Editing Fifth's Muscle Manual (section)

=== Components ===

'''Engine'''
In general, you want at least a 4L engine or a 3.2LV8. A full-sized muscle with a 3.2L engine isn’t a muscle at all, it’s a coffin. Some engines can handle a 5L, but keep an eye on the bulk used for weapons and ammo.

'''Armor'''
Max out your front, put 5 on your top and bottom, and distribute the rest evenly between your sides and rear. Class B - NEVER C. A-class armor is tempting and gives a nice speed boost, but is awfully expensive to keep repaired. 

'''Fuel'''
A 2-unit tank is sufficient for most muscle operations. An extra unit or two on top of that can enable your muscle scouts to go further out and improve your odds.

'''Tyres'''
Offroad all the way. Handling is everything to a muscle. The exception to this is if you’re working in rough terrain, then you need Reinforced.

'''Crew'''
Driver and gunner. Putting in 2 gunners takes up too much valuable space. Your driver should have at least 20 skill, but 40 is really preferred. With more driving skill, you’ll accelerate faster and you’ll be more stable. Your gunner should have at least some Gunnery skill, but muscles are a good way to train gunners. Defensive Driver is a great specialism for muscle drivers, as is Deathracer.

'''Suspension'''
Suspension settings are different for every chassis and weapon load, but one thing is true across the board: increasing tyre pressure will give you increased acceleration at lower speeds, under about 40MPH, but you will lose some control at the top end. Increased tyre pressure is highly recommended for vehicles that spend time in lower-speed dogfights. Past that, experiment with your cars to find a suspension setting that fits your style. 

'''Weapons'''
Front, front, front. You want your weapons on the FRONT. Side mounts are possible, but not generally recommended. Rear mounts sound good on paper, but they’re actually very difficult to use in practice.

Here’s your menu of killware:

[[Machine Gun]] - The vanilla option. Don’t knock it, a pair of these on the front of a muscle can really chew through enemy armor over the long run, and they have decent range and accuracy. The downside is, you need a pair to make a decent punch, and your driver will have to man one of them. Your accuracy with that gun will be lower.

[[Light Machine Gun]] - at 15 bulk, the Light Machine Gun seems very attractive to muscle cars short on space. However, the LMG has only 10 rounds of ammunition. Because most NPC cars have more than 10 points of armor on a single facing, it's almost guaranteed that you'll run out of ammunition before you run out of enemy. You can fit an LMG and 3 reloads (40 rounds total) in the same 24 bulk as a MG and the same number of rounds, but firing them all would require 3 reload periods, compared to 1 for the MG. The Light Machine Gun isn't a bad weapon, all things considered, but only as a secondary weapon alongside heavier and longer-lasting firepower.

[[Gatling Gun]] - The [[Machine Gun]] on steroids. The downside is, its range is shorter and you NEED two of them to make a decent punch, so your driver better have decent Gunnery skills. Watch out for the increased recoil - sustained fire can really slow you down.

[[Micromissile Launcher]] - Like the Machine Gun and Gatling Gun, the MML is small enough to be fitted in pairs, or mixed with a MG or GG. However, I don’t recommend doing so. Having an explosive round is useful in some cases, but the MML doesn't have enough punch to outweigh the low ammunition capacity. Some chassis can accept a MML alongside a [[Medium Machine Gun]] as a driver-controlled secondary weapon, and this is an enormously effective build at short range.

[[Medium Machine Gun]] - My favorite muscle weapon. Decent damage, manageable recoil, good ammo supply, and low bulk. You will NOT have enough room for 2 of them, except on the larger cars, but that’s not a bad thing, you’ll be able to fit several reloads or a One-Shot secondary. Putting in just one gun lets your gunner concentrate on killing properly.

[[Heavy Machine Gun]] - One of the heaviest weapons available to muscles, the HMG should be deployed with care. Its recoil is hard enough to seriously affect your handling, and its 40 bulk will generally limit you to a single reload. On the other hand, its sheer power and ammo capacity can sometimes outweigh its bulk. Best deployed on the [[Phoenix]].

[[Rocket Launcher]] - The Rocket Launcher is a sledgehammer of muscle weapons. Peeling 3 or 4 off an enemy with a single hit is very tempting, to say the least. But the 10-round clip means you’ll be reloading mid-fight, and you generally will only have room for a single reload. Having only 20 rounds of fire means you have to hit Every. Single. Time. Also, the large blast radius can make a lot of problems for you in a tight, up-close fight. If you have a Rapid Reload gunner and lots of ammo space, go for it.

[[Heavy Gatling Gun]] - Rare and powerful, the HGG is better mounted on an SUV than a muscle. Its fierce recoil will throw you all over the place.

[[Car Rifle]] - The Sniper’s Best Friend, the Car Rifle is feared for good reason. But in the high-speed muscle fights, you will NOT have enough time to line up a proper shot, and the 15-round magazine means you’ll have less sustained fire. Use a Medium Machine Gun unless you have some very skilled Snipers.

[[Flamethrower]] - The Flamethrower is another weapon that looks better on paper than it does in combat. As long as you’re running like you’re on fire, why not set everyone else on fire too? But unless you like being quite literally on fire, avoid the Flamethrower. Its damage is not high enough to justify its short range and small clip size. Also, ANY damage to the FT will set you on fire. Avoid unless you are making a suicide/novelty car.

[[Napalm Gun]] - The Napalm Gun is perhaps the only ballistic weapon that can be remotely useful on a muscle car. It takes some planning, especially given that the NG's bulk means that it may be the only weapon on a car, but being able to throw flaming oil into the path of the enemy can be invaluable, especially if you're Kiting.

One-Shots - I’m using this as a catchall for the [[Mini|Mini Rocket]], [[Light|Light Rocket]], [[Medium|Medium Rocket]], and [[Heavy|Heavy Rocket]] Rockets and their respective Racks and Pods. A One-Shot mounted next to your primary weapon can give a low-armor opponent a serious case of the breaches. Given that you’ll need to use your driver to man it and you only have a single shot with them, you need to time your shots carefully to hit an enemy’s weak side from close range. But a well-placed rocket can shorten a duel by several turns. My personal favorite is a toss-up between a [[Light Rocket Rack]] (3 shots, triple the fun!) and a single [[Heavy Rocket]]. (Make a Big Bang!)
As appealing as One-Shots are, NEVER compromise your primary firepower to fit in a bigger One-Shot. Your main weapon is your cake, your One-Shot is your icing.