CarX Drift Racing 3 – Everything You Need To Know

Learn CarX Drift Racing 3’s fastest money-making methods and understand the game’s advanced features in this comprehensive guide.

A Brief History of the CarX Series

CarX Technologies began its journey in 2014, launching CarX Drift Racing on iOS and Android. The O.G. game established its reputation thanks to its impressive drift mechanics and easy-to-learn gameplay.

Its success led to the release of CarX Drift Racing Online in 2017, marking the franchise’s move to PC and consoles. This CarX Online maintains an impressive player base in the present day, with nearly 20,000 active players on Xbox platforms alone.

CarX Drift Racing 2 arrived in 2019. It improved the mobile experience with newly upgraded graphics and physics and consistently ranked among the top drifting games worldwide.

The franchise then took a bold step with CarX Street, introducing an open-world environment and real-time multiplayer racing. The collection also includes CarX Rally and CarX Highway Racing, which may be lesser-known titles to drifting fans.

Following its popularity, the series has built a particularly strong following in Asia, Europe, and North America. Its combined daily active player count exceeds 1.7 million, and there have been over 120 million total downloads across the CarX series.

The brand’s global success paved the way for CarX Drift Racing 3, which takes things to a whole new level with its recent free release on iOS and Android devices. The main headlines have been the introduction of never-before-seen car damage modeling and the most advanced physics and graphics in the series to date, but it offers even more.

Let’s look at what makes CarX Drift Racing 3 a must-try drifting game!

CarX Drift Racing 3’s Best Features

Revolutionary Damage System

As you likely already know, CarX Drift Racing 3’s damage system showcases never-seen-before levels of detail for drifting games, and we’re not just talking on mobile, either. We’re stoked to inform you that it really is as good as it sounds, too!

Impacts with minor things such as road signs result in detached bumpers, smashed glass, and flapping doors. The soft-body physics even bends your chassis in big crashes, while detailed touches like flying headlights leave battle scars following every collision.

If you want to see the damage for yourself, check out this video, which puts it through a thorough testing process:

Advanced Physics Engine

While every game mentions how the new physics are better than ever, they’re truly noticeable over CarX 2. It finds the sweet spot between hardcore simulators like Assetto Corsa and Forza Horizon’s arcade-style gameplay. It’s now closer to the realistic AC levels than previously.

The game is challenging and offers plenty of depth for skilled drivers who want to master advanced techniques. How the tires grip and the suspension behaves feels more realistic than in previous CarX games.

If you find the new physics too challenging, other games, such as the free online browser game Drift Hunters MAX, may be better suited. The browser-based platform means no downloads or installing, while features like basic tuning, AI traffic, and free roam provide a simpler entry to get you started with drifting games.

In-Depth Tuning & Customization

CarX Drift Racing 3 stands out with its detailed tuning system. Every adjustment and upgrade to the suspension, tires, and engine components notably impacts the car’s characteristics.

With over 80 individual parts available for each car, laser-scanned engine models, and much more, it’s among the most comprehensive tuning sections we’ve seen.

Engaging & Educational Game Modes

The game’s ‘Single Campaign’ mode teaches you how to master the game through various driving techniques and tips. From there, you can also participate in ‘Tandem Races’ and ‘Top32 Championships’ while maintaining engagement through fans and contracts.

You also get a ‘Free Ride’ open-world style mode to practice and explore the various locations.

While the level of detail can make the game a little complicated to understand initially, that’s exactly why we’ve created this guide to help break things down and explain the best ways to play CarX Drift Racing 3.

Getting Started In CarX Drift Racing 3

Firstly, you’ll need to download the game for free on the App Store for iPhones or the Google Play Store for Android devices.

Device Requirements

Apple devices require iOS 17.0 or later to play the game. As expected, newer, premium devices such as the iPhone 16 Pro Max will offer the best experience.

You may need to adjust the graphics settings for optimal performance on Android devices. Even phones with 12GB of RAM can struggle on ‘Ultra’ settings, so consider running the game on ‘High’ or ‘Very high’ for the best balance of visuals and performance.

