Tuning Games

Tuning games let you rebuild a car your way before you ever get behind the wheel. There are around 50 here, all free and all in the browser, and they vary a lot: some are pure garage games where you just pick colors and parts, others make you win races to pay for the upgrades.

Three ways to tune

The simplest is pure customization. Games like Customize your ride, Create a ride or Flash tuning car hand you a car in the garage and a menu of options for changing how it looks. There's no rival and no clock, so you stop when you like the result. It's the most relaxed kind, and the easiest for younger kids to follow.

The second is tune first, then race. In Tune and race, Drag racer v3 or Burning wheels, the car you build actually gets used: what you change affects how it handles on the track. Check what each part does before you spend, because you'll usually have to win races to afford the next one.

The third is management and merging. In Merge Car Idle Tycoon and Merge Mafia Cars you combine two identical cars to get a better one, and money trickles in while you do it. It's slow-paced, the kind of game you check every few minutes, and it has little to do with driving.

Games built around one car

If you like the classics, some games stick to a single model: Escarabajo tunning, Volkswagen tuning and Bug selecta all revolve around the Volkswagen Beetle. Lowrider Cars goes for a different look, the low-slung cars that bounce on their suspension.

Where to start

• You just want to customize: Customize your ride or Create a ride.
• You like the car but want to race it too: Tune and race.
• You'd rather not drive at all: Merge Car Idle Tycoon.

Every game has its own options, so look at the start to see what you can change. In some it's all about appearance, in others about performance. If you enjoy tuning but want to test the car in a race, the Circuit Racing section has plenty more tracks.