Gran Turismo - Jaz Rignall's Tips

Jaz Rignall, gamesplayer extrodinare, lends his tips to the Gran Turismo experience.

THE GRAN TURISMO ULTIMATE GUIDE

Jaz Rignall has long since proclaimed himself the ultimate Gran Turismo master. So we thought it was high time for him to put his money where his mouth is and give us the scoop on how to get the most out of this game. Here is his guide to better driving.

STARTING OFF

Gran Turismo is an incredible racing game. However, be warned -- it's not like any other racer. It takes time and effort to get used to the ultra-realistic handling, so be prepared to persevere.

The quick arcade mode is a great way to get used to the basic handling properties of the cars, particularly if you pick "racing mode" rather than the overly-arcadey "drift". The cars available are nice and slow and really enable you to get the general feel and understanding of the physics. Once you can win races regularly in arcade mode, you're ready for Gran Turismo!

A good rule of thumb is don't immediately buy a powerful rear wheel drive car -- they're the most difficult to drive, and if you're a novice you'll be spinning out on every corner. This can be really frustrating, so instead, choose a 4WD (four wheel drive) or FF (front engine, front wheel drive), since these cars are much more forgiving and easier to drive.

THE FASTEST WAY TO WIN AND EARN CASH

Here's the quickest way to win all the races with the least amount of cars and thus earn the most amount of money to spend on the best cars.

Go and earn the B license, then buy a used Honda Prelude and win the Sunday Cup GT race. Sell both the Prelude and the Demio A-Spec that you win, buy an '89 Nissan GT-R (best power-to-weight ratio of all the Skylines) and spend the rest of the money you have on a muffler, hard roll bars and tuned ROM (and anything else you can afford). Enter and win the 4WD Event Race. Sell the car you win and pour your money into fully modifying the Nissan GT-R. SS racing tires, the rest of the suspension modifications and intercooler should make the car competitive enough to win the Clubman Cup. Just don't yet go for a turbo stage tune -- wait until you can afford a stage IV tune. Assuming you're able to win the Clubman Cup (if you can't, keep trying -- use the cash you win to keep modifying your car until you do), sell the Z28 Camaro 30th Anniversary Edition. Now go and get your A license.

You should be able to completely finish tuning the Nissan GT-R by buying everything available, including the all-important weight reduction -- don't buy the racing body, though. Enter the Japanese Vs US Event race. Win this and you get the Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition -- the best all-round car in the game. If you're unlucky, you'll get the Chrysler Viper GTS-R, a brilliant car, but you have to be a great driver to get the best out of it. If you win the FTO, select this and enter and win the GT Cup and (after getting your International A license), the GT World Cup. If not, use the Nissan GT-R. Now you should be getting rich.

Now compete in the Mega Event race and sell the Toyota Soarer that you win. Buy the Viper RT/10 (or GTS if you like it better) and enter the Normal Race. It's fairly easy to win with this car, thanks to its huge power.

Use the Nissan GT-R to win the tuned race (with 926 hp, you should be able to win this with ease). Now you should be absolutely loaded up with cash.

Use the Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition to win the Japanese Vs British race (or Skyline, if you haven't won an FTO). If you won a Viper GTS-R, or the Cerbera Limited Edition, use either of those to win the US Vs British race and thus complete the international race series. If you're really unlucky and win neither of those, tune your normal Viper RT/10 (or GTS) to the max and use that. Use the Viper GTS-R (RT/10 or GTS, whichever you've got) to win the FR Class race and buy an FTO GP-R Version, which you should then fully modify (except for the racing body, which is optional). Use this to win the FF and Lightweight Class races and you're set for the last three challenges.

The two Stage 11 races (both take about 40-50 minutes) can be won with the cars you have -- the Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition is good for the Racing Class, and the Nissan GT-R for the Tuned Class. The Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition is tailor made for the Valley 300 -- but you can slap a racing body onto the Skyline and it does just as well (it just requires more concentration). Just be prepared to put in about an hour and 40 minutes of racing, 'cos that's how long the race takes (yikes!).

