Forza Motorsport 8 - Tips for Beginners

Tips for Beginners in Forza Motorsport 8

General Tips and Tricks

Choose your starting car.

When choosing your first car in Forza Motorsport 8 (2023), try to go for the 2019 Subaru STI S209 (AWD) or the 2018 Honda Civic Type R (FWD). These vehicles are generally smoother to drive for new players owing to the characteristics of their drivetrain, with the S209 having more power and the Type R enjoying better handling.

Forza Motorsport 8 Best Starting Car to Choose

The 2018 Ford Mustang GT (RWD), meanwhile, requires a bit more skill to drive and is more suited to series veterans. Beginners might find the GT particularly difficult to drive around corners due to its tendency to spin out from oversteering and bad throttle control.

Grind car XP (CXP) and car points (CP)  to unlock and apply car upgrades.

Car upgrades are unlocked individually for each car by leveling them up during races. The options you gain access to often allow you to drastically change and improve your car’s overall performance by being able to change out parts or apply modifications to suit your driving style.

Forza Motorsport 8 All Car Upgrades List

You can earn XP through a number of ways during a race, such as overtaking rival cars, meeting track segment times, and clearing bonus objectives.

One way to earn a lot of XP in Career Mode is to start at the last grid position (starting line). This will require you to pass all other rival cars in the race at least once to win it. To make this farming method easier, try lowering the difficulty of AI-controlled Drivatars in the pre-race menu (under Settings).

It is also possible to passively level up your car in Free Play mode by enabling all specific Driving Assist settings (essentially letting the car drive itself around a course to earn XP).

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Level Up Cars Fast

Leveling up also rewards you with Car Points (CP), the resource required to purchase and apply upgrades to you car via the Upgrade Shop.

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Car Points (CP)

Farm money (credits) to buy new cars.

You can earn money by simply progressing through Career Mode. Try to aim for podium finishes in each event to earn as much credits as you can. You can also sell cars you own to get extra credits.

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Sell Cars

Racing events also give you a chance to receive Podium Bonuses based on your grid Position, AI difficulty, and ruleset applied which can be set before the race.

The further your position at the starting the line, the higher the chances of you getting the bonus if you finish with a podium placement. You are also more likely to take home higher Podium Bonuses by racing against higher-difficulty AI and playing on Sport or Expert Rules.

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Farm Credits

Join Featured Tours to earn exclusive cars not available at the shop.

Featured Tours are limited-time events that consist of a series of themed races you can join during their availability periods. Completing all races in the Featured Tour series rewards you with special cars that cannot be bought at the shop.

Forza Motorsport 8 Featured Tour Schedules and Rewards

The exclusive vehicles obtained from Featured Tours serve as nice collection pieces in addition to being very good cars themselves so try to complete these special events when they become available.

Forza Motorsport 8 All Limited-Time Cars

Lower the difficulty to win races.

You can choose to adjust the AI Drivatar’s level if you find it too hard to place well during racing events in Career Mode. Be warned, however, that Podium Bonuses earned are lower when competing against low-level opponents.

Forza Motorsport 8 Game Difficulty Guide

Enable Driving Assists.

Turning on different Driving Assists can also help you learn the basics of driving if you have little to no experience with Forza or other simulation driving games. Eventually, you will want to disable these settings to hone your driving skills if you are aiming to compete against other players online.

Forza Motorsport 8 Accessibility Support Guide

Tips to Improve Car Performance

Reduce fuel load to increase speed.

Carrying less fuel allows your car to be lighter which results in faster acceleration. Before each race, try carrying just a little over what you need to complete all laps of the race as having a full tank will actually slow you down.

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Reduce Car Body Weight

Engine swaps can raise your car’s overall performance (PI).

Engine swaps, which are unlocked at car level 40, may improve your car’s power and overall performance (indicated by its Performance Index or PI). Just be sure to feel out other changes to the car’s top speed, toque, and weight distribution which often come with the conversion.

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Unlock Engine Swap

Drivetrain swaps can improve your car’s handling to suit your preferences.

You can also apply a drivetrain swap to change your car’s default configuration to either all-wheel drive (AWD), front-wheel drive (FWD), or rear-wheel drive (RWD). This conversion process is among the most effective ways to drastically change the behavior of your car outside differential tuning or other adjustments.

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Unlock Drivetrain Swap

This upgrade, however, only becomes available at car level 50 (max level) so you may already be comfortable with your car’s current drivetrain and setup by the time this option is unlocked.

Use the Quick Upgrade feature.

The Quick Upgrade at the Upgrade Shop is a useful feature for beginners who might be overwhelmed with tuning their car for the first time. Selecting Quick Upgrade applies recommended parts and changes to your car based on your available Car Points (CP) and unlocked upgrades to allow for the most stable handling that the game can come up with.

Forza Motorsport 8 How to Tune Cars

Other Forza Motorsport 8 Guides

Forza Motorsport 8 Basic Information

Forza Motorsport 8 Game Guides

Best Cars Rankings

Game Modes Guides

Career Mode Event Guides

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