Ok, so I’ve been asked now to join two different teams. I told them both that I would think about it and get back to them. Since I’m still basically a newb with a lot of things Forza, I am totally confused by it all. I simply don’t get the whole team concept, so please excuse my ignorance.
What are the purpose of teams? Why would it be in my interest to join one? Why wouldn’t it be in my interest?
If anyone can shed some light on it for me, I’d be greatly appreciative.
know how you watch the leaderboards on rivals trying to move up? they have team leaderboards as well as individual leaderboards. team benifits are they sometimes share leaderboard tunes and stratagies. basically its everything you have been doing individually as a team. and sometimes teams will challenge eachother in online races / leagues. why would it be in your interests? you might get some good inside info they dont share with the public and get some good racers on your friends list. all that stuff worm doesn’t want you to see/know andd wants telemetry hidden for he would probably share with you if you were on his team. why wouldn’t you? sometimes teams feel they can tell you when and what to race. most teams have a website or forum somewhere. check them out and see if you think it’ll add to your enjoyment or be a pain in the rear. and if you get fm4 teams can share cars, tunes, etc…you wont have to own a car to try it out tuned or rent it, you could use it from the teams shared garage.
First thing would be your helping their rankings because of the lap times you are capable of running. Secondly with your tuning abilities and driving abilities the team can then try your tunes and you can run theirs and compare. Again all in the sake of improving lap times and positions of the team. Some teams will also race in league events and run test days or private races for practice or fun. Basically you would be helping them improve and they will help you as well.
Upside more shared knowledge and Forza friends.
Downside some team bickering with other teams.
Well, pretty much all the positive sides have been mentioned.
On negative sides, some teams are known for their bad behavior in lobbys, That is Ramming, corner cutting etc… Getting in to one of those teams will instantly get you a bad reputation. Although they are quite rare.
Simple, teammates help one another and its friendly competion between each other. No one wants to be the slowest in a team and makes you push harder for this. Its less prevelent in 5. But in 4 you had a shared garage. Although now still all the top teams have a website where everything is shared. Race nights and hotlap challenges are frequent and you get to make good friends with the same interests.
Also for the prestige, you get a lot of respect with fellow racers if your TPR,ONR,FRS or EMW.
Id recomend you join 1 nearly all the top 10 on every lb are affiliated and are generally driving a teammates tune.
Better to join one with its own website and lots of active members, though
theres allways strenght in numbers.
I’m nothing special. I only race two classes fairly well. I’m #96 in C class (#70 hardcore) and #71 in D class (#50 hardcore). Overall, I’m only #290 in standard and #191 in hardcore. I’ve got a few nice times, but I’m really not that good. My tuning skills are very much a work in progress. One top ten car does not make me an expert tuner. I’m far from it…
I certainly have no interest in that. I don’t like racing dirty and do everything I can to avoid those that do.
Hmmm… Maybe I should just wait to see if one of the better teams comes calling then. I was never asked to join anything until I got times on the first page of a few leaderboards. I’m assuming that’s what has drawn the interest… Maybe, I’ll just have to throw a few more up there 
Thanks for the replies everyone.
Yeah you have to be careful with clubs. If you join the wrong one your rep will hurt you and most likely get you wrecked all the time. Dont rush into joining a club because you need to make sure you fit in with the club so you dont regret it later. Take your time and chose wisely if you join or just stay a ronin.
Your a very active member of the community and people respect this.
I read most of your posts and mostly what you say hits the nail on the head.
Id join a team with a website and active members if i were you, though.
It depends on what type of team. Hotlap teams have been laid out here. I own a team that focuses on competing in series hosted by 3rd party sites. We create a tune for the full team to use as well as liveries. These series offer team championships as well as driver.
to put it simply.
teams give you ppl to run with, banter and make the game more playable.
they may introduce you to online racing leagues which are good.
down sides can only really be in your choice of team, if you are ultra serious then do not pick a team that is not the same, for me i try to win but dont rage if im last in a race as some you win some you lose and i could never be in a ultra try hard team as im not like that myself.
see easy
Lou, you correctly noted that your efforts are why a few teams have shown interest. You’d be surprised how many people know who you are that never speak a word on here. There’s TPR lou and lou from the forums. Not too shabby there.
You’d also be surprised how many teams informally keep tabs on those they see with potential. Some teams will make offers very early and others may never but might accept if you show your interest.
I remember when I posted on here in FM3 searching for teams. I was new to hotlap, but had a handful of top 25s and probably about 50 or so top 100s. Within a week I had 8-9 teams trying to recruit me including several of the big boy teams that had lots of #1s and top 10s. I remember thinking wuuuuut? How is this possible? Never thought I would get a response. It was a crazy time trying to figure out the right fit for me.
It’s tough finding a team that feels like home, but being a nice guy who is willing to play will help your cause.
The benefits include meeting likeminded friends, some of which you may become very good friends with, specific advice you’ll never find in lobbies or forums, tunes that are meant to be kept secret, and a lot of new rivalries.
Being on a team should push you to be faster because on forzastats only the five fastest times count towards the team.
There’s a lot of people on teams who you never knew they were. Some teams like RPM, gives the member the choice of changing their tag while others require it.
The cons are the fights that occur and the possibility of teams splitting into new teams.