NFS HEAT Handling Overhaul
You can view the handling mod in action in the videos below.
Drift Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk_7Ke-D1oM&ab_channel=Rattler
Racing Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg_sXjF-QJY&ab_channel=Rattler
IMPORTANT NOTE: Car replacement mods will break the handling, do not use them alongside the handling mod.
== Handling Overview ==
With the removal of brake-to-drift, driving techniques from more conventional racing titles can be used. Proper braking zones and racing lines are required to take corners at the highest speed, and drifting requires throttle management and counter steer to hold the slide. Driving styles which work in Forza Horizon or Grid can be used effectively to win events.
== Upgrade Changes ==
Some upgrades have been changed to allow more variety, builds should generally make more sense now, for example, drag tires are no longer the meta for drifting.
Nitrous now works like it did in the BlackBox games.
New tire upgrades that changes up how the car drives drastically.
Drivetrain swaps. (RWD/AWD)
Drift suspension with extra steering angle.
Rebalanced passive and active auxiliary parts. (Including a Drag Kit!)
== Live Tuning Changes ==
The tuning system in the game remains simple, but the sliders now more directly affect vehicle handling. Make sure to experiment with these new settings.
Downforce Offset, choose which part of the car receives more downforce.
Suspension Setup, choose between a focus on understeer or oversteer.
Fully adjustable traction control.
Brake Balance, choose whether the front or rear brakes get more braking force.
== UPDATE 4.0.1 ==
-FWD cars perform more realistically, this will also affect AWD cars slightly.
-Added a race 6-speed gearbox with custom gear ratios.
-Added new differentials with shorter final drive options.
-Fixed a few cars that had incorrect values applied to them that caused various issues like the brakes locking up too easily.
-Fixed the 10LBS NOS bottle not having a nos bar.
-Downforce offset can be adjusted further to the front, giving more oversteer at high speeds.
== Credits ==
Rattler – Main Mod Developer
JamesMiata – Mod tweaks, Testing, Tools, UI and Branding
Brawltendo – Tools
Comments
Rattler (July 22, 2025 @ 10:18)
There aren't any real offroad upgrades in this game, they only really affect the car visually, i have tweaked it so that it adds a bit of ride height but i can't actually make a tire that has extra grip offroad, kinda "immersion" breaking when you know but that's how it is
MrRossa (July 21, 2025 @ 20:51)
after some hours of testing multiple parts and cars i noticed that usually Off-road tires and Rally/Off-Road suspension don't help as much as they should, or atleast that is what i think of them.i tried with Trucks (the Raptor), RWD cars (M3 and Trans AM) and AWD cars (Evo X, Impreza, Focus RS) and they all feel like they have less grip, less control and downforce both on road and offroad than the Super Sports tires or Slick tires. I wanted to comment that in case it was a bug and non intended behavior.
MadCatD47 (July 11, 2025 @ 16:57)
Thanks for the info. I feel sad playing 2015 without it having handling like this :D
Rattler (July 11, 2025 @ 15:25)
I was originally working on a handling mod for NFS2015 at first before shifting my focus on Heat so the mod for that game is not far off from being done, Unbound on the other hand is unlikely to happen as there are very important values that are impossible to edit and through frosty and because of that the cars would be weightless and snappy which wouldnt make for a good handling mod