CSR2 Elite Tokens: Limits, Costs and Best Cars to Spend On

Elite Custom tokens are one of the most frustrating currencies in CSR2. They come in four colours, you never seem to have the one you need, and the game quietly throws away anything over its limit. They also matter: on our world records sheet, cars at Elite Customs Level 50 rank far higher than the same cars at Level 0.

This guide covers the official limits, where tokens come from, what a Level 50 car really costs, and, using our records, which cars give you the most for your tokens.

What Elite Custom tokens are

Some CSR2 cars have an Elite Customs track, from Level 0 up to Level 50. You raise it by spending tokens in four colours: Green, Blue, Red and Gold. Green is the common one; Gold is the scarcest and is needed for the later levels on high-end cars. Players and shops use several names for the same thing, Elite tokens, Elite Tuner tokens or Elite parts, but the game itself calls them Elite Custom tokens.

Level 50 adds extra customisation and extra fusion slots, and it makes cars faster. Our Elite Customs analysis measures how much faster across the whole game.

The limits you need to know

Token	Most you can hold
Green	15,000
Blue	10,000
Red	5,000
Gold	500

From the CSR2 help centre’s “Elite Custom Token Limits” page. The game notes the limits may change.

The rule that catches people out: tokens above these limits are lost, and they aren't replaced. If you're sitting on 14,000 Green and claim a reward worth 2,000, you keep 1,000 of it. Check your balances before you collect a big reward.

Where tokens come from

When Elite Customs launched, Zynga said players would earn Elite parts by competing in Showdown, and that's still the main source. Community guides from that time found the participation rewards drive most of it: the more Showdown races you complete, the more tokens you collect, with the higher participation tiers adding Blue on top of Green. Leaderboard placings add a little more.

You can also convert lower colours into higher ones, but the rate is poor, so it's a fallback rather than a plan. Players regularly complain about how slowly tokens arrive, and say the Gold needed for the last levels on a top car can take months to collect without spending.

What a Level 50 car costs

A widely shared 2020 community guide listed the tokens each car needs to go from Level 0 to Level 50. Here are the cars we also have records for (the Ford Mustang Boss 302, Aston Martin DB5, Chevrolet Camaro SS, Pontiac GTO ‘The Judge’, Honda NSX, Jaguar XJ220 and McLaren F1):

Car	Green	Blue	Red	Gold
Boss 302	4,150	1,375	360	0
DB5	7,270	2,390	421	0
Camaro SS	10,350	3,405	1,630	21
GTO Judge	12,960	3,925	1,880	60
NSX	20,700	6,800	3,260	80
XJ220	33,120	10,560	5,055	320
McLaren F1	33,660	10,735	5,140	400

Token counts as published in 2020. The game has been updated since, so treat them as a guide to the relative cost, not exact figures.

Why you can't save up for a big car

Put the two tables side by side and something odd appears. The McLaren F1 needs 33,660 Green, more than twice the 15,000 you're allowed to hold, and 5,140 Red against a 5,000 limit. The XJ220 is the same. You physically can't bank everything a top-tier car needs and then build it in one go.

So the right habit is the opposite of saving: spend tokens as you earn them on the car you've chosen, and keep your balances below the limits so no reward goes to waste.

Which cars give the most per token

Our records sheet has a Level 0 and a Level 50 record for each of these cars, so we can see what the tokens actually buy.

Car	Level 0 rank	Level 50 rank	Time gained
Boss 302 (Tier 1)	14th of 16	1st	0.810s
Aston Martin DB5 (Tier 2)	20th of 32	9th	0.871s
Camaro SS (Tier 3)	68th of 81	36th	0.733s
GTO ‘The Judge’ (Tier 3)	33rd of 81	6th	0.557s
Honda NSX (Tier 4)	174th of 232	106th	0.692s
Jaguar XJ220 (Tier 5)	728th of 890	510th	0.425s
McLaren F1 (Tier 5)	375th of 890	189th	0.291s

One honest caveat: most Level 0 records were set at lower star levels than the Level 50 records, so not all of each gain is Elite Customs. The McLaren F1 is the clean comparison, a five-star purple car in both records, and its 0.291 seconds is pure Elite Customs.

Even so, the pattern is clear. The Boss 302 needs about an eighth of the Green the F1 does and goes from near the bottom of Tier 1 to the very top. The DB5 gains the most time of any car here for a modest bill. At the other end, the F1 and XJ220 cost the most and gain the least time, though a Tier 5 car racing Tier 5 opponents is still a different prize.

How to spend them well

• Start cheap. If you race the lower tiers, the Boss 302 and DB5 give the biggest jump per token. Several of these cars are Legends; our Legends guide covers restoring them first.
• One car at a time. Spreading tokens across three cars leaves all three short.
• Never sit at the limit. Spend before claiming big rewards, or the excess is lost.
• Check the record first. Make sure the car you're building is one you'll race, in a tier where Level 50 makes it competitive.
• Plan for Gold. It's the scarcest colour and the last levels on high-end cars need it. Save conversions for the colour that's actually blocking you.

If you're short of one colour, our Elite token packs add a single colour or a full refill to your own account. A full refill fills every colour to the limit, so order it when your balances are low.

The short version

Elite Custom tokens come in Green, Blue, Red and Gold, mostly from Showdown, and the game caps them at 15,000, 10,000, 5,000 and 500, discarding anything above. A top-tier car like the McLaren F1 needs more than twice the Green you can hold, so spend as you earn rather than saving. For the most speed per token, start with cheaper cars like the Boss 302 and DB5, which jump to the top of their tiers at Level 50.