Boosts in iRacing Arcade operate as passive, pre-race performance perks unlocked through the Career mode Campus. You cannot trigger a boost manually with a button or nitrous meter while driving. Instead, Campus facilities generate a random pool of boost cards at the start of each thirteen-week season race week, which you equip directly on the race sign-up screen.
How to Equip and Activate Boosts
Equipping a boost requires progressing through Career mode until the team management features unlock after completing the initial Fiat 500 series.
- Advance your Career mode past the opening Fiat 500 championship to unlock the team Campus.
- Construct at least one boost-producing building—such as an Engine Shop, Chassis Shop, or R&D Center—from the Campus build menu.
- Advance to a new race week to receive your weekly random draw of available boost cards.
- Select an upcoming race from the calendar to open the event entry screen.
- Highlight your owned car and click the boost slot to select an available card from your weekly boost library.
- Start the race. The equipped perk takes effect automatically once trigger conditions are met on track.
Because each individual boost card drawn can only be used once per race week, you must choose which series or stage receives your best perks before ending the week.
Boost Requirements and Limitations
Not every car entered into a race can utilize boosts. Career mode imposes two specific restrictions based on vehicle ownership and facility levels:
- Owned Cars Only: If you enter an event without purchasing the required vehicle class, the game assigns a rental car. Rental vehicles carry a 25% prize money penalty and completely disable boost equipping. You must buy the vehicle outright to install perks.
- Garage Capacity: A Tier 1 Garage provides two car slots and allows you to equip one boost card per race. Upgrading the Garage unlocks a second boost slot, allowing up to two simultaneous boosts on an owned car.
- Single-Use Weekly Draw: Boosts do not replenish between races within the same week. Using a card in a sprint event consumes it for the remainder of that race week's calendar.
Campus Buildings and Boost Generation
The specific cards available in your weekly draw depend directly on which departments you build and upgrade on your team Campus. Each facility costs in-game prize money earned from race finishes and objective completions.
| Campus Building | Base Cost | Boost Focus | Example Boost Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine Shop | $2,500 | Horsepower & Acceleration | Fuel Additive (+2.5 engine power), +20 power for 3 seconds when overtaken, +16 power on final lap |
| Chassis Shop | $2,500 | Tire Wear, Grip & Slipstream | Tire Sauce (+40 to +80 grip on first lap), increased slipstream draft strength |
| R&D Center | $2,500 | Car Health & Durability | Repair Nanobots (+2 health per lap), Reinforced Parts (bonus starting health), Penalty Shield |
| Garage | $75 (Tier 1 Upgrade) | Boost Capacity & Car Storage | Tier 1 unlocks 1 boost slot; higher tiers allow 2 equipped boosts per race |
| Team HQ | Varies by Level | Driver Automation | Converts assigned boosts into higher simulation performance for hired AI drivers |
Constructing duplicate buildings or upgrading existing facilities raises the probability and potency of related boost cards appearing in your weekly draw.
Notable Boost Types and In-Race Effects
Boost perks fall into distinct mechanical categories, influencing car handling, top speed, or damage recovery:
- Timed and Situational Power: Perks like Beyond the Red Line provide a +16 engine power increase exclusively during the final lap. The overtake response perk grants +20 engine power for three seconds immediately after an opponent passes you.
- Opening Lap Grip: Tire Sauce and related tire additive boosts add between +40 and +80 extra grip on the opening lap of a race, making it easier to navigate through dense traffic off the starting grid.
- Damage and Health Recovery: Because taking contact or hitting barriers drops vehicle health and reduces engine speed, Repair Nanobots restore +2 health upon completing each lap to keep your vehicle competitive.
- Risk-Reward Trade-offs: Glass Rocket boosts both engine power and cornering grip, but increases incoming damage taken from wall impacts and rival contact by 25%.
- Regulation Overrides: The Penalty Shield allows cars to cut corners past track-limit bollards without incurring the game's standard two-second slowdown penalty.
- Cosmetic Perks: Certain novelty perks, such as Big Head Mode, visually enlarge driver helmets in open-wheel series like Formula Junior and Formula 4 without altering performance.
Assigning Boosts to Hired Drivers
Once a Team HQ is constructed on your Campus, you can hire AI drivers to run concurrent championships across the calendar. When assigning a hired driver to a multi-week series, you can allocate remaining boost cards to their entry.
Rather than executing on-track triggers, allocated boosts convert into flat performance and reliability improvements during automated race simulations. This allows your team to score points and collect prize money from secondary championships while you focus on driving primary events.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I manually trigger a boost during a race?
No. All boosts in iRacing Arcade trigger automatically based on their stated activation conditions, such as crossing the line on lap one, taking the final lap, or falling behind an opponent. There is no manual boost or nitro button on controllers or keyboards.
Why is the boost slot locked on the race entry screen?
The boost slot is locked if you are driving a rental vehicle. You must purchase the required car class for that series and have an operational Garage on your Campus to equip boosts.
Do boosts carry over into Free Play and Multiplayer?
No. Boosts are exclusive to Career mode progression. Free Play and private lobby multiplayer rely on standard vehicle balancing and custom ruleset sliders rather than Campus boost cards.
Do AI opponents use boost cards?
AI drivers in Career mode do not equip boost cards. Boosts serve as a player progression tool to help overcome faster lap times and aggressive pack racing on Master and Superstar difficulty settings.
