I have never gone out of the way top purchase a racing game before and may end up finally picking one up sometime early next year once tax return comes in. I just have a couple of questions regarding both titles.

If you can answer any of these without things getting into a heated debate that would be greatly appreciated. I don't care what anyone here prefers, I just need answers so I can decide based on what suits me.

Thanks in advance everyone.

So without further delay.

#1.) How many cars will be present during races in Forza 3? How many cars present during races in Gran Turismo 5?

#2.) With Gran Turismo containing NASCAR can I expect 30+ car races when playing the NASCAR races or is it just that I get to do the typical GT sim racing without the "NASCAR experience"? Meaning I just get to use NASCAR sponsored cars in the typical GT races.

#3.) I have never played Forza and will admit that I really only have experience with GT titles (GT-GT3) and really enjoyed them with the little experience I had. With Forza is the experience similar to GT in terms of engine customization and how the cars handle or does it feel more arcade-like? I have heard the "arcade-like" thing thrown around quite a bit and am not sure if it is or isn't without playing it myself of course.

So if anyone "neutral" can answer some of these or even at least 1 of the 3 questions it would be greatly appreciated.

1) Forza 3 - 8 cars / Gran Turismo 5 - 16 cars
2) Not sure yet. Maybe Leipzig will give us the answer
3) Im not very experienced with Forza myself, but from the time I had with it I can say that it does handle a bit different from GT, and has way more customization options.

I suggest you get both games, and play them with a good driving wheel.
No other racing games compare to these two great series (except for Burnout, but it's different )

Thanks. I wasn't sure if I would get a definitive answer on question #2 but figured I would try anyways.

I like that Forza 3 has more customization options, although what exactly those "options" are will be very important to me. Any idea on what options it offers that GT does not? I am worried more about internal customizations and care not for external stuff like body kits, special paint jobs, etc... I am only worried about tire adjustments, ride height, suspension, etc...

Upset to hear that Forza only supports 8 cars per race though. That is a real freakin' bummer.

I am not that big on racing so I will not be picking up a wheel. I have much more important things to spend my money on if you know what I mean.

I just enjoyed Gran Turismo 3 when I played it years ago. Well, either I liked the game or I just enjoyed the hell out of racing with a 3000 GT.

I have picked up 2-3 Arcade racers over the years but I don't enjoy them very much.

While both games have great tuning features for car performance, I think Forza has more (90% sure on this). Forza however, blows away Gran Turismo when it comes to external customization like vinyls etc. Talk to Selnor if you want more info on Forza, cause Ive had limited playtime with it.

One thing I would say though, is that we haven't heard much about GT5. For all we know, external customization could be included in GT5. It's a big deal to some folks, but some people don't care. 

Im really hoping for more from these games at Leipzig, afterall - It's in Car HQ Land :)

Yea, very understandable. You need to be quite a big racer fan to get a good wheel :P

When is Leipzig?

2) there will be 16 cars - it's just like normal GT races but on the Nascar tracks with Nascar cars.
3) way more customization options(basically you can build your own car, paint it all you like etc. customization in Forza series always been generations ahead of any console game), in Forza cars handle more realistically. in the last episode of InsideSimRacing.TV they said Forza 3 have physics just like pc racing sim so it's pretty hardcore, but you have an option to have some more casual racing style there.

This year, Leipzig's from the very end of July through to the start of August.