Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec

Contents

• Quirks and Features
• The Cars
  • Car List
  • Car Name Differences
  • Power Fluctuations
  • Starter Cars
  • Rally Cars
  • Best Cars - Fully Upgraded
  • Best Cars - Non-Tuned
  • Vauxhall / Opel
• The Events
  • Track List
  • Arcade Mode - Single Race
  • Arcade Mode - Time Attack
  • Arcade Mode - Free Run
  • Gran Turismo Mode - License Centre
  • Gran Turismo Mode - Go Race
  • Recommended Cars
    
• Gameplay
  • Getting Started - First Time
  • Getting Started - Shortcut 1
  • Getting Started - Shortcut 2
  • Restarting - For Endurance Fans
  • Miscellaneous Gameplay Notes
  • Quick Ways To Earn Credits
    
  • Buying Upgrades
  • Basic Tuning
  • Garage Gamesave
  • Choosing Your Prize Car
  • Collecting Prize Cars
• Miscellaneous Notes

1. Start GT3 with the extra memory card in slot 1.
2. At the Language Selection screen, choose Deutsch (German).
3. Save the game.
4. If you have a GT Concept gamesave that has Bonus #3 unlocked, use Shortcut 2 to add credits and licenses to your new German gamesave. Or, if you have Action Replay or other cheat system, use that instead.
5. Start GT3 with the German gamesave.
6. Use the Trade feature to buy a Polyphony 001 or 002 from your main (English) gamesave. If you want to avoid pitstops, buy an EC20 car fitted with Super Hard tires instead.
7. Buy the Opel Speedster from the Car Dealer.
8. Use the "Choose Your Prize" technique to win the Opel Astra Touring Car in the Amateur DTM championship (A5).
9. Use the "Choose Your Prize" technique to win the Opel Calibra Touring Car in the Professional GT World championship (P2).
10. At this stage, you can either upgrade the 3 cars and then Save the game, or just Save the game without upgrading the cars.
11. Now restart GT3 with your English gamesave (or Load it from the Startup Menu), and then use the Trade feature to buy the 3 Opel cars from your German gamesave.

1. If you're completely new to the Gran Turismo series, I'd recommend starting in Arcade Mode > Single Race. After each race, there will be a Replay. A good way to learn the tracks is by watching the lead AI driver's racing line and brake/acceleration points. If you don't see any onscreen info, press the [START] button, then select REPLAY OPTION, and then select all 7 icons in the ITEM section. You can then CONTINUE the Replay, then use the [Up]/[Down] buttons to select the lead AI driver, and then press [X] for the cockpit view. I'd recommend spending at least a few hours in Single Race; the experience will make Gran Turismo Mode much easier. Try a few different cars and try to unlock a few other Areas. When you think you're ready, you can exit Arcade Mode and enter Gran Turismo Mode.
2. The main screen in Gran Turismo Mode shows various icons on a map. You can get a general idea of what this mode includes by moving the pointer over each icon; the scrolling text near the bottom of the screen will show a short description. Your Home menu includes 6 items, one of which is the "Save Game" option. Save the game now, and then read the "Play It Safe" note in Miscellaneous Gameplay for an explanation of why. If you want to reload the last saved gamestate, you can do so by exiting Gran Turismo Mode, and then choosing "Load Game" from the Startup menu. In the following steps, whenever it says to buy a car and/or upgrades, it may be a good idea to save the game before doing so.
3. Starting out, you have a choice of 11 starter cars for under Cr.18,000. Go to Car Dealer > JPN > Suzuki and buy an Alto Works for Cr.12,220. With the remaining credits, go to Tune Shop and buy a Racing Chip (Engine section, Cr.1,000) and Turbo/Stage1 (Turbo section, Cr.4,500). Then, go to GT Auto and buy an Oil Change (Cr.250). Now, go to Go Race > Beginner League > Lightweight K Cup (B7 event) and do the Super Speedway race (B7.2) to earn your first credits. Since this race is so easy and awards Cr.2,500 for a win, you can use it as your current 'money maker' whenever you need more credits. At this stage, however, I wouldn't recommend spending too much time on the other 2 races in the LK Cup since the Alto isn't really competitive enough yet, and I wouldn't recommend buying any more upgrades just yet since they'll be much easier to afford when you have a better 'money maker' later. For now, just redo the same race a few more times, or until it starts to get boring.
4. In its current state, your Alto should be competitive enough to win all 3 races of the Sunday Cup (B1). If you have any trouble winning any of them, remember that you can watch the replay (see Step 1) to hone your skills. Keep trying until you win a Toyota Sprinter Trueno, or until you get tired of trying. If you decide to give up on the Sunday Cup, skip to Step 8.
5. If you don't yet have at least Cr.13,750, use your Alto to keep doing the B7.2 'money maker' (see Step 3) until you do. Then, go to your Garage, change to the Sprinter Trueno, and then upgrade it with a Racing Chip (Cr.1,000), Turbo/Stage2 (Cr.12,500), and Oil Change (Cr.250). Then, use it to win all 3 races of the Clubman Cup (B2). This will be considerably harder than the Sunday Cup, but keep trying until you win the prize car (a Mazda MX-5 1839cc), or until you get tired of trying. If you decide to give up on the Clubman Cup, skip to Step 8. Otherwise, you can also try the 3 races of the FR Challenge (B4), but winning them isn't important at this stage.
6. Since there aren't any other new events that don't require a license, now would be a good time to get one. Go to License Centre > Domestic B and try to win at least a Bronze medal for each of the 8 tests. Keep trying until you get your B license, or until you get tired of trying. If you decide to give up on getting a license, skip to Step 8.
7. Enter the Race for Turbo Sports Models event (B12) and try the Rev. Midfield race (B12.1) at least a few times. Once you've gained enough experience to easily win this race, you can use it as your new 'money maker' to earn Cr.5,000 in about the same amount of time as it takes to earn Cr.2,500 in the B7.2 'money maker'. If you want an easier go of it, you can upgrade your Mazda MX-5 and use that instead; in which case, you'll need Cr.13,750 to upgrade the MX-5 with a Racing Chip (Cr.1,000), Turbo/Stage2 (Cr.12,500), and Oil Change (Cr.250).
8. Keep doing your best 'money maker' until you have at least Cr.35,610. Once you have at least that amount, buy a Honda Integra Type R 98 spec (Cr.25,160) and upgrade it with a Transmission/Full-Racing (Cr.10,200) and Oil Change (Cr.250). Then, enter the Type-R Meeting (B17). Be sure to choose SERIES RACE and not an individual track. At the Race menu, press the SETTING icon, and then go to Settings > 3rd page > Gear Ratio. Scroll to the Auto Setting and set the Level to 18 (-3 from the default). Then, go to the 5th gear setting and press [Left] until the slider won't go any further (should stop at 1.233). Do the same with the 6th gear setting (should stop at 0.980). Then, press the OK button at the bottom of the screen. You can then return to the Race menu and do a qualifying session to get a feel for the car and track. If you already know the other tracks, you can skip qualifying for the rest of the championship. The prize for winning this event is an Acura RSX Type-S that can be sold for Cr.75,000. You now have a new 'money maker' that will earn you Cr.110,000 (assuming you sell the RSX prize car) in about half an hour. If you want to get through it quicker/easier, you can buy more upgrades; just remember to re-tune the car accordingly. The Integra can also be used for the FF Challenge (B3), Race for NA Sports Models (B11), and Race for Turbo Sports Models (B12, if fitted with a Turbo kit). When fully-upgraded, the Integra can even be used for a few events in Amateur League later.
9. Now that you have a fairly good 'money maker', you can easily afford to upgrade your cars and/or buy new cars and upgrade those for any unfinished events. For the Lightweight K Cup (B7), upgrading the Alto with a Turbo/Stage2 (Cr.12,500) should suffice. Whenever you consider buying an upgrade, it's a good idea to also consider whether it's worth the price. For example, you could upgrade the Alto with a Turbo/Stage3 (Cr.40,000) to make it competitive enough for the 4WD Challenge (B6), but a better option would be to buy a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI RS (Cr.25,980) or Evo VII RS (Cr.25,180). Not only is the Evo less expensive, it's also more useful for later on. For a list of other cars that may be worth buying and/or upgrading, see Recommended Cars. At some point, when you run out of events that you're currently eligible for, a new license may be needed before you can continue any further. Whenever you acquire a new license, check the "Good Cars First" note in Miscellaneous Gameplay for a list of events that may be worth doing. Also, for any car that you use a lot, it may be a good idea to change the oil periodically (every 200km or so).