And that's it. By the time you've completed all those races you should have way, way over 100,000,000 and can buy anything you want. So spend! Spend! Spend! And have fun playing with the cars on the Machine Test course, or just keep on racing and earning all those cool prize cars you missed!

BEST CARS FOR EACH RACE

SUNDAY CUP
Pretty much anything that's tuned will smoke the sad vehicular slugsthat make up this field.

CLUBMAN CUP
As long as your car has over 300 hp and good suspension modifications, you'll win with ease.

GT CUP
A fully-tuned car is what you need to win this one. Any full-spec Nissan GT-R is a good pick, even though it's really too powerful for these courses. But who cares if your racing is a little ragged when you can blow the competition away with brute force.

WORLD GT CUP
Like the previous race, a fully-tuned car that weighs less than 2500lbs and sports more than 525 hp is required to win this. So thatmeans any of the "big five" -- Mazda RX-7, Toyota Supra, Mitsubishi GTO, Honda NSX or Nissan Skyline GT-R. However, the Mitsubishi is a bit of a lard-mobile, so it's slow on the twisty courses. The Mazda and Toyota, due to the massive power being delivered to their rear wheels only, need an experienced driver to really get the best out of them. The light weight of the gives it blistering acceleration and top end -- although like the Mazda and Toyota, its rear wheel drive means it's easy to spin out on the twisty bits. The 4WD of the Nissan makes it an excellent all-rounder. Once you get more skillful, you should be able to win the race with other, less powerful cars (which is actually more fun and requires much better racing ability than competing with a super-powered car).

FF RACE
The Mitsubishi FTO GP-R is the best car for this class, although both the Honda Prelude SiR and Honda Integra R are just as fun to drive and give it a good run for its money. The Honda Civic 93 3Door Si and Mitsubishi Cyborg are less powerful, but are still competitive thanks to their light weight.

FR RACE
The Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra are both excellent for this. The Honda NSX would be too -- but it can't enter this race because it has a mid engine. A tuned Viper is also a great laugh which, thanks to its enormous tires, has copious grip and very good handling, and the lightweight TVRs are also fun. In the non-exotic group, the Toyota MR2, Nissan Sil Eighty and Nissan '88 Silvia 1800 K's are fun drivers. The Mazda Eunos and Toyota Trueno are also a hoot -- both are underpowered, but their light weight makes them a blast to drive.

4WD RACE
Once again the ominous Nissan GT-R rules the roost here. The Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition is less powerful, but is easier to drive. The Subaru Impreza Rally Edition is also a good one, although its lack of top end makes it a bit annoying to drive on the straight-aways (because it hits the rev limiter in top gear if you don't fiddle with its setup). But this is somewhat unfair considering the competition are driving non-racing cars. So if you want a good challenge, less powerful, non-racing cars that are also great fun on this course are the Subaru Impreza ('96 Sedan and Type R), Mitsubishi Lancer (III and IV), Nissan GTi-R and Toyota Celica GT-4.

LIGHTWEIGHT
The Mitsubishi FTO GP-R Version is the vehicle of choice here. But for high comedy value fun driving, race tune the Mazda Demio A-Spec. With a measly 211 hp under the hood, but weighing in at a featherlight 1408 hp, it's like driving a souped-up shopping kart. And it also happily corners on two wheels (indeed, once you get skillful enough, you can actually drive some distance with the car balanced on two wheels!), which makes it great fun to drive. The Mazda Eunos, Mitsubishi Cyborg R, Honda Civic 93 3Door Si and Toyota Starlet are the final choices in this category. They're not as fast as the FTO, but are all a total laugh to race with.

US Vs JAPANESE
The Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition destroys the competition in this race, thanks to high power and 4WD. But if you want variety, any of the race-converted "big five" work here, and a fully-tuned Viper GTS-R offers laughs a-plenty if lurid tail slides are your thing.

