While I made a whole guide about this game, I realized after doing No Upgrade Runs that it fails utterly at the No Upgrade Track Strategies, and No Upgrade Tier listing.
Before going into more detail, there are 3 NU Pods that have much different strategies compared to the rest of the NU pods in the game. The 3 outliers are NU Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, and Mars Guo due to extremely high raw top speeds, boost thrust numbers, and super slow heat rates. These factors make them more reliable and consistent using the fastest upgraded track lines for some tracks, though it takes extreme boost discipline to make it work.
By Track:
Basic differences across all tracks: On every track NU, you will be using the booster much less often than with upgrades as all pods NU heat up faster than they cool down. The top 5 fastest NU Pods in Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, Sebulba, Mars Guo, and Aldar Beedo all take an extremely long time to cool down NU, and the fastest NU pod you can boost more often with is Bullseye Navoir, but his raw top speed is much lower than all the NU pods faster than him.
Note about the lists: While Boles Roor is the fastest pod NU and theoretically the fastest on every track without upgrades, he is supremely difficult to control, with significant reliability and consistency problems at lower frame rates (24FPS) that are fixed on the Dreamcast and N64 versions of the game. NU Aldar Beedo is in the same boat as NU Boles Roor when it comes to consistency and reliability at low frame rates. Both NU Boles Roor and NU Aldar Beedo are not recommended for marathon RTA runs of multiple tracks at low frame rates, and especially on the icy Ando Prime tracks and the anti-gravity tubes on all Oovoo IV Tracks. Both careen out of control so badly on the ice and in the tubes at low frame rates that you will almost certainly crash with them in these spots. Because of this, you are much better off using the top 3 Max Upgrade pods in Ben Quadinaros, Mars Guo, and Bullseye Navoir for NU runs at 24 FPS that are still excellent and top tier even NU.
The only major difference between upgrade and NU on most tracks is the ability to boost on the track. Odds are your first lap is going to be the fastest on NU runs regardless of pod used.
Amateur Circuit:
Boonta Training: Not much difference apart from boost ability.
Mon Gazza Speedway: Only main difference is how often you can boost on the track. This an exceptionally scary track to run on in NU Amateur and 100% runs as you will be certainly overlapping the pack on this track no matter who you use.
Beedo's Wild Ride: This track NU can be extremely hazardous with a low traction pod and especially at low frame rates, You can avoid most of the ice hazards by jumping over them, but only NU Mars, Ben, and Boles have enough raw top speed and boost thrust to boost over the hazards safely without extreme skill. While the ice tent tunnel is bypassed in max upgrade runs, all NU pods are faster taking this tunnel, but your traction will take a huge hit. While using the ice path, take advantage of the boost in raw top speed to cool down. The fastest NU route on the track involves taking the max upgrade route on Lap 1, and the ice tent tunnel on Laps 2 and 3.
Aquilaris Classic: One major piece of advice for this track with NU runs is to stop boosting before the drop into the valve gates, boost on the climb out of them, and to stop boosting before the final chicane so you can make the sharp turns safely NU. High traction pods are much safer on this track and especially at low frame rates as a direct result.
Malastare 100: An extremely narrow and winding track that requires saving a part of the boost gauge and pulling up for the final jump as you run the risk of failing to clear the jump at the lower NU Raw Top Speeds otherwise.
Vengeance: The giant anti-gravity tube that makes up a bulk of this track is an absolute death sentence for a low traction pod at low frame rates, and especially when boosting. You need to max out your boost heat before the anti-gravity tube for maximum optimization which mitigates the significant headache of using the booster in the tube unless your pod cools down fast. Make sure to stick with an average or better traction NU pod like Ebe Endocott, Bullseye Navior, Clegg Holdfast, Mars Guo, or Ben Quadinaros for this track at 24 FPS and on the N64.
Spice Mine Run: There are so many straights to boost on this track that it takes extreme boost discipline even max upgraded, and even more so NU. You should start by doing one solid boost at the start of lap 1 or the single lap, and then take the long time to cool down the pod until coming off the right side conveyor belt where you should floor the boost and then use the drop and chicanes for a cool down before boosting for the upslope into the corkscrew tunnels. This strategy especially applies to all the NU speed demon pods in Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, Sebulba, Mars Guo, and Aldar Beedo.
Semi-Pro Circuit:
Sunken City: Most of the advice for Aquilaris Classic applies to Sunken City too when they almost completely overlap. The one major difference is at the busted tunnel coming out of the valve gates where you should split off at the 2nd short cut (First one shown on track map) and the not the very first one as it is extremely difficult with every NU pod to nail the sharp over 90 degree turn and ultra narrow passage without losing a significant amount of momentum and/or crashing even with extreme skill.
Howler Gorge: With the exception of NU Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, and Mars Guo where you can floor the booster over the giant Howler Gorge drop and land on the ice like you can with upgrades, all NU pods are much safer dropping straight down onto the ramp and taking the second jump onto the ice due to the lack of a slow heat rate, extremely high boost thrust number, and/or extremely high raw top speed. The fastest path on the track demands taking the tent ice short cut on laps 2 and 3, and you need to take advantage of the speed boost to cool down and save the boost for when you get off the ice by taking advantage of the spike in top speed for the boost. An average or better traction pod is recommended for the track and especially on the N64's 24 FPS due to being on the ice for certain. On the Pipe Line, take advantage of the boost in speed to cool down so you can save it for the final climb and slalom.
Dug Derby: This extremely winding and narrow track does not have much difference between upgrade and no upgrade runs apart from boost frequency, with NU Mars Guo and Bullseye being the safest bets for this track by a wide margin due to their agility.
Scrapper's Run: This track with upgrades is well known to kill you exiting the speedboosting tunnel either by slamming hard into the wall or failing the skip jump, and it is the same thing NU. Braking while exiting this tunnel is justifiable here when the wall has terrifying tendency to be almost certain death when hitting it at speed. You should boost on the straights and use the tunnel speedboost to cool down NU.
Zugga Challenge: The Dozer's Pattern is radically different NU than Max Upgraded, and that can throw your boost patterns out of whack if you got to used to doing the track with Max Ben for ILs. You should get one decent boost at the start of the lap, and then save the boost until you hit a steep climb into the town strip you saw on Spice Mine Run. Once you hit the town interior, save the boost for the first part of the corkscrew, and do not use it until you reach the jump where you need to use the boost and pull up to safely clear it NU, and then wait until you fall into a tunnel where you gun the boost for the steep climb out of it.
Baroo Coast: The only major difference besides boost patterns between NU and Upgrades is making sure to take the left path as it is much safer and gives a speedboost. NU Mars Guo and Bullseye Navoir are the safest bets for the track.
Bumