How To Tune Drag Cars Like A Pro

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Welcome, and thank you for checking out my guide. This guide will cover many important topics for drag racing.

  1. Power to Weight
  2. Gears
  3. Suspension
  4. Differential
  5. You the Driver

Power to Weight

Always having a calculator in arms reach is always a good idea. To determine whether a car will be good at drag racing, you have to understand weight.

Rear Wheel Drive

Rear wheel drive vehicles; the pinnacle of Muscle cars. Cars with two back wheels that lunge them forward have to have the most precise of tune in order to win races. Typically, in rear wheel drives, you want some typewriter of weight to provide traction off the line. This gives better 0-60. Race weight reduction with a rollcage is typically what you’re aiming for here. For roll racing, like highway pulls or top speed runs, you want as least weight as possible. If your car is more than 3000lbs (1500kg) its possible you have to much weight for your power.

All Wheel Drive

Plain and simple, as least weight as possible. No roll cage required.

Gears

Gears are the most important rule about your car. Too short, you could have no pull and no high end, long and you have no pull hut high top speed. So how do you get both? When you do gears, you want your longest gear to be first gear. When you do gears, you want your next gear to be shorter than your last. Usually when you do a regular drag tune, you only use 5 gears. Cars like the Alfa Romeo Stradale and Henessey Venom are some of the 4 gear cars. Also, pick a rally transmission over race transmission. Its only 2 lbs heavier, but your gear changes are quicker. You can change the gears on rally transmission as well, typically a misconception. When switching from race to rally tranny, your gears stay the same as well.

Suspension

This part is very simple as well. You want your lb in to be close to the very softest. Most of the time this setting should be all the way down. Your damping amounts should be between 1.5-2.5 depending on your best acceleration times.

Differential

You want to fine tune your rwd car diff to counter wheelspin.

Rear Wheel & Front Wheel

Acceleration: If you want less wheelspin, tune it to 20 or 40%. The higher the numbed, the more power the engine can deliver to the wheels, making 100% locked diff give occasionally bad launch, but amazing pull over a 20% diff.

AWD

When making an awd car, you want as much power as possible, since pulls arent as strong as a rwd. Lock your diff all the time. You may get some wheelspin, but you’ll have to just fine tune final drive and first gear. This is what that would look like.

Acceleration - 100%
Deceleration - 0&

Acceleration - 100%
Deceleration - 0%

Center: this is all about you. A lower percent increases launch stability and speed, and a higher percent, with more power to the rear wheels increases high end pull. You want this to be around 55%-80%

You the Driver

As well as tuning your car to be the best, you also need to drive the best. Now I know this sounds crazy, but drag racing is much more challenging than just going in a straight line. Here are some things you as a driver need to learn

  1. Launch RPM: Nailing the rev limiter is a stupid idea. Find which rpm gives you the least wheelspin, more power, and overall perfection.
  2. When to shift: Its good to know what speed your gears top out so you can get the best shift time and stay within your power range.
  3. Don’t slam a RWD Car: If you get wheelspin, let off a little bit, not fully.

Thanks for checking out my guide!

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Nice Guide!
I didn’t know anything about drag racing.
Thank you for posting.

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My pleasure! Glad I could help! If you used this guide to create a drag car, what was the car? And do you mind racing it?

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I cant tell you how happy I am that there are as many people that it seems like there are that like the Drag racing!!! I want so badly for Turn 10/playground games to start putting in some ACTUAL drag content in the game!! Hopefully the drag racing community can get noisy enough for them.to do that!

I thank you for your guide. Good info. I have been tuning alot of my cars to basically run on 2-3 gears. Seems like I’m getting good runs but not having any real drag tracks or anyway to really get a good 1/4 time. I know theres the runway, but that’s not all that helpful.

Anyway, I’m curious whether going with the longer, 2-3 gears is quicker than using all 5-6 gears and shifting more.

Either way, WE NEED REAL DRAG CONTENT!! BIG BLOCKS, DRAG WHEELS/TIRES, TRANS BRAKE, NO2 OR BIG TURBOS!!! WHO AGREES?

“Club xDeaDx”

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Wishlist items belong in the wishlist thread located here. There are drag tires in the motorsport branch of the francise but not in Horizon. It’s a different kind of game style and most of the time, Drag slicks aren’t allowed on roads nor put on road cars anyways. As for engines, those have to be licensed as the vehicles do so it’s up to the licensing department to procure the needed rights and this is not always easy. Nos and Turbos, again, this is all up to what the licensing agreemens are and what manufacturerrs allow the devs to do with their cars and motors and how Turn10 are legally allowed to modify them. Anyway, this conversion belongs in the wishlist thread.