• Shortcut 1a (Easy) - No license, any starter car, Beginner League
  1. Use the Trade feature to buy a fully-upgraded starter car from your other GT3 gamesave. The list below shows your choices. For prices and other info, see Starter Cars.

     Starter Car	Useful For	Also Useful For
     Chrysler PT Cruiser	B1, B2, B3, *B8	B11, B12
     Daihatsu Cuore TR-XX Avanzato R	B1, B2, B3, *B7	B12.1
     Daihatsu Sirion X4	B1, B2, *B6	B12.1, B12.3
     Mazda Demio GL-X	B1, B2, *B3	B11, B12
     Mazda MX-5 1597cc	B1, B2, B4, *B9	B10, B11, B12, A1, A3, E2, E4, E10
     Mazda MX-5 1839cc	B1, B2, B4, *B9	R10, B10, B11, B12, A1, A3, E2, E4, E10
     Mini Cooper 1.3i	B1, B2, B3, *B7	B12.1
     Suzuki Alto Works Suzuki Sports Limited	B1, B2, B6, *B7	B12.1, B12.3
     Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex	B1, B2, *B4	B10, B11, B12, A1, A3, E10
     Toyota Yaris Euro Edition	B1, B2, B3, *B16	B11, B12
     Toyota Yaris RS 1.5	B1, B2, B3, *B16	B11, B12, P15
     Volkswagen New Beetle 2.0	B1, B2, *B3	B11, B19

     Use your chosen starter car to do the events listed in the "Useful For" column, and save all of the credits that you earn. Then, use the 'money maker' marked with an asterisk (*) to earn some more credits (or sell one or more of the cars that you've won) until you have at least Cr.19,980. Once you have at least that amount, use the Trade feature to buy a fully-upgraded Honda Civic Type-R from your other gamesave.
  2. The Civic can then be used to win the Type-R Meeting (B17) where the prize is an Acura RSX Type-S that can be sold for Cr.75,000. You can redo this B17 'money maker' whenever you need more credits to buy new cars for other events; see Recommended Cars for a list of ones that may be useful. Remember to use the Trade feature to buy the fully-upgraded versions from another gamesave since upgrades for road cars can be quite costly. If you want to upgrade a car that you've won, see the "Saving Credits" note in the Buying Upgrades section.
• Shortcut 1b (Normal) - R license, Mazda MX-5 1839cc, Reverse SS Route5 Wet (R10)
  1. Get your R license.
  2. Use the Trade feature to buy a fully-upgraded Mazda MX-5 1839cc (Cr.16,900) from one of your other gamesaves.
  3. Win the 3 races of the Rally League > Reverse SS Route5 Wet event (R10) to win a Subaru Impreza Rally Car Prototype.
  4. The Impreza can then be used in any unrestricted events where an EC23 or slower car is recommended. When properly tuned, the car is also capable of winning a few events where an EC22 car is recommended:

