GTA Online’s Tuners are noticeably worse after the recent nerf

If tuners felt odd to the player in GTA Online since The Contract update, that would be because of a recent nerf.

Technically, it's intended to be a bug fix for the Tuners' unintentional top speed. That fix sadly nerfs the performance of these cars, particularly for fans of the low grip tires plus a lowered stance. Back in the Los Santos Tuners update, they could achieve top speeds of over 30 mph faster than usual with that setup.

The recent fix makes those old top speeds impossible. It, unfortunately, means that vehicle enthusiasts (especially drifters) get fewer driving options that aren't outright bad. While impressive, GTA Online players should know that achieving these old top speeds meant that the tuners received atrocious handling in turn.

How GTA Online's Tuners were nerfed

GTA Online vehicle expert, Broughy1322, covered some findings on the Tuners nerf back on December 21, 2021. Here are some quick snippets:

The original top speeds for these Tuners were an unintended design choice.
It was primarily the low grip tires and lowered stance that was nerfed.
Top speeds for the default state haven't changed.
All Tuners were affected by the recent change.
Their lap times are slightly slower than before.
Tuners can't hand-brake boost anymore.
Broughy1322 talks about how the cars aimed at the drifting community aren't as good they used to be.
He compares the situation to the Viseris nerf.
Rockstar Games put a cap on the Tuners' top speeds.
He also talks about how it would be nice if Rockstar Games reverted these changes.

Tuners came from this update (Image via Rockstar Games)

Players need to remember that the Tuners achieved those top speeds by sacrificing their handling. Now, they can sacrifice their handling for minimal changes, making it a net nerf overall. These Tuners are less useful now than before because of this change.

The old version of these Tuners occupied a niche of being extremely fast cars on a straight road with low grip tires and a lowered stance. Their post-nerf state is now less unique than before, making them feel largely the same as other cars in the same vehicle class.