Racing in TORN - Guide for Beginners.
Hoping to get new racers off to a good start. - Baldr
The first thing to know is that you don't get a lot out of racing. It will be a minor expense, not your income. It's pretty cheap other than the license and mostly uses up time (not money, energy, or nerve.)
The time may be important, or it may not be, depending on how you play. Racing takes an hour to an hour and a half per race for official races. Custom races can be very fast (a few minutes), or very long (5-6 hours or more.). You can do lots of other stuff while you are racing, but you can't travel. For people that run lots of flowers/plushies, that can make racing difficult.
There are six merits you can get while racing, but they will take quite a bit of time to reach.
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Driving Elite - Reach Class A
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Chequered Past - Win 100 races
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Redline - 250 wins in the same car
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Motorhead - Achieve a driver skill of 10
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Wrecked - Crash during a race
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On Track - Earn 2,500 racing points
For practical purposes, you will normally be Class A before you win 250 with the same car, 10 driver skill will come later, and 2500 racing points earned will usually be the last racing merit you receive. The "Wrecked" merit is basically random, so you could get it very early, or it could take a long time.
In theory, you can win 250 races with any car, and without ever reaching A class. The races do not have to be official races. Wins in the Custom Event races do not give you racing points, but they do count towards the 250 wins in one car. Most of the time, people will reach A class, then get their 250 wins, and then reach 10 driver skill, but it's not required to do them in that order.
The biggest expense to racing is buying a racing license. That costs 50 points, which translates to a little under $2m at current prices. You buy the racing license in the points building.
The cars and upgrades are fairly inexpensive, and the races are free.
You do *not* need a drivers license (which you can get via an education class.) A racing license and a drivers license are not the same.
Once you have a racing license, you need a car. You must start with a class E car. Don't buy the best car you can get, because you won't be able to use it until you gain some racing skill.
Cars come in different classes, and races are based on those classes. When you start out, you are class E. The hot shots that have been doing it awhile are class A.
For your first car, I recommend a Papani Colé. They should run roughly $10,000, and I recommend you use TornW3B to find best price.
To start a race, you go to City, Racetrack (in the Red Light district.) You want the "Official Events" races. Join a race.
Each time you race, you'll gain a small amount of driving skill. Each time you place in the top 3 finishers, you gain racing points.
Racing points are used to upgrade your car. But don't get carried away. As you move up to higher classes, you'll buy new cars, and you'll need to upgrade them.
Every point you save along the way will help you when you move to a higher level.
The single best upgrade you can do is called a Strip Out, listed under Weight Reduction.
For your class E car, I recommend you never spend any points on upgrades. You can go through E class with no upgrades. Save your racing points for later.
When you move to D class, then buy a new car and spend all your points at once, and then start saving your points again for when you move to C class. Repeat that each time you go up a level. Spend what you have when you first go up, and then save the rest. If you want, you could hold a few extra points back each time.
An exception might be when you move to Class B. If you can save 40 or 50 points when you move to class B, then it will help when you reach A class, because you will have enough points to fully outfit an A class car (not including safety upgrades.)
In A class, many of the people you race will have fully upgraded cars and high driver skill, so starting with enough points to do all upgrades will help. This is why you've been saving points, so that you have enough points to fully outfit your first A class car right away.
As you work your way towards A class, you will probably be tempted to spend more points in order to win more races instead of saving them. That will certainly allow you to move up to the next level faster, but it is a mistake.
If you do, then when you move up and have few or no points to spend, you'll be competing against people who have already improved their cars, and who probably have a higher driving skill than you. And that will make it very difficult to win any races - and therefore very difficult to get points to improve. Especially since you spent your points in order to move up fast, and so didn't spend much time to improve your driver skill.
When you race and don't gain any points, it helps to remember that you still gain driving skill.
This is a very useful google spreadsheet when deciding what upgrades to get.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P3MCaWSCHtX1zIDlGexaXT2TQIjSWCImxX6eH867l2Y/edit#gid=824991329
Each time you move up to the next racing class, you'll need a new car. You are allowed to race your old car in a higher level, but once you move up a level, you'll be racing against other drivers at that same level, and most will have cars for that level.
The points you spent on your old car will not help you. Those are tied to the car and can't be moved. (Which is why I recommend saving points for when you move up.)
In deciding which car to buy, I recommend the Papani Colé as your first car, for Class E. When you move up each level, while at the racetrack you can click on "Statistics". That will show speed records for the various tracks, with your personal records in a column, records for your current class in a column, and overall records in a third column. Before you buy a car, take a look and see which cars show up the most often. Pick out the 2 or 3 that jump out at you. For each of those, make a list. Count the total number of times they show up (each track has the top-five record holders). Also, count how many different tracks that car shows up in. Use that information to pick a car that shows up a lot overall, and that also shows up as being in the top five on lots of different tracks. Below, I'll show the cars I picked at each level.
