About this video

• Video Title: How to Rally in Forza Horizon 5 | Beginner's Building/Tuning Guide for Rally/Offroad
• Channel: HokiHoshi
• Speakers: HokiHoshi
• Duration: 19:26

Overview

This video provides a beginner-friendly guide to building and tuning cars for rally and off-road racing in Forza Horizon 5. It covers car selection, essential upgrades like tires and drivetrain, and detailed tuning adjustments for suspension, alignment, gearing, and more, along with common troubleshooting tips.

Key takeaways

• Car Selection: Prioritize older, lighter cars, and consider all-wheel drive for higher classes. Rear-wheel drive can be viable in lower classes (A and below) due to improved physics.
• Tires: Off-road race tires are generally preferred over rally tires due to their lower PI cost, despite a slight performance disadvantage on paved surfaces. Wider rear tires can help with oversteer.
• Drivetrain: Clutch upgrades and a race driveline are recommended for better throttle response and weight reduction. A 6-speed transmission is generally the sweet spot for rally setups.
• Suspension Tuning: Keep bump stiffness low to absorb bumps without excessive bouncing, and rebound stiffness relatively soft to ensure tires return to the road quickly. Adjust spring and damping to manage oversteer/understeer and stability.
• Ride Height: While rally cars need to be kept low for better handling, a slight raise (5-6 inches) is necessary to prevent bottoming out on rough terrain.
• Alignment: Tune camber for even tire temperature, use slight toe-out at the front for turn-in and toe-in at the rear for stability, and experiment with caster for steering response.
• Gearing: Shorter gear ratios are generally preferred for acceleration, but ensure you don't shift too often or sacrifice usable top speed.
• Troubleshooting: For jumps, avoid excessively tuning for them at the expense of overall handling. For smaller bumps, check for bottoming out and adjust damping. Mid-corner oversteer can be addressed by adjusting differential lock and damping, while understeer at speed can be countered with increased downforce.

This video offers a comprehensive guide to building and tuning rally cars in Forza Horizon 5, emphasizing a nuanced approach that balances performance across various surfaces.

Car Choice: The presenter stresses that lighter cars generally perform better, making older models a good starting point. While all-wheel drive is ideal for higher performance classes, rear-wheel drive can be surprisingly effective in lower classes (A and below) due to recent physics improvements, particularly for controlled oversteer.

Build Considerations:

• Conversions: Wide body kits can enhance grip but might slow corner response. All-wheel drive swaps can increase PI, so consider if it aligns with your target class.
• Engine Swaps: Generally, keeping the stock engine is advised, with a notable exception being the lightweight 1.6-liter turbo rally engine, which offers good power and weight savings.
• Tires: Off-road race tires are recommended over rally tires due to their lower PI cost, providing more points for other upgrades. While they suffer on pavement, their off-road dominance and PI advantage make them superior for most rally builds. Tire width adjustments are also discussed, suggesting narrower fronts for better bite on loose surfaces and wider rears to aid oversteer. Lightweight rims and wider track width (front and rear) are beneficial for grip and stability, though track width can be reduced if response becomes too slow.
• Drivetrain: Clutch upgrades are cheap and valuable for frequent shifting. A race driveline offers weight reduction and better throttle response. The rally differential is preferred over the off-road version. A 6-speed transmission is usually optimal, balancing gear range and weight.
• Platform & Handling: While race brakes are an option, they might be overkill with off-road tires. Rally suspension is a must, along with adjustable anti-roll bars. Chassis reinforcement can improve handling, but a full cage might not be worth the PI. Weight reduction is crucial.
• Power: This is where most remaining PI points are spent. Cam and turbo upgrades are more viable in rally than in other disciplines due to the need for power throughout the rev range. Intercooler and oil cooling upgrades are generally secondary unless needed for class limits.
• Aero: Adjustable aero is considered late in the build process as its PI cost varies. Front aero can improve responsiveness and grip on pavement, but excessive downforce can make the car too darting. Rear aero can aid stability in high-speed corners, especially in higher classes, but is often less critical than front downforce.

Tuning Nuances:

• Differential: High acceleration lock on front and rear differentials is key for putting power down out of corners. Center diff tuning balances oversteer/understeer.
• Damping: Bump stiffness should be low to absorb bumps without bouncing; stiffer settings can help with larger impacts like jumps, but tune to feel. Rebound stiffness should be kept relatively soft to allow tires to return to the road quickly, but not so soft that the car feels unstable.
• Springs: Adjust spring stiffness in tandem with damping to manage ride height and body roll, using front stiffness for stability and rear stiffness for responsiveness.
• Ride Height: Aim for the lowest possible height without bottoming out, typically between 5-6 inches for lighter cars.
• Anti-roll Bars: Keep these relatively soft to allow independent suspension movement, adjusting them similarly to springs for balance (stiffer front for understeer/stability, stiffer rear for oversteer/snappiness).
• Alignment: Tune camber based on tire temperature telemetry, aiming for even heating across the tire. Toe angles affect turn-in and stability. High caster values are preferred by the presenter for steering response.
• Gearing: Shorter ratios are generally good, but avoid excessive shifting or sacrificing top-end speed. The goal is to stay within the optimal power band.
• Tire Pressure: Off-road race tires should be kept below 20 PSI to retain grip. Rally tires can be run stiffer (20-25 PSI) for better responsiveness.

Troubleshooting:

• Jumps: Don't over-tune for jumps, as it can compromise handling elsewhere. Tune suspension and ride height if bottoming out significantly affects performance.
• Small Bumps: Address bottoming out first, then adjust damping. Stiffer rear ARBs can help with erratic behavior.
• Mid-corner Oversteer: Lower front differential lock and center the center differential closer to 50%. Off-power oversteer can be managed by increasing front tire pressure, damping, springs, and ARBs.
• Understeer at Speed: Increase downforce, especially on paved sections. Raising tire pressure can also help, but downforce is generally more effective.

The guide concludes by noting that these principles largely apply to cross-country racing, with the main difference being the need for larger tires, more suspension travel, and higher ride height for extreme terrain and jumps.