Balance of Performance (BoP) is a mechanic in Gran Turismo 6, Gran Turismo Sport, and Gran Turismo 7, adapted from real-life sports car racing that adjusts the power and weight ratio of every vehicle within a class, with intent of attempting to keep a balanced playing field.[1][2]
Gran Turismo 6[]
A car selection screen for a Historic Prototype Racing Car Battle Quick Match event. All cars except the Mazda 787B '91 had their horsepower reduced, while the Toyota MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V '89 had 20 kg of ballast added to the car's weight.
A prototype of the BoP system appeared in GT6's Quick Match mode: some Quick Match races featuring "courtesy" cars (such as Touring Car Battle, Prototype Racing Car Battle, and Historic Prototype Racing Car Battle) have the power and weight adjusted by Polyphony Digital for all cars that can be selected on each event.[3] Because Quick Matches change on regular basis, the power and weight of eligible cars are also adjusted for each time an event makes an appearance. An arrow appears next to car's horsepower rating during selection process to determine if the car's power has been increased, decreased, or unchanged, while weight adjustments are marked with the amount of ballast (inside a ballast-shaped box) added above the car's weight.
Gran Turismo Sport and Gran Turismo 7[]
A pre-race BoP confirmation screen for a Gr.4 Daily Race event in GT Sport.
In GT Sport and GT7, each car class (except Gr.X in GT Sport) has a set of BoP settings regulating power and weight ratios for every car. Every major update, BoP changes are usually applied, especially with entry of racing vehicles; BoP can also be changed simply by a server maintenance. Depending on the car, BoP changes affect factors such as tire and fuel consumption. For N class vehicles, as they can be tuned to enter a lower or higher division, all the car's eligible classes are counted in BoP table. For example, for a car that starts out as a N400 and can be tuned between N300 to N500, the car in question is included in all classes' BoP tables, with adjustments that attempt to penalize "outsider" cars. Because the N class system was removed in GT7, cars that are not part of a racing category are not subject to BoP; instead, they adhere to an event's Performance Points limit.
In Sport Mode of both games, BoP are typically enabled for all events, and settings are fixed (no changes to suspension, gear ratio, or downforce settings are permitted). However, in online lobbies, it is possible to create an online lobby with BoP enabled and change of settings permitted (although not in GT7 until version 1.29 for Sport Mode, primarily to allow adjustment of brake balance during Sport Mode races, and version 1.29 allows online lobby room owners to configure what settings can be configured and what not). Occasionally, one-make Daily Races (and even rarely, Sport Mode events) may allow car tuning. It is also possible to use a BoP power and weight settings during an offline Time Trial.
In GT Sport, each car has their own BoP for road courses and oval tracks, as well for dirt courses in case of N class and Gr.B cars. In GT7, the game divides road course BoP ratings/setup depending on the type of the track (slow/medium/high speed), although in practice all tracks tend share the same BoP until version 1.42 (the game has switched between common and split speed BoP in various instances). Track speed classification for BoP purposes itself were not made public until version 1.19, released in late July 2022.
BoP changes are determined by tests conducted by Polyphony Digital staff, either by human test drivers or the game's AI;[4] player feedback and playing patterns may also apply.
A recurring trend in GT7's BoP calculation is to favor a manufacturer's most current car over their older ones.
BoP by track[]
Gran Turismo 7 has three distinct BoPs for tarmac courses - "low-speed", "mid-speed", and "high-speed". The tracks contained in each BoP are listed below. Reverse variants are always the same BoP as the standard layout they are based on.