As for the OP: Thank you for this guide. When it comes to drag racing, I’ve always been rather terrible at it. I can tune my way around a fairly decent race car but not for the drag - the hardest part being the transmission. I have a similar question to the quoted text. When it comes to gears, how do you decide how many to use and how exactly to set them? I know in FM4 there was a a monthly VIP drag rivals I remember and many people were running a Golf variant for what ever reason. I remember using several downloaded tunes after struggling with my own for quite some time. Some of the tunes used 5 or 6 gears to run the car through the end and some used only 3 or 4 perhaps but they were also fairly high up on the leaderboard.

Again, for me, the transmission is the hardest to figure out for the drag. If you could shed any more insight onto this for me I would greatly appreciate it.

Your guide is a great starting point and a great conceptual help.

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Some people!! Its getting old having some people completely miss the point of things that are said. As far as the “wish list items belong on the wish list” comment, I have been extremely vocal on the “proper” wish list forums. Both features and car wish lists. The point of my post, my question of the gearing, was posted here because this was a tuning guide that to me was informative and helpful. Yes, I expressed some things that I want to see in this game that would be more drag specific. For your information, there are DOT approved drag slicks that CAN be put in the game. For you to say that can’t happen because they are illegal on the road is idiotic. Is it legal to go barreling through some farmers vineyard or wheat field? Crash through fencing or hit 250 blasting down the highway?! Horizon isn’t motorsport, that I can agree with you. However that is all I can agree with you on. Horizon has given a world of freedom to those that love all motorsport. There are drag races in the game, at the airport runway. Because you don’t prefer to use drag type cars or choose to drag race doesn’t mean that there aren’t many that do and want the ability to make a cars and tune it to how they want to play the game. There is road racing, rally racing and you can almost make drift cars. And if a few things that can be added, there could be the most epic drag racing of any game. As far as NOS or bigger turbos, big block engines, yes, those are probably more than what can be done or will be done, but licensing wouldn’t be the problem. Taking the time to put them in the game would be the problem. Your legal issues are covered in the disclaimer in the opening credits in the game. “some modification are not legal.for street use…”. Just uncalled for to get on and be self righteous about your opinion and try to put people in there place. The things I brought up, in a DRAG RACING TUNING GUIDE, if anything, was to hopefully get others that may read this guide to get vocal as well. Chances are pretty good that if one was reading this guide they are looking to drag race. Except for some that troll forums hoping to have a chance to rip on posters. NOT COOL!

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“It’s getting old having some people completely miss the point of things that are said.” and then you go and do it - “For you to say that can’t happen because they are illegal on the road is idiotic.”
That’s not what I said. What I said was MOST OF THE TIME, Drag slicks are not allowed on roads and MOST OF THE TIME they are not put on road cars, ie. cars that spend most of their time on public roads. This is not idiotic, it is fact. I also said that drag tires were already in the Motorsport branch and not yet in Horizon. In no way does this say they do not belong, it simply states that they are not in the game.

As for taking the time to put NOS and other engines and such in the game this is true. It would take time. As for you dismissing the licensing as being “the easy part” I must just guess that you do not know how difficult this can be. If nothing else, take the Porsche example of them only allowing EA to use their product and only in certain ways. Licensing can be a nightmare and a long, difficult, and expensive problem. Manufacturers own the rights to their vehicles and their digital likeness. There is a reason the crash effects in Forza look the way they do - licensing. There is a reason we now have a bunch of generic non-descript engine swaps that are the same across most cars and no longer brand specific - licensing. There is a reason that when T10 was allowed to use a handful of Porsche models in FM4 it cost everyone $30 for the pack - licensing.

You said it yourself, you know the wishlist thread are there and are vocal on them about drag racing. Keep it up, be vocal where Turn10 - listens and hopefully we can get these things in future titles. I’m not trying to tell you that it’s stupid or that we shouldn’t get it. I am only attempting to tell you why it’s not in the game as of right now, and where to focus your efforts so that we can get it. Even as a racer and not someone who spends most of my time drag racing, I’d love to see other engines, other wheels and tires, bigger turbo options, or twin-charged aspiration conversions such as the new Volvo engine line.

I am in no way a troll on these forums looking to rip on you for posting. You clearly know the rules and way things go around here, and yet you chose to disregard them? And then you get mad that I pointed it out to you?

You are right, I am in this thread because I am looking for a guide to drag racing. Your post had a good question in it, much similar to mine in fact, and I do hope someone is able to answer it.

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Try here for some drag gearing stuff.
Plus the Home Page has good drag history.

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PPidrive, apologies for the harsh reply. Too long to require. There have been many times I have seen or had people “put others in there place” when they’re simply saying what’s on they’re mind. For example, when I was speaking of drag stuff I’d love to see in the drag tune forum. I know its not the wish list, just got excited.

Theres alot I’d love to see in the game. I just feel with every bone in my body that T10/PG have done a great job with these games. There are tons of people like me that would be happy over having a drag themed pack much like storm island. Even the motorsport slicks dont act and look like real drag slicks. Just be nice to have.

As far as my gearing issue, reason for my looking and original post, I’m still struggling. I will look at the places suggested. Again, not trying to start problems, just not a little kid that’s going to be put in my place, I’m gonna speak my mind.

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I’m also curious and will have to peruse those threads when I must make a drag tune. Since it’s not something I do as much, I was hoping someone could help out here and basically take the knowledge hey gathered from Kitty’s links and share it in an easy to understand way.

Like you said earlier, I have seen drag cars use all 6 gears, I have seen some try to keep it to the first couple and have really tall gears. In the end, race times are all that matter and the tune that accomplishes the quickest time will be the one worth making. This may differ between vehicles but how do you know what to set the gears up like?

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Truth is my best friends kid is tearing me up in his gearing when we drag at the airport. He knows tuning/gearing things from his stock car lobbies in 4. Pretty tight lipped about what hes doing but he’s 20-30 mph faster at the end. Frustrating.

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I’m not super tight lipped on my setups, but most of my muscle cars are S2’s, 6.2 V8 fully upgraded. I upgrade everything else also. Rally transmission most of the time. Widest tire in the back stock rim diameter, stock width in front but 18-19 inch rim. I usually drop air pressure all the way in the back and make the front about 40-45 psi. The suspension I dont really know what I’m doing yet but have been going by the guide on here.

My gearing is usually around this,
Final drive 2.80-3.00
1st 2.50-2.90
2 1.80-2.00
3 1.10-1.30

The rest I usually dont get to on the runway. I could be looking at it completely backwards, but I try to get my 1st gear to grip and keep pulling acceleration up to 80-100 mph just before redline, the try to make 2nd and 3rd stay in the peak rpm range as long as possible. I just seem to be loosing my raves, the full mile races, on the big end or last 1/4 of the race. Like I said, I could be going about it all wrong.

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If you’re losing on the last 1/4 stretch, you might just need to pull a bit more near the end.

I would look at where your peak power is for 3rd gear and where you sit at whatever speed you are at. You may need to adjust third and fourth so that you can adjust the rpms to keep you pulling strong.

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Thanks, ill try looking at that. Is there any correlation in tuning physics between horizon and either 4 or 5? Or is it completely different?

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Forza Horizon 2 and Forza Motorsport 5 use the same engine.

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sigh

First off - all we’d need are the proper tires for modern drag.

The engines, and power adders minus nitrous are all there in the game already that you could possibly want.

TRUST ME ON THIS.

Same with wheels.

Well, I guess this is something I can help out with.

I had a 1969 El Camino with a dart block 427 mouse with 300 cfm heads. After tuning, she ran 11.3 at 135mph in the .25 at Pomona.

Good news - we have the Judge, a 70 SS, a 72 ish and 69 Camaro, a 67 Vette, 70s Mopar E bodies, 69 Charger and even a Cutlass and GSX.

My friends have owned and raced one form of those cars. Now… If they were ever telling me the truth? Lol remains to be seen… I mean most people just agreed with my blanket statement of “healthy smallblock” … until the race was over :wink:

So … On that note when I feel like changing the pace a bit… I guess I need to purchase some old muscle.
No offense, for a beginner and "keep it simple " your guide is about a 4 out of 10. It’s just too vague. Lots of ways a new person can get lost. I have almost zero clue how this works in Forza but I know real world. It’ll be interesting to see the discrepancies.

For example - the problem with getting going the last 1/4 is the rear gearing is way too tall. Not enough pull.

Basically you’re tuning your gears to the stats which includes basic times of gear shifting based on the upgrades you’ve added… 1st Gear should be topped out between 35-55mph. And believe it or not that’s a TON of leeway right there. 50mph to be honest is too tall. Me and my friends shot for low 40s. But that was for 1/4 mile.

