Following on from last week’s look at Shift’s Upgrades menu, today we’re going to be taking a look at the game’s Tuning options, which allows you to delve under the bonnet and fine-tune each element of your car.

From within Shift’s Tuning menu there are two different screens that you’ll be able to switch between at any given moment: Quick Tuning and Advanced Tuning.

Quick Tuning

Quick Tuning is a streamlined and relatively basic approach to tuning up your car, giving the player the options to tweak four specific areas: Gearing, Downforce, Steering Lock and Wheel Balance. Two of these sections are locked out until you purchase specific vehicle upgrades, with the ability to tweak your gearing locked until you purchase a Stage 1 Drivetrain, while fiddling with the Downforce requires a body kit being installed.

Advanced Tuning

The same is true for much of the Advanced Tuning menu, with the majority of the options requiring the purchase of a specific upgrade before being given the option to tinker. But provided you have the upgrade, from here you can tweak individual elements of your tires and brakes, springs and dampers, alignment, differential, gearing, and aerodynamics in far greater detail than that allowed in the Quick Tuning menu. For example, the Aerodynamics tab provides options for tweaking the car’s Front Downforce, Rear Downforce, Cooler Radiator Opening and Brake Duct Opening, while the Gearing tab allows you to tweak each gear ratio.

Don’t know what any of that means? Don’t worry. Audio tips activated with a shoulder button also explain how tuning each specific aspect will affect your car’s handling on the track.

And that’s pretty much it for tuning your car’s performance in Need For Speed: Shift. Check out the pics below if you want to take a peek at each individual tab in the Advanced Tuning menu, and tomorrow we’ll be taking a look at Shift’s Visuals menu, which allows you to play around with your cars vinyls, paint and rims.

Tags: Tuning