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1. Your First Car
You start the game with not much cash. Forget about buying a new car—there are vehicles you can afford, but you don't want 'em. Instead, go straight for the Used Car Dealership and press the SQUARE button to sort the list of available used cars by price. There should be a Mazda MX-5 / Miata / Eunos Roadster available (all names describe the same car from different regions). We suggest you buy it.
The Mazda Miata is a fantastic starter racing car. Another good choice is the Mini Cooper. It's not as dynamically competent as the Miata on the track, but it'll hold its own against some of the early competition and, as an added bonus, will work in more of the early racing events than will the Miata.
2. Buying Used? Change Your Oil!
Any time you buy a car from the Used Car Dealership, the first thing you should do with that car is bring it to the GT Auto shop and change the oil. Most used cars come with gross oil that reduces the power output of your motor. A fresh flush of oil will revive those lost horsepowers, and doesn't cost much at all.
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3. Your First Upgrade...Tires
There're myriad vehicle upgrade options, including horsepower boosts and chassis improvements. Before you get into pumping your horsepower to ridiculous levels, please upgrade your tires. Soft sport tires will make a huge difference versus standard street rubber. And the great thing about tire upgrades is that there is no downside—better tires help your acceleration, help your braking and help your cornering.
One note: The difference between hard, medium and soft tires is a difference in balance between grip and longevity. A soft tire will grip the best but will wear out more quickly. During most three-to-five-lap races, soft tires should be your go-tos. Hard tires sacrifice some grip for more longevity—in a long race, you'll have to decide how much grip you need and balance it against having to make pit stops too frequently.
4. Event Types: Races vs. Championship
When you enter an event, you typically get a series of individual races to choose from within that event. Some events allow you to tackle these races in any order you'd like. However, if the first item you see is a championship icon, you'll need to enter into a rigid championship—a series of races all held back-to-back—with no option for restarting a race without restarting the entire championship.
The good news with a championship is that you don't need to get first place in every race in order to earn gold. Your position at the end of the race is worth a certain amount of points and it's the racer with the most points at the end of the championship that ultimately wins the championship. Theoretically, you could win a championship without ever winning a race.
5. Do License Test Early
Yeah, license tests can be a bit of a drag when all you want to do is race, but we suggest you get them done early. Not only will you get good training, but even basic bronze-level completion of license tests will earn you some useful vehicles.
6. Scout the Competition
Before entering a race, you can check a list of typical opponents to get a feel for what sort of vehicle you should bring to the table. Look for the "Typical Opponents" button on an event screen, right next to the "Entry Requirements" button.
7. Do Special Events Early
You might have the urge to knuckle down and tear through all A-spec challenges before messing with the Special Events—we did. But fight that urge. We suggest tackling the Special Events as you unlock them. The cash prizes for completing these events is generally exceptionally high relative to the time and effort that goes into them, so they're good for building cash so you can continue your A-spec dominance.
