The Performance Level of a vehicle in Need for Speed: Payback is a range from its stock rating to its maximum rating.
A vehicle's performance rating is given as a level between 100 to 399, and can be broken down into 5 categories, of which each having 2 ratings within them.
The Speed and Acceleration categories are improved based on the quality rating of installed performance parts, and all five categories can be improved based on any perks applied to installed performance parts.
Speed[]
The Speed category has two ratings;
- Horsepower - The amount of horsepower developed by a vehicle's engine.
- Top Speed - The vehicles top speed in miles per hour.
Acceleration[]
The Acceleration category has two ratings;
- 0 - 60 mph - The vehicle's acceleration time from 0 to 60 miles per in hour in seconds.
- 1/4 Mile - The vehicle's quarter-mile time in seconds.
Nitrous[]
The Nitrous category has two ratings;
- N2O Capacity - The amount of nitrous a vehicle can hold.
- N2O Power - The potency of the nitrous a vehicle is injecting.
Air[]
The Air category has two ratings;
- Airtime - The distance a vehicle can travel in the air and the duration it can remain airbourne.
- Landing - How well a vehicle can land and retain its momentum.
Brakes[]
The Brakes category has two ratings;
- Brake Power - The effectiveness of a vehicle's brakes.
- Brake Response - The response and resilience of a vehicle's brakes.