from the pages of EGM and Expert Gamer

Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec for Dummies

Alright, so you've completed the first license test (right?) and you don't know which car you should buy with your paltry allowance of credits. The choices are limited, to be sure.
But if you follow this handy quick guide, you should be racking up the credits and free cars in relatively no time.
First, go buy a Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT Apex. Yeah, it's ugly and it looks like something your dad drove before you were born; nonetheless, we all have to start somewhere.
Enter races in the Sunday and Clubman cups, as welt as the FR and NA-class races. You'll find that placing in the top three is a rarity, but don't worry; progress is being made.

Soldier on, and sooner or later you'll start earning enough money to buy some upgrades. Go for things, like a new ROM chip and a racing exhaust system. Avoid high-priced upgrades that offer very little performance increase (that's good advice for the entire GT3 experience). Be sure to buy a better transmission, too. Some decent fires wouldn't be a bad idea either, but only if it's not going to take too many credits.

As you win new cars, sell them immediately. Most of them are 'crap anyway. What you're hoarding your credits for is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI. It's the key to progressing quickly in Gran Turismo 3. The Evolution, in GT3 Producer Kazunori Yamauchi's own words, is "invincible." Considering its impressive specs when first bought, it's not hard to see why. With a 280 horsepower, turbo?charged engine and four wheel drive, it's perfect for the twisty courses found in GT3. Very few cars can compete with the Evo on the amateur level.

Spend every cent you win to upgrade your Evo, including some fairly hard compound racing tires. Also, be sure to buy all the tightest gear like new brakes and all three weight reduction operations. Once you have the Evo up to around 560 horsepower and have earned an "ia" license, it's time to enter the Super Speedway 150 mile endurance race. This race is a bear. Although you might not be the fastest car in the field, chances are you can with this race on pit strategy alone. Most of your competitors will pit approximately every eight laps or less. Keeping that in mind, no matter how bad your tires look, only pit every 10 laps (i.e 11, 21, 31, etc). Using your superior pit strategy, you should not only win the race, but have at least a lap or more on the entire field.

Now here's where fate takes over. Winning the endurance races awards you with one of four pre-determined cars. The problem is that the one you get is chosen randomly. If all goes well, though, you should end up with the F090 Formula car. This thing is super-fast and super-stable, plus it can enter almost 50% of any races in Gran Turismo mode. Enter and win every race this thing qualifies for and by the end of it, all you should have well over 500 million credits and dozens of cars in your garage.

Now that you've got all that money, you barely need to use it. Go back and start finishing off the races you skipped early on because the F090 didn't exactly meet the qualifications for them. Simply choose the best car out of your garage that qualifies for each event, upgrade it as much as possible (with all that mad dough you've got) and blow the competition away. Every once in a while you might have to spend some cash on a new car. Just buy the top of the line, moneybags!
There you have it. The beginners guide to fame and glory in the world of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. But Wait! As if we haven't made it easy enough for you, read on to find out how to cheat on some of the more difficult tracks in the game.

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