JAPANESE Vs BRITISH
Like the above, the Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition rocks. Any of the "big five" are competitive. If it's a British racer you're after, there's nothing better than a race-tuned Cerbera -- although its huge rear-wheel power and super-light weight makes racing an oversteer spectacular (the back spins out when the power is poured on too early). Once you win it, the Cerbera Limited Edition is absolutely fantastic -- when you learn how to drive it properly, you can corner on two wheels while tail sliding, under full acceleration. Brilliant!

BRITISH Vs US
The Viper GTS-R is king for this one, although the Cerbera (fully tuned with racing body) is a really good alternative. Again, just be careful with the throttle -- both cars are very powerful and lightweight and tend to oversteer.

MEGA
Power and speed are the keys to this race. Any fully-tuned, high-spec Mazda RX-7, Toyota Supra RZ, Nissan GT-R, Honda NSX or Mitsubishi GTO will win this with ease. The Viper and TVRs are also winners here too.

NORMAL
The best car for this series is the Viper RT/10. Marginally lighter than the Viper GTS and producing the same ps, this car smokes everything -- including the other killer car in this class, the NSX Type S-Zero. The only thing that's tricky is initially learning to drive the Viper -- once you've mastered it, you won't have any problems winning this series. The only other car that is clearly better than the competition is the Nissan 400 R that you earn by winning all the gold medals in the international A license test. If you want a challenge, any TVR, RX-7 or Subaru Impreza can also win, but only if you're a great racer.

TUNED
This is a hard race, since you're up against some very powerful, medium weight cars. A 4WD rally-style car (Impreza or Lancer) makes a lot of sense for this, but all of them tend to lose out on the high speed courses to cars like the Toyota Supra, Nissan GT-R and Honda NSX. A GT-R sporting every tuning feature except the racing conversion is a guaranteed winner -- it's difficult to drive on some of the tighter courses, but its huge power advantage and 4WD makes it a formidable car.

VALLEY 300
Here's where the going gets really tough: a 300 mile, 60-lap race of the Grand Valley Speedway. It's certainly a test of endurance -- rather than skill, since the computer cars tend to drive conservatively. The FTO Limited Edition racing car is great for this (which you should have won long before you try this race). Its perfect balance of medium weight and high power coupled with 4WD gives it supreme handling and makes it a really easy car to race -- it's plenty forgiving if your concentration starts to lapse. It also has good top speed, and with reasonably fast, consistent racing it's easy to build up a huge margin between you and the second-placed car and ensure you finish first by miles.

STAGE 11 RACING
Another massive race, this one weighing in at around 50 minutes. Again the FTO LM is ideal for this -- it's the best all-round car in the game. And again, steady and consistent racing is the key to success. If you want variety, any light/medium weight 4WD car is ideal for this rally-style course.

STAGE 11 TUNED
An overpowered GT-R is ideal for this. The problem is that it wears its tires out incredibly quickly, so expect to be pulling into the pits every 15-19 laps for new rubber. Despite that, the GT-R is still king of this one, since its combination of 4WD and immense power blows away the opposition and enables you to build up a huge gap between you and the second-placed AI driver.

REFERENCE

MOST POWERFUL CAR
A race tuned Nissan GT-R Vspec has peak power of 941 hp. This car is also the most powerful 4WD vehicle

MOST POWERFUL FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CAR
A race-tuned Honda Prelude SiR is rated 378 hp

MOST POWERFUL REAR WHEEL DRIVE CAR
A race tuned Toyota Supra RZ spanks out 910 hp

MOST POWERFUL LIGHTWEIGHT CAR
A race tuned Mitsubishi FTO GP-R Version is rated 364 hp

LIGHTEST FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CAR
A race tuned Mazda Demio A-Spec is 1210 lb

