GT5 Physics I would never get off my PS3. Imagine never seeing another car like your's (unless you have a team car with intentional duplicates) or that one replica car that you worked tirelessly on getting the decal just right.Seriously look up some of the cool stuff some of the Forza guy's make. It makes me want to go get an Xbox just for Forza(and Minecraft).

Like I said above, FM4 and Horizon players modded their games too so having limited options in-game is not an excuse, let's be honest here, they do it because they want to create stupid and unrealistic cars, the same happens with Shift 2 on PC, instead of better graphics mods, track mods, physics mods, you see more people doing supersonic cars.

So we ask for more realistic simulators but what's the point if all you are going to do is play with how a car looks or make a car so different from real life that it's just a fantasy car, a cartoon car and I'm not talking about the billion hp cars.

And no, PD is not forcing me to customize my cars but I can still see them ruining my view and my replays online, it's like seeing a standard car in a bunch of premiums. I like drifting so I go online with my completely stock car and do my thing but I have to tolerate the little kids with tunes and everything, watching them failing at it and once again, ruining my experience. Drifting is all about the slide and control, not about ''JDM'' ''Hellaflush'' and stupity like that.

 

[The Stig Farmer]

You're just discriminating against a minority car culture .__.

 

[Ranman20]

What about the Maserati MC12? Its a modified Enzo. So your saying there should be no Maserati MC12?

 

[nickg07]

And other titles also factor in the change in weight and the effect it has on weight distribution (and not just for engine and drivetrain changes, but for all parts).

As such I don't see this as being a reason why it can't be done at all in the GT series.

We do at least seem to have moved past 'only manufacturers can do this' to 'PD can't do this right so why bother', while the first was simply not true the second I don't agree with you on. Others have done it already and as such no excuse exists for PD not to do it as well.

Thats not what i meant but posting all that on my phone at work meant i had to show some brevity in my posting:/

My point is two-fold really.

i, the kind of absurd modding people want i.e veyron engines into a mini is unfeasible. But not impossible, if you have the backing of bugatti and their engineers and a motorsport team to help you.

Same with slightly more plausible ones such as a Gt500 NSX engine into a road NSX. sure it might possibly fit, but the number of these changes in reality are practically zero. But the way GT5 works is it limits your car based on the description and PP of what the base car is, it doesnt take into account race car engine swaps, thus you can transfer the race engine into a road car and still enter as a road car, but this is not what PD intended.

ii, PD dont like to implement things that they cannot implement well. They didnt want to implement damage, unless they could model it all very well. Except in 5 they were pressurised into offering it, but obviously its limited in many many ways.

Same with engine/chassis/drive train swaps in game. The game engine cant accurately execute the result of these swaps or properly calculate the reaction in terms of PP and real handling etc. Therefore PD wont offer it as it will be even more half assed than the current tuning system which we have already covered. it would be completely broken. Hence they wont offer it until they can plan it and make it work effectively.

GT is the only game that is really about car culture. It always has been. The latest mod movement is at the core of car culture.

There isnt a latest mod car culture. Car modding is dieing. Hence why so many big names have gone bankrupt, ARC, etc and the rest are ailing.

Powerful cars and modding died in the early 00's. 90's is where this really exploded as a scene, now it is full on retract mode.

What about the Maserati MC12. Its a modified Enzo. So your saying there should be no Maserati MC12.

No, we're saying if PD want the maserati to be in game they will model it and present it to you.

They hacked FM4 and Horizon to do the same ''Hellaflush'' crap or to put Veyron engines in little Minis. No matter where you go and no matter how many options you give them, people still go and do the same stupid cra

Exactly, give someone a yard and someone else will take a mile. it doesnt matter what customisations you give them, they will still hack and ruin the game because for them it wasnt enough.

And it doesnt matter if they are a minority, if you have 10 people in a lobby and 2 have hacked cars and ruin it for everyone else, well them being a minority did not matter because it still effects the majority.

 

[stiggygonzalez]

If people want engine swaps why not?
For online just have standard,mod and swap lobbies right?

 

[nickg07]

I have no issues with PD making engine swaps available. My gut instinct is that they won't.

My concern is those who say 'its real life so I can has w16 in a mini' and enter it into races that gt5 can't cope or understand these changes penalising non hacking players who are trying to abide by rule x y z.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I have no issues with PD making engine swaps available. My gut instinct is that they won't.

My concern is those who say 'its real life so I can has w16 in a mini' and enter it into races that gt5 can't cope or understand these changes penalising non hacking players who are trying to abide by rule x y z.

This is the biggest fallacy about hybriding. Once you get past the outrageously powered cars, the PP system works just fine with hybrids. You can't add grip without losing HP to maintain the same PP. You can't add downforce without losing HP to maintain PP. I tried to use everything available in hybriding to build an Elise/NSX/LFA beater and couldn't. Those cars are already the ideal combination of power and mechanical grip at their ideal PP levels. I can make lemons into lemonade, but I can't turn them into a 26'er of CC..and I tried!!!

