GTA Online Vehicle Upgrades and Weapons Glossary

This page explains four GTA Online terms about cars and weapons: HSW, the LS Car Meet reputation ladder, turbo tuning and the Compact EMP Launcher. It also gives short answers, with links, for four vehicle add-ons: the Remote Control Unit, low grip tires, the missile lock-on jammer and the ignition bomb. Prices are in GTA$ and apply to GTA Online in November 2026; where a feature differs between platforms, the platform is named.

Term	One-line answer
HSW	Hao's Special Works, the performance tuning shop inside the LS Car Meet on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC Enhanced
LS Car Meet reputation	1,000 levels earned passively inside the Car Meet
Turbo tuning	A paid engine mod; a turbo model on the car does nothing without it
Compact EMP Launcher	$525,000 Heavy Weapon that disables a vehicle's engine for 5 seconds

Compact EMP Launcher

The Coil Compact EMP Launcher is a single-shot Heavy Weapon added in The Contract update (15 December 2021). It costs $525,000 ($498,750 with the owner discount) at the Agency Armory, which requires owning an Agency, and it can also be bought from the Gun Van. It behaves like the Compact Grenade Launcher: a 40 m/s arcing grenade that detonates after one second, or on direct impact with a player or vehicle, with a 3 metre blast radius.

The effect: the engine of a struck vehicle stops for 5 seconds (3 seconds for electric vehicles). The shot does almost no damage and does not disable the vehicle's weapons. NPCs hit by it are stunned for 5 to 10 seconds.

In practice it is a niche tool: the projectile is slow, the radius small and the effect short, so it works best at close range against a car that is already slowing down, for example to stop a fleeing target and finish it with another weapon. Against low-flying helicopters over flat ground it can force them to land without crashing. It can also be fired as a drive-by weapon from a motorbike or the passenger side of some helicopters. It is not the same as the Compact Grenade Launcher, which handles the same way but fires explosive grenades.

HSW

HSW stands for Hao's Special Works, not "Haos". It is a tuning shop inside the LS Car Meet, run by Hao, and was introduced with the Expanded and Enhanced edition of GTA V for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on 15 March 2022. Since the free PC Enhanced upgrade on 4 March 2025 it is also on PC. It adds a workshop with platform-exclusive "best-in-class" modifications for selected cars. You enter it from the Vehicle Menu while sitting in a personal vehicle.

To use it, you convert the car to an HSW version. A laptop in the workshop lists which cars can take the "HSW Performance Upgrade". Example prices:

Vehicle	Base price	HSW conversion	Total
Karin S95	$1,995,000	$525,000	$2,520,000
Pfister Astron Custom	$1,720,000	$395,000	$2,115,000
Coil Cyclone II	$2,250,000	$475,000	$2,725,000
Pegassi Weaponized Ignus	$4,500,000	$500,000	$5,000,000

HSW also has a race series and a weekly Time Trial for HSW-tuned vehicles only. Completing all eight HSW Time Trials lets you buy the "HSW Elite" livery. A weekly Premium Test Ride lets you drive an HSW car for free before buying.

On PS4, Xbox One and the Legacy PC version there is no HSW. The December 2023 update The Chop Shop added a similar Car Meet Specification Service there, which works almost the same way without the HSW branding.

LS Car Meet Reputation Level

Reputation is a level system added in the Los Santos Tuners update (20 July 2021). You need an LS Car Meet Membership, a one-off $50,000 purchase from Mimi; you can enter the Car Meet without it, but none of its features work. After that, reputation builds passively just by being in the Car Meet and taking part in its activities. There are 1,000 levels, and each pays GTA$:

Levels	Cash per level
1 to 100	$5,000
101 to 200	$10,000
201 to 250	$20,000
251 to 999	$50,000
1,000	$1,000,000

Adding the table together gives about $40.95 million over the whole ladder. Levels 1 to 250 also unlock a reward each (clothing, liveries, trade prices, Auto Shop Contract abilities or a discount voucher). From 251 to 750, an extra reward comes every five levels, and every 50th level gives clothing. Level 1,000 unlocks the Tuned For Speed Racing Suit.

Level 1 grants the Euros Trade Price and the LS Car Meet features, and level 5 gives a random vehicle trade price plus the Pursuit Series races. At level 20 you can rent the Test Track for a private takeover session for an extra $50,000. Progress is shown on Mimi's Membership Stats leaderboards.

Turbo Tuning

Turbo Tuning is an engine performance modification you buy at Los Santos Customs or another mod shop, listed alongside Armor, Brakes, Engine, Suspension, Transmission and Spoilers. It is a separate purchase from the Engine upgrade.

Two details matter. A car in GTA V can be drawn with a turbocharger model by default, but that model has no effect on performance unless you buy the Turbo modification. Reverse is also true: a car with no visible turbo can still get the modification, without a model appearing. Newer vehicles in the Enhanced edition of GTA Online have more detailed, working turbochargers whose turbine spins up with engine revolutions.

Do not confuse it with the Nebula Turbo and Sabre Turbo, which are cars with "Turbo" in their name, not an upgrade.

Other pages in this group

• Remote Control Unit: an Imani Tech option from The Contract update that lets you drive your parked personal vehicle remotely from the Interaction Menu. It costs a fixed $235,000 on eligible vehicles.
• Low grip tires: in the Enhanced versions, a tire option at the Los Santos Car Meet mod shop that lets cars drift.
• Missile lock-on jammer: another Imani Tech option, $400,000 on select vehicles, that disables lock-on from the Homing Launcher and homing-missile vehicles such as the Buzzard Attack Chopper, Oppressor Mk II, Deluxo and Hydra.
• Weaponized ignition bomb: a car bomb that goes off when someone other than the owner starts the engine. At Los Santos Customs the Ignition Bomb costs $5,000, and the Remote Bomb $7,500.

Related terms

• GTA Online businesses, missions and locations
• GTA Online CEO and VIP abilities
• Shooter aiming and gunplay terms

Guides and services

Our GTA Online money guide lists ways to fund purchases like these. Onlyfarms lists GTA modded cars and GTA Online money.

FAQ

Is HSW available on PC?

Yes, on the PC Enhanced version released on 4 March 2025. HSW launched on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on 15 March 2022. On PS4, Xbox One and the Legacy PC version, the December 2023 Chop Shop update added a similar Car Meet Specification Service without the HSW name.

How long does the Compact EMP Launcher disable a car?

Five seconds, or three seconds for electric vehicles. It does not disable the vehicle's weapons.

How many LS Car Meet reputation levels are there?

1,000. Payouts rise from $5,000 per level at the start to $50,000 per level from 251 to 999, and $1,000,000 at level 1,000.

Does a turbo model on a car make it faster?

No. In GTA V the model is cosmetic until you buy the Turbo modification at Los Santos Customs or another mod shop.