Initial version of this guide written by Ewil, updated & compacted by George

Basic ingame settings, from left to right. Anything left out is preference.

-Audio: --Disable speech volume -> faster tutorial, less police --TURN OFF EA TRAX. YouTube doesn't recognize that the tracks are licensed for NFS:C, and some songs outright block videos worldwide, which would result in your run being rejected.

-Video: --Shaders to high -> best visibility (doesn't affect loads). --World details to low/medium -> high renders extra props with collisions -> less stuff you can hit --Motion blur off -> technically personal preference but it just a blur --Particle system on -> allows you to see the lap/finish markers --Everything else as high as your PC can handle -> better visibility in general

-Gameplay: --Enable Autosave (can abuse reloads) --Manual transmission (MT) is faster than automatic (AT): AT shifts early and reduces top speed. MT also allows precise gear control. --Hood camera -> judge corners better. --Disable game moments camera -> no time-wasting mini cutscenes.

-Interface: --Enable rearview mirror -> see rubberbanding cars from behind to potentially block. --Disable picture in picture -> small timesave in tutorial.

-Controls: --Bind Clutch, Reset Car Position & Activate Crew Member to accessible locations.

Meta/out of game configuration:

-There doesn't seem to be any difference between 1.2 and 1.4 versions, apart from 1.4 being better for Windows 10. -Running the game on single CPU core usually fixes all issues like the game not starting at all, freezing in cutscenes, etc. check Resources for ¤.bat file.

General Driving:

-Shifting: Upshifts gives a small boost, reverse with downshifts (speed loss). Downshifting on high RPM + turning + good handling car can slingshot you into a corner. -Prioritize shifting up before jumps and shifting down in midair to avoid speed loss. -Hold Clutch when in mid-air and release when landing to preserve more speed when landing. -When approaching a long straight with a jump right before and you have a non-straight car angle, tap speedbraker before the jump and disable in midair. Landing with a mid-air spinning car will cost you a lot of speed, so the speedbraker will be worth. -Tap handbrake to counteract understeer. Combining handbrake and regular brake can amplify the handling effect. Especially useful in Elise (makes the car steer in the first place) & Corvette (allows controlled spins when mastered).

"It depends":

-Shortcuts: Most shortcuts are faster, but not all. -Objects: Some objects slow you down, some you just pass through. However, hitting any object increases your chance to get cops during races. -Wallgrinding: Some walls can be wallgrinded to exit the corner faster, usually canyon walls with no signs. -Canyon duel restart: Restarting some canyon duels, you'll start a bit earlier in the track. Required for Darius Canyon in Any% (and makes Angie's second canyon duel in silverton literally free). -You will have to learn these four by memorization, watching other people, or timing races yourself in quick race.

Autosave abuse & RNG timelosses:

-Territory attack -> evaluate if attacked race is required for future progress. Ignore if not, reload save if yes. --e.g.: Any%, parent boss turf not already completed -> reload --e.g.: Any%, parent boss turf already completed -> skip --e.g.: 100% -> always reload -Cop chase in race: ALT+F4 when in free-roam after race finish, track is saved, copchase skipped. --Get busted instead if on the last race before a boss, game saves the track on the sms message on these races. ALT+F4 -> you have to do the race again.

World Map:

-Analog stick is inverted -> use mouse+keyboard, faster anyway. -Enter races quickly by pointing over the event and press Enter twice. --When you hit the first enter, quickly move your mouse away from the center of the screen to avoid activating GPS/changing crew member.

Wingmen charactistics & progression:

-Neville: Useless blocker, sometimes tries to rubberband in front of you, just enable his block and he will fall back. -Sal: Available after winning 5 races. Use him at least until Silverton due to reduced police RNG. --Likes being in front of you then brake checking you hard in corners. Check rearview mirror, don't let him past. --Can sideswoop you if you skip a track-crossing shortcut. -Nikki: Available after beating Kenji, Angie and Wolf. Recommended to use when starting out as her NOS boost helps winning the initial races in silverton. Switch back to Sal once you get the Corvette using "Change active crew member" while selecting a race for minimal time loss. Staying on nikki is only recommended at a high level as the actual timesave from Nikki's NOS boost matters only for top players, most of the time you're going to lose more to copchases because of not having Sal.

Basic car tuning:

-Upgrades have 1 or 3 options can be tuned to either the left, middle or right. -We have a system to label car tuning. Left is 1, middle is 2, right is 3, and consecutive numbers refer to the multiple rows that can be tuned. --e.g.: engine on full torque: "engine 111" --e.g. brakes with top and bottom on rear bias, but middle on front bias: "brakes 131" --e.g.: nitrous on full velocity: "nos 111"

-Engine always full horsepower (333) gives more top speed and acceleration (they accidentally inverted the acceleration "penalty"). No exceptions. -Never install transmission in speedruns, only extends your gears, losing acceleration. May be useful for some ILs, though. -Suspension is !inversed! (bug?). Understeer means oversteer and reverse. Suspension trades off acceleration for downforce -> better handling. -Nitrous always to full velocity (111). -Tires&brakes depend on the car. -Tune turbo based on your skill - mess up a lot and can't keep the car in high RPM, leave it all in middle (222), feel like you mastered the car, use either 323, 332 or 333 (in ascending order of mastery).

Basic car information:

-In-game stats are misleading and only provide a rough idea of actual performance. All boss cars are preinstalled with racing nitrous (222 - comparable to pro nitrous 111), street tyres 2 and street brakes 2.