So you can drop a W16 into a mini and give it 500 HP and throw it into a race with an RGT or an LFA or an NSX and it'll still lose, but if the person doing the hybriding knows what they are doing, it might only lose by 10 seconds instead of 30. In other words, you are not penalized by hybriding. You can still hop into your Elise or NSX or LFA if you want an advantage, or some other car if you don't.

 

[fbccars924]

They hacked FM4 and Horizon to do the same ''Hellaflush'' crap or to put Veyron engines in little Minis. No matter where you go and no matter how many options you give them, people still go and do the same stupid crap. What's the excuse in FM4? The game has great customization, I'm sure somebody said: I can't have wheels sitting like a foot out of the body so this game sucks. I'm going to hack it. It's just stupid.



Like I said above, FM4 and Horizon players modded their games too so having limited options in-game is not an excuse, let's be honest here, they do it because they want to create stupid and unrealistic cars, the same happens with Shift 2 on PC, instead of better graphics mods, track mods, physics mods, you see more people doing supersonic cars.

So we ask for more realistic simulators but what's the point if all you are going to do is play with how a car looks or make a car so different from real life that it's just a fantasy car, a cartoon car and I'm not talking about the billion hp cars.

And no, PD is not forcing me to customize my cars but I can still see them ruining my view and my replays online, it's like seeing a standard car in a bunch of premiums. I like drifting so I go online with my completely stock car and do my thing but I have to tolerate the little kids with tunes and everything, watching them failing at it and once again, ruining my experience. Drifting is all about the slide and control, not about ''JDM'' ''Hellaflush'' and stupity like that.

They did it to create Unrealistic cars. A large portion of GT5's modders were to make cars that were for the most part possible in Forza. I know Forza 1 had the big one I want to make which is a RB26dett 240z . If they modded to create unrealistic cars they wanted things like the 100k Redbull.

 

[nickg07]

Johnnypenso fair comment but what people can also do is take a yellowbird, drop in a wider chassis or a more powerful ruf engine or add extra grip and purport it to be a well tuned yellowbird when in fact it is nothing like that. These subtle cheats are more dangerous as the car parts they use are not transparent to other users and will be difficult to spot while providing an upper hand.

 

[arora]

Interesting, I wonder what would happen if someone took a non hybrid YB at a particular pp and then build a YB as you are describing with the same pp, run some hotlaps and find out.

 

[Scaff]

They hacked FM4 and Horizon to do the same ''Hellaflush'' crap or to put Veyron engines in little Minis. No matter where you go and no matter how many options you give them, people still go and do the same stupid crap. What's the excuse in FM4? The game has great customization, I'm sure somebody said: I can't have wheels sitting like a foot out of the body so this game sucks. I'm going to hack it. It's just stupid.


Like I said above, FM4 and Horizon players modded their games too so having limited options in-game is not an excuse, let's be honest here, they do it because they want to create stupid and unrealistic cars, the same happens with Shift 2 on PC, instead of better graphics mods, track mods, physics mods, you see more people doing supersonic cars.

So we ask for more realistic simulators but what's the point if all you are going to do is play with how a car looks or make a car so different from real life that it's just a fantasy car, a cartoon car and I'm not talking about the billion hp cars.

And no, PD is not forcing me to customize my cars but I can still see them ruining my view and my replays online, it's like seeing a standard car in a bunch of premiums. I like drifting so I go online with my completely stock car and do my thing but I have to tolerate the little kids with tunes and everything, watching them failing at it and once again, ruining my experience. Drifting is all about the slide and control, not about ''JDM'' ''Hellaflush'' and stupity like that.

Hacking in Forza is actually far less common that in GT5, mainly because MS and T10 are much harder on people doing it that Sony/PD have been to date (full Live bans).

Thats not what i meant but posting all that on my phone at work meant i had to show some brevity in my posting:/

My point is two-fold really.

i, the kind of absurd modding people want i.e veyron engines into a mini is unfeasible. But not impossible, if you have the backing of bugatti and their engineers and a motorsport team to help you.

Sorry but that one is simply impossible, the size of the engine and associated cooling systems (both oil and coolant) would not actually make the fit into a Mini.

Now even if it was you wouldn't need the backing of Bugatti at all, if you have the money to buy a Veyron and want to rip it apart you don't need to get Bugatti's permission to do it.

Same with slightly more plausible ones such as a Gt500 NSX engine into a road NSX. sure it might possibly fit, but the number of these changes in reality are practically zero. But the way GT5 works is it limits your car based on the description and PP of what the base car is, it doesnt take into account race car engine swaps, thus you can transfer the race engine into a road car and still enter as a road car, but this is not what PD intended.

