How to Upgrade Your Car in Need for Speed

Upgrading at an Auto Shop

Launch the game from the Windows Start menu. That is, Start button >> All Programs >> EA Games >> Need for Speed Most Wanted. You can also start it by executing the Need for Speed Most Wanted shortcut on the desktop if you have it there.

Select “Career.” Once the game launches, you will be presented with a menu containing the different kinds of competitions you can enter. Choose “Career” from the options.

Go to Free Roam. In Career mode, choose Resume Career and then select Free Roam. This will take you into the game world (the streets of Rockport City).

Use the GPS map to navigate your way to the nearest Auto Shop. To drive, hit gas (Up arrow key) and steer left or right (Left/Right arrow). On the map, an Auto Shop is represented using a yellow icon of a miniature shop. Drive till you arrive near one.

Go inside the Auto Shop. You will notice a yellowish marker near the shop. Stop your car inside the marker and hit Enter on your keyboard to access it. This will get you inside the shop.

Select an upgrade. You will be presented with three upgrade options: Parts, Engine and Visual. Choose Parts to alter the body of the car, Engine to tune up performance and Visual to change the paint or add vinyl to the car. Add the items you want to the shopping cart by highlighting them (Left/Right arrow keys) and then pressing Enter to choose a part.

View your cart. If you want to check out your cart before purchasing, just press 4.

Purchase your upgrades. To pay for your upgrades and apply them to the car, press Enter.

Go back to the streets. To return to the streets in your spruced up ride, hit Escape.

Performance Tuning via the In-game Pause Menu

Pause the game. In Free Roam mode (see Part 1 to learn how to enter this mode), press Escape to bring up the Pause Menu.

Select “Performance Tuning.” Scroll right (Right arrow key) and select Performance Tuning by pressing Enter.

Tune your car. Using the Up/Down arrow keys to select different performance aspects and the Left/Right arrow keys to adjust the sliders, you can tune the following: Steering sensitivity (requires Auto Shop purchase: Suspension) Handling (requires Auto Shop purchase: Suspension) Brake bias (requires Auto Shop purchase: Brakes) Ride height (requires Auto Shop purchase: Suspension) Aerodynamics (requires Auto Shop purchase: Body kit/Spoiler) Nitrous (requires Auto Shop purchase: Nitrous) Turbo (requires Auto Shop purchase: Turbo)