- Primary Subject: Forza Horizon 6
- Key Update: Turning off specific driving assists like stability control and automatic steering helps beginners achieve significantly faster lap times.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: October 20, 2026
- Quick Answer: Beginners in Forza Horizon 6 should first disable restrictive features like Stability Control, Automatic Steering, and the Driving Line to achieve significantly faster lap times.
In any video game with a dedicated fanbase, there is always a vocal minority claiming that there is only one “intended way” to play, and this most often includes deliberately playing with a more obtuse, difficult experience in mind.
Similarly, in racing games, driving assists are a topic of contention between beginner and more experienced drivers, but not always.
It’s important to remember that assists are part of inclusive game design, so that everyone, regardless of skill level or ability, can enjoy the game.
What are driving assists?
Driving assists are there to help streamline the learning or playing process. It’s perfectly acceptable to play with assists turned on, or vice versa.
However, driving assists in racing games have a drawback, and it's that drivers with assists turned on are often slower than drivers who use little to no assists.
This is because driving assists limit performance by cutting power to the car in different ways.
Why turn off assists?
Essentially, it slows the car (and you) down, costing you precious seconds of lap time.
Every racing game handles its driving assists differently as well. The driving assists in Forza are more numerous and aggressive than the assists in Gran Turismo, for example.
If you want to get faster in Forza Horizon 6, you eventually have to turn some assists off. Don’t let the game drive for you; here are the ones you need to turn off first.
Difficulty
Changing the difficulty in Forza Horizon 6 is easy; it’s under the first tab when you select Options. First things first, turning assists on or off has an equivalent bonus percentage for credits earned.
A “greater” difficulty equals more credits earned, and vice versa. The drivatar difficulty adjusts the skill of the AI opponents in races. It ranges from the easiest setting of ‘Tourist’ to the greatest difficulty of ‘Unbeatable’.
I recommend starting from ‘Average’ at first, then adjusting the difficulty afterwards if the races are too easy or too hard. There’s an additional difficulty setting under Options, then Accessibility, and Gameplay Accessibility.
It allows you to change the progression of the main story campaign, and even the game speed (in offline mode), essentially allowing you to play the game in slow motion.
I recommend leaving the Story Progress option on ‘Standard’, as ‘Guaranteed’ allows you to progress through the wristbands and festivals without any challenge.
But if you want to progress regardless of the result, playing on ‘Guaranteed’ is perfectly fine.
Steering
The Steering assist options are ‘Auto-Steering’, ‘Assisted’, ‘Standard’, and ‘Simulation’.
‘Auto-Steering’ and ‘Assisted’, as the name implies, give the game’s AI full or partial control over your steering, essentially letting the game drive for you. ‘Assisted’ gives you some control, but the AI still fights with you over steering inputs.
‘Standard’ and ‘Simulation’ give you full control over steering, and I recommend using ‘Standard’ for gamepad players and ‘Simulation’ for wheel players, though you may experiment with both settings to see which is best for you.
Stability Control
Stability Control prevents the car from spinning out during corners, which is a familiar experience for new players. On the other hand, it also prevents oversteer completely.
Generally, cars should have a little oversteer while cornering to help them turn in the right direction. Stability Control ‘On’ prevents that from happening by cutting power to the wheels, and it slows you down massively during corners.
It also prevents the car from doing any sort of drifting or sliding, which is not ideal for drift events.
Turn this option off; learning how to control and induce oversteer is an essential lesson for beginner drivers.
Driving Line
The Driving Line option draws a suggested racing line on the track using colors that indicate when to accelerate, brake, or steer.
While helpful for unfamiliar tracks, the suggested racing line is usually inconsistent with the much faster, ideal racing line. Plus, it’s distracting to experienced drivers.
I recommend turning this option off or leaving it at ‘Braking Only’ if you have trouble gauging the braking distance needed after a long straight.
However, the Driving Line braking zone is oftentimes more conservative than needed, and so you can brake much later than expected.
Shifting
Shifting is based more on preference than actual difficulty. Some prefer automatic shifting, others prefer manual shifting, while others still prefer manual shifting with a clutch.
It’s worth noting that shifting manually is marginally faster than automatic. Not by much, but manual shifting maximizes the car’s RPM and allows the use of engine braking.
I recommend using whichever option is the most fun for you, whether shifting is an important aspect of racing to you or not. But ‘Manual w/ Clutch’ is a great option if you are using a wheel and pedals.
Traction Control
Traction Control is similar to Stability Control as it also cuts power to the wheels. But Stability Control prevents the car from spinning out, whereas Traction Control prevents the car’s wheels from spinning out.
Turning Traction Control on allows the car, primarily high-powered cars, to become more stable, especially during heavy acceleration. But like Stability Control, it also leaves some speed on the table.
If you’re having trouble preventing excessive wheelspin on supercars, it’s fine to leave this option ‘On’, particularly for controllers. But in general, I recommend keeping this assist off.
Braking
The Braking assist options are ‘Assisted’, ‘Anti-lock On’, and ‘Off’.
Similar to ‘Assisted Steering ', ‘Assisted Braking’ gives the AI control over the car and automatically activates when you drive too fast into a corner, which is much slower overall than manually pressing the brakes yourself.
I recommend keeping the Braking assist either at ‘Anti-lock On’ or ‘Off’. ‘Off’ has better potential lap times, but the difference is marginal in FH6, and ‘On’ is used comfortably by most players.
Damage and Tire Wear
This option has the ability to show visual and simulated damage on your car, whether through bumps, scratches, or just wear and tear. Either ‘Off’ or ‘Cosmetic’ (meaning visual damage has no bearing on actual car performance) is fine.
‘Simulated’, on the other hand, allows damage to impact car performance and parts. It is generally agreed that the rate of damage in FH6 is too high.
Tires, for example, wear down far too quickly, and considering that there are no pit stops in FH6, makes this option pointless.
Rewind
Rewind allows the player to rewind time, restart from a previous checkpoint, and continue driving. While some drivers may scoff at the option, Rewind is a perfectly acceptable mechanic to use.
It helps keep the frustration from bad decisions or unlucky instances to a minimum, and can even become a teaching moment. It allows drivers to think about what went wrong and what they could do differently for that corner.
Of course, overreliance on this mechanic could become a bad habit, as there are no do-overs in online play.
Ultimately, this assist is up to you; I prefer to keep it on.
Launch Control
Launch Control is engaged at the start of races, or when the gas pedal and handbrake are both pressed. It limits engine RPM before the light turns green, which allows for a smooth and stable takeoff from the start line.
Drag racers use manual Launch Control as they use an advanced technique that allows them to launch off the line faster by keeping turbo boost high. Personally, I leave this option at ‘On’.
Taking the Wheel
Driving assists are a necessary mechanic that eases new players into the genre and keeps casual players playing.
Ultimately, players should just do what they need to do to keep the game fun for themselves, regardless of others’ opinions on the ‘correct’ or ‘intended’ way to play the game.
See you at the festival, racers!
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