Another staple Gran Turismo experience returns in Gran Turismo 7. Maintaining your car is one of the key aspects of owning a car, and Gran Turismo 7 wants you to feel what it is like to take care of your beloved car by giving you a plethora of options to maintain your car to keep it in tip-top shape.

In this guide, we will be looking at the several ways you can maintain your car in Gran Turismo 7 in order for it to be performing at its best at all times and to avoid having to replace expensive parts due to your car being neglected

How Do You Maintain Your Car?

When you start Gran Turismo 7, you will be buying a car out of the Used Car Dealership. This means that the first car that you will be buying is guaranteed not to be brand new.

You may have also noticed that your starting car’s oil, engine, and body rigidity will be labeled as “Normal”. This is in fact not the best condition it can be in. The highest a car’s oil, engine, and body rigidity can be in terms of the condition is “Excellent”.

So how exactly do you maintain your car? You must first unlock the GT Auto shop which can be unlocked by completing Menu Book No. 7 in the GT Cafe pavilion. This will take about an hour or so of going through the other Menu Books in the GT Cafe.

So yes, you will be spending quite a bit of time racing without having to think about maintaining your car.

Inside the GT Auto Shop

Once you have unlocked the GT Auto shop, you will now be able to maintain your car. Simply go to the GT Auto pavilion and choose the Maintenance & Servicing option from the GT Auto menu.

From here you will be treated to the scene of your car in a garage, ready for it to be worked on by the ever-so-diligent GT Auto mechanics. You will also be treated to a menu of things that can be done to your car, namely: Car Wash, Oil Change, Engine Overhaul, and Restore Rigidity.

There is also the Wide Body modification, but as the menu implies, that is more of a modification to the car rather than a maintenance option so we will be skipping that.

Below we will be looking at the several options you can do in the GT Auto shop to maintain your car, how each maintenance option affects your car, and how it can help us keep your car as good as new.

Car Wash

Washing your car is one of the most basic things you can do to care for your car. On a (literal) surface level, washing your car makes it look cared for and makes it a pleasure to look at.

Washing your car has also been a mainstay of the Gran Turismo series, harking back to the first Gran Turismo where your car would be spun around, mimicking it like being in the washing machine until it stopped and you were presented with a car that sparkled like a diamond ring.

Whether your car is a measly Honda Hybrid Fit or a rare and collectible Porsche 911 Carrera RS, simply put: clean cars will always look good.

What Happens When Your Car is Dirty?

In the real world, when you don’t wash your car, the paint gets dull and dirt can otherwise ruin the luster of the car’s clear coat if it is not washed out quickly. The same holds true in Gran Turismo 7.

If have not been washing your car after races, your car’s paint will start to get a bit more matte and its shine will begin to dull. Cars from the Used Car Dealership will also most likely have duller paint than the cars that can be found in Brand Central.

While your car will not suffer any performance loss from it not being washed, its beauty will definitely be a bit marred by the fact that the paint is not as shiny or as pristine as it could be.

What Makes a Car Dirty?

A car gets dirty by racing, as simple as that. Every time you take your car out for a drive, dirt will inevitably cling onto the car’s exterior and it will stick there until you decide to have your car washed.

This is even more exacerbated when racing as there will be inevitable contact with other cars. That and the speed you will be carrying from racing lends itself to kicking up dirt far more than just cruising in a car.

What Are the Advantages of Having a Car Wash?

As stated above, there really is no advantage to having your car washed other than looking more beautiful than it is when it is dirty.

It also only costs 50 Cr. which is very much the definition of chump change when it comes to Gran Turismo 7, so having your car washed along with the other maintenance options being done to your car cannot seriously hurt your bottom dollar.

Speaking of making it beautiful, you can also switch things up whenever you want by changing the color of your car whenever you get bored of the old color.

Oil Change

Oil is one of the more important components of a car. It helps keep your engine healthy by having it lubricated and reducing any friction that would otherwise hurt your engine.

This option, alongside the car wash option, is a longstanding maintenance option from the series, and Gran Turismo 7 brings it back.

What Happens When Your Car’s Oil is Dirty?

When a car’s oil begins to become dirty, your car’s performance will take a noticeable hit in terms of power. Oil condition that is lower than “Normal” should definitely be changed as this not only saps power from your car’s engine, but it may also damage your engine much quicker.

With dirt and grime being collected by the dirty oil, these elements can make their way into the cavities of the engine, making it harder for the engine to work.

What Makes a Car’s Oil Dirty?

Just like the exterior of your car, a car’s oil becomes dirty when it is repeatedly used as it continuously acts as an element in the car. Deposits from gasoline and dirt can make their way into the engine bay and these elements make oil dirty.

It might be a cliche that oil is black, but modern synthetic oils are actually a clear, golden liquid that turns black (or brown) the dirtier it gets.

