Driving skills
What Can You Upgrade on a Car? Every Upgrade Explained
In short
Every upgrade a car has, grouped into performance, nitro, prestige and cosmetics, so you know exactly what each one changes on track.
Key takeaways
- A car has seven upgrade axes: three performance and four nitro.
- Only power, acceleration and handling raise the Performance Index.
- Prestige extends every axis, costs Apexons only, and needs full car mastery.
- Paint, finish and underglow change looks, never speed.
Every car you own has its own set of upgrades, and it is easy to pour Apexons into the wrong ones. This guide is the reference list: everything you can upgrade on a car and what each upgrade actually changes, so you spend on what wins races and not on what just looks good. For how to balance them for a particular track, the tuning guide takes over.
Upgrades fall into four groups: three performance axes, four nitro axes, a paid prestige tier that extends them, and cosmetics that change how the car looks but not how it drives.
Every tip here works in ApexMidnight, a free racing game that runs right in your browser.
Start racing freeThe three performance upgrades
Power raises your top speed and how hard the car pulls, acceleration sharpens how quickly you get up to speed out of corners, and handling sets how precisely and predictably the car changes direction. These three are the ones that matter most, and they are the only upgrades that raise your Performance Index, which is the number a lobby or event PI limit checks before it lets a car onto the grid.
Spread them to suit the track. Favour handling and acceleration on tight, technical circuits, and lean into power where there are long straights. See the tuning guide for how to balance them without making the car nervous.
| Upgrade | Group | What it changes | Raises PI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Performance | Top speed and pull | Yes |
| Acceleration | Performance | Speed out of corners | Yes |
| Handling | Performance | Turn-in and recovery | Yes |
| Nitro capacity | Nitro | How long each boost lasts | No |
| Nitro recharge | Nitro | Wait before the tank refills | No |
| Nitro power | Nitro | How hard each boost hits | No |
| Nitro yield | Nitro | Refill earned while driving and drifting | No |
| Prestige levels | All seven axes | Smaller gains above the standard tier | Only on performance axes |
| Paint, finish, underglow | Cosmetic | Looks only | No |
The four nitro upgrades
Nitro has its own four axes, separate from performance. Capacity extends how long each boost lasts, recharge shortens the wait before the tank refills, power makes each boost hit harder and pull to a higher speed, and yield increases how much you top the tank back up as you drive and drift.
None of the nitro upgrades touch your Performance Index, so they are effectively free capability inside a PI class. On boost-heavy tracks a fully tuned tank is a real edge, and it never counts against a lobby PI limit.
The prestige tier
Each of the seven axes has a standard tier and, above it, a paid prestige tier. Standard levels can be paid with Apexons or covered by the free tuning points you earn by mastering a car. Prestige levels are Apexons only, give smaller gains per level, and are gated: you have to fully master that car and reach a minimum driver level before you can buy them.
Prestige is a deep late-game Apexon sink and a flex, not a shortcut. The bulk of a car's real gains come from the standard tier, so finish that before pouring Apexons into prestige. The Apexons guide covers the quickest ways to fund it.
Cosmetics: looks, not speed
The rest is purely visual and changes nothing about how the car drives. You can repaint the body any colour, apply a paint finish such as a different sheen, and fit a neon underglow. Finishes and underglows are unlocked once for your whole account, then applied to any car you own for free.
Cosmetics never affect performance or Performance Index, so buy them because you want the car to look the part, not to go faster.
Frequently asked questions
- Which upgrades raise a car's Performance Index?
- Only the three performance upgrades: power, acceleration and handling. The four nitro upgrades and all cosmetics leave the Performance Index untouched, so you can improve your boost and looks without moving up a PI class.
- Do I have to pay Apexons for every upgrade?
- No. Standard-tier upgrades can be covered by free tuning points earned from mastering a car. Only the prestige tier is strictly Apexons, and it is gated behind full car mastery and a minimum driver level.
- Do paint and underglow make the car faster?
- No. Colour, paint finish and underglow are cosmetic only. They change how the car looks and nothing about how it drives or its Performance Index.