How do you know what PD intended?

ii, PD dont like to implement things that they cannot implement well. They didnt want to implement damage, unless they could model it all very well. Except in 5 they were pressurised into offering it, but obviously its limited in many many ways.

For a company that you claim doesn't like to implement things unless they can do it well they seem to have done just that numerous times:

• Weather
• Shadows
• Standard cars
• Damage
• Tyre model
• I could go on

Same with engine/chassis/drive train swaps in game. The game engine cant accurately execute the result of these swaps or properly calculate the reaction in terms of PP and real handling etc. Therefore PD wont offer it as it will be even more half assed than the current tuning system which we have already covered. it would be completely broken. Hence they wont offer it until they can plan it and make it work effectively.

How do you know the game engine can't handle it? That pure speculation and does really alter the possibility that PD could have worked on the making sure all this works for GT6.

 

[Hei]

Exactly they can't model it properly so if they gave you free reign to make huge changes to 900 cars the way they would be modelled would be so far removed from their real life brethren that the real implications couldnt possibly be configured correctly. With most upgrades there is a negative as well as positive impact. They barely model the negatives now.

Throw a full racing exhaust on a stock turbo car, how would this even increase bhp ? Probably wouldn't. Probably be worse or no change as the car is still making the same boost its just that the exhaust is more free flowing to enable you to up the boost pressure whilst not being as restricted by the lower dia of a stock exhaust system.

I don't know how much modding you do in the real world but it seems that you think you can stick a few parts on a car and its all wonga.

Adding wider wheels might give you more grip but could ruin the ride with issues like tram lining and increased unsprung weight adversely affecting the balance and handling of the car.

Do you even get how cars or physics work? A slightly less restrictive exhaust with appropriate back pressure will increase the hp on a stock car. It is dyno proven by many companies, Magnaflow for one.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Johnnypenso fair comment but what people can also do is take a yellowbird, drop in a wider chassis or a more powerful ruf engine or add extra grip and purport it to be a well tuned yellowbird when in fact it is nothing like that. These subtle cheats are more dangerous as the car parts they use are not transparent to other users and will be difficult to spot while providing an upper hand.

This is true, but only in a casual setting. A different engine will affect the PP of the car as will a different chassis. In an organized setting, if you really want a Yelowbird only race, you need only verify the true specs of the car then do PP and HP/Weight checks to verify everyone is in the right car. But you're right in a casual setting like an open lobby, you could do a lot to a Yellowbird and it won't be obvious to the casual observer. I dropped a Yellowbird on an RGT chassis and it was an awesome car but it was no faster than an RGT would have been, but of course it beat the pants off a standard Yellowbird.

Same with slightly more plausible ones such as a Gt500 NSX engine into a road NSX. sure it might possibly fit, but the number of these changes in reality are practically zero. But the way GT5 works is it limits your car based on the description and PP of what the base car is, it doesnt take into account race car engine swaps, thus you can transfer the race engine into a road car and still enter as a road car, but this is not what PD intended.

Same with engine/chassis/drive train swaps in game. The game engine cant accurately execute the result of these swaps or properly calculate the reaction in terms of PP and real handling etc. Therefore PD wont offer it as it will be even more half assed than the current tuning system which we have already covered. it would be completely broken. Hence they wont offer it until they can plan it and make it work effectively.

There is nothing special about racecar engines in GT5 from a performance standpoint. Sure they often sound better, but engine performance is just a mathematical calculation based on peak power/torque and the shape of the curves, nothing more. Many more road cars have the "ideal" power curves for circuit racing relative to racecar engines under the PP system. I swapped many racecar engines into road cars for the sound with very little effect on performance, other than in those cars that had less than ideal engines to begin with and as a result were uncompetitive before hybriding. But you can swap all the different motors into an NSX/LFA/Elise and you won't make them any faster. They are already as perfect as they can be.

And you're incorrect about chassis/drivetrain and engine swaps as well for the most part. When you swap chassis what you are really doing is putting a body onto a chassis. The PP of the original chassis remains. An M3 GTR that looks like a Ford Focus doesn't get Ford Focus PP it gets M3 GTR PP. It will handle like an M3 so would it really matter if the guy beside you is in an M3 or a Focus when the end result will be the exact same?

Engine swaps can help a little as some engines, espcially with really high torque, are overratted, but the gains are relatively small, and only helps cars that were uncompetitive to begin with. They won't make any crap car into a supercar.

Converting FF's to FR's can also help but again, it only takes uncompetitive cars and makes them competitive and they also retain some of the handling characteristics of the FF because much of the weight is on the front wheels. Converting to 4wd can be a benefit on street or comfort tires from a traction standpoint, but no one races online it seems in anything other than RS tires in which case 4wd is usually a handicap. You can always toggle 4wd off to keep them out if you want anyway.