It has EVERYTHING to do with TORQUE and the area under the curve on the dyno sheet For gearing. Cars with flat torque curves are more resilient to gear changes. Cars like a 454 Chevy. Whereas say a Lancia Stratos with a Dino v6? Not so much

I have a friend who’s run 200mph in a 2010 Challenger SRT8 in the standing mile. I’ll ask him what speeds his gears change at, what tires, and final drive. I’m hoping he’ll share since I’ve moved on to different pastures lol

And that just reminded me of something else- Bonneville especially but any of the standing mile guys do it too - they don’t lighten their cars to extremes. 1/4 mile sure. But I know the mile guys dont. I believe it has to do with safety and stability.

For example:
3,000 lb car with 600 hp is better to them than a 2500 lb car with 500 hp… Just food for thought

xDeaDxZeppLiNx - get ready for a friend invite. Hope you’re on One. We’ll nip the kid. :wink: fact is its easier to race a standing mile than a 1/4. At that point the factors are easier to deal with. It’s all how much $$$ you throw at it in real life at that point.

Times = torque and gearing
MPH = on horsepower

All easy math

And on that note -“Spot the Kitty” nailed it. Again. Lol. I know guys who have used that link and that website as the starting point of their multi-million dollar race cars. Like Hot Rod Power Tour drivers :wink:

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Sounds good man. I really want some stuff for hot to and drag race people. We do have a bunch of cars to work with, but theres some cars that would be welcome addition including some proper wheels, tires and I understand theres a licensing issue, but some big block engines like 572’s or 502’s.

Truth be told, just an old guy that most likely won’t get to build what I want in real life, itd be cool to do it in Forza. It would be great if there were some places to actually get a good 1/4 mile race in horizon. Different thread, already posted a bunch on that.

In the real world, I have no drag race experience. Just hot rod mags and tv shows. Have always raced with the same people in forza. Usually loss to my friends kid, but he’s actually one of the faster people on forza, always has been. So I take that with a grain of salt.

As far as my gearing, I have settled with my long tall gears only because it seemed like I lost ground with each shift so a try to keep it down to 2-3 shifts all the way. In 4 & 5 we can look at the telemetry to see where the torque peaks vs HP. In FH 2, you can. So I mostly guess. Most of my cars in S2, (not the Alpha or any exotics, just muscle) get to 210-220 on the runway. Some where between 145-155 starting on the other end to the camera. That’s what we use as our 1/4.

Anyway, until something comes out as real drag stuff, maybe the FnF will have something, I will make do with what we’ve got. Building and trying put different cars has become my biggest activity lately. Guess I’ve been watching too much Street Outlaws!!

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All a 502 or 572 are is a stroked out 454. Aka 7.4l to 8.0l. :wink: they’re there. Same with the best wheels for drag racing.

And yes! I hope the FnF includes drag racing that would be EPIC!

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So I did some quick testing today with the 70 SS Chevelle.

She’s very similar to my Elky. Man, it’s humbling to see my El Camino was an S1 level car… wow.

basically, for drag there are some key factors:
skinny front tires
nice and fat in the rear
15 or 16" wheels seems to work well in real life. They do just fine in-game too.

sway bars all the way down
front shocks all the way up
rear shocks all the way down

that’s for rebound and bump.

Springs are much the same. Basically, it’s to help PLANT the rear of the car to help with acceleration.

The stock SS Chevelle ran exactly as I expected her to. Almost textbook stats from MotorTrend and HotRod.

The one I built like my Elky, she had the 6.2 engine conversion stroked out to 7.0L with the level 2 cams. Basically my car revved to all high heaven, and I set the rev-limiter to 7K and shifted at 6500. Did that in the Chevelle, and…

it brought back memories. Transmission, flywheel, driveline was all stock. Tires were racing 245/16s and 295/16s just like my El Camino.

hope this helps!

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Absolutely. Saw you were on but knew id only be on for a few minutes. I messed with gearing mostly. I think I found what I like, but like most tunes I think I’m fast until I race someone, lol!

The suspension on the other hand, I have struggled with. I think I have a basic understanding of what is needed for drag but some suggestion in some forums or YouTube videos seem like “game code” type tunes. But again, dont know what you’d do in real life anyway.

I know you want the softer rear springs, more in the front to transfer the weight. The bump and damper stuff I am clueless as to what its really doing so its hard for me to picture what’s changing as the settings change.

I imagine 5 would really be the only way to really get 1/4 mile times. Anyway, thanks for the help. We’ll have to run 'em one of these days!

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