Elite Customs Adds 474 EVO and Exactly Zero PP
Across 70 CSR2 cars recorded at multiple Elite Customs levels, PP never moves while EVO climbs a median 474 points. This is why PP misleads.
We have written before that PP is a poor guide to how fast a CSR2 car is. What we had not done is explain the mechanism. This article does, and the answer turns out to be concrete rather than statistical.
70 cars on the record sheet appear at two or more Elite Customs levels, with a real time at each. That lets us watch what every number on the car screen does as the same car is upgraded.
PP does not move
Across the 70 models, the median change in PP from the lowest recorded Elite Customs level to the highest is exactly zero. Not one of the 70 shows any PP change at all.
Meanwhile the median EVO change across the same spans is +474 points, and EVO rises in 69 of the 70 cases.
| Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 | +705 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nissan Silvia Spec R (S15) | +722 | |
| Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R | +854 | |
| Honda Civic Type R | +561 | |
| Lamborghini Miura SV | +363 | |
| Median of all 70 models | +474 |
Every one of these cars gained 0 PP over the same span.
So the single most powerful upgrade path in the game, worth a median 0.907 seconds across a full climb, is completely invisible to the number the game shows you most prominently.
The Shelby GT350 is the clearest case
Take the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, which appears at Elite Customs level 0 and level 36.
| Level 0 | Level 36 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PP | 713 | 713 | no change |
| EVO | 1,908 | 2,613 | +705 |
| Recorded time | 7.834 | 6.528 | 1.306s faster |
| Rank in tier | 706th | 4th in the game | 702 places |
The same car, 1.306 seconds quicker, moved from 706th in its tier to fourth in the entire game — and its PP figure is identical at both ends.
If you were comparing these two cars by PP you would conclude they were equivalent. They are not remotely equivalent. One is a mid-pack Tier 5 car and the other is a genuine contender for the fastest car in CSR2.
Why this happens
We cannot see the game's internals, so this is inference from the data rather than a claim about the code. But the pattern is consistent with PP measuring fitted parts, and Elite Customs not being a fitted part in that sense.
Whatever Elite Customs does, it does not register in the column that counts components. EVO does see it, which is why EVO tracks recorded time at a correlation of about -0.96 in Tier 5 while PP manages only -0.20.
That single structural fact explains most of the confusion players have about these two numbers. They are not two attempts at the same measurement with one being better. They are measuring different things, and one of them is blind to the biggest upgrade in the game.
The tune changes too, and mostly in one direction
Something else moves across an Elite Customs climb that nobody mentions: the tune. In 59 of the 70 cases the recorded tune at the top level differs from the tune at the bottom.
The direction is usually the same. The Shelby GT350 goes from a final drive of 2.07 at level 0 to 2.00 at level 36. The Nissan Silvia Spec R goes from 2.31 to 2.00. As the car gets stronger, the final drive lengthens toward the 2.00 floor that dominates the top of Tier 5.
The practical consequence: if you copy a record tune for a car at a level you have not reached, you may be copying a setup that only works once the car is further along. Check the Elite Customs level in the name before you copy the numbers.
Eleven cars kept the same tune
The tune changed in 59 of 70 climbs, which means it stayed identical in eleven. Those are worth knowing about, because they are the cars where a record tune transfers cleanly regardless of what level you are at.
The Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R runs 188/4.0 nitrous, a 2.00 final drive and 0/100 tyres at both level 0 and level 36, while its EVO climbs from 1,619 to 2,473. The Lamborghini Miura SV and the Honda Civic Type R behave the same way.
What these have in common is that they already sat at the settings the top of Tier 5 converges on. A car that starts at a 2.00 final drive has nowhere further to lengthen it, so the climb adds EVO without changing the setup.
The one that does not fit
EVO rose in 69 of the 70 cases. The single exception is worth naming.
The BMW 3.0 CSL (E9) records 2,570 EVO and 6.759 seconds at both level 0 and level 36 — identical on every measure. Either the car genuinely gains nothing, or one of the two rows is mislabelled.
We leave that row in place and include it in every median we publish rather than quietly removing an inconvenient number.
What this means practically
- Never compare two cars by PP if either carries an Elite Customs level. PP cannot see the difference and will tell you they are the same.
- Use EVO instead. It moves a median 474 points across a climb and tracks real time closely.
- A level-0 entry tells you almost nothing about the finished car. The GT350 moves 702 places between its two rows.
- Check the Elite Customs level before copying a tune. The setup changes in 59 of 70 cases, usually toward a longer final drive.
- If your PP has stopped moving while you are still improving the car, that is expected rather than a problem.
Every Elite Customs variant is listed separately in the record database with its own PP, EVO, time and tune, so you can follow any of these climbs yourself.