Performance Upgrades in NFS Unbound are necessary if you want your ride to be the best in the game. You will get a lot of cars to customize and upgrade in the game, and with so many options & parts, players will tend to get confused about what parts and upgrades to invest in in order to boost their performance. That is why learning about how Performance Upgrades work in the game and how they impact your car is important.
Key Highlights
- Performance upgrades are important to increase the stats of your car in NFS Unbound.
- There are many methods to increase the performance of your car, like using high-quality parts, handling profiles, tweaking traction, and more.
- You can also take your car to the Garage to upgrade and improve its performance.
Performance Upgrades To Increase Car Performance
One of the most important perks of owning a car in NFS Unbound is that you will get to upgrade it from time to time. You will need the performance of your car to be top-notch in the game because you will be facing some deadly competition as you progress in the main story.

When it comes to the performance of your car, it can be boosted in several ways, like using some of the best parts available in Need For Speed Unbound or getting car upgrades in the store. In our detailed guide below, you will learn how different parts affect the performance of your car and how you can boost it in several ways.
Performance Rating And Quality
Depending upon the parts you are using, you will be able to boost the performance of your car and increase its base stats to the maximum stats in the game. Since the stock value of each car in NFS Unbound is different, the players will sometimes be required to change major parts, like the engine of a car, in order to reach the highest performance available for that vehicle.
When it comes to performance rating, you will find that it lies between 100 to 400. If a car exceeds 400, it will be rated as 400 plus and will definitely be some of the highest-performing cars in the game. If the performance rating lies between 100 to 159, the car will be B-rated. A-tier cars lie between 160 – 209, and A+rated cars lie between 210-269. On the other hand, S-rated cars have a performance rating between 270-329. Any cars with performance ratings starting from 330 to 400+ are S+ rated.
Quality is another factor that you should look out for when increasing the performance of your car. The higher the quality of a part is, the more likely the performance output that you will get from it. The quality options in NFS Unbound are stock, sport, pro, super and elite.
Handling Profile
One of the most integral factors that affect your car’s performance is its Handling Traits as well as its Suspension. Both of these lie under the Handling Profile of your car, and fortunately for the players, it can be adjusted according to their requirements.

- Neutral: If the slider is in the center, the car is likely to break or maintain traction.
- Grip: If the slider is more to the left, then you can expect better traction from the car.
- Drift: if the slider is towards the right, then your vehicle is more likely to break traction in NFS Unbound.
Your handling profile is affected by different parts, as well as the suspension and tires of your vehicle. Using different parts, you will be able to change the handling profile of your car.
Traction
Knowing the Traction Profile of your car, you will get a better idea of its performance on different Driving Surfaces.

- Far Left: if the slider is on the far left corner, then your car is perfect for on-road surfaces. However, it won’t perform very well off the road.
- Far right: your car will have the maximum output when it comes to off-road. However, it should not be used on road surfaces.
- Right side: The car is best suited for off-road drives but can do fairly well on the road surface as well.
- Center: You can drive the car both on the road and off the road efficiently.
- Left Side: The car is best suited to a road surface. However, you will also be able to drive it off the road, but the car won’t give optimal performance.
To open the Performance Menu you need to select the Garage Section found in the Pause Menu. In the Performance Menu, you will be able to swap the parts of your car available in the game. You will be able to swap parts that you have in your Inventory Menu. However, any active Auxiliary part cannot be swapped.
In order to adjust the performance of your car, you can edit the handling stats depending on your preference. Depending upon the performance parts you have and the quality they possess, you will be able to increase the effectiveness of your car.
Using Parts And Car Upgrades
After completing the prologue, you will get the option to upgrade your cars in the game. Most of the time, you will only be able to customize the external parts of your vehicle. In the game store, you will find a lot of different parts and upgrade that will help you improve the efficiency and performance of your car.
You will be able to choose from a wide variety of Engines, Exhaust Systems, Breaks, Tires, and several other items. Each of these will affect your car’s performance in different ways.
Some of the best performance upgrades include Nitrous Oxide tanks to give you an initial boost in the race and intercoolers to improve the effectiveness of these parts further.
Below you will see all the different parts and how they affect the performance of your car in NFS Unbound.
Engine
The first and most important part of a car is definitely its engine. When it comes to the engine, we will be looking to improve statistics like acceleration, high speed, power, and nitrous. Any part that you equip under the engine section will directly affect these stats in the game.

