GLOSSARY

LEADERBOARD TERMS

• A vehicle customization option introduced in the Expanded & Enhanced versions of GTA Online for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. HSW upgrades drastically improve a vehicle’s acceleration and top speed. 
• Hao’s Special Works is located in the LS Car Meet and only offers these upgrades for select vehicles.

• Refers to vehicles, particularly the Itali GTO and Deveste Eight, that initially had extremely bouncy suspension, making them exceptionally fast in stunt tubes (see Advanced Handling Flags for more info). Later updates reduced this bounciness and overall speed boost, but some lap times set during this period remain unbeaten.
• Example of GTO before patch

• A technique where a player glides on a bike into the next lap to achieve the fastest possible start.
• These lap times are separated from ones with normal starts. Example of glide start

• This term originates from the stunt track Double Loop, where a method was discovered to skip a portion of the track. By launching the stunt race Over and Under beforehand, the game would shift the registration area of a checkpoint, allowing you to drive under the track and still get it. Although this exploit was patched, the checkpoint can still be reached by smacking the wall near it and launching high enough to trigger it.
• While no longer technically a glitch, this route is still commonly referred to as the CP Glitch. Example before patch + Example after patch

• A method used to instantly stop a vehicle by switching to a story mode character and immediately canceling the process. The vehicle must either have wheels touching the ground or be upside down for this to work. Example of character switch
• This method is primarily used to skip giant stunt loops but is also useful for stopping your car from flying off track or hitting barriers. It is a point of contention for certain lap times as some racers deem it as illegitimate.

• Refers to specific vehicles, such as the LM87 or Calico, that achieved abnormally high speeds on PC with high fps and certain modifications. These glitches are usually patched quickly but are included in leaderboards for historical context.

ALL THE BOOSTS

• The process of increasing the revs of a car by compressing the vehicle’s suspension making you go faster (ex. hitting curbs and bumps in the road).
• Vehicles with spongy suspension such as the Brioso R/A or the Rumpo Custom take advantage of this mechanic when you quickly wiggle your vehicle left and right while driving on straights (aka Wiggle Boosting).

• While driving over an elevated surface that decompresses your vehicle's suspension without fully lifting the wheels off the ground, you can momentarily brake while holding the gas to get more speed.
• This technique tricks the game into simulating a stationary burnout (hence why it's also referred to as Burnout Boost), providing increased traction and a temporary speed boost. Successful brake boosts will usually result in tire marks appearing.
• The most common brake boost location in stunt races are curb/kerbs on stunt track pieces and are generally easier to get using your left wheels.
• This technique also applies on landings from small jumps on flat surfaces or tubes (aka Bounce Boosts or Landing Boosts). Vehicles with bouncy suspension such as the Itali GTO or the Clique benefit most from this.

• The process of boosting your car by using the handbrake between 2nd and 3rd gear (aka Double Clutching)
• Between 2nd and 3rd gear, you (1) release throttle (2) hold handbrake (3) re-apply throttle (4) release handbrake
• Generally works best with rear-wheel drive vehicles. Some vehicles require using normal brake alongside handbrake to receive the boost (ex. Vagner).

• A technique where you partially lift off the throttle (around 10%) and then quickly reapply full throttle to shift up a gear earlier than usual. This method helps you reach higher gears faster and enhances the effectiveness of curb boosting and brake boosting, as these boosts are more impactful when the engine’s RPMs are lower. Proper execution avoids triggering exhaust backfire, maintaining smooth acceleration.
• A common use case in stunt racing is reaching higher gears quicker in tubes.

HANDLING FLAGS

• A handling flag that allows tires to sink or clip into the ground under sufficient pressure, enabling them to absorb bumps and uneven surfaces more effectively. The extent of this effect depends on the tire's sidewall size, with larger sidewalls (ex. off-road tires) providing better absorption.
• This feature is primarily advantageous for certain older vehicles. However, if the fix_old_bugs advanced handling flag is applied to a vehicle with tyres_can_clip, the clipping effect is restricted to the sidewall size of the vehicle's stock tires, disregarding the sidewall size of the currently equipped tires.
• Certain vehicles that once had tyres_can_clip lost their bump absorption benefits when the fix_old_bugs advanced handling flag was introduced (ex. Emerus, Krieger). This is partially one of the reasons why brake boosting over curbs became so prevalent.

• Added in the Southern San Andreas Super Sport Series update (March 2018), these flags modify vehicle behavior in distinct ways, often seen as a way to counter curb/kerb boosting. Key effects include:
  • Bouncy Suspension: Increases springiness, causing excessive bouncing on uneven surfaces
  • Rev Limiter Issues: Engines over-rev and linger at the red line, reducing efficiency over curbs
  • Early Up-Shifting: Forces quicker gear shifts at lower RPMs
• These flags let Rockstar experiment with unique handling traits for newer vehicles.
• The Arena War update (December 2018) introduced modifications to these advanced handling flags:
  • A new flag was applied to all non-Arena vehicles, addressing the excessive revving issues from the Southern San Andreas Super Sport Series update
  • The bouncy suspension characteristic was retained from the earlier flags, which amplified the bounciness of popular stunt vehicles released during this update (ex. Itali GTO, Deveste Eight and Clique)