Best fuel and tire strategy in Forza Motorsport

Forza Motorsport players can adjust their tactics ahead of the race by choosing the best fuel and tire strategy available.

New features in Forza Motorsport allow you to adjust your fuel load before each race and, if using a vehicle that has race tires equipped, you can also choose a tire compound between soft, medium, hard, or wet.

These choices can significantly alter the performance of your car in the race, allowing you to achieve faster lap times or reduce the amount of pit stops you may require, which can make a big difference in your battle for victory.

How to change fuel and tire strategy in Forza Motorsport

Your first chance to change your fuel and tire strategy comes in the pre-race menu, where you can click on “Car” and choose the Settings from there.

Alternatively, before entering a race in Forza Motorsport, you will be shown the grid and the list of drivers and their cars. From here, hit X on your Xbox controller to bring up the fuel and tire settings ahead of the race. If you’re playing on PC, hit F on your keyboard.

This will open up the fuel and tire strategy menu, with a slider for fuel load and options for tires. On the right, you will see telemetry estimates that show the race length and the required number of pit stops for your current selection, how many laps can be completed with the current fuel load, and estimated lap times.

Best fuel strategy in Forza Motorsport

The best fuel strategy in Forza Motorsport is to load the car with enough fuel for the race. You can do this by seeing the length of the race and setting your fuel load to match the required laps.

I’ve found the best approach is to find the fuel load that is enough to complete one more lap than the race length, then to knock it down to the highest fuel load that matches the race length—as this provides some leeway just in case it’s needed.

In some scenarios, this approach can be slightly risky, so you can opt for a safer choice of loading enough fuel to complete an additional lap of the race.

Best tire strategy in Forza Motorsport

The best tire strategy in Forza Motorsport depends on the conditions and the length of the race, though it’s worth remembering you can only adjust your tire choices if you have unlocked race tires for your car.

For a shorter race, up to around six laps, soft tires are the best choice as they are the fastest compound, though you’ll notice they start to struggle in longer races and you’ll find yourself losing grip.

Medium tires are a solid choice for longer races and can even be a good option for extremely long races, as you can pit for a fresh set. Alternatively, hard tires are your best option if you plan not to pit in a long race.

Finally, wet tires should always be chosen in the rain as these provide the best possible grip, whereas other compounds will likely see you crash or spin out.