Vehicle Upgrade and Customization Guide to Ace Racer
When you play Ace Racer, your vehicle essentially becomes an extension of you. Therefore, it is important to consistently maintain it as well as give it upgrades to win more races in the Speedfest. In this guide, we’ll show you all the things you need to know about vehicle maintenance and upgrades.
Vehicle Roles
Before we learn how to maintain and upgrade our vehicle, we must first understand the characteristics that define it. In Ace Racer, vehicles are segregated into three vehicle roles. This role gives you an idea on what purpose the vehicle was built for. Considering vehicle roles can matter greatly when teaming up with other racers because vehicle roles tend to benefit one another.
Ace Racer has three vehicle roles:
- Speedster – “With a powerful acceleration Ultimate, this car can easily catch up from behind and overtake all cars to clinch the championship”.
- Support – “Provides various buffs for the team. Please ensure that there is a supporter in the team race”.
- Interceptor – “Disrupts your opponents to stay ahead. It is a significant role in the team race.”
Autocare
In the Autocare section, you can repair your vehicle from any damages caused while racing but you can also add custom modifications to its appearance.
Vehicle damages are caused when your vehicle keeps colliding with racetrack walls or even other vehicles. Some vehicles even have Ultimates that are meant to physically damage enemy vehicles and decrease their durability such as Exhaust Flames. When damaged, visible dents and other markings are applied to your vehicle. You can get rid of these by pressing ‘Free Maintenance’ in the Autocare menu. This prompt only shows up when your car is damaged to begin with.
Ace Racer gives you plenty of ways to customize your vehicle according to your liking. There are several categories by which you can modify your vehicle’s appearance:
- Paint – give your car a fresh coat of paint. More colors can be unlocked by increasing the vehicle’s proficiency level (Training Plan) or by increasing its upgrade level.
- Decals – compliment your vehicle’s paint job by adding decals. Decals can be placed anywhere on the vehicle and can also have its size, orientation, and style adjusted.
- Wraps – these are pre-made paint and decal jobs that follow a certain theme. Use wraps if you want to give your vehicle a very vibrant and eye-catching appearance. More wraps can be obtained either from the car’s Training Plan or bought from the store.
- Plates – add a license plate to further personalize your vehicle and make it stand out on the scoreboard. Plate numbers can only be generated through Plate Lottery, which generates 10 sets of plate numbers randomly. Upon choosing a plate number, you can also choose the style of the plate number board.
- Stance – modify your car’s stance to give it a cooler look during the race.
- Lights – give your vehicle some bright and colorful lights to make it stand out during the race, especially on night maps.
Vehicle Upgrade
Upgrading your vehicle increases its upgrade level (which is different from proficiency level). As this goes higher, the vehicle unlocks various upgrades such as upgrades to its Ultimate (faster speed and longer duration), new nitro configurations, and higher ECU max level (more on this later).
When upgrading your vehicle, you need two things: gold and parts. Gold is the most common currency in Ace Racer and is used not only for vehicle upgrades but also for store merchandise.
It can be acquired through many means such as supply boxes, Handbook missions, daily sign-in rewards, or can be bought with tokens (Ace Racer’s premium currency).
On the other hand, parts are a bit more complicated. Vehicle parts can come in two forms, they can either be universal parts or specific parts.
As the name suggests, universal parts can be used to upgrade any vehicle. Universal parts are often acquired from Speedfest Supply Boxes which can be purchased by going through the Supplies section of the Store.
Specific parts are only applicable for certain vehicles. You can see the list of compatible vehicles by clicking on ‘Backpack’ (from the main menu) > Parts. Specific parts for one vehicle can be acquired by completing Handbook missions for that same vehicle. It can also be obtained from Speedfest Supply Boxes and from the Wish Shop in the Store in exchange for tokens.
The gold and parts that you have spent on a vehicle can be refunded through Vehicle Recall. This can be accessed by going to the vehicle’s upgrade page and clicking on the ‘Recall’ button. Recalling a vehicle can be very useful when you are in need of resources, and you no longer need to use the vehicle anymore.
Nitro Configurations
Nitro is very important for your vehicle as using it fills up your Ultimate charge. Ace Racer offers you plenty of types of nitro to use.
There are six nitro configurations in the game: 2×2 Pounds, 1×5 Pounds, 2×2.5 Pounds, 1×6 Pounds, 3×2 Pounds, and 2×3 Pounds. Each configuration has its own Nitro Charge which determines its Nitro Duration. Additionally, each configuration is built for different situations so find what is right for your vehicle and driving style.
More nitro configurations can be unlocked by leveling up a vehicle through Vehicle Upgrade.
ECU Installation and Upgrades
The ECU is a special plug-in that you can insert into your vehicle to improve its performance. It can be done through the ‘ECU Assembly’ page of the Workshop.
Each vehicle has six slots for ECUs. The only thing different among other vehicles is the set of ECU shapes that the slots can accommodate. ECUs come in six different shapes: Core, Round, Triangle, Diamond, Hexagon, and V-Shaped. Aside from the shape, ECUs also come in rarities: Purple (Rarity III), Blue (Rarity II), and Green (Rarity I).
ECUs can be acquired from Speedfest Supply Boxes or from ECU packs. One ECU pack only contains one ECU.
ECUs can be upgraded up to level 10 using other ECUs to increase primary stats. Upgrading an ECU is not always guaranteed and is dependent on a success rate. The success rate can be increased by consuming owned ECUs. The higher the rarity and current level of the ECU is, the more likelihood of success.
When an ECU reaches level 3, 5, and 7, it would need to undergo ECU breakthrough to continue leveling up. Breakthrough can be done by consuming same-type ECUs or Universal ECUs. Secondary stats can be randomly acquired when Round, Triangle, Diamond, and Hexagon ECUs undergo breakthrough.
