Hints
1988 Nissan Skyline GTR34
Select underground mode and complete at least the first 80 missions. A recommended car to use is the Acura RSX. You will then challenge Samantha. Defeat her under the medium difficulty setting and win the next drag race to unlock the 1998 Nissan Skyline GTR34.
Eddie's Nissan Skyline
To unlock Eddie's car in the end, keep winning style points. Note: It is faster to win them in drift. When your style meter maxes out, a message stating that you have won Eddie's Nissan Skyline will appear.
Defeating Eddie
An easy way to defeat Eddie is to run into the back of his car and continue to stay there. The CPU does not know what to do in this situation, and spins out at the first turn.
Choose a Nissan Skyline and you should start out in the lead. Try to maintain it, because you cannot easily get the lead back. Also, you may not get the lead in the beginning with other cars (the same with Melissa).
Defeating Melissa
When you try to defeat Melissa to be the ultimate street racer, use the RX7 (all level 3 performance mods). She is more difficult than Eddy. Try to use shortcuts as much as possible. Avoid the tram past the second corner of the track. If you are next to her, ram her into the wall. She takes much longer to recover from a crash than you. Note: Save your nitrous until the end.
Samantha's car
Keep getting style points until you get all the vinyls, then fill up the next meter.
Kurt's Killa Ride
Use a Stock Mazda RX-7 and keep trying until you win.
Junkman's Honda Civic
Get 2,250,000 style points in quick race mode.
Melissa's Nissan 350Z
Get 2,500,000 style points in quick race mode.
Always land on wheels
The Dodge Neon tuned to the extreme will almost all of the time land on its tires. This makes it usefulk for heavy traffic. Note you will lose some speed.
When a Miata is fully tuned, after hitting a car it will land back on the ground and you will start to lose control. Because the miata has so much power it will do a semi-cat walk.
Barrel roll
Get any car and tune it to extreme but do not install the suspension. Then, go to the Drag track 14th And Vine. Go as fast as you can, and just before you hit the jump at the end turn to the left so that only one side of your tires touches the ramp. Note This will require a few attempts.
Easy drift points
Simply stay behind a car and watch the points rack up.
Turn off the stability control by going into options and selecting "Car". This will make the car drift easier.
As you progress through the levels, the score required to win the drift competitions get higher, especially when you have upgraded your car's handling. Before you enter the drift competitions, go into "Customize Car" and "Setup". For example, go to the engine upgrade section and refit stock tires to your chosen wheels. This will make drifting much easier. As you approach a bend with a bit of speed, back off the throttle, turn into it, and return to full throttle. With practice you can earn 50,000 style points on the figure of eight style track. Note: Do not forget to refit the better tires before entering a street race.
To get more points in drag and drift races, use named cars(Petey Pablo, Rob Zombie and Lost Prophets).
Use the Mazda Miata. Keep it in second gear. To achieve an easier drift, switch between first and second gears.
Unlock the first drift track, then tune the RX-7 to extreme. To do an Insane drift for 50,000 points, when you go around corners, drive into the bonus zone at the inside and outside of the track. Do not tap the hand brake. When on the straight away, swerve slightly to keep the combo going. About two or three laps drifting is required to get it.
Whenever your RPMs go down from hitting something or sliding out, hold the emergency brake until they get very high. Release the emergency brake, then tap it again. Your RPMs will go up. giving you easier points.
Easy vinyls
Go to "Quick Race" and get over 300,000 on a drift track to unlock a lot of vinyls.
Go to "Quick Race" then go to drift. Set ten laps on your favorite track. Choose your car, then get the most points and keep restarting. You can also unlock cars by doing this.
All parts
To unlock all of the parts, complete Underground mode.
Sick Spoiler
To get this spoiler, you can have any car with the Duotek unique spoiler with any visual upgrades. Trade your car for the VW Golf then trade back to the car you had before. You should have a spoiler that is not part of your options, even after you have unlocked the level 3 spoilers.
Vinyl color
To change color of vinyl, select your vinyl and press [A]. Then, press [B] to leave the menu. Next, press [X] and the color menu will appear. Then, choose a color.
Easy wins
If you are having trouble winning circuit, sprint, or lap knockout races, take off all of your engine performance mods. Note: This works for every car, is most useful for the Nissan Skyline. You do not need to take off the handling mods.
If you are stuck on underground mode races 80 to 90, trade in your car for the Mazda Mx5. Use all L3 performance upgrades except for the last three. This version of the Mazda has excellent acceleration, a good top speed, and brilliant handling. You can customize it in any way desired.
For easy wins in circuit and sprint modes, slow down until another car is close behind. Then, drive into any oncoming traffic, dodging the oncoming cars. The car behind you is trying to get caught in your slipstream to slingshot around you. When you see him get very close, drive directly towards another car and dodge it at the last possible moment. The car following you should slam head-on into the ambient car. Note: This trick is very difficult to do and should only be performed by an expert; if you hit the car, it will usually cost you the race. Also try get several enemy cars behind you for big effects.
