Stats & Sims Guide
What every number on a car means, how to read it, and how the numbers relate.
A raw value means little on its own — always read it against its PI class. A 150 mph top speed is poor for an A-class circuit car and excellent for a D-class hatchback. The per-class tables in the Appendix are the baseline every judgement compares against.
Quick version — reading a car in 30 seconds
- 1.Class + division — the yardstick
- 2.lb/hp — grip vs power vs weight
- 3.Front weight % — balance feel
- 4.Lateral-G pair — how much, and does it need speed
- 5.Top speed + braking vs class
- 6.Acceleration shape — where it makes its time
1The identity layer
These don't describe performance directly — they frame everything else.
PI class
D → C → B → A → S1 → S2 → RThe performance bracket a car sits in, from D up through C, B, A, S1, S2 to R. Every race caps entries by class, which is why every other number on this page has to be read against it.
PI rating
0–999 — position within the classA 0–999 score that pinpoints where a car sits inside its class.
Use it to gauge headroom: a high rating means the car is near the top of its bracket (and close to bumping up a class); a low rating means it only just cleared the class below.
Division
e.g. Modern Super Saloons, Rally MonstersThe car's family — Modern Super Saloons, Rally Monsters, and so on. It powers the app's auto-tags and race-type suggestions.
The division decides which weaknesses count: a rally car's low top speed is a non-issue, a GT car's isn't. Read every other number through the division's lens.
Drivetrain
FWD / RWD / AWDWhich wheels get power — front, rear, or all four. It sets launch behaviour and the car's natural balance tendency.
AWD launches hardest and is the safe default off-road; RWD rotates and drifts; FWD tends to understeer but is light and cheap on PI.
Value & rarity
acquisition, not performanceCredit value and how hard the car is to obtain.
These describe acquisition, not performance — they have no bearing on how the car races. Ignore them when judging race fit.
2The six bar stats (0–10)
The in-game star bars — a quick read. The sim metrics below are the precise version of the same qualities.
Speed
statSpeed — 0–10 barThe quick read on top-end pace.
The in-game star rating of straight-line speed potential.
High speed = strong on long straights and fast circuits. It's a quick read; the sim top-speed figure is the precise version of the same quality.
Related statPrecise counterpart: Top speed (simTopSpeed). Trust the sim number when they disagree.
Handling
statHandling — 0–10 barHow willingly the car turns — the headline cornering number.
The in-game rating of cornering ability.
High handling = holds a line and changes direction willingly. Pair it with the lateral-G curve to read its character: a high bar with a flat lateral curve is a low-speed corner car; with a rising curve it's a fast-sweeper.
Related statPrecise counterpart: Lateral G (simLateralG60/120), plus mech/aero balance for how that grip is distributed.
Acceleration
statAcceleration — 0–10 barHow hard it pulls once it's already moving.
How hard the car pulls once it's already rolling.
High accel = strong corner exits and roll-on overtakes. The shape of the two sim times (0–60 vs 0–100) tells you whether that pull is low-end or sustained.
Related statPrecise counterpart: 0–60 and 0–100 (simZeroToSixty / simZeroToHundred), read together for acceleration shape.
Launch
statLaunch — 0–10 barThe standing-start number — how well power turns into motion off the line.
How well the car converts power to motion from a dead stop.
High launch = strong standing starts (drag, traffic-light street). It's driven heavily by drivetrain — AWD launches far harder than RWD or FWD — and by weight.
Related statPrecise counterpart: the first slice of 0–60 (simZeroToSixty).
Braking
statBraking — 0–10 barHow late you can leave the pedal.
How hard the car can slow down.
High braking = brake later and carry confidence into hard braking zones. It's a real secondary signal and a cheap fix once you're tuning — but grip separates the competitive field more than braking does, so weigh it after tyres and suspension, not before.
Related statPrecise counterpart: 60–0 / 100–0 braking distance (simBraking60 / simBraking100) — feet to stop, lower is better.
Offroad
statOffroad — 0–10 barThe dirt-and-gravel stat — irrelevant until it isn't.
Composure on loose, rough, or uneven surfaces — a mix of suspension travel and durability.