Here is a parts and car compare docsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16tCI7BG3SwXcZSX2USkNb_LHTUZD9w_IZai3f4RxfZQ

Cars not mentioned are basically useless.

-Tier 1: --Camaro SS: Fastest starting car, reaches very high top speed (over 270kph). Handles really well for a muscle car. --RX-8: Good handling, but slow. --Mazda Speed 3: Best non NG+ Tier 1 car and if tuned properly, can be even faster than Tier 2 stock cars. Note that any tires set to 3 will glitch the car's acceleration, so use 2. Amazing car for drifts. Handles so well that your main focus should be keeping maximum speed throughout corners. If using a controller, only tilt out very slightly for soft corners. --240sx: NG+ car, basically a tier 2, wrecks everything in earlygame.

-Tier 2: --Elise: Once tuned is the best Tier 2 car. Understeers a lot, use street suspension set to 333 (full understeer -> actually oversteer, as stated in car tuning). Keep tires at normal unless no suspension, then drift tires. Weird in drifts. --Kenji's car (RX-7): Fastest Tier 2 "stock" car. Tuned Mazda Speed 3 is still faster though. Very good for drifts. --RX-7: Best handling car in Tier 2 with very good acceleration. --Angie's car (Charger R/T): Stock car is useless, but proper tuning will turn it into a rocket that can almost match tuned Kenji's car. --Cayman S: Understeers, but good match for RX-7.

-Tier 3: --Viper: Best accelerating car in the game. Unfortunately doesn't steer at all. --Corvette: Best car in the game. Tends to oversteer a lot. Play around with tires (and suspension if available) to suit your play style. Takes a LOT of time to master. --Lancer: Best handling car in the game. Best car for ILs until you get extremely good (we're talking years...) with the Corvette. Lacks a bit of acceleration, so not useful for quick canyon duels. Downshift slingshot is extremely OP.

Drifts:

Drifts are the hardest events in the game to do fast, and require the most time and practice to get good at. Doing them optimally saves dozens of seconds over crashing a lot. The basic physics are summarized in two "modes": "Normal" and "Drift" mode. When in normal mode, your car accelerates normally and gains speed.

Turning in normal mode enters drift mode. When entering drift mode, the game saves your speed - letting go of gas temporarly will put you back to your saved speed when putting the gas back on. Depending on car angle, speed of turning, and car handling it can either understeer, turn normally or oversteer into the corner.

Crashing in drift mode will reset the saved speed and may immediately cancel drift and put you back into normal mode.

Your goal when drifting in the Mazdaspeed 3 is maximizing "normal mode" time, continously gaining speed over the track and not crashing into any walls. It's ok to take a corner slow, letting go of the gas (not too long, else you won't get all your speed back) to accelerate back to speed from saved speed.

Gear management is also important. The Ms3 has a "lock" around 180 km/h, and being only slightly above that speed has a chance to glitch back to 180, losing built up speed. This can be prevented by keeping RPM high in 4th gear and keeping the car straight when NOSing - when not, downshift into 3rd immediately when turning to force high RPM may prevent a speedlock. Upshift back to 4th before re-entering normal mode.

Brake/handbrake are a live safer when understeering in drift mode. Never put back on the gas when understeering, you will slingshot right into the wall or potentially off the canyon.

If using a controller, holding the gas throttle at around half when oversteering (or close to) can result in further oversteer, this is an advanced technique to take sharp corners faster.

Career routes:

-Muscle is currently the fastest known route. A route image is available in the resources section, open it on your second monitor/phone/whatever and use it until you have it memorized. -Tuner route loses 30 seconds due to corvette unlock, and nobody except Giron really knows the optimal race route. If you want to run it, contact him. -Exotic loses a lot of time. Don't run exotic.

Chokepoint tips for muscle route:

-Tutorial: Full acceleration until the 180, then slow down and brake check Neville 1 or 2 times. Let him pass back Nikki, and he's lined up to be taken out by Nikki in time for Block to activate (sometimes he'll crash into the shortcut -> reset). Full speed ahead into draft on the straight. Potentially slow down for scout as going over the shortcut right after the text fades out won't register (go at least 1-2s after the text fades). -Escape: Hope for a truck really early, don't let cops pass you. No truck -> either take cops out manually (they die quite easy) or yolo turn into rightmost lane at last possible time and hope they all crash/stop. -Angie Canyon overtake: After the tunnel is a short straight into a left corner. Stay right and cut left at the earliest possible time, if she isn't too far ahead you will overtake her on the inside. -Silverton speedtraps in Elise: Use nitrous to gain speed for speedtraps only, like in Most Wanted, memorize the track and shortcuts, drive well and hope the AI doesn't rubberband too hard. Don't feel bad about losing these events, it happens to everyone. -Wolf Canyon, round 2 overtake with Viper: Always overtake on outside, steer back left inside once you're ahead of him, "brake checking" wolf and gaining a small lead. Careful, he likes to overtake you back after the tight right. -Darius Canyon overtake: This one deserves it's own guide lol. For now: restart immediately to start further back, keep almost level with Darius on left side entering the first corner, brake AND handbrake at the same time for a very short period while holding left to spin your car alongside his side, slide along his car and hit full gas once you start turning from sliding along. Keep the lead and take the second corner as best as you can, but do not take a full racing line (starting on the far outside will cause Darius to overtake you on the inside), instead start braking/turning somewhere in the middle of the track. If Darius isn't behind you on the stretch after the first corner (or overtakes you back), restart immediately.