     L.	Event	Useful Prize Cars
     A	A9. 4WD Challenge	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII GSR
     IB	A5. German Touring Cars	RUF 3400S • Astra Touring Car • New Beetle Cup Car
     IB	A16. Japanese GT Cars	Arta NSX • Calsonic Skyline • Loctite Zexel • Denso Supra

     You can also use the Impreza to complete the rest of Rally League, and/or use it to complete Arcade Mode > Single Race at Hard level.
• Shortcut 1c (Normal) - A license, Mazda MX-5 1839cc, European Championship (A3)
  1. Get your B and A licenses.
  2. Use the Trade feature to buy a fully-upgraded Mazda MX-5 1839cc (Cr.16,900) from one of your other gamesaves.
  3. Enter the Amateur League > European Championship (A3) and use the Choose Your Prize technique to win a Gillet Vertigo Race Car.
  4. The Vertigo can then be used in any unrestricted events where an EC22 or slower car is recommended, or you can use it as a 'money maker' whenever you need more credits. When properly tuned, the Vertigo is also capable of winning a few events where an EC21 car is recommended:

     L.	Event	Useful Prize Cars
     IB	A4. GT World Championship	GT-One Road Car
     IB	A15. Gran Turismo All Stars	GT40 Road Car • Raybrig NSX
     IA	A23. Dream Car Championship	S2000 LM • RX-7 LM • FTO LM • Impreza LM
     IA	E1. Grand Valley 300 km	R390 GT1 Road Car • Polyphony 001 • Impreza LM
     S	P19. Dream Car Championship	Polyphony 001 • GT-One Race Car

• Shortcut 1d (Hard) - IB license, Toyota Yaris, Vitz/Yaris Race (P15)
  1. Get your B, A, and IB licenses.
  2. Use the Trade feature to buy a fully-upgraded Toyota Yaris RS 1.5 or Euro Edition from one of your other gamesaves.
  3. Enter the Professional League > Vitz/Yaris Race (P15) and use the Choose Your Prize technique to win a Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra.
  4. The Supra can then be used in any unrestricted events where an EC21 or slower car is recommended, or you can use it as a 'money maker' whenever you need more credits. When properly tuned, the Supra is also capable of winning 2 events where an EC20 car is recommended:

     L.	Event	Prize Cars
     IA	E6. SS Route 11	Camaro Race • Arta NSX • Polyphony 002 • SuperAutoBacs Apex
     IA	E9. Mistral 78 Laps	XJ220 Road • FTO LM • Zonda Race • Polyphony 002

• Shortcut 1e (Hard) - IA license, Mazda MX-5, Endurance Race
  1. Get your B, A, IB, and IA licenses.
  2. Use the Trade feature to buy a fully-upgraded Mazda MX-5 1839cc (Cr.16,900) or 1597cc (Cr.17,000) from one of your other gamesaves.
  3. Then, do one or more of these Endurance races:

     Event	Prize Cars
     E2. Seattle 100 Miles	Nismo GT-R (EC22) • Esperante GTR-1 (EC22) • P002 (EC19) • ZZ II (EC21)
     E4. Rome 2 Hours	Vertigo (EC22) • Lancia Delta (EC24) • Zonda Race (EC21) • P002 (EC19)
     E10. Super Speedway	Corvette C5R (EC21) • P001 (EC18) • Clio Race (EC22) • Falcon XR8 (EC22)

  4. The acquired car(s) can then be used in events where a car of its EC rating is recommended. See also: Restarting - For Endurance Fans.

1. Start GT3 with a memory card that doesn't already have a GT3 gamesave on it.
2. Save the game to this 'new' memory card. We'll call this the New GT3 MC.
3. Now start GT Concept with the memory card that has Bonus #3 unlocked and place the New GT3 MC in MC slot 2.
4. Go to Game Status, and select Bonus #3 (the third gift box icon). Now you just need to select the memory card that your new GT3 gamesave is on (New GT3 MC in slot 2).
5. Now place the New GT3 MC in slot 1 and start GT3. If all went well, you should have 48 Bronze License medals and Cr.10,018,000 in the kitty.
6. Use the Trade feature to buy your favorite upgraded cars from other GT3 gamesaves, or buy new stock ones from a Dealer.

1. Get your B, A, IB, IA, and S licenses. This should take about 2 hours, assuming you've already passed all of the license tests a few times before and assuming you're starting from scratch. If you're starting a new gamesave using Shortcut 2, you can skip the next step and move on to Step 3.
2. Buy a Mazda MX-5 1839cc (Cr.16,900) or 1597cc (Cr.17,000) in either semi-upgraded or fully-upgraded state, keeping in mind that a fully-upgraded MX-5 isn't eligible for the Roadster Endurance. If the car doesn't already include an Oil Change, use the remaining credits to buy one. Then, do one or more of these:

   E2. Seattle 100 Miles

   E4. Rome 2 Hours

   E7. Roadster Endurance

   E10. Super Speedway 150

   Miscellaneous notes for Step 2:
   • For the Roadster Endurance, if you're using a 1597cc, I'd recommend SuperHard/Hard tires (instead of SuperHard/SuperHard) since the rear tires won't wear as quickly as the front. For the 1839cc, I'd recommend the usual SuperHard/SuperHard. For either car, I'd go with a 1-stop pit strategy.
   • For the Rome 2-Hour and Super Speedway 150, a fully-upgraded 1597cc or 1839cc is preferable but a semi-upgraded one will suffice as long as it's tuned properly. For both cars and both races, I'd recommend fitting the usual SuperHard/SuperHard tires and going with a 3-stop strategy (30-min. stints for Rome, 25-lap stints for Super Speedway).
   • For the Seattle 100, as in Rome and Super Speedway, a fully-upgraded MX-5 is preferable but a well-tuned semi-upgraded one will suffice. Here again, I'd recommend the usual SuperHard/SuperHard tires and, as in the Roadster race, going with a 1-stop strategy.
   