High offroad = at home on dirt, gravel, and cross-country. It's largely irrelevant for tarmac disciplines.
Related statNo sim counterpart — this quality only lives as a bar stat.
3Raw specs
The underlying numbers the bars are built from — grouped by how §5 says they relate.
Power
powerHp — peak horsepowerThe straight-line ceiling — but only with weight to match.
Peak horsepower.
It sets the straight-line ceiling, but only in concert with weight (see power-to-weight). High HP with low handling is the classic “too much engine for the chassis” trap — spend PI on grip first.
Related statRead alongside Weight via Power-to-weight — the single most useful build-priority number.
Torque
torqueFtLb — rotational pulling forceThe push out of corners — and the wheelspin that comes with it.
Rotational pulling force.
High torque = strong low-end punch and corner exit. On RWD or low-grip cars it's double-edged: it also brings wheelspin, which is a tuning problem, not just a strength.
Weight
weightLb — massThe hidden tax on every other number on this page.
The car's mass — the hidden tax on almost everything: acceleration, braking distance, grip, and direction change.
Two cars with equal HP perform very differently if one is 800 lb lighter. Weight reduction is often the most PI-efficient upgrade you can buy.
Related statFeeds Front weight, which in turn sets the Mechanical balance number — one weight figure predicts braking, balance, and where to spend PI.
Front weight
frontWeight — % of static weight on the front axleBalance feel before you touch a single tuning slider.
Static weight distribution — how the car's mass splits front-to-rear at rest. It frames balance feel before you touch a single setting.
Read it against 50%: nose-heavy cars lean on the front tyres and resist rotation; tail-heavy cars rotate eagerly and can get twitchy off-throttle.
Related statInversely correlated with Mechanical balance (r = −0.61): a nose-heavy car reads a low mech-balance number.
Power-to-weight
lb/hp = weightLb ÷ powerHp — lower is strongerOne number, one build decision: grip, power, or weight first.
Pounds per horsepower (weight ÷ power) — the most useful single number for deciding what to upgrade.
Read it as a build-priority dial. Dataset spread: p25 ≈ 5.4, median ≈ 8.7, p75 ≈ 12.3.
Displacement
displacementL — engine size in litresFlavour, not a lever — mostly tells you the era and character.
Engine size in litres.
Mostly descriptive rather than a performance lever: big naturally-aspirated displacement means a torquey low end; small displacement with high HP means a peaky, turbocharged unit that needs revs.
4Simulation metrics
The precise, physics-model versions, grouped by family. Units are implied by the field name; always read against class.
0–60 mph
simZeroToSixty — seconds, lower is betterThe precise version of Launch and Acceleration — read against class.
Standing-start quickness — time to reach 60 mph from rest.
Dominated by launch, low-end power, grip, and drivetrain. A high (slow) value is normal in a low class; a slow 0–60 up in A or S1 flags a top-end or off-road car rather than a sprinter. Always read against class.
Related statPrecise counterpart to the Launch and Acceleration bars.
↓ Per-class ranges in the Appendix0–100 mph
simZeroToHundred — seconds, lower is betterOn its own just a number — paired with 0–60 it reveals where the car makes its time.
Time from rest to 100 mph — 0–60 plus the 60→100 band.
Its real value is comparative: divide it by 0–60 to get acceleration shape, which tells you whether the car keeps pulling up top or fades after 60.
Related statAcceleration shape = 0–100 ÷ 0–60.
Braking distance
simBraking60 / simBraking100 — feet to stop, lower is betterFeet, not stars — the real stopping distance behind the Braking bar.
Actual stopping distance in feet, measured from 60 mph and from 100 mph — the precise version of the Braking bar.
The 100–0 figure is the one that separates cars on hard-braking technical tracks. Both are heavily weight-driven, so lighter cars stop shorter.
Related statPrecise counterpart to the Braking bar.
↓ Per-class ranges in the AppendixTop speed
simTopSpeed — mph, higher is betterMatters on long straights, forgettable everywhere else.
Terminal velocity — the car's ceiling on a long enough road.
