GT5 Time Trial and Drift Trial Seasonal Advice

The Seasonal challenges of Time Trials and Drift Trials are seen as easy money grabs for most GT gamers. Time Trials require you to post the fastest time on a given track. Drift Trials require you to score the most points drifting your car out. These tasks are easier said than done, though. It helps to have a car properly set up to properly take on each challenge. This blog post will give you a bit of guidance when doing these Seasonals.

--- Time Trial and Drift Trial Advice ---

Why don't we take a look at these two kinds of events in general? The Time Trials are all about posting the fastest times on a track. The Drift Trials are all about putting up as many drift points as possible in each section. The payout is very high for scoring high times and points. However, no experience points are offered. So you are doing these events for money and the various suits and helmets.

Time Trials are usually restricted to a certain set number of restrictions. Usually, certain kinds of cars and certain Performance Points (PP) are the only real restrictions. Players are asked to post the fastest-possible times for the course in question. A great setup and great driving skill are required to make the most of each Time Trial. There ARE rules- if you gain any sort of advantage by leaving the course or cutting corners, your time will be invalidated (noted by the lap time turning red). So post a valid lap to prevent from your run going foul. Go for lap times that surpass the Gold times!

The Drift Trials are all about controlled chaos- slide your car out in the corners while maintaining a consistent speed. Attack the apexes of corners while maintaining a solid drift. Each of the Drift Trials are done in Sector-Based trials. In Sector-Based Drifts, a fraction of the course is open for drifting. Your job is to score the most points in each section. Your final score is based on how well you do in every section. Can you post as many points as possible to secure Gold?


That is a look at both of these Seasonal events at a glance. Now on to some advice on both events.

--- Time Trial Advice ---

Here are some things to take note of when doing Time Trials:

• Keep your car within the specifications. If the rules call for a car at 500PP that isn't a race car, don't bring a race car or a Race-Modified car. If you can only race European cars, don't bring a non-European car to this event.

• Race the track hard without making errors. You are strictly enforced in Time Trials in GT5. So you can still race hard, just not TOO hard to where you start overshooting corners. If you gain any unnecessary advantage by cutting corners, your time will be invalidated. Your time will also go foul if you hit a wall hard enough. Be especially careful when entering the final corners of a track because you could risk having your lap time for the next lap go foul. If you find that multiple laps have been invalidated, it is best you restart your run.

• Take notes from other players. You are not the only one taking part in Time Trials. So to give yourself some guidance, try taking a look at times from other racers. A lot of information is recorded about how each racer put forth his/her best time. You can read thing about what controller they used, their transmission setup, car settings, and more. Also, it helps to check out how your PSN/SEN friends are doing with one Time Trial. I actually prefer competing against my online friends because I know I'll NEVER make it into the top times. So I just compare my times against my friends.


As an example of trying to race hard without having your times go invalidated/foul, take Kart Space I. There were times when I would aggressively attack some of the corners, sometimes to the point of unknowingly leaving the course. Each time I pushed to aggressively attack the corners, my time would be invalidated because my car left the course. So my best advice is to learn the course and find the limits of what you can and can't do around a course to keep your time valid. Once you explore these limits, try to attack the course as hard as you can without abusing it.

Go for the best time, mate! :)

--- Drift Trial Advice ---

What makes Drift Trials so interesting is that you don't need certain kinds of cars. The best advice is usually to go use a rear-wheel drive car. Some even do four-wheel drive cars for drifting. There are some 4WD drift events often times. Still, this is a diverse and fun series of events. The Drift Trials are all about controlled chaos. Swing your car out wildly in the corners while making sure to maintain a steady speed. Attack the apexes and make solid drifts. The main goal is to score enough points to secure Gold. All Drift Trial Seasonal events are Sector-Based Drifts, meaning there are certain parts of a track dedicated to drifting. You are racing a certain fraction of the course as you try to score as many drift points as possible in the section.


When doing these Drift Trials, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Keep your car within regulations. Most Drift Trial events require you to bring your own car. Most of them only really require Comfort Soft (or less) tires. Performance Points (PP) may be unrestricted. If

• Take a few practice drifts. Like most athletes, you have to warm up before seriously getting into the nitty gritty. You are not going to nail Gold in your first try. So take your time and learn the course. Afterwards, prepare to attack the track and lay down some rubber when you're ready.

• Learn the course. If you note a course has long sections, you know you will have to have a car that can sustain long drifts. If a course has a lot of tight and slow sections, it pays to have a setup that allows for powerful acceleration out of slow corners. A track with multiple switchbacks mean you'll have to adjust both your car and your driving style to properly attack each corner. As you race each Drift Trial course, you will get an idea of how much drifting you'll be able to do in each section as indicated by how quickly the ten red flags all appear. If the red flags appear quickly as you're drifting, then you know you are scoring the most points in that section. Conversely, if the red flags come by slowly, it means you have a lot of drifting to do to make the most possible points. Just remember to keep drifting while maintaining a solid and consistent speed. More than anything- learn the course, then adjust to score the most points.

• Set your car up if you haven't already. It is best to tune your car to take on the track in question. The key is to find a setup that allows you to make the most of your car;s performance while performing great drifts.

• Only attack in the drift zones. You don't need to be in full drift all the time, but you at least need to properly prepare your car for drift in the drift zones as you approach them. Often times, I find myself crashing into the walls coming out of drift zones. All you need to do is attack in the zones- you don't have to be in full drift unless you're doing a Full Lap Drift.

• Look at runs and settings from other players. Get some advice from other players who competed in the same Drift Trial. The top scores usually have video replays of their runs. Taking advice from them can help you with your run. Sometimes, the top Drift Trial scores can be monotonous with some of the same cars sharing the top of the grid. Usually, cars like the 2000 TVR Cerbera Speed 12 (I obviously don't see how the heck you make THIS car stable enough to drift) and the Buick Special are often atop the leaderboards. I recommend the AEM Honda S2000 drift car for drifting. It is a nimble car that has decent power and is fun to drift with.

• Have fun! Don't be so serious when doing Drift Trials. Drifting is often considered a recreational lifestyle motorsport. The most fun you'll have drifting is in trying various cars (especially rear-wheel drive cars). About the only real restriction in most Drift Trials is tire choice. This is an unbounded competition you can enjoy in almost any car. So have fun and try to rack up as many points as you can!


Drift. Countersteer. Look cool going crazy. Drift like you're mad!

--- Time Trial and Drift Trial Samples ---

Looking on YouTube, I found a couple of videos to demonstrate both Time Trials and Drift Trials. So use these videos to get an idea of how to take on both of these Seasonal challenges. I want to thank the YouTube channels who allowed their videos to be embedded:

Time Trial Sample.

Drift Trial Sample.

Now that you have inspiration and guidance, go forth and kick some butt in those Time Trial and Drift Trial Seasonals!





Thank you for reading!

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