Car mastery is progress attached to the vehicle you drive, not your account level. Open My Garage and check the mastery badge beside the selected car, finish a stage in that car, and inspect the named mastery panel and New Parts area on Rewards. To manage supported parts, follow My Garage → Customize → Performance; the documented PC shortcut from Customize is R.
Separate mastery from account level
The account bar controls player-level progression and documented car unlocks. The mastery bar carries the selected car’s name and a level such as M1 or M2. Switching from an Orso 4 with progress to a newly selected Freccia HF can show the new car at M1 with its own empty bar.
Always read the label next to the numbers. A Rewards screen can show account Level 5 and Freccia mastery Level 2 at the same time. Adding those values together or applying one car’s mastery to the whole garage creates a false progression plan.
Earn mastery on the car you want to develop
Select the target car before starting the stage. Finish the route and continue to Rewards. Find the panel labelled with that vehicle’s name, note its mastery level and current XP, and check New Parts for an unlock notice. Repeat with the same car when your goal is to reach its next part threshold.
A current play record shows a Freccia HF Alpine Pass finish reaching mastery Level 2 and displaying a Street Turbo Kit in New Parts. That is a dated example of the relationship, not a complete part table or a guarantee that every car unlocks the same item at the same level.
Read a mastery bar
If a car bar shows 154/400 XP, subtract 154 from 400 to get 246 mastery XP remaining for that displayed step. Confirm that the car’s name appears with the bar before calculating. The account bar can use a different target on the same screen.
Do not assume every stage gives a fixed mastery amount. Stage, finish, bonuses, update rules, and the car’s state may matter. Record the before and after values if you want to compare progression efficiently. One result is useful for orientation but not enough to publish a universal rate.
Open the Performance menu
- Press C or select My Garage.
- Confirm the vehicle whose mastery and parts you want to inspect.
- Choose Customize, documented with shortcut 1.
- Choose Performance, documented with shortcut R along the bottom.
- Read the currently available parts and any lock requirement before equipping.
Use the on-screen prompt if a shortcut changes. Appearance categories such as paint, tyres, and rims are nearby but are not proof that every visible choice changes performance. Read the part description and the resulting panel rather than judging from its name.
Compare a part with a clean baseline
Record the car, mastery level, equipped parts, handling mode, stage, weather, and a clean finish before changing anything. Equip one part, repeat the same route, and compare both feel and result. Changing several parts and driving settings together makes it impossible to know which caused the difference.
Displayed rating or specification changes can help confirm that a configuration changed, but a larger number is not automatically faster on every route. Acceleration, rotation, grip, and stability may trade against one another. A part that improves a technical snowy stage for one driver may not be the best choice for a faster dry route.
Fix missing mastery or parts
If the bar appears unchanged, verify that you finished with the selected car and reached the final Rewards screens. Check whether you are looking at account XP instead. If a New Parts notice appeared but the item is absent, reopen My Garage, select the same car, and enter Customize → Performance.
If the menu still differs, record the car, mastery level, server date, and exact notice. The recent official event announced parts and engine-related changes, so rollout timing can alter menus. Do not buy a replacement item or assume the progress was lost until the current car and category are confirmed.
Plan mastery without blocking account progression
Mastering one car can improve familiarity and concentrate part progress, but account XP still opens the documented vehicle ladder. A useful early plan is to keep one car long enough to learn it, then change when a level unlock provides the class or drivetrain you actually need. Avoid switching after every run solely because another car has a higher top-speed figure.
Use Car List and Stats to choose the target vehicle and CR and XP Rewards to interpret the rest of the post-stage screen. Use Driving Settings before blaming a part for behavior created by Arcade, Sim, or brake assist.
Values that still need live checks
Complete per-car mastery thresholds, mastery XP rates, every performance-part unlock, part effects, engine-swap behavior, and the current relationship between parts and ratings require a live same-version test. Keep unsupported cells empty. The reliable operation is the selection and menu path; the full economy and balance can change.