It matters most on long straights and high-speed circuits and little on technical, street, or dirt layouts. EVs and short-geared cars cap low even when explosive to 60 (the RS e-tron GT tops out around 172 mph).
Related statPrecise counterpart to the Speed bar. Trust this figure when the bar disagrees.
↓ Per-class ranges in the AppendixAero efficiency
simAeroEfficiency — ratio, higher is betterHow much downforce you get for the drag it costs.
How much downforce the car makes per unit of drag — the quality of its aero (range ~0.07–0.93, most cars 0.80–0.86, median ~0.84).
A low value (≲ 0.70) means draggy: adding downforce costs real top speed. On fast maps run the minimum wing you can, and save heavy downforce for grip-limited tracks.
Lateral G
simLateralG60 · simLateralG120 — g, higher is betterHow much grip, and whether it needs speed to show up.
The precise, physics-model version of the Handling bar: how much cornering grip the car holds, sampled at two speeds.
Read two things at once — the absolute level (vs class p90 for “elite”) and how grip changes with speed (the 120/60 ratio, driven by downforce).
Related statPrecise counterpart to the Handling bar (with mech/aero balance).
NoteGrip rising with speed is normal here (median ratio ≈ 1.03) — a falling ratio essentially never happens.
↓ Per-class ranges in the AppendixMechanical balance
simMechBalance — ratio, ~0.50 is neutralThe low-speed tell for understeer or oversteer, before you've turned a wheel.
The front/rear split of mechanical (low-speed) grip — the low-speed balance lever you set with springs and ARBs.
Confirmed to track weight inversely (r = −0.61 with front-weight %), which is why a nose-heavy car reads a low number. Median 0.50 (p10 0.43 / p90 0.61).
Related statThe low-speed partner to Aero balance (the high-speed lever). Inversely tied to Front weight.
Aero balance
simAeroBalance — ratio (0 = no meaningful aero)The high-speed twin to mech balance — set by the wing, not the springs.
The front/rear split of aerodynamic (high-speed) downforce — the high-speed balance lever, distinct from mechanical balance and set by front/rear wing.
Only weakly tied to weight (r = +0.11), so it's genuinely about the wing/splitter setup. 135 cars read 0 — treat 0 as “n/a,” not “balanced.” Median of the non-zero cars ≈ 0.38.
Higher = more front downforce = more front grip at speed, which trims high-speed understeer and can bring on high-speed oversteer.
NoteThe direction here is the least battle-tested field — sanity-check against in-game feel before leaning on it.
5How the numbers relate
The part that makes the rest click — how the quick bars, the precise sims, and weight all wire together.
Same 0–60 can hide very different cars. ≤ ~2.1 keeps pulling up top (long circuits, high-speed maps); ≥ ~2.6 is front-loaded and fades after 60 (street starts, short sprints). It's a shape, not a speed — pair it with the absolute 0–60 vs class before calling anything “quick.”
Heavier = slower accel, longer braking, less grip, lazier direction change. Weight also pushes front weight %, which sets the mech-balance number (nose-heavy → low mech balance → understeer). One “4,400 lb, 59% front” line predicts long braking, understeer, and PI better spent on weight/grip than power.
How much (absolute lateral G vs class p90) and how it behaves with speed (the 120/60 ratio, set by aero). High absolute + flat curve = a strong but low-speed grip car; moderate absolute + rising curve = a car that needs speed and downforce to shine.
Mech balance (springs, ARBs) governs slow corners; aero balance (wings) governs fast ones. A car can understeer slow and oversteer fast — tune them separately.
Low lateral G + strong accel/launch (often low top speed too). Can't carry corner speed; rockets on exit. → street, touge, short drag.
Rising lateral-G curve (ratio ≥ 1.12) with high absolute grip. → high-speed road racing, flowing circuits.
High top speed + a sustained accel shape (ratio ≤ 2.1). → long straights and high-speed maps; often weak in slow technical sections.
High offroad + high grip/braking for class, top speed irrelevant. → dirt, cross-country. Don't judge it on tarmac metrics.
High HP + heavy + ~50–59% front. Stable, strong top speed and braking, moderate grip. → road/street; build for consistency, not peak grip.
