A new update for Forza Motorsport (2023) has went live on October 17. Update 1.0, as it is dubbed, addressed some stability issues and bugs, but also made one big change to its progression system.
Car parts now unlock at lower car levels than previously.
The new Forza Motorsport introduced a new way of progression where car part upgrades don’t use credits but instead locked behind car levels. The better you are at driving a car on a track, the faster you gain levels that gives you more Car Points (skill points, more or less) to spend on car parts. But also car part types are gated behind specific levels.
With the new change, “most car parts should now be unlocked within a single Builders Cup series”. A completed series should see most cars go from level 1 to about 20 or so depending on how committed you are in doing extra laps during practice sessions (which you can skip).
Drivetrain swaps, previously locked at the max level of 50, is now placed at level 25. So in theory, you need to spend half the time before you are allowed to make use of all the upgrade parts. Though, you still need to grind the extra levels if you’re building a car for a higher PI, which means more parts, which means more car points are still needed.
Here is the changes to each car part level unlock.
Forza Motorsport (2023) Car Parts Level Requirements After Update 1.0
- Level 1
- Exhaust
- Air filter
- Restrictor plate
- Intake manifold and throttle body
- Oil and cooling
- Brakes
- Chassis reinforcement and roll cage
- Ballast
- Level 2
- Tyre width
- Rim style
- Level 3
- Anti-sway bars (previously Level 4)
- Tyre compound (previously Level 11)
- Level 5
- Spring and dampers (previously Level 8)
- Fuel system/Carburetor (previously Level 8)
- Level 6
- Transmission (previously Level 9)
- Differential (previously Level 9)
- Flywheel (previously Level 11)
- Level 7
- Ignition (previously Level 11)
- Clutch (previously Level 12)
- Level 8
- Driveline (previously Level 12)
- Rear wing (previously Level 12)
- Level 9
- Front and rear bumper (previously Level 15)
- Hood (previously Level 15)
- Level 12
- Aspiration conversion (previously Level 20)
- Weight reduction (previously Level 20)
- Single Turbo/Twin Turbo/Supercharger (previously Level 20)
- Intercooler (previously Level 20)
- Level 13
- Camshaft (previously Level 23)
- Level 15
- Displacement (previously Level 30)
- Level 20
- Bodykit (previously Level 45)
- Level 25
- Engine swap (previously Level 40)
- Drivetrain swap (previously Level 50)
Our review of Forza Motorsport (2023) didn’t find the grind to be that bad.. but from that’s from the perspective of a non-Forza fan who only focused on the single-player content.
Clearly the upgrade system has gotten fan backlash, as the system heavily restrains from players creating fun builds from scratch using unfamiliar cars, something Forza players do a lot especially in multiplayer. The game design choice here is an antithesis to that philosophy of play, where the game insists you to get to know the car before being allowed to mess about with car upgrades.
Overall, it’s a good change that makes the game more accomodating for folks who don’t have infinite time to grind their favourite cars to unlock car parts to make them competitive in multiplayer lobbies.
The patch notes of Update 1.0 goes through other changes and bug fixes that was included.
Forza Motorsport (2023) is out now on Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store). The game is available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.