2021-01-12T10:22:30 01:00

Need for Speed Payback Tuning Tips: Best Cards & Perks

With the Speedcards, the tuning in Need for Speed Payback works a bit unusual and reminds of a trading card game, almost seems superficial. The optical tuning, on the other hand, works the way you know it from earlier parts of the series.

However, there are a few things you should keep in mind to get the best results out of your speedsters (via Reddit).

Tuning basics

You can upgrade a total of six slots with speedcards during performance tuning. You can choose from the following parts to equip them with better and better cards:

Head
Block
Control unit
Turbo
Exhaust
Gearbox

The speedcards themselves are available in different quality levels, which are indicated by a numerical value. The higher this is, the better the card is in principle once.

But the devil is in the details and depends on the different manufacturers with which the speedcards are marked and the perks, i.e. bonuses, which they bring with them.

The following bonuses are possible:

Braking
Acceleration
Speed
Jump
Nitro

Need for Speed Payback: Overview of the manufacturers

The different manufacturers of the speedcards all have a different tuning focus, which is reflected in the perks their cards can bring:

Outlaw: bonus to speed and nitro
Americana: bonus to jump and nitro
Carbon: bonus to jump and acceleration
Chidori: bonus to braking and acceleration
Nextech: bonus on speed and braking

You can increase the effect of these bonuses if you stay loyal to one manufacturer. Because as soon as you install three or even all six speedcards in your car from the same manufacturer, you get another bonus on top, which looks like this:

3-fold bonus: 0.9 times the effect of the manufacturer bonuses extra
6-fold bonus: 2,5-fold effect of the manufacturer bonuses extra

This is the most effective way to tune

Each speedcard can have a maximum of three of the above mentioned bonuses. So you have a maximum of 18 perks, where each of the five bonuses (braking, speed, etc.) can only be used six times, each additional one has no effect.

You should therefore aim for the following perk combinations for the individual manufacturers in order to achieve the best result for your cars:

Outlaw

4 bonuses on speed
6 bonuses on acceleration
4 bonuses on Nitro
4 bonuses on braking

Americana

6 bonuses on speed
6 bonuses on acceleration
4 bonuses on nitro
2 bonuses on brakes

Carbon

6 bonuses on speed
4 bonuses on acceleration
6 bonuses on nitro
2 bonuses on brakes

Chidori

6 bonuses on speed
4 bonuses on acceleration
6 bonuses on nitro
2 bonuses on braking

Nextech

4 bonuses on speed
6 bonuses to acceleration
6 bonuses on nitro
2 bonuses on braking

Which manufacturer should I choose?

Which manufacturer you choose doesn't have much effect in the end, because with the mentioned bonus combinations, you always get an optimally tuned car.

On the way there, however, the manufacturer's orientation plays a role, because depending on the car class, it sometimes makes more sense for you to focus on nitro, on speed, on brakes, and so on.

We have a detailed guide to the car classes and their dealers elsewhere, as well as basic beginner tips for Need for Speed Payback. We also have a list of all the cars that are included in the game, including their vehicle values.

For further help with the collecting tasks it's worth to have a look at our guides where you can find all gas stations in the game, where the billboards are hidden in Need for Speed Pay back or a map with all the gambler's chips.

On the other hand, if you want to try your tuning skills directly on one of the legendary speedsters in the game, we'll tell you where to find hidden wreck parts or what to do if you accidentally sold a built-up wreck.

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