[align=center][spoil]All cars are not created equal: Just because two cars have similar ratings does not make them the same. An A rank Mini may technically be at the same level as a Ferrari, but on a large track, the Ferrari will likely run circles around the Mini simply because the little guy is incapable of either making enough power to keep up, or putting said power to the ground in a reliable fashion. This isnt proof that the Mini is inferior; on a small, extra tight course the tuned Mini could have the upper hand. This situation is an example to show that despite equal ranking, cars are specialized and will perform better in certain situations. Cars with naturally higher rankings tend to be specialized for hardcore racing while lower ranked cars tend to be vehicles designed for commuting with occasional sport driving. Dont just rely on the car ranking, check a cars attributes for a good idea of what it will excel in.

F: 100-200
F rank cars will fair best on small tight courses where their pathetic horsepwower is not an issue.
E: 200-275
E rank cars will generally be a bit more powerful, but they're still generally tarted up econoboxes.
D: 276-350
D Rank cars start showing some true sport car design with decent all around stats.
C: 351-425
C rank cars usually have light weight, very good power and RWD and AWD. Upgrades will usually turn these cars in to solid racers.
B: 426-500
B rank includes very high end sports cars and vintage race vehciles, expect big power and grip.
A: 500-600
A rank vehicles are the very high end of street legal sports cars, GT40s, Porsche 911s, etc. Purpose built for racing, but still streetable.
S: 601-700
S rank is generally ultra luxury supercars such as Bugatti and Lamborghini, and heavily modified A rank vehicles.
R3: 701-800
Race vehicles that are still based on street production sports cars.
R2: 801-900
Purpose built race cars intended for the highest levels of competition.
R1: 901+
The fastest pure race vehicles including Le Mans and Grand Prix race cars.

Speed: The average speed of the course in addition to a general idea of the speed the course is designed to be driven at. A Grand Prix course or a course with lots of straights will have a high speed rating, while tight narrow courses will be lower.

Turns: The overall difficulty of a courses turns. This score reflects the level of unpredictability, room for error, and elevation changes in a courses turns. High speed courses can have difficult turns, though by their nature, incredibly windy, short tracks will have lower speed ratings.

Overall difficulty: The difficulty of the track as a whole. This number is based on the difficulty of the turns in conjunction with the expected speed of the course, and also considers other factors such as elevation changes, erratic traction surfaces and other difficulties that require special attention from the driver.

- Camshaft
On pure dollar to power ratio, its hard to beat the camshaft upgrade. Almost every car will see a +20 to +80 horsepower upgrade from a camshaft upgrade for around 1,200 to 5,000 credits. More power is always good, and the camshaft provides.

- Weight Reduction
As is the case with most racing sim games, weight reduction is the best upgrade. A lighter car accelerates, turns and brakes faster than a heavier one, and creates no negative side effects. The low cost of the upgrade also makes it a no-brainer.

- Brake Upgrade
Brake upgrades are an excellent choice for most cars, as they allow you to carry your speed further into a turn than you normally could, and brake later. This allows for faster lap times. While its not as cheap as other upgrades, its biggest perk is the fact that the upgrade only boosts your performance index (PI) a few points even for race brakes. This makes it an excellent choice for maxing out the potential of a car that needs to stay within a certain rank.

- Oil and Cooling & Fuel System
These two upgrades offer some reasonable horsepower gains for around 2,000 credits and dont bump your PI up too far either. A good choice for working within a fixed rank race series. Once your car starts putting out substantially more than stock horsepower, chassis reinforcement can help the suspension deal with the extra ponies. Stiffening the body of the car will reduce the car body twisting during hard turns and acceleration at high speeds, adding stability and helping to keep your wheels planted. The only downside is a minor weight increase thats easily offset by the other performance gains. The relatively low cost, around 3,000 credits, and miniscule PI bump make the reinforcement a solid choice.

- Engine
If youre looking for raw horsepower, its hard to beat the cost efficiency of engine swaps. The variety of engines available for each model vary, but its not too difficult to double or even triple your horsepower gains with an engine swap. Be careful though, as its very easy to overpower a car with too much engine. A major engine swap will require virtually all the transmission and suspension upgrades at your disposal, as well as extensive tuning to make it drivable.

- Drivetrain
Most drivetrain swaps allow you to make vehicles AWD. Depending on the vehicle, this can drastically alter its performance. AWD drivetrains are always heavier, so expect a minor weight increase and decrease in overall handling performance. The positive aspect is that AWD drivetrains can make a cars power more manageable. Tiny RWD cars with huge engines can be difficult to handle, but when the power is spread to all four wheels, stability and launch speeds are drastically increased.

- Aspiration
Bolting a turbo or supercharger onto your car is a fairly cheap way to make extra horsepower, but it comes at a cost. Turbo chargers need to spool up before their boost can be utilized, meaning you will only experience their benefit in the higher rev ranges. This is called turbo lag, and determining when exactly your turbo will hit is important, as an unexpected surge of power in a turn can cause your car to spin out or lose traction. Supercharges operate in a lower rev range, but the danger of being unprepared for the power boost remains.