LIGHTEST REAR WHEEL DRIVE CAR
A race tuned Toyota Trueno Apex is 1364 lb

LIGHTEST FOUR WHEEL DRIVE CAR
A race tuned Nissan GTi-R and Subaru '96 WRX Sti III (that you win in the Normal race) both weigh 1935 lb

HEAVIEST FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CAR
A Honda Accord Wagon SiR is a lardass 3196 lb

HEAVIEST REAR WHEEL DRIVE CAR
An Aston Martin DB7 Volante is a lumbering 4133 lb

HEAVIEST FOUR WHEEL DRIVE CAR
A Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo rolls in at 3769 lb

FASTEST CAR
A race tuned Mitsubishi GTO MR can be tweaked to go way over 270 mph

MOST POWERFUL STOCK CAR
A Viper RT/10 (Viper GTS has the same hp, but is slightly heavier)

BEST POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO
A TVR Cerbera Limited Edition (581 hp, 1984 lb)

BEST ALL ROUNDER
AN FTO Limited Edition combines power, reasonably light weight, 4WD and impressive top speed to devastating effect

WIN ALL THE CARS

Here are the bonus cars you get for winning each championship. The GT races each have one car to win, except the Gold League Cup. All the event races have two different cars to win. We've tried to get to the bottom of how to win the different cars, but so far it seems random. Most of the cars are available in multiple colors.

SUNDAY CUP
Mazda Demio A-Spec
Color: Grey

CLUBMAN CUP
Chevrolet Z28 Camaro 30th Anniversary Edition
Color: White with orange stripes

GT CUP
Toyota Chaser Limited Edition
Color: Black

GT WORLD CUP
Opens up the GT HiFi mode, a time trial mode that enables the player to race the Clubman Stage R5, Special Stage R5 and Special Stage R11 in hi-res. Which looks incredible.

FF RACE
Honda CRX EF-8 SiR
Colors: Yellow, black or purple
Toyota Celica SSII
Colors: Yellow, green or purple

FR RACE
Nissan 'Q's 1800
Colors: Yellow or blue
Nissan Sil Eighty
Colors: Purple, blue or yellow

4WD RACE
Subaru SVX S4
Colors: Purple or white
Mitsubishi Lancer GSR Evolution IV
Colors: Yellow, purple or turquoise

LIGHTWEIGHT
Honda CRX Type R
Colors: Yellow with black hood, green with black hood or pink with black hood
Mazda Eunos
Colors: Yellow, gold or blue

JAPANESE Vs US
Mitsubishi FTO Limited Edition
Colors: Black or green
Chrysler Viper GTS-R
Colors: White with blue stripes or white with green stripes

JAPANESE Vs BRITISH
TVR Cerbera Limited Edition
Colors: Grey-purple or grey-green
Honda CRX Limited Edition
Colors: Red or black with white stripes

BRITISH Vs US
Chrysler Concept Car (Race tuned)
Colors: Yellow, or purple
Mazda RX-7 A-Spec Limited Edition
Colors: Purple or green

MEGA RACE
Toyota Soarer 2.5 GT-T VVT-I
Colors: Yellow, or purple
Aston Martin DB7 Coupe
Colors: Purple, white or crimson

NORMAL RACE
Toyota Supra RZ
Colors: Purple
Impreza '96 WRX Sti III
Colors: Light blue or yellow

TUNED RACE
Nissan '91 Skyline GT-R
Colors: Red, yellow or blue
AE86 Sprinter Trueno GT
Colors: Red, blue or green

VALLEY 300
Castrol Supra GT
Colors: Black, red and blue or black, red and green

STAGE 11 RACING
Nissan Silvia Limited Edition
Colors: Red or bright green

STAGE 11 TUNED
Nissan GT-R Nismo
Color: Off white

MEDAL CARS
All gold in B License Test
Chrysler Concept Car (stock)
Color: Red

All gold in A License Test
Toyota TRD 3000GT
Color: Silver

All gold in International A License Test
Nissan Nismo 400R
Colors: Silver, orange or yellow

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