3. The choice of which events to do next depends on which cars you have so far. The first list below shows all of the Endurance Races and the cars that can be won there; the second list shows some of the events that those cars can be used for. Professional (Pn) and Amateur (An) events are listed in Step 4.

   Endurance Race Events	Distance	Prize Cars
   E1. Grand Valley 300 km	300 km	R390 Road • P001 • Spoon Race • Impreza LM
   E2. Seattle 100 Miles	160 km	Nismo GT-R • Esperante GTR-1 • P002 • ZZ II
   E3. Laguna Seca 200 Miles	320 km	Calsonic Skyline • P002 • Altezza LM
   E4. Rome 2 Hours	290 km	Gillet Vertigo • Lancia Delta • Zonda Race • P002
   E5. Trial Mountain 2 Hours	290 km	S2000 LM • Lister Storm • Mine's Skyline • P001
   E6. Special Stage Route 11	230 km	Camaro Race • Arta NSX • P002 • SuperAutoBacs Apex
   E7. Roadster Endurance	160 km	MX-5 1597cc • MX-5 1839cc • MX-5 1.8RS • P002
   E8. Tokyo Route 246	510 km	RX-7 LM • C-West Razo Silvia • P001 • GT-One Road
   E9. Mistral 78 Laps	260 km	XJ220 Road • FTO LM • Zonda Race • P002
   E10. Super Speedway 150	240 km	Corvette C5R • P001 • Clio Race • Falcon XR8

   Endurance Race Prize Cars	Useful For
   Chevrolet Camaro Race (E6)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Chevrolet Corvette C5R (E10)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Gillet Vertigo Race Car (E4)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Honda Arta NSX (E6)	E1, E3, E6, E8, P12, P19
   Honda S2000 LM Race Car (E5)	E1, E3, E8, E9, P12, P19
   Jaguar XJ220 Road Car (E9)	E1, E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   Lancia Delta HF Integrale Rally Car (E4)	A5, B20
   Lister Storm V12 Race Car (E5)	A4, A5, A15, A16, A23
   Mazda MX-5 1597cc (E7)	E2, E4, E7, E10
   Mazda MX-5 1839cc (E7)	E2, E4, E7, E10
   Mazda MX-5 1.8 RS (E7)	E2, E4, E7, E10
   Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car (E8)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Mine's Skyline GT-R (E5)	E2, E4, E10, A16
   Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car (E9)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P2, P12, P19
   Nismo GT-R LM Road Car (E2)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   Nissan Calsonic Skyline (E3)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (E8)	A4, A5, A16, A23
   Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car (E1, P2)	E1, E3, E5, E8, P12, P19, P20
   Pagani Zonda Race Car (E4, E9, P12)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P2, P11, P12, P19
   Panoz Esperante GTR-1 (E2)	E1, E8, P19
   Polyphony 001 (E1, E5, E8, E10, P19, P20)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P19, P22
   Polyphony 002 (E2, E3, E4, E6, E7, E9)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P19
   Renault Clio Sport Race Car (E10)	A4, A5, A16, A23
   Spoon S2000 Race Car (E1)	B20
   Subaru Impreza LM Race Car (E1)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Tickford Falcon XR8 (E10)	E1, A4, A5, A15, A16, A23
   Tommykaira ZZ II (E2)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P2, P12, P19
   Toyota Altezza LM Race Car (E3)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Toyota GT-One Road Car (E8)	E1, E3, E5, E6, E8, E9, P2, P12, P19, P20, P21
   Toyota SuperAutoBacs Apex (E6)	A4, A5, A16, A23

   Miscellaneous notes for Step 3:
   • Route 11 and Mistral (E6 and E9). Although an EC20 or faster car is recommended, there are a few EC21 cars that are also capable of winning these events. If you haven't yet won a suitable car, you can buy one; two cars I'd recommend are the Tommykaira ZZ II (Cr.500,000) and Mitsubishi FTO LM (Cr.750,000), but others may also be suitable. Another option is to do either the Dream Car Championship (P19) or Polyphony Digital Cup (P20) and use the "Choose Your Prize" technique to win either a Toyota GT-One Race Car (if you like longer stints) or a Polyphony 001 (if you don't mind lots of pitstops).
   • Trial Mountain (E5). If you haven't yet won a suitable car for this event, or if you're just looking for a new car to try, I'd recommend buying one of the ones listed below. For a more complete list of suitable cars, see Best Cars - Non-Tuned.
   

   Some Useful Cars	Useful For
   Dodge Viper GTS (Cr.78,680)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   Dodge Viper GTSR Concept (Cr.300,000)	E1, E2, E4, E5, E10, P19, P20
   Lotus Motor Sport Elise (Cr.100,000)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P16, P20
   Nismo 400R (Cr.120,000)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   Pagani Zonda C12S (Cr.352,440)	E1, E2, E4, E5, E10, P19, P20
   RUF 3400S (Cr.76,740)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   RUF RGT (Cr.160,000)	E1, E2, E4, E5, E10, P19, P20
   TVR Griffith 500 (Cr.62,410)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   TVR Tuscan Speed 6 (Cr.80,780)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P18, P20

4. After you've completed all of the Endurance Races, the choice of what to do next depends mainly on personal preference. One way to proceed is to redo your favorite races using the different cars that can be won or bought. Another way to proceed is to use your favorite cars to do as many events as they're suitable for. If you want a change of pace, some of the Professional League events may also be worth doing. And, as a last resort for the less competitive cars, there's Amateur League.
   • Professional League Events. The Professional League events below are all long enough to qualify as "mini endurance championships". Each of these includes at least one useful prize car that can't be won in Endurance Races. For the prize cars marked with an asterisk (*), see the lists in Step 3.

