Gran Turismo 7: Best tuning settings and cars for Sport Mode

Gran Turismo 7 has two schools of multiplayer to consider. Racers tired of competing against A.I. can head down to the multiplayer pavilion in the lower right corner of the over-world map. Alternatively, drivers looking for more competitive action can opt for Sport Mode. In this ranked multiplayer mode, carried over from Gran Turismo: Sport, players compete in daily races to increase their driver ranking (DR). However, they’ll need to know the best tuning settings for Sport Mode if they want to win (or even place) in daily races.

Each daily race (A, B, or C) comes with certain restrictions on weight and horsepower. However, with so many cars to choose from, only hindered by horsepower (HP) and weight requirements, how can racers still get a competitive edge? This guide will go over a few essential tips surrounding the best tuning settings for Sport Mode. We’ll also dive into what upgrades you need to buy and how to know which cars are best, or “meta,” if you will.

Gran Turismo 7: Essential Sport Mode tuning upgrades

As of this writing, only two daily races are available in Gran Turismo 7: Daily races A and B. As we know from Gran Turismo: Sport, there will be a third daily race available, presumably when these first two cycle out. According to Gran Turismo 7’s official website, developers plan to cycle daily races in “irregular intervals,” meaning we won’t know when they’ll change. That being said, here are the best tuning upgrades that work with any car in Gran Turismo 7.

For this section, we’ll focus on Daily Race B, which is currently the Deep Forest Raceway. For this race, our car needs to meet the following prerequisite:

Car type, tire choice, and nitrous are easy enough to manage. However, getting your car within the HP and weight range can get tricky. While you can enter the race with ANY vehicle that meets those requirements, you’re only doing yourself a disservice. It’s not an option of whether you should — you must min/max your cars in Gran Turismo 7 Sport Mode. But what does that mean?

You’re more than welcome to enter daily race B with a 276 HP car that weighs 3,200 pounds. Know that you’ll be left in the dust by everyone else. To get your cars on the money, you’ll need to buy the following upgrades from the tuning shop.

You can find the Power Restrictor under the Club Sports tab in the tuning shop, and it only costs 800 credits. This upgrade allows you to limit your engine’s power by restricting engine intake. That’s fancy car-lingo for lowering your HP, which is essential to tuning in Gran Turismo 7 Sport Mode.

You’ll have to use the Power Restrictor together with the Full Customizable Computer (explained below) to hit the HP requirements. The tuning intervals aren’t always consistent. One tick to the left can decrease your HP by three, but another tick might reduce it by four. You might find yourself hitting 294 and 296 HP, never landing on the 295 mark. Believe us, it’s incredibly frustrating, and that single HP makes a difference. Play around with the Power Restrictor and Computer until you land on 295.

Under the same Club Sports tab, you can purchase the Ballast for 500 credits. The Ballast adds weight to your car, meaning if your ride is under the minimum weight requirement, adding and tuning the Ballast can get it over the threshold. However, the Ballast can only add a maximum of 200 kg (or 441 pounds) to your cars. So, if you buy bodyweight reduction upgrades from the tuning shop, make sure you can add at least 441 pounds back onto the car with the Ballast.

To keep things simple, if daily race B’s weight minimum is 2646 lbs, the lightest car you can enter with is 2205 lbs. Adding a full 200 kg Ballast puts you right at the minimum requirement.

Similar to the Power Restrictor, this computer limits your engine output, reducing your HP. You can find this upgrade under the Semi-Racing tab for 4500 credits. Use this in tandem with the power restrictor to effectively detune your high-powered cars to meet the maximum HP requirements. For example, we got a 481 HP Camaro SS ’16 down to 235 HP by setting the Power Restrictor and Computer to zero (or all the way to the left). That being the case, we could afford to make 60 HPs worth of engine mods to increase overall performance while staying under the minimum HP. So, why is that important?

How to gain an edge in Sport Mode

If you’ve been playing Sport Mode, you’re probably asking yourself how other cars are so much faster than yours. If everyone has to run the same HP, how are they so far ahead on the tack? It’s simple: While most cars are hitting the same top speed (roughly 140-150 MPH) it’s how fast they’re getting there that matters.

Anything you can do to increase acceleration will give you a comparative edge in Sport Mode. Fully Customizable Transmissions are a great way to adjust your gears to increase acceleration. Purchasing the Body Rigidity upgrade from the tuning shop also makes your car more aerodynamic.

Finally, fitting your car with the best brake and suspension systems gives you more stopping power on tight turns. They also allow you to take those turns without compromising speed. The later you can afford to break, the faster laps you’ll set. Buy the Racing Brake Pads and Racing Brake Kit (either slotted or drilled, it doesn’t matter) under the Racing Tab in the tuning shop.

While you’re there, grab the Sports Suspension or the Fully Customizable Suspension. Either one lets you adjust the height of your car, but the Fully Customizable lets you change your wheel angle. There’s no “best settings” answer for suspension, as it’s different from car to car and player to player. However, we’ve had success lowering the front of our car as low as it can go while setting the back of the car between 10-15 ticks higher.

This is an underlooked tip that is more important than you think. Before entering the race, select the Qualifying Time Trial option right after Car Settings. You can run qualifying time races after entering, but you might get stuck driving a car you aren’t performing well in.

Qualifying times determine where you start on the grid. Good luck getting out of the ditch if you start in the back. Even with “Sportsmanship Points,” it’s an absolute free-for-all going around the first turn on Deep Forest Raceway. Those with the best qualifying times start upfront. Thankfully, this takes your best qualifying time among all cars, meaning if you set a good record in one car, you can change cars and still start with a decent position.

Best cars for Sport Mode in Gran Turismo 7

You’ve probably kitted out a handful of cars with all the above upgrades and noticed significant time differences. That’s because every car is different, even if they weigh the same and put out the same HP. Some are more agile, where others accelerate more quickly. To determine the best cars for Gran Turismo 7 Sport Mode, consult the Top 10 leaderboards to see what other people are driving. Unfortunately, this is where Sport Mode walks a fine line between competitive and pay-to-win.

Eight out of the top 10 racers (as of this writing) for daily race B use the L500 HYbrid VGT 2017. Unfortunately, that car can only be bought from Brand Central and costs 1,000,000 credits. You don’t need to make any tuning upgrades (because you can’t) other than adding a Ballast, which coincidentally puts it right on the 2646 marker.

You’ll find the L500 HYbrid under the European tab in Brand Central. Scroll down to France and select Peugeot. The L500 is the second to last car. The first time I encountered someone driving this car, I almost accused them of cheating. But after seeing it enough times, it’s clearly the meta. No matter how well we tuned our TT Coupe (the car we set our best times in pre-L500), we never lost another daily race B as soon as we bought the L500.

Funny enough, the number one ranked driver used the R32 GT-R V-spec II ’94 to set the world-record time. However, you can’t buy that car from Brand Central. To unlock the Nissan R32 Spec in Gran Turismo 7, you must complete menu book 18, the Nissan Sports Cars Collection. The R32 is a race reward. Coincidentally, buying all four weight reduction upgrades for the Nissan puts you right at 2646.

Perhaps this means something going forward? It’s peculiar that both the Nissan and L500, given the right upgrades, hit the weight requirement on the dot.

Yes, you can earn 1,000,000 credits by grinding World Circuit races, but what happens when the daily races change and a new meta car rises in the ranks? Thankfully, the meta car for daily race A is the Aqua S ’11, which everyone should have. Then again, there are only three cars you’re allowed to use in daily race A.