Easier drag wins
To get to higher gears quicker in drag races, tap [L] repeatedly as needed to increase the RPM to the appropriate level to switch the gear. This also lessens the full force of the nitrous to lower the chance of burning the engine out.
While drag racing, once you get into fourth gear use your nitrous. Your meter will shoot up into the red zone. Then, switch gears and get a perfect shift. You will get more speed when you do this. You can do this as long as you have nitrous.
Keep tapping "Nitrous" at the start of the race.
At the beginning of a drag race, hold the gas. Your engine will not blow. When the race starts, you will get a head start. However, you will need to shift immediately after the race starts.
When you are about to start the drag race, hold "Accelerate" and you should see the speedometer go all the way up. When the race begins it will over rev. Do not worry about it, you should be in first place.
When you have all level three performances and unique upgrades, choose the Mazda RX-7. Play a quick race at 14th and Vine, and have only perfect shifts and use nitrous since third. You can get a time less than 21 seconds.
Easier cornering
To turn corners easier, turn off the stability control at the options menu.
Easy style points
After you unlock the oval drift track, go into "Quick Race" and choose that track. Then, race around it using the handbrake to powerslide into the corners. Depending on how good you are, you will unlock rewards every time you fill your meter, which does not take too long.
Go to quick race mode and choose any circuit. Set it to five laps with maximum cars on. Then, just get near misses in a row to get a large amount of points. Once your reputation goes up you can make 20,000 points in one go around.
Press "Nitrous" at the start of a race to purge your nitrous for 150 style points.
Unlock the Toyota Celica in split screen/quick race mode and successfully complete the first tournament in underground mode. Go to "Customize Ride" at the main menu and select the Toyota Celica. Select the "Performance" option and equip your new engine, tires and drivetrain. It does not matter what brand package you choose for them. Return to the menu where you choose from "Visual", "Performance", etc. Choose "Visual", then equip your vehicle with parts from all of these options (though putting decals, painting, and placing vinyl on the vehicle is not necessary). Do not use any default parts. If your vehicle does not have a two star reputation rating or more, then you may have forgotten an option. Note: In the body section, the last option may be locked; it is not necessary for this trick. Return to the main menu and select "Quick Race", then "Drift Race". Select your Celica. Select the square track (should already be highlighted), and set the difficulty to medium and lap number to 10. You should be able to easily get "Great Drifts", and if you are good enough, you can get "Superb Drift" and "Colossal Drift" ratings occasionally. You will get a lot of style points for doing these drifts. This is an easy way to get style points early in the game. Also try to do drifts around corners in the bonus zone areas rather then doing drifts throughout the track.
Go to quick race, then select "Drift" and use the little square track. Keep doing this to win vinyls, cars like Eddie's Skyline, the Mystikal car, and more.
When you are drifting with a four wheel drive car, use the handbrake, turn, and press [X] at the same time to get more points.
Once you have unlocked the orange Acura Type R in Underground mode, use it in regular quick race and win. Doing this will multiply your style points by five because this Acura has five reputation stars. Your style points gauge will fill up quicker, allowing you to unlock other things faster.
Get a car with decent acceleration, but not too fast. Select the drift tracks. When the race is about to start, press [Start] and turn off the "Drift Help" (under "Car" options). This will make it easier to go sideways for more style points. Once the race starts, skid around the first turn, but do not go all out sideways, as you will not have enough speed. Wait until the next turn. As you come up to this turn, hold the Analog-stick in the desired direction, release [R], tap [A], then hold [R] again. The faster this sequence is done, the more speed you will have going around the turn. However, if you hold [A] slightly longer, you will go a little slower but the angle of your car will be greater. It will take some practice to master the correct speed and car angle.
Turn on ramps in drag mode for extra style points.
Use a Nissan Skyline with all the performance upgrades and five stars. Do Drift Track 6 in quick race mode and you should get 100,000 to 200,000 style points (not drift points).
Go to the quick race menu and select the "Drift Race". Choose a 5-star car, or the highest amount star car available to you. Then, select Drift Track 1 or 2. Choose ten laps and easy opponents. After you finish the ten laps of drifting, the style points will be multiplied by the amount of stars your car has. You may end up getting from 10,000 points to 100,000 points, depending how good you are at drifting.
Easy money
In Underground mode, take a VW Golf and upgrade it performance-wise as much as possible. Trade it in for a Nissan Skyline (or the best car unlocked so far), then downgrade the new car to stock. Trade it in for a Golf and you should make a profit (about $6,000 each time). You can use the money to buy more upgrade for regular mode if you want to play with the parts or are stuck in Underground mode.