   Professional League Events	Distance	Prize Cars
   P2. GT World Championship	450+ km	GT40 Race • XJ220 Race • *R390 Road • Calibra Touring
   P11. Gran Turismo All Stars	630+ km	*Viper GTSR • R390 Race • Impreza Sedan • GT-One Race
   P12. Japanese GT Cars	710+ km	Castrol Mugen • Pennzoil • *Zonda Race • *SuperAutoBacs
   P19. Dream Cars	480+ km	*FTO LM • *Esperante GTR-1 • *P001 • GT-One Race
   P20. Polyphony Digital Cup	710+ km	*P001 • Suzuki Escudo • GT-One Race • Speed 12

   Some Useful Prize Cars	Useful For
   Ford GT40 Race Car (P2)	E1, E8, P19
   Honda Castrol Mugen (P12)	E1, E3, E6, E8, P12, P19
   Jaguar XJ220 Race Car (P2)	E1, E3, E8, E9, P12, P19
   Mazda 787B (P21)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P2, P11, P12, P19
   Nissan Pennzoil Nismo GT-R (P12)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car (P11)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P2, P11, P12, P19, P21
   Shelby Cobra (P7)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak ver. (P20)	E1, E8, P19, P21
   Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra (P15)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P12, P19
   Toyota GT-One Race Car (P19, P20)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P2, P11, P12, P19, P21
   TVR Speed 12 (P18)	E1, E2, E4, E5, E10, P19, P20, P21
   Vauxhall Calibra Touring Car (P2)	E1, A5, A16

   For Gran Turismo All Stars (P11), if you're not using a Toyota GT-One Race Car and you want an easier go of it, I'd recommend choosing a grid line-up that doesn't include the Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car. There is also a grid line-up that's easy enough to beat using an EC21 car, but you may need to exit and restart several times to get that line-up.
   • Amateur League Events. For Endurance prize race cars that are too low-end to compete against other Enduro/Pro race cars, Amateur League may be a better alternative than racing them against road cars in E2, E4, and/or E10. Amateur League also includes a few useful prize cars that can't be won in Endurance Races. For the prize cars marked with an asterisk (*), see the lists in Step 3.

   Amateur League Events	Distance	Prize Cars
   A4. GT World	180+ km	Mazda RX-8 • *C-West Silvia • Z Concept • *GT-One Road
   A5. DTM	50+ km	*RUF 3400S • Astra Touring • Lupo Cup • Beetle Cup
   A15. GT All Stars	210+ km	GT40 Road • Raybrig NSX • *Mine's Skyline • Nismo Skyline R
   A16. Japanese GT Cars	190+ km	*Arta NSX • *Calsonic Skyline • Loctite Zexel • Denso Supra
   A23. Dream Cars	150+ km	*S2000 LM • *RX-7 LM • *FTO LM • *Impreza LM

   Some Useful Prize Cars	Useful For
   Ford GT40 Road Car (A15)	E2, E4, E10, A16, A23
   Honda Raybrig NSX (A15)	E1, E3, E6, E8, P12, P19
   Nissan Loctite Zexel GT-R (A16)	E1, E3, E8, P12, P19
   Nissan Z Concept (A4)	E2, E4, E5, E10, P20
   Toyota Denso Sard Supra GT (A16)	E1, E3, E6, E8, E9, P12, P19
   Vauxhall Astra Touring Car (A5)	E1, E8, P19

5. If things start to get a bit boring, it may be because the races have become too easy for your level of skill. The list below includes some info on the cars that will usually be the main rival; if you use a car and setup that's either evenly-matched or less competitive, it may make racing a bit more interesting.

   Event	Main Rival Info
   E1. Grand Valley 300 km	Castrol Mugen, Stint: 7 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:53
   E2. Seattle 100 Miles	Corvette Z06, Stint: 7 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:45
   E3. Laguna Seca 200 Miles	Oreca Viper, Stint: 8 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:19
   E4. Rome 2 Hours	Clio Sport V6, Stint: 5-6 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:36
   E5. Trial Mountain 2 Hours	NSX Type S, Stint: 5 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:36
   E6. Special Stage Route 11	R390 LM, Stint: 8 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:49
   E7. Roadster Endurance	MX-5 1.8i, Stint: 3 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:47
   E8. Tokyo Route 246	Denso Supra, Stint: 14 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:39
   E9. Mistral 78 Laps	R390 LM, Stint: 13 laps, Avg.Lap: 1:38
   E10. Super Speedway 150	MS Elise, Stint: 12 laps, Avg.Lap: 0:41

   For the unrestricted races, if you're using a recommended car (e.g., an EC21 car where an EC21 car is recommended), you can uninstall any installed power kit and then use the Qualifying session to get an idea of how competitive the car is. You can then choose a power kit according to how much of a challenge you want. An alternative to 'downgrading' a car is to use a 'lesser' car than recommended (e.g., an EC22 car where an EC21 car is recommended).

• Good Cars First. The events below may be worth trying early on (ideally, right after acquiring a new license). Each of these can (potentially) award a much better car than the one used to win it (i.e., you can use a low-end car to win a high-end one). Note that, for Endurance races, you may need to do the race multiple times to win the listed car; for Championships, however, you can use the "Choose Your Prize" technique.

  L.	Event	Acquire
  A	A2. American Championship	Chevrolet Camaro Race Car
  A	A3. European Championship	Gillet Vertigo Race Car
  A	A19. Legend of the Silver Arrow	Mercedes-Benz CLK Touring Car
  A	A20. Altezza Championship	Toyota Altezza LM
  IB	P15. Vitz/Yaris Race	Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra, Altezza LM
  IB	P18. Tuscan Challenge	TVR Speed 12
  IA	P14. Race of the Red Emblem	Nissan Calsonic Skyline
  IA	E2. Seattle 100 Mile Challenge	Polyphony 002, Tommykaira ZZ II
  IA	E4. Passage to the Colosseum	Polyphony 002, Pagani Zonda Race Car
  IA	E5. Trial Mountain Endurance	Polyphony 001, Honda S2000 LM
  IA	E7. Roadster Endurance Event	Polyphony 002
  IA	E10. Super Speedway 150 Miles	Polyphony 001, Chevrolet Corvette C5R
  S	P20. Polyphony Digital Cup	Polyphony 001, Toyota GT-One Race Car

  For the events below, you'll need a fairly high-end car to start with. It is, however, possible to use a less competitive high-end car (e.g., EC22 or EC21) to win a more competitive high-end car (e.g., EC20 or faster).