Induction
The most important function of the induction part is to improve the air quality and flow to the car engine. It is basically a system of air funnels. Their main function is to air the engine and keep it cool.
ECU
Any electronic parts of your car are controlled by the ECU. The better your ECU is, the better the performance of your car will be. If you’re looking for higher power output from your engine, then we recommend investing in an ECU performance upgrade.
Fuel System
The fuel System is responsible for combusting the air and fuel in your car engine. By investing in the fuel system performance upgrade, you will get a better quality mixture. Therefore, the performance of your car will significantly improve along with the higher power output.
Exhaust
Exhaust works to evacuate any hot gases accumulated in the Combustion Chamber of your car engine. It is important to clear up your combustion chamber before the next combustion cycle and vent out any hot gases; otherwise, it will highly affect the performance of your car.
Aspiration
The power output across the Riv Range can be increased by investing in the Aspiration upgrade of your car. By using a Supercharger or a Turbo Charger you will be able to get better performance and higher power output. The induction system of your car will increase the Aspiration of your car too.
Nitrous System
Nitrous is important to give your car the necessary speed boost in critical situations. Therefore, the most important performance upgrade for your car is, without a doubt, the nitrous system.
When activated, the system works to add extra fuel and air into the engine. Therefore, you will get an instant boost in power and speed during races and police chases.
Chassis
Under the chassis section, you will find different parts and upgrades that will affect the handling profile as well as the acceleration of your current car.
Suspension
One of the most crucial parts of your car is definitely suspension. When setting the suspension of your car, you will have to be pretty careful as it can put you at a disadvantage as well. You can use certain kits that will give you customization options for the handling and traction category of your car.
Brakes
Brakes are also an important part of your car that plays a huge role in performance. The role of a brake is to slow down the vehicle when turning around a corner.

Tires
Tires will also affect the handling stat of your car in NFS Unbound. Every tire you use will have certain characteristics attached to it, and it will affect and alter your performance in different ways. Different tires will have different handling characteristics and will also affect the traction of your car differently.

Drivetrain
Drivetrain components will affect statistics like acceleration, high speed as well as the handling profile of your vehicle. Following are the parts under the drivetrain section, as well as the performance upgrades.
Differential
When upgrading this particular part, careful consideration is a must as it can put you at an advantage but can also be a disadvantage in certain situations. The output of the differential performance part depends entirely upon the setup you use. They also play a role in the handling system of your car.
Gearbox
The gearbox is one of the most important parts that offers several performance upgrades for your car in NFS Unbound.
The gearbox will determine the number of gears your car has. Every car and every engine has a different ideal amount of care set for them. However, the number of gears in your car is also dependent upon your driving style.
Clutch
The clutch is responsible for connecting the gearbox and engine and reducing the shifting time. By investing in the clutch component of your car, you will reduce the shifting time and get better acceleration in NFS Unbound.
Auxiliary
The parts under the auxiliary section will boost the performance of your car when you are driving around Lakeshore. The players will be able to equip 2 passive auxiliary items. Any of the parts that fall under the auxiliary section will fairly improve the speed of your car during racing or police chases.
Visiting The Garage
Another great way of improving the performance of your car and getting upgrades for it is to take it to the garage.

Summing It Up
With this, we conclude our detailed guide on performance upgrades in NFS Unbound and all the ways to upgrade the performance of your car in the game. All of these methods will help you boost the performance of your car to become one of the best racers out there.
These performance upgrades will give you significant leverage if used the right way. Before leaving we recommend that you check out our detailed guide on all licensed clothing brands in NFS Unbounded.
We have also curated a guide on the best settings that you should definitely consider checking out. Don’t forget to check out our guide on how to upgrade cars. If you are one of the players looking to unlock the BMW M3 GTR in NFS Unbound, make sure to check out our detailed guide on it.
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