I’m just starting out with custom builds and tunes and have a question for you guys. So, I’m upgrading a '17 Focus RS to A800. The car already sits fairly high in the A class when stock, so I can’t add too much. I have experimented with weight reduction and handling upgrades, and it’s not really doing it for me. I decided I want to spend the points on power. This means that my best options seem to be either a turbocharger or a racing engine block. Either option would include an upgraded intake and either flywheel or suspension to fill out the remaining 2 points. It seems to me that the turbocharger produces more power and overall speed, but it takes a little longer to get there, and the racing engine block provides quicker acceleration at the expense of overall power and top speed. Is this accurate, or am I reading these graphs wrong? I should also point out that the turbocharger only provides an extra 2hp IIRC but adds ~30 lbs. of weight. That tradeoff doesn’t seem quite right to me, but I am certainly no expert. Of course, it’s possible that neither of these are ideal. Should I just upgrade the intake and exhaust as high as I can to avoid added weight and forget the turbo or the engine block all together? As always, thanks for the help!
That car may always struggle in A class but i would focus on getting the power as high as possible which probably means turbo plus ignition or something like that.
Why do you say it will always struggle? Do you think that car needs to be brought up to S1 class to really shine? Or are you saying that it actually should be in a lower class?
You know, all of my lower class rally style cars feel pretty slow when I play online. Some of this could be due to my driving, as I play with only the brake line on and I haven’t played a Forza game in forever, but sometimes my doors just get blown off on straights. Hard to say if it’s because of the cars or because I lose momentum through turns and the guy behind me doesn’t.
It needs to be in S1 in order to get the most out of it. It simply lacks the power in A class to be competitive although it does handle extremely well. I imagine that if you have underpowered cars in lower classes, that would explain why you’re finding it difficult on the straights. If you can tailor your cars for more power then you’ll find it easier going online. SatNiteEduardo has written a great explanation of how to approach and get the most out of your builds on FH3 which you may find quite useful. It’s just trial and error with the builds at times mate but you quickly adapt to how best approach them.
This is pretty much what is probably happening. The club im in is pretty small but we are all tuning all the times and trying to perfect our tunes. I normally opt for turbo builds im partial to the sound lol. But I know my tunes are based on acceleration and handles and then ill tune my transmission to where I can keep up with high HP on straights as well. Some people dl my tunes and love them some don’t. It all comes down to you personal driving style.
So would you say it’s generally a good idea to start with a car one or two classes below where you want it to end up?
I brought my '98 Impreza 22B up to A799 and its stats are about the same or worse than the Focus barely upgraded to A800. I also have a '99 Lancer EVO at the top of B class and it feels barely above stock. Shouldn’t the classes all be relative? Like a D class car brought up to an A class and an A class car when stock should be similar or at least competitive because they are in the same class and therefore bound by the same rules, right? I’m just trying to get a few cars that I really like in each class so that I have a good variety for different online events, and I really don’t want to just blast everything up to S1.
So I did a lot of experimenting tonight and I found a pretty good formula for building my cars. I’m still trying to pin down the Focus though. I want to keep it in S1 because the idea of a Focus against Paganis, McLarens, etc. is silly. I can add a whole lot of power (1000+ hp), but then I can’t control the thing. If I remove as much weight as possible and make the handling exceptional, I can’t get enough power. The best balance I have found puts me at 780 hp, 654 ft-lb of torque, and 3,224 lbs. It just seems too heavy… I can control it for the most part but you can definitely feel the weight when braking. Does that seem like a normal power/weight ratio to you guys?
I want to point out that I noticed something else when experimenting. Some cars seem unbalanced compared to others. For example, my Impreza 22B is in S1 class, has 584 hp, 504 ft-lb of torque, and weighs 2,439 lbs. My Lancer EVO is in A class, has 615 hp, 532 ft-lb of torque, and weighs 2,467 lbs. On paper the Lancer is better than the Impreza… How are they a FULL class apart? I have other A class vehicles with better numbers than the Impreza as well… it’s strange. Everything is maxed out on all of these vehicles for the most part. I’ll probably make a dedicated thread just for this in the general discussion section.
Your Focus’ output and weight sound very similar to how I have mine built. I’ve even had mine mingling on the leader boards with some of the Impreza’s, even Bugatti’s on quite a power hungry circuit. So even with the 700+ HP it can more than hold it’s own in S1. It still holds great overall handling too! I agree that S2 would be one step too far though. It is really just trialling some cars in certain classes and see how they feel and perform. I have quite often spent time building a car for a class only to quickly realise it’s pretty terrible and to start again either in a higher or even sometimes lower class.
As has already been stated, tires would most likely be the main difference between your Impreza and Evo, further demonstrating how much of an impact tire upgrades have on PI in this game. You’re more than welcome to check my storefront and compare your focus’ stats with mine if it’s any help to you. There are definitely better tuners out there than me but I’m just simply going on which cars have created success for me on the game so far.
As for turbos vs engine blocks … in every car I’ve seen, turbos or superchargers are the best value horsepower per PI point in terms of engine upgrades. Best bang for your buck. Maybe there’s a situation for a particular car I’ve overlooked, but in general, if you can afford a turbo or supercharger or engine block upgrade, go for the turbo/supercharger first.