  L.	Event	Acquire
  IB	A4. GT World Championship	Toyota GT-One Road
  IB	A16. Japanese GT Car Championship	Denso Supra, Arta NSX, Calsonic Skyline, Loctite Zexel
  IB	P9. Race for NA Sports Cars	Pagani Zonda C12S
  IA	P12. Japanese GT Car Championship	Pagani Zonda Race
  IA	E1. Grand Valley 300 km	Polyphony 001
  IA	E3. Laguna Seca 200 Miles	Polyphony 002
  IA	E8. Tokyo Route 246: Akasaka	Polyphony 001
  S	P19. Dream Car Championship	Polyphony 001, Toyota GT-One Race

• Minimizing Mileage. If you want to be sparing with a car, you can keep the mileage to a minimum by not doing any qualifying or practice runs, and by exiting races as soon as they're finished (instead of waiting for the status screens to show the race results). For championships, you can minimize mileage by skipping the races held on the longest tracks and just doing the bare minimum to win the championship.
• Play It Safe. If you save the game, you can revert to the saved gamestate. This may be useful if you're low on credits and plan to buy a car and/or upgrades that you're not sure about; if you change your mind, you can undo the purchase by reloading the game. Saving the game regularly may also be useful for championships if you're using an under-powered car and you're not sure if you'll win the next race; if you get a bad race result, you can reload the game and try again. Also, if you're using an under-powered car and you want to choose the grid line-up, you can save the game before entering the event and then reload if the grid includes rivals that your car can't easily beat; this is a good alternative to exiting and re-entering (without reloading) since it doesn't affect the Day counter and win percentage statistic.
  
• Rally Racing. If you want to do some rally racing, you'll need either a road car fitted with Dirt tires or a full-fledged rally car. For the latter, you can fit your best car with Super Soft Racing tires and then do the Rally League > Special Stage Route 5 II Wet series (R10) to win a Subaru Impreza Rally Car Prototype. The Impreza should be good enough to get you through the rest of the Rally League events. Or, you could buy or win a Suzuki Escudo if you want an easy go of it.
  
• Rival Cars. For some events, there may be one or more rivals that seem to be in a league of their own. If you're using a car that's less competitive, you can try exiting and then restarting the event to get a different grid line-up. A few of the more difficult to beat rivals are listed below:

  Event	Rivals To Avoid
  B20. GT World Championship	SuperAutoBacs APEX MR-S, C-West Razo Silvia
  A2. American Championship	Corvette C5R
  P11. Gran Turismo All Stars	R390 GT1 Race Car
  E3. Laguna Seca 200 Miles	Viper GTS-R Team Oreca

  Note, however, that some rivals may only seem unbeatable at first, but can easily be beaten using a different pitstop strategy. The list below includes rivals that are fast but do very short stints. If you can do longer stints and keep the gap small, you can easily win these events using a less competitive car.

  Event	AI Stint
  P19. Dream Car Championship	FTO LM Race Car: 3-6 laps • ZZ II: 3-6 laps
  P20. Polyphony Digital Cup	Corvette Z06: 2 laps
  E7. Roadster Endurance	Mazda MX-5 1.8i: 3 laps

  Ideally, "longer stints" means two or more times longer than the fastest AI driver. To be able to win on pitstop strategy, you'll need to keep the initial gap small enough to overtake the fastest AI driver when it makes its first pitstop, and then maintain a reasonable lead thereafter.
  
• Tire Wear. For longer races, tire wear can sometimes be a more important factor than a car's power and speed. Every time an opponent pits, you gain about a 20-second advantage by not pitting, so lighter cars with low tire wear can sometimes be more competitive than more powerful cars with heavy tire wear. On some tracks, the tires may wear unevenly. For races that run clockwise, the left tires may wear faster than the right; for anti-clockwise races, the right tires may wear faster than the left. If you notice your right tires wearing down much quicker than your left, you can compensate by pushing harder through the right turns and going easy on the left turns; if your left tires wear faster than the right, push harder through the left turns and go easy on the right turns. Also, if you know you can win on pitstop strategy, you can afford to take it easy for the first few laps and let the tires warm up before battling it out with other cars; if you're using a less competitive car and try to overtake too early on, it may result in unnecessary tire wear that could make the car's handling more difficult later in the race.
• Win Or Buy? If a car is available in both prize and dealer versions, the choice of which one to use will probably depend on whether you have a preference for a particular color or whether one version is easier to acquire than the other. However, personal preference aside, it appears that a new prize car may be more suitable for the shorter events, while a new dealer car may be more suitable for the longer events. Here's an overview of the main differences in power fluctuations:

  Prize Car	• Starts with 3% more power.   • Permanent power loss starts after 500km.
  Dealer Car	• Starts with 3% less power.   • Gradually gains the 3% difference during the breaking-in period (first 300km).   • Permanent power loss starts after 800km.

• Non-Power Upgrades. In some cases, you may want to upgrade a car without increasing its power rating. In Arcade Mode > Single Race, for example, this gives you the advantage of being able to tune your car without the disadvantage of being put in a class where the competition is much more fierce.

