The Basics of Tuning in Forza 3 for the Xbox 360: Your Free In-Depth Guide

Tuning in Forza 3 is like its own game. Although you may never need to do it at all, it is something unique to racing games and Forza 3 that you'll want to know about. The entire single player mode is certainly achievable without ever tuning a car, and a good driver can certainly win many races without seeing the tuning screen.

But with that said, tuning can be incredibly useful. By tuning a car, you can squeeze every last ounce of performance, as well as adjust a car for use on different kinds of tracks. While a good driver who does not tune will beat a bad driver who does, a good tuner will always have an edge against an equally skilled opponent. Tuning can also be used to tame car behavior which you don't like and customize it to your personal preference.

So, lets tune some cars and get you out there racing better in Forza 3:

While there are actually quite a few ways to tame (or induce) understeer and oversteer, using adjustable sway bars is my favorite way of manipulating these characteristics, since you can't in many of the car driving games out there today. Sway bars are reliable equipment which produce generally similar results in different situations. You can accomplish a lot by adjusting tire pressures as well, but tire pressure adjustments can have variable results depending on tire temperature.

Generally speaking, understeer and oversteer are the characteristics you'll be dealing with just like in other racing games. To tame oversteer, you want to actually make the rear sway bars softer. To tame understeer, you'll want to make the front sway bars softer. In theory you can also achieve this by tuning the opposite ends. For example, you can tame oversteer by making the front sway bars stiffer. This, however, can have side effects that you might not anticipate, so it is best to deal with the end of the car that you're having trouble with directly.

When tuning the sway bars, tune in small doses. Remember that Forza 3 has the ability to tune in the middle of a test drive, so take advantage of that feature.

Sometimes while racing a car, it will suddenly begin to feel floaty or will feel as if it has lifted off from the ground while navigating over a bump in the track. There are many places where this can happen in Forza 3, particularly on tracks like Maple Valley where there are many dips and rises in the track.

These traits are the result of shocks which are either too soft or too hard - which you've probably already encountered in other car driving games for the Xbox 360. Shocks which are too soft will cause the floaty feeling. It happens because the shocks are allowing too much travel and muffling feedback from the road. Shocks which are too hard cause the feeling that a car has lifted off. This happens because the shock's stiffness isn't allowing the wheels of the car to quickly recover after hitting a bump.

Tuning shocks and springs are the best way to get rid of these characteristics. There are differing opinions on how stiff a car's suspension should be, but I'm of the idea that a suspension should be has hard as possible without causing the car to feel as if it is lifting off the track over bumps. This ensures a car that will be as crisp and communicative as possible.

As mentioned, Maple Valley is a good track for tuning shocks and springs. Test drive on the track and see how the car reacts. Be sure to aim for the bump strips, as they are a great way to discover how the car will react to sudden and significant changes in the track.