6Reading a car in 30 seconds
Run these six in order and a car's race fit and build path usually fall out on their own.
- 1.Check the class first — it's the yardstick every other number below gets read against, so a '141 mph top speed' means something completely different in D than in S2. The division then tells you which weaknesses are even worth caring about: a rally car's low top speed is a non-issue, a GT car's isn't.
- 2.This is the single fastest tell for what the car needs. Under ~6 lb/hp, it's power-rich — spend PI on grip; over ~13, it's power-light and straight-line pace is the limiter; in between, just build to the race type.
- 3.Nose-heavy (>55%) means understeer tendency and lazy rotation; tail-heavy (<45%) means it rotates eagerly and can get twitchy off-throttle — this is your balance feel before any tuning at all.
- 4.Two questions in one number: how much grip (absolute G vs class p90), and whether that grip shows up only at speed (the 120/60 ratio). A high absolute value with a flat curve is a strong but low-speed chassis; a rising curve (ratio ≥ ~1.12) means it's downforce-driven and needs speed to come alive.
- 5.Weight both against the division, not just the raw number — top speed barely matters on technical or dirt layouts, so skip it for dirt cars entirely. Braking, especially the 100–0 figure, is what actually separates cars on hard-braking technical tracks.
- 6.Divide 0–100 by 0–60 to see where the car makes its time, since two cars can share a 0–60 and still be totally different. Sustained (ratio ≤ ~2.1) keeps pulling up top and suits long circuits; front-loaded (ratio ≥ ~2.6) fades after 60 and suits street starts and short sprints.
—Appendix — per-class reference ranges
From ~580 cars. p90 / p10 mark the strong-for-class tails; these are the baselines every callout compares against.
Top speed (mph)
higher is better| Class | mean | p90 (strong) |
|---|---|---|
| D | 109 | 141 |
| C | 146 | 159 |
| B | 162 | 184 |
| A | 185 | 208 |
| S1 | 202 | 225 |
| S2 | 226 | 274 |
| R | 219 | 252 |
100–0 braking (ft)
lower is better| Class | mean | p10 (strong) |
|---|---|---|
| D | 413 | 386 |
| C | 380 | 352 |
| B | 340 | 313 |
| A | 293 | 250 |
| S1 | 238 | 198 |
| S2 | 188 | 153 |
| R | 157 | 139 |
Lateral G @ 120 (g)
higher is better| Class | mean | p90 (strong) | p25 (low) |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 0.8 | 0.92 | 0.77 |
| C | 0.9 | 0.95 | 0.81 |
| B | 1 | 1.04 | 0.91 |
| A | 1 | 1.19 | 0.97 |
| S1 | 1.3 | 1.47 | 1.15 |
| S2 | 1.7 | 2.22 | 1.39 |
| R | 2.3 | 2.78 | 2.1 |
0–60 (s)
lower is better| Class | mean | p10 (strong) | p25 (quick) |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 11.9 | 7 | 8 |
| C | 6.4 | 5.3 | 5.9 |
| B | 5.1 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| A | 3.9 | 3 | 3.4 |
| S1 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| S2 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| R | 2.8 | 2 | 2.4 |
For the curious — the numbers behind the thresholds above
Exact percentiles and correlations for anyone verifying a claim or pushing past the rounded guidance used elsewhere on this page.
- —Acceleration shape (0–100 ÷ 0–60): p25 2.11 · median 2.36 · p75 2.59.
- —Lateral-G curve (120 ÷ 60): median 1.03; ~17% of cars dip below 1.0; ~22% reach ≥ 1.10.
- —Power-to-weight (lb/hp): p25 5.4 · median 8.7 · p75 12.3.
- —Aero efficiency: median 0.84 (range 0.07–0.93); ≲ 0.70 = draggy.
- —Mech balance: median 0.50 (p10 0.43 / p90 0.61); r(front-weight %) = −0.61.
- —Aero balance: median 0.38; 135 cars read 0; r(front-weight %) = +0.11.
These are dataset-derived snapshots from ~580 cars — regenerate from the live DB if the catalog grows materially, and re-confirm the aero-balance direction against in-game feel before leaning on it.