  Section	Upgrades That Don't Affect Power Rating
  Suspension & Brakes	Suspension • Sports Brakes • Brake Balance Controller
  Drivetrain	Clutch • Flywheel • Driveshaft • Transmission • LSD
  Tyre	Racing Tyres • Dirt Racing Tyres
  Others/ROM	Lightweight/Stages • AYC Controller • Variable Centre Differential

• Permanent Upgrades. The following is a list of upgrades that can't be uninstalled. These should not be bought for any car that you plan to use for non-tuned events. For a list of cars that are especially useful in non-tuned state, see Best Cars.

  Section	Upgrades That Can't Be Uninstalled
  Engine & Exhaust	Port Polish • Full-Engine Balancing • Disp. Increase
  Others/ROM	Lightweight/Stages

• Power Upgrades. The list below shows all of the upgrades that will affect a car's power rating.

  Section	Upgrades That Do Affect Power Rating
  Engine & Exhaust	Exhaust And Air Cleaner • NA Tuning Stages • Port Polish • Full-Engine Balancing • Disp. Increase • Racing Chip
  Turbo	Turbo Kit Stages • Intercooler

  Additionally, an Oil Change bought at GT Auto will increase a car's power rating by a maximum of about 5%.
• Saving Credits. When using the Trade feature, an upgraded car costs the same as a stock one. If you have a spare memory card, you can get free upgrades using the steps below. This technique is especially useful if you plan to buy a car and the upgrades cost more than the car itself.
  1. Save the game to MC1 (your main gamesave).
  2. Buy or win a car and upgrade it,
  3. Save the game to MC2 (the spare memory card),
  4. Reload the game from MC1,
  5. Use the Trade feature to buy the upgraded car from MC2.

• Active Stability Manager. The ASM can be adjusted on the 4th (last) page in Settings and it's one of the few that doesn't require buying an upgrade. Reducing the Level from its default of 10 will generally give you faster lap times. However, reducing it too much may make the car difficult to handle.
• Gearbox Auto Setting. To optimize gear ratios for a particular car/track, you'll need a Transmission/Full-Racing upgrade. On the Gear Ratio page in Settings, you can then change the Auto Setting to give you something that's near-optimal. For a car that takes a long time to upshift and never reaches its top gear on a long straight, moving the slider to the left (Close) will give you better acceleration. Some of the LM cars will have a setup that's too wide for most of GT3's tracks, so moving the slider to the left (e.g., -4) will usually give better performance. For a car that upshifts too quickly and tops out too early on a long straight, you can move the slider to the right (Wide) to give you a faster topspeed. For the Test Course, for example, a super-wide setting (e.g., +10) will usually give you an easy win.
• Gearbox Fine-Tuning. In most cases, changing the Gearbox Auto Setting will suffice. In some cases, however, you may want to fine-tune the individual gears. I usually change the values by multiples of 10 (e.g., -10, -20, +10, +20) and I usually go from the inside out. For example: to improve acceleration, I'd set 2nd gear to +10 and 1st gear to +20. As another example: for a higher top speed, I might set 5th gear to -20 and 6th gear to -40. Note that in both cases, there is a greater change in the outer gears (1st and 6th) than in the inner gears (2nd and 5th). In general, I usually set the outer gears to 2-3 times whatever I set the inner gears to.
• Gearbox Miscellaneous. Although fine-tuning can give you the optimal gear ratios, a simpler tuning will usually suffice. For a car that has a default setting that's too wide (i.e., the car takes too long to shift gears), you can set the Auto Setting to something that's too short/close and then set 5th and 6th gears to their minimum. For an example of this, see Step 8 in Getting Started - First Time
• LSD/VCD. To be able to change the LSD/VCD settings, you'll need the LSD/Full (Tune Shop > Drivetrain) and Variable Centre Differential (Tune Shop > Others/ROM) upgrades. In general, a 4WD car will tend to understeer more than a car with rear-wheel drive; you can minimize this understeer by setting the LSD Front (Settings > page 3) and VCD Front (Settings > page 4) to their minimum settings.
• Oil Change. At Cr.250, this is probably the cheapest way to increase a car's horsepower. Although this is more of a maintenance item than an upgrade, an oil change can increase a car's horsepower by a maximum of about 5%. Keep in mind, however, that this is only a temporary power boost; the oil bought at GT Auto will retain its optimal efficiency for only about 200km. See Power Fluctuations for more info.
• TCS Controller. Traction Control is another setting that doesn't require buying an upgrade. Increasing the Level from its default of 5 may make your tires last longer, but will generally give you slower lap times. Decreasing the level may give you faster lap times, but may cause excessive tire wear and/or make the car difficult to handle.
• Tires. For events where tire wear isn't implemented, I'd recommend using the softest Racing tires that you've bought for the car. For longer races, however, it's usually a good idea to use harder tires so that you won't have to pit as often, or to avoid pitting altogether. For races where tire wear is implemented, you can often use a less competitive car and still win on pitstop strategy (as long as your car isn't too much slower than the fastest rival).

1. Start GT3 with a gamesave that has lots of credits. I'll call this the 'Original gamesave' hereafter.
2. Sell all of the unwanted cars, and then save the game to the spare memory card. This will be your Garage gamesave.
3. Reload the Original gamesave, and then resume normal gameplay until you come across a car that you want to add to your Garage gamesave.
4. Upgrade the new car as much as you like (including an oil change, if you want more power), and then save the game. Optionally, if you have another spare memory card (a third card; not the ones used for the Original or Garage gamesaves), you can use that as Temporary storage.
5. Reload the Garage gamesave, and then use the Trade feature to buy the new car from your Original gamesave (or from Temporary storage, if you're using 3 cards).
6. Save the game.
7. Repeat Steps 3-6 until your Garage gamesave includes all of the cars that you want.

• For Championships using 2 Memory Cards:
  1. Work your way through a championship until you have enough of a points lead to be able to skip the rest of the races and still win the championship.
  2. After the second to last race, save the game to MC1 (your main gamesave). MC2 (a spare memory card) should be in slot 2.
  3. Continue the championship to collect the prize car.
  4. If you don't get the car that you want, just reload the game from MC1 and repeat the last step until you do.
  5. Once you get the car that you want, save the game to MC2. Optionally, upgrade the car before saving to MC2.
  6. Reload the game from MC1.
  7. Continue the championship to collect the prize car.
  8. If you don't get the car that you want, repeat steps 6-7 until you do.
  9. Once you get the car that you want, go to Home and use the Trade feature to buy the previously-won prize cars from MC2 (you'll need to do this because MC2 will be overwritten).
  10. Check your Garage to make sure everything went well with the Trade (i.e., make sure all the cars are there), and then, if nothing is missing, save the game to MC2. Optionally, upgrade the cars before saving to MC2.
  11. Repeat steps 6-10 until you have all the cars that you want.
• For Championships using 3 Memory Cards:
  1. Work your way through a championship until you have enough of a points lead to be able to skip the rest of the races and still win the championship.
  2. After the second to last race, save the game to MC1, MC2, and MC3. The first memory card (MC1) will hold your car collection, the second (MC2) should be a spare card that will be used as temporary storage, and the third (MC3) should be a spare card that will be used as the backup.
  3. Continue the championship to collect the prize car.
  4. If you don't get the car that you want, just reload the game and repeat the last step until you do.
  5. Once you get the car that you want, save the game to MC1.
  6. Now remove MC1 and replace it with MC3 in slot 1. MC2 should be in slot 2.
  7. Reload the game from MC3 in slot 1.
  8. Continue the championship to collect the prize car.
  9. If you don't get the car that you want, just reload the game and repeat the last step until you do.
  10. Once you get the car that you want, save the game to MC2 in slot 2. Optionally, upgrade the car before saving to MC2.
  11. Remove MC3 from slot 1 and replace it with MC1.
  12. Reload the game from MC1.
  13. Use the Trade feature to buy the newly-won car from MC2.
  14. Save the game to MC1.
  15. Repeat steps 6-14 until you have all the cars that you want.
• For Single Race Series:
  1. Do all the races of a single-race series except the easiest one.
  2. Save the game to MC1 in slot 1 and insert MC2 in slot 2. The first memory card (MC1) will hold your car collection, and the second (MC2) should be a spare card that will be used as temporary storage.
  3. Do the undone race to collect the prize car.
  4. If you don't get the car that you want, just reload the game from MC1 and repeat the last step until you do.
  5. Once you get the car that you want, save the game to MC2 in slot 2. Optionally, upgrade the car before saving to MC2.
  6. Reload the game from MC1.
  7. Use the Trade feature to buy the newly-won car from MC2.
  8. Save the game to MC1.
  9. Repeat steps 3-8 until you have all of the cars that you want.

• Below is a glossary of some of the terms used on this page:
  • Fully-Upgraded: A car in fully-upgraded state includes the maximum upgrades that are available for the car. A fully-upgraded car is basically any car that can't be upgraded any further.
  • Modified: This term is used to differentiate between cars that are eligible for non-tuned events and those that aren't. Whereas a semi-upgraded car can become eligible for non-tuned events by uninstalling all of its non-allowable upgrades, a modified car includes non-allowable upgrades that can't be uninstalled. Examples of modified cars are the Ford GT40 Road Car and most tuner cars (e.g., Mine's, Mugen, Spoon).
  • Non-Tuned: A car in non-tuned state may (optionally) be semi-upgraded, but none of the included upgrades (except tires) are fitted. A non-tuned car is basically any car that's eligible for non-tuned events. Note that non-tuned is not the same as stock. For non-tuned events, you are allowed to make some changes (e.g., tires, oil, ASM, TCS, and downforce).
  • PD-Tuned Basically, a PD-tuned car is any prize car. For any car that can also be bought from a dealer, the PD-tuned version (i.e., the prize version) will start out with slightly more power than the dealer version.
  • Semi-Upgraded: A car in semi-upgraded state may include any upgrades except the permanent ones. Note that semi-upgraded is not necessarily the same as partially-upgraded; cars that include stock upgrades that aren't allowed in non-tuned events are considered modified, not semi-upgraded.
  
• The list below shows some of the things that can affect game statistics:
  • Entering a single (non-championship) race counts as 1 day.
  • Entering a championship counts as 1 day, no matter how many races are in it (i.e., doing 10 races of a 10-race championship still counts as only 1 day).
  • Entering a track in "Run & Settings" counts as 1 day.
  • Entering a License Test counts as 1 day.
  • Entering a Machine Test counts as 1 day.
  • Skipping a race in a championship counts as a lost race (for win percentage).
  • In Arcade Mode, using a car from your Garage (Gran Turismo Mode) puts mileage on that car and affects the "Total Mileage" statistic.
  • The "Trophies Acquired" statistic includes trophies won in Arcade Mode, but not trophies won in License tests.
• When using the Trade feature and viewing cars, some of them may have "----" shown as the price. To find out how much these cars will cost, press [Square] to go back to the Trade list. Then, press [L2] or [R2] until "PRICE" is shown at the top right of the screen. The rightmost column will then show the Sell price. Multiply the Sell price by 4 to get the Buy price.
• In Arcade Mode > Single Race, if you plan to use a car from your Garage and you want to change the car's setup, you'll need to do that in Free Run beforehand. As far as I can tell, there is no way to get the usual race menu in Single Race. Note that changes in the setup will persist whether the changes were made in Arcade Mode or in Gran Turismo Mode.
• As far as I can tell, there is nothing in Arcade Mode that advances Gran Turismo Mode's Day counter. If you wanted to change a car's setup without entering a race or Run & Settings (which do advance the Day counter), you could change the setup in Arcade Mode > Free Run.