To earn a profit of about $5,500 or more (depending on how far you are in Underground mode), follow these steps. Go to Underground mode and enter the "Customize Ride" menu. Then, select the "Trade" option and trade your car for a Mazda RX-7. If you already have it as your car, skip this step. Downgrade all of your performance upgrades to stock. Then, go back to the "Trade" option and trade your car for a Volkswagen Golf GTI. Then, put all of your performance upgrades back onto the Golf GTI and trade your car for the Mazda RX-7. If done correctly, you should gain a profit of at least $5,500. Repeat those steps as many times as desired. In a short time you should have at least $30,000.
Start with the Nissan Skyline. Then, strip you car down to stock (performance) and trade it for the VW Golf GTI. From there, put all of the performance upgrades back onto your car. Trade your car for the Mazda RX7. You should make about $6,000 to $10,000, depending on what level performance upgrades you have. With that money, you can make a great looking car.
Use rims that normally will not fit
Certain cars can only fit so big of a rim. For example, the Miata can only fit 17s, but if you get a car like the Skyline put 20s on it and trade it in for the Miata. The Miata will now have the 20s that the Skyline had in it. Do not try to install any other rims on your new car because the rims will go back to the maximum sized allowed.
Chrome rims
Choose a rim style of your choice. Then, when you paint them, choose the color in the first row, third from the left. It should look like a chrome color.
Purge nitrous
To purge your nitrous and appear to shoot out smoke, either put your car in neutral, or at the beginning of the race press "Nitrous".
Change color of vinyl
Choose any vinyl except for uniquem then select the layer you changed on the layers menu. Press [B] and the color change menu will appear.
No Way Jose race
Jose will start strong, but then will sometime make the mistake of trying to take a short-cut during the race. He drives off track and will allow you to take the lead. He may kick your tail in the first lap, but this "shortcut" causes his downfall. During your race, do not crash and you should defeat Jose.
Shortcuts
Look for alternate routes on your in-game map while driving. These can get you ahead of an opponent easily or shave off seconds on your timer. They will look like another road on the map, but sometimes are narrower. Most of the time these shortcuts will be hard to see or take, and can be extremely risky.
At the beginning of the races that take place in front of the prison Samantha told you to race to for a reward, when the race starts, crash in the gate of the prison. It is an underground shortcut. Note: This only works after the race in which Samantha tells you to race to the prison in time for a reward.
Recommended cars
The stats on the performance bars are not all that count. The Mazda RX-7 is extremely responsive. Quick movements and the ability to get yourself out of tight jams is what wins the race. The Mazda RX-7 responds very quickly and can help you out a lot with dodging cars and making it through quick S turns. The RX-7 may not have as good of a turning radius as the Skyline, but this can be compensated by holding the gas and pressing the brake at the same time while in a turn. This may bring your speed down a bit, but it also tightens your turning radius. Use this tactic when speeding through one of the tunnels with poles in the middle. Do not be discouraged by the poor start of the RX-7. This car will make up for it with its phenomenal top speed and ability to turn quickly. Objects always appear at a set distance ahead of you. At high speeds this will only give you a small instant for you to react and for your car to respond to your commands. The RX-7 responds faster than the Skyline, and therefore gives you a definite advantage at high speeds. It also turns more tightly at low speeds. It is also a good tool to use in Drift challenges because it is a light rear wheel drive. When you go sideways, the tires will just keep spinning as you drift. There is no need to use the handbrake with this car in drift mode except to slow yourself down -- you will continue to accelerate a lot with this car in drifts. Because drifting does not slow the car down (as long as you hold the gas), it is easy to go into a wall. There is no other car that can make it all the way around the 3/4 circle in a perfect 3/4 circle without losing speed. Do not use stock tires with the fully souped up RX-7 in drift mode, as the car is extremely slick on the ground (light rear wheel drive).
The best car to start with is the Mazda MX5. It has a great top speed, moderate acceleration and awesome handling. The car is also one of the best cars to continue the game with. Only the Mazda RX7 and Nissan Skyline are better.
For the drag part, use a Honda S2000. If you have the perfect shift and the extreme performances, you will be about three or more seconds ahead of everyone. For drifting, try a Mazda RX-7 because its a good rear wheel drive car. For the rest, try using a Civic, Skyline, Eclipse, and the Acuras. They have quick response, but not to the point where you will hit the wall and sometimes spin out.
The best handling car is the Mazda MX-5. The best car in acceleration is the Acura RSX. The best top speed car is the Nissan Skyline R34J. The Volkswagon Golf GTi or the Mitsubishi Lancer are not recommended starters in Underground mode.
The best car to select when starting a new game is probably the Neon (until you get farther into the game, some tracks get very difficult).
See where you are landing in slow motion
Pause game play while you are in the air and the game is in slow motion. Resume the game and you can see where you are landing.
Glitch: Two for one spoiler
During Underground mode, Samantha will let you chose between three spoilers for your car. If you chose the Katana, whenever you customize a car outside of Underground mode, you will have both the Katana and Dual GT spoiler.