What Are the Advantages of Having Clean Oil in Your Car?

Clean oil in your car will have your engine working much easier than it would if the oil was dirty. This in turn increases the power of a car.

Think of it as a cheap upgrade that not only prevents your engine from stressing itself even more but also brings it back to the way it should be by giving it the power it lost when it was working with dirty oil.

Make it a habit to change your car’s oil the moment it gets below the “Normal” condition.

Engine Overhaul

A more drastic maintenance option available in the GT Auto shop, the Engine Overhaul replaces, cleans, and fixes worn parts of the engine to prolong an engine and help it produce power as efficiently as possible.

This option is completely new to the Gran Turismo series and gives neglectful drivers a rather expensive bill to foot if they decide to ignore maintaining their car.

The price of an Engine Overhaul depends on the car, typically, more expensive and bespoke cars like an Aston Martin DB5 will be more expensive (think more than 100,000 Cr.) than having an engine overhaul in your Toyota Aqua S (around 7,000 Cr.).

What Happens When Your Engine Needs an Overhaul?

When an engine needs an overhaul, it usually means that there is permanent damage to the engine and that there is a significant loss of power. These could be in the form of cracks or fractures that could be found in the engine components.

They could also be because of worn engine parts like loose seals which lead to leaks in an otherwise airtight component of a car. This also leads to loss of power.

What Decreases Engine Condition?

Like all of the maintenance options found in the GT Auto shop, the condition of an engine decreases the longer you use a car. It is just natural for these parts to wear out through use. However, unlike changing oil, an engine overhaul is not really needed as often so long as you keep your car maintained.

In this case, keeping your oil clean helps prolong the life expectancy of an engine, especially if it is being used for racing as constantly pushing and revving an engine to its maximum tolerance will have its toll much quicker than just having the engine revving lowly when it is cruising.

The less friction the engine has to deal with, the happier it will perform and in turn, makes the car’s power output more responsive and peppier.

What Are the Advantages of Having an Engine Overhaul?

If your car does need an engine overhaul due to its engine condition being “Poor”, then getting an Engine Overhaul significantly increases the power of the engine, bringing it back to its former glory.

Newer parts through an engine overhaul also mean that the car will respond better and will perform better.

If the car’s engine is way past its limit and an Engine Overhaul is wholly ineffective now, you can opt to get a new engine from the Understeer Engineering tuning shop and outright replace the engine.

Restore Rigidity

Another maintenance option returning to GT7, Restore Rigidity replaces and reinforces body panels that are stressed or have been bent in the course of usage.

Like the Engine Overhaul option, Restore Rigidity is a rather pricey maintenance option, and just like the Engine Overhaul option, the prices vary depending on the car.

For example, a Ferrari F50 will have carbon fiber in its body panels which need to be replaced, which is a much more expensive material than say steel from a Mazda Demio body.

What Happens When Your Body Rigidity is Low?

When a car’s body rigidity has taken a turn for the worse, it will handle a lot worse than before as the car will flex a lot more than it would have. Body flex lends itself to a car having rather wayward handling as the car’s body might flex to a shape that might put more weight onto one wheel or side of the car.

This makes the car unstable and sometimes unpredictable as you would typically want rigidity for the car to act in unison with its body.

What Decreases Body Rigidity?

Like all of the maintenance options, body rigidity naturally decreases as you race around a track and the constant turns and switchbacks flex the body, making it a bit more malleable than before.

Hard collisions and contacts also lend themselves to the body contorting violently and in turn decrease the body rigidity at an even faster pace.

You can, however, mitigate and decrease the rate at which body rigidity deteriorates by installing the Increase Body Rigidity upgrade from the Understeer Engineering tuning shop.

What Are the Advantages of Restoring Your Car’s Body Rigidity?

Restoring a car’s body rigidity makes it so that your car is more planted and responsive when going through corners. It also reduces body roll and overall waywardness in handling as a stiffer body helps in keeping the car stable.

If a car’s body rigidity condition is beyond repair and simple maintenance of the panels cannot fix it, then consider getting a new body from the Understeer Engineering tuning shop to completely revitalize the car’s body rigidity.

Final Thoughts

What started out as a simple car wash and oil change in the original Gran Turismo, Gran Turismo 7 decides to push the envelope in its detail as it strives to be a sort of omnibus to car culture and ownership.

Now, instead of just worrying about the sheen and luster of a car and if a car’s oil is now dirty, Gran Turismo 7 opens the door to more things that future and current car owners alike should be paying attention to when maintaining their car.

Not only does it translate in the game well as you would want to care for your car for it to win more races, but it also translates to real life as a sort of reminder that cars do need these maintenances to keep them running and to keep them as sharp as they were when they left the factory.

If you’re struggling with coming up with the credits needed to maintain your car, I recommend checking out our guide on how to earn money fast in the game. Applying a few tips from there should get you off to a good start in no time!