Once you reach class A, if you want to win maximum races, you may decide to have two cars, one for street racing, one for dirt. But there are a lot more street tracks than dirt tracks, so concentrate on tarmac setups at first. And if you want the merit for 250 wins with one car, I'd recommend pouring all racing points into your first Class A car until after you get that merit or have no useful upgrades left to purchase. If you want to continue racing after you get that merit (or if you max out that car and have nothing left to upgrade) then you can develop a second car.
As best I can tell, Safety Upgrades do not speed you up or in any way increase your chance to win. They simply give you less hospital time if you crash. I don't plan to use those. I'll either med out of the hospital, or pay for a revive.
Recommended cars.
Class E : Papani Colé
Class D : Tabata RM2
Class C : Chevalier CZ06
Class B : Volt MNG or Colina Tanprice
Class A : Veloria LFA or Edomondo NSX
Class A : (Option) : For the Mudpit, The Colina Tanprice Class B car (with all the upgrades) is better than any A class car. You might want to purchase a it as your Class B car simply because that gives you a head start on outfitting it as a Mudpit car when you reach A class. But it's a risk, as there are a lot more tarmac tracks than dirt/mud tracks. I'm not sure if getting the Colina Tanprice is a good plan, or a horrible one. I decided not to chance it, and got the Volt MNG when I moved to Class B.
The Colina Tanprice is very expensive. When Ched released Crimes 2.0, it made that particular care very rare, which has lead to very high prices.
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Note added later : Using Colina while in B class.
I have talked to multiple people who bought the Colina as their class B car, and it worked out well for them. They did full upgrades to it, and didn't worry about saving as many points for when they moved to A class. Those upgrades helped them win B class races, and even when they move to A class, on mudpit the Colina is the best car available. It's also okay on any of the other dirt tracks.
I'm still divided over whether Colina or Volt MNG route is the best way to go from B to A. I see pro's and con's both ways.
Overall, it means fewer wasted points, as opposed to upgrading a B class car, like I did with a Volt MNG, knowing that you won't use it again after you move to A class. It probably gets you to A class faster, because it will be very good on all dirt tracks in B class, and despite being a dirt track car, it will do well on tarmac tracks in A since you will have more upgrades than most people who take the Volt MNG route. The downside is that it will be your first A class car, and in A class, it won't be very good on tarmac. There are a lot more tarmac tracks than dirt tracks.
If you decide to use a Colina in B class, I have a post explaining which upgrades to get. If you have the points, you can do all the upgrades that you will keep long term, while skipping any upgrades that have a better version once you reach A class. You'll build up more points as you move through B to A, so when you reach A class, you can add the A class upgrades and have it fully upgraded as your first A class car. My post about which upgrades to get if you are using Colina in B class is found here.
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You start at Class E:
With 25 total racing points, you move to Class D.
With 100 total racing points, you move to Class C.
With 250 total racing points, you move to Class B.
With 475 total racing points, you move to Class A, and you receive a merit point.
You probably won't have this many points, because you've used some of them upgrading along the way. Moving up in racing class is based on how many you've earned, not how many you have. Also, only racing points earned in official races count. You can gain racing points through jobs, and those can be used to upgrade cars, but points you gained through your job do not count towards raising you to the next driver class.
You can not sell a car that is enlisted. You can un-enlist a car, but all upgrades will be removed when you do. There is no way to add upgrades to a car and then sell that upgraded car to someone else. Over time, they've changed the rules on un-enlisting cars, and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't change it again.
When you first outfit a class A car, 266 points will buy all upgrades with the exception of safety upgrades. I recommend not purchasing safety upgrades until you are in class A and have no other upgrades available. Even then, safety upgrades aren't really useful.
The financial cost to do full upgrades to an A class car is just under $700,000, plus the racing points.
Rumor has it that safety upgrades will lower the time spent in the hospital following a wreck. (Some people disagree.) They do not lower the chance of a wreck. After a wreck, you can use a revive or med out of the hospital, so I consider them of lower importance, compared to an upgrade that will actually increase your chances of winning. I added safety upgrades to one car, and haven't bothered on my other cars.
If you spend all your points when you move to B class, and no more while in B class, you'll start A class with 225 points. 266-225=41, so if you can save 40 or 50 points when you move to B class, (and still win enough races to advance) it will let you start A class with a fully outfitted car.
In A class, not only will you race mostly against people with fully outfitted cars, many of them will also have a high racing skill. (Most new A class racers are in the 6 to 8 range. There are many in the 15-20 range, and at least a few over 40) so to do well in A class, you really need your car to have all upgrades.
If you get stuck, and just seem to be unable to place 3rd or better in a race, then there are a couple of things that will help. You need more skill, and/or more racing points to upgrade your car.
You will continue to gain skill simply by racing. You can also choose to do 100 lap non-sanctioned races just to help raise the skill. (The longer the race, the more you gain.) If needed, you can work at a mechanic shop. One of the bonuses is that you get improved skill on racing.
If you need racing points, there are a couple of company types that can help.
Mechanic Shop
1 star Machinist + Racing point (5 job points)
3 star Discount Parts - 75% cost discount on car parts (Passive)
5 star Junkyard Dog + Random car (5 job points)
7 star Refurbish Lose no car parts after crashing (Passive)
10 star Driver + 50% driving skill gain (Passive)
Car Dealership
1 star Test Drive + Racing point (5 job points)
3 star Discount parts - 75% cost discount on car parts (Passive)
5 star Salesman No item market fees (Passive)
7 star Two-Faced + 25% fraud success rate and skill gain (Passive)
10 star Getaway car + 95% run away chance (Passive)
Gas Station
These used to have specials tied to racing, but updates to the game have removed those and replaced them with specials which are more combat related.
Once you reach A class, and get that merit, you'll want to go for 250 wins. Any race will count, and many people do this by setting up custom 1 lap races on their best track. Speedway is ideal simply because it's the shortest fastest track. Set these races up with 1 lap, and the default wait time of 1 minute. Even if nobody joins in that minute, the race will be available and will start as soon as someone joins.
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My own experience :
When I started, I used too many points upgrading my E class car. That slowed me down when I moved to D class, but I learned, and started saving.
My E class car, I used 21 points to upgrade. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have spent any points at all, or perhaps spent one point on the Strip-out upgrade. I should have saved my other points.
My D class car, I used 26 points to upgrade. I think this is a good range. I certainly didn't need more, and I suspect I would have been fine with a few less. I spent more time in D class than I think is ideal, because I had few points to do initial upgrades since I had overspent on my E class car.
When I moved to C class, I had a driving skill of 2.22, and 54 points to work with. I spent 50 points right away. From here, I hope to use very few points (none, ideally) until I move up another class. My first and second race in C class I came in 3rd, and I spent another 6 points. My third race, I came in first place. After that, I don't plan to do any more upgrades on this car. I'll save the rest of my points for when I get to B class.
When I moved to B class, I had a driving skill of 3.29, and 139 points to work with. I used 89 points right away. That left me with 50 points. I'm hoping I can get through B class without having to spend those, saving them for class A. (As of now, I'm still in B, and I ended up spending a few more points on my car in order to be competitive, but I still saved at least 40 towards class A.) If I had it to do over again, I might buy a Colina Tanprice while I was in B class instead of the Volt MNG. While working my way through B class, I had a couple of wrecks and used some points to repurchase the upgrades lost due to those wrecks.
When I moved to A class, I had a driving skill of 4.56, and 242 points to work with. I got a Veloria LFA as my first car. I spent all my points upgrading, and it left me 24 points short for upgrading everything. (Not counting safety upgrades, which I see no need for.) I was still able to place on occasion, so it didn't take too long to finish upgrading that car.
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Other Racing Guides
RD_ (now known as WhatTheFoxSay) has written two racing related guides which I recommend.
The older one :
Upgrade guide
And the newer one : Probably the best guide to "which car and setup should I use for each track".
RD_'s Racing Guide "2.0"
Rogue has a guide designed to help you out if you spend all your racing points and find yourself stuck after you move up to a higher class. That is a fairly common mistake, so this helps you get back on track.
No Points Racing Recovery Guide
Grando has a guide showing exactly which upgrades he recommends at each level.
What to upgrade in each class
Madmiketyson has a guide for people who want to get the racing merits but who do not plan to continue racing.
Quick Route to Racing Merits
AirQuotes has written a guide explaining how racing skill works, and best ways to gain it.
What affects Racing Skill gains? How to gain RS.
Bobdawildman has another guide to racing skill gains.
https://www.torn.com/forums.php#/p=threads&f=61&t=16241088&b=0&a=0&start=0&to=21771827
There is also a Torn WIKI page.
https://wiki.torn.com/wiki/Race_Track
And there is a script which is popular with those who race. I highly recommend it.
https://www.torn.com/forums.php#/p=threads&f=67&t=16154052&b=0&a=0
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Written by Baldr. There may be a better way. However, this should help new racers avoid some of the mistakes I made and find success faster than I did.
Mentions: [Userscript] Racing UI/UX Enhancements · A Comprehensive guide to RS gains · No Points Racing Recovery Guide by Rogue · Quick route to Racing Merits · Racing GUIDE - What to upgrade in each class? · RD_'s Racing Guide "2.0" · TORN Racing FAQ - Baldr · Upgrade guide · What affects Racing Skill gains? How to gain RS.