Though touch controls are the typical way to play the game, it’s designed to be optimal when your phone is connected to a controller.

Space Requirements

The game’s file size is approximately 1.2GB. However, the full installation on my Android device uses 3.7GB, so ensure you have enough storage space before downloading.

Cost/Price

While the base game is free on mobile, it includes various in-app purchases for those who want to avoid the ‘grinding’ aspect. However, we’ll give you some tips shortly on how to earn money fast in the game, so don’t splash the cash just yet! For larger content packs, the price ranges from a couple of bucks to silly money.

When the game’s PC and console versions of CarX Drift Racing 3 are released, there will be an initial upfront cost, but more content will likely be included.

Game Modes

As you can see above, there is a selection of game modes in CDR3. You’ll need to earn enough fan points through the ‘Single Campaign’ mode to unlock all of these modes.

Once you earn fans, you’ll unlock the other game modes you see above, where ‘Tandem Races’ and ‘Top32 Championships’ are already unlocked. However, the custom track ‘Configuration Editor’ remains locked until you reach 800 fans, currently at 635, as displayed at the top of the screen.

Single Campaign

This is where you’ll start earning ‘Fans’ and ‘Contracts’ in the game. If you want to know more about these, please check their sections below.

1980S: TIME ATTACK

The campaign begins with learning the basics of driving in the game, taking you back to where drifting began on the Japanese touge roads.

1990S: TIME ATTACK AND DRIFT

In this campaign, it’s time to start learning how to get the back end of your car out. It combines drifting and time attack, providing an in-depth understanding of car control in the game.

2000S: EARLY DRIFT

By this point, you’ll be proving your worth in locations like Ebisu and learning how to begin drifting properly.

2010S: ADVANCED DRIFTING

This is where things start to get serious, and you’ll learn advanced drifting techniques, which will give you an understanding of perfect drifting lines.

2020S: MODERN DRIFT

Once you’ve earned enough points in ‘ADVANCED DRIFTING’, you can unlock this mode for the ultimate rewards.

Tandem Races

In Tandem Races, you’ll be going up against the ghost of other players rather than it being a ‘true’ live online mode.

Once you choose the location you want to compete at, you’ll see what the judges look for under ‘Briefing’. You can also change your tires and adjust tire pressures.

You’ll either be the leader or the chaser in the tandem, and you need to throw down your best lap.

If you mess up, you get a free restart. However, if it doesn’t go as planned for the second attempt, you’ll need to spend 1500 CR to buy another restart. After that, there’s no third try, and you’ll have to concede the battle.

After each run, you’ll see the score, with yours displayed in green. This may help you decide whether it’s worth using your restarts.

If you win, you get 1500 CR. If you lose, you’ll still earn 500 CR. Therefore, this can still be a good way of earning money while you polish your skills.

Over time, if you win consecutive battles, your rating will improve for that sector. Reaching new levels with rewards can provide free container packages.

Top32 Championships

In this mode, you’ll enter a championship with three opportunities to set your best ‘Qualification’ score on a specific drift layout. As with Tandem Races, you are going up against the ghost of other players rather than it being a ‘true’ live online mode.

Some championships feature a Top 32, whereas others are a Top 8. After laying down your best three laps, your highest score decides whether or not you progress to the next round.

Free Ride

This mode allows you to choose an area where you want to drift, but you can also drive each location in a ‘Free Roam’ style.

‘Free Ride’ mode is a perfect opportunity to refine your skills on any track, with earnings also available for completing the optional drift layouts within each area.

If you hit the menu button at the top left, you can repair your car instantly for free within ‘Free Ride’. However, once you exit this game mode, your car will still have the damage you started with, and you’ll need to wait to “properly” carry out the repairs.

Tuning & Upgrades

You’ll likely be blown away by how advanced the tuning menu is in CarX Drift Racing 3, especially for a mobile game.

You can carry out upgrades and changes to just about every part of your car individually.

Sometimes, you earn new cars that don’t have all the parts fitted, and you’ll have to be patient as you earn the parts and wait for them to be fitted.

For example, above, you can see my freshly earned “NISHIMO 32R” (or the Nissan Skyline R32!). However, I don’t have sufficient parts installed for it to run yet.

