Is there a secret to what upgrades to use, for example will I be at a disadvantage for fitting race cams with street everything else? Should I keep everything in the same category or is it ok to mix and match street parts with sport and race parts?
I tend to use race tyres, race suspension, and race weight reduction then mix and match everything else around it until I reach my desired PI class.
Any help is appreciated
Things have changed in this game compared to last.
Handling upgrades cost more PI now so race tyres may not be a wise choice but all depends on the car and what class you want it in.
For engine upgrades you do not need to match the level of parts. What you need to do is pick which part gives you what you want and use race level then go onto next part until you run out of PI.
Cams (what are they ie I very rarely use them). I have used them a lot more in this game simply because engines can take a lot of upgrades before hitting your PI limit.
In this game, swap to AWD, go for max tyre widths without a compound upgrade and pour everything else under the hood. If your car isn’t competitive, rinse and repeat with another one. Only half joking btw.
that sounds about right from what iv seen so far…if your not atleast in s1 not much need in upgrading compound it seems…even tracks that are entirely made up of ninety degree turns i find im getting better times with a car thats almost all power…having rwd handling builds as my preference im still getting used to running a c class suv thats got a 9.5 acel and 4.9handling…this installment seems to have gotten even further away from racing and found a new home w the drifting fanboys but im still enjoying it:)
Use AWD makes it much easier, put every upgrade you can in the engine. make sure you lower suspension. weight reduction uses a lot of PI so u will have to see where u stand for that. same with the tire compound.
I race with a wheel and find AWD quite boring. I tend to find my car has loads of grip but having grip is useless if the rest of the pack have all sped off. Thanks for your input guys. I will experiment with using a lower compound tyre and more engine upgrades. Maybe use just a wider tyres setup and not worry too much about weight reduction.
What’s people’s opinions on front tyre widths? I don’t tend to go much wider thank a 255 as I’d imagine the car will be harder to steer much beyond that?
Also roll cages, they add weight but do they benefit from chassis rigidity?
Every question you ask pretty much has the same answer in FH3.
If it improves handling the FH3 PI system will give it a relatively high PI cost, therefore try without the handling upgrades and see what happens.
Roll cages are now even more a case of test on each car. A weak chassis with a lot of hp may need strengthening but what is the PI cost. If I use roll cages it is usually not a full cage.
upgrade all to AWD makes no sense at all. AWD is always good to start and acc fast if your speed is very low. But for a race imho a RWD is always better. Much more agility and easier to tune.
AWD gives you tons of grip, speed doesnt matter as much as acceleration does in most of these races(In my opinion). Using an AWD car is much easier to race with in this persons case because it is not difficult to stay on the track and it handles a lot of power much better compared to RWD. Plus it is easier to get a good tune with an AWD car.
The FH3 PI system has changed things a bit. Adapt or be left behind.
I was stubborn for a little while but learnt pretty quick to build and tune for this game, not FH2 or FM games.
Incorrect.
A few of the guys who have posted have already created tunes that run #1.
Awd works because you can still cram 1,000HP+ into a car and destroy off the line, out of the corner and via top end. This is way way different from the Motorsport series and generally the building is similar to FM2 missiles with FM3 awd swap physics.
Here’s the problem:
With rwd often times you can’t really get the car to the top of the class. Tires will work but they are so expensive that you won’t be able to get enough HP into the car. What you have is a car that might be ok only at a handful of the super tight layouts but is generally way too slow everywhere else. I’ve seen shared A class tunes shared with 400 or so HP and amazing grip and I laugh. Those folks are clueless.
Since everyone is running insane power, many times wider tires on rwd are ineffective. It makes sense since you’ll like be at at least 1100hp.so traction is an issue. (NOTE: running TCS on will help with this issue since it doesn’t slow you down)
To top out a car without tires, awd fits the bill and it magically provides grip at all phases of the track without cutting speed.
For some cars the awd swap will bump the car to another class and as result you may have to take out power, but generally you’ll still be around 900ish hp.
In addition there are some cars after AWD swap, you can add 1 tire upgrade and still pack a lot of HP. These cars generally prove to be excellent online but are still able to set top 25-50s on most layouts. If you see me in a crown vic in A class…watch out.
Awd is also not hard to tune. Most players may find that the car drives so good with the swap that adjustments may not be needed.
Overall the physics and PI effect for upgrades is all jacked up.
C and D class cars always need AWD because upgrading tire compound is usually not possible without jumping to higher classes and HP gets way too high for stock RWD builds.
I think I am finally getting the hang of the new PI system and the way these cars drive. I tend to stick A class and below and it has become a little more challenging. D class is ugly now. In H2 it was fun but I have found it difficult to make many D’s I really like. They are mostly real real drifty. C’s and B’s are a blast though and can get really fast yet still handleable… But I have found if for instance you get a really good C Class and you try to make one for B it is undriveable usually since it may be able to handle at C Class it can’t at B so you have to skip a class and go to A with more handling upgrades.
In H2 I would often make a D, C, and B version of cars I really liked and often they would all be competitive in each class but that doesn’t seem possible here. Still the possibilities are endless and I am only beginning to scratch the surface. So many cars, so many possibilities. I had what I thought were some really good builds and then boom I find something that destroys them. This game never ends!
I’ve noticed your enthusiasm for lower class cars in other threads. I’ve spent a lot more time in C and D class myself with FH3 than I ever thought possible.
I think the key is braking. I’ll probably be the only one to ever tell you that. But learn to brake without ABS and build a car that brakes well and you’ll get faster.
Raceboy has a good YouTube video on braking. Building a car that brakes well is more than throwing on race brakes, though.
thats not bad advice…you must be one of those rare racers that tunes his car by the braking distance 
So, this may be a dumb question, but is there any merit to just setting braking pressure to, say, 70% so that you can fully depress the trigger without locking the brakes? I watched the video that you mentioned and he said that what is important is for it to be fast and consistent, and a full trigger squeeze would allow you to always hit exactly 60-70 percent pressure and maintain that through the braking zone.
Potbox is not alone in that, I’d probably say the same thing. Braking is key.
If you are going to keep the brake bias neutral, not set it more toward the front or the rear, I’d advise against setting the braking pressure as low as 70%.
On some extremely flat courses with smooth braking zones, you can get away with that. But take Skyline View circuit, for example. There’s one right hand turn that you enter going downhill, and there’s a curb that you go over when you take the optimal line. In very fast cars, you may need a little braking before the curb. If you set the braking pressure that low, you’ll have trouble getting a little braking bite before the curb and the entry to that turn can turn into a nightmare. Setting it to 70% will require a lot of pedal travel before you start braking. When you need bite, it won’t be there.
If you are going to keep the brake bias neutral and tend to apply a lot of pressure to the brakes (I do), I’d suggest finding a setting between 80% and 90% for most cars. I’ve seen the sweet spot at 82% often. I’d also suggest tuning the brakes last, as the braking is also a product of your suspension settings. But you may see that the stopping distance numbers could be best at 70% or somewhere near it, but in practice, I’d still advise against it.
And you may want to get away from going from off the brakes to immediately going to a full trigger squeeze. In very high horsepower, S2 class cars, tuning so that the brakes don’t lock up ever and allow you to stand on the brakes can make the car easier to drive, but it can add a lot of braking distance. I’d really suggest between 80% and 90% and practice … and at these settings, it’s not that much different. You can still be aggressive on the brakes in this range.
Honestly what I do is I always upgrade the Drivetrain first, then platform and handling, then tyres, then the power. Race Springs, Transmission, Anti-sway bars, Diff and brakes are the most important upgrades in my opinion. Everything else is kind off filler. Also tyres bump you’re PI up lot more then in previous games so be ware of that.
Another thing to remember about braking is if you have a lot of down force from your aero, you can brake pretty hard at high speed without locking the tires, but you have to ease off them as the aero stops providing extra downforce. It requires the ability to apply the brakes dynamically - and unfortunately normal braking is done with about 40%-60% trigger movement (I use 52% balance, 111% pressure on every car I tune). It takes some practice and every car is going to behave differently but once you get it, you can brake later than most and still get through corners safely.