You need to install all minor details, from the camshaft and cylinder head…

… Through to the intake/exhaust and cylinder block. Then, it all starts to come together.

However, you’ll need to be patient. As you can see above, installing the camshaft, cylinder head, and stroker kit means I must wait nearly 30 minutes.

It’s not just the engine within this mode, either. You must also install and upgrade other essential items, such as suspension components, body panels, and rims. We weren’t kidding when we said it’s in-depth!

Store

If you’re happy to pay real-world cash to buy new cars, engines, crate packs, coins, or in-game currency without waiting, you can do so within the store. This can be accessed by clicking your current cash amount in the top right of the main menu.

Personally, we prefer being patient and gradually unlocking each reward, but if you’re happy to spend the money, it’s a quicker alternative that also supports the developers.

Repairs

You’ll likely be very familiar with this section when you’re first getting the hang of the game!

As you can see, my car above has received some, uhh… Slight damage, and it needs to be repaired.

While the repairs don’t cost anything, it takes time, depending on the severity of the damage. However, you can pay to skip this if you wish.

Given the chassis damage, smashed screen, and my JOE’S MST90 barely resembling a car, I’d say the 10-minute wait is justified!

You’ll need to consider the time required to repair the body/chassis and the engine components, both done individually. However, you can still drive other cars in your garage while repairs or upgrades are completed. You can only upgrade or repair one car at a time, though.

Car Market

Although it’s named ‘Car Market’, this section provides much more than just cars.

In this mode, you’ll need to fork out a substantial amount of cash, but in return, you get access to some amazing pre-tuned builds. We’ll explain how to start quickly earning cash later in the guide to help you unlock these, or you can buy credits in the store using real-world money.

Alongside cars, you can also use it to buy new engines, many of which are surprisingly affordable, even if they are at the first level and could do with some upgrading.

You can also buy upgraded gearboxes and differentials.

Office (Fans & Contracts)

Your office is where you deal with your ‘Fans’ and ‘Contracts.’

The best and quickest way to earn new fans is by progressing through the ‘Single Campaign’ mode, where you’ll also begin earning contracts.

Fans

This new concept for the CarX series rewards you as you begin progressing through the ‘Single Campaign’ mode. The more fans you have, the more in-game benefits you unlock.

As you can see above, expanding the fanbase unlocked new sponsors and game modes, garage expansion slots, and various other benefits.

Contracts

Once you gain 75 fans, you can begin earning contracts.

Each contract is different, with different rewards and different levels of expectations. Think of these as ‘Sponsors’ in the real world, and to get paid and get various other benefits, you’ll need to keep the sponsors happy.

Typically, the easiest sponsors will have low expectations but will also pay out low rewards. However, you must prove your worth on the track if you want big earnings.

Earn Money Fast In CarX Drift Racing 3

If you’re like us and don’t want to fork out the real-world cash in the store, here are the best money-making strategies in the game.

Campaign Mode

Firstly, we recommend completing the ‘Single Campaign’ mode while focusing on contracts. Doing so will ensure that you unlock all of the features of the game, including:

• Free rental cars
• Contract rewards
• Builds your fan base
• Car parts and upgrades

You won’t be able to make the most of farming credits in the game until you’ve at least started unlocking the basics of Campaign Mode.

Free Ride Money Making

Ebisu School Course offers the most efficient farming method, and this is the quickest way we’ve found to earn credits.

Focus on hitting the clipping points and zones consistently and building up your combo. With this, you can earn around 15,000 credits every 10 minutes.

This was my earnings after just over 8 minutes using the method above.

The beauty of ‘Free Ride’ is that you can use damaged cars and even repair your car for free. Only tire wear matters and there’s no pressure from the competition. It’s also a great opportunity to refine your skills.

Competitive Events

For those wanting to earn quickly with competitive action, Top32 events at South Port Map can net you around 24,000 credits per 10-minute session if your skills are up to scratch.

Alternatively, running Top 8 competitions at Ebisu Track 1 rewards 6,500 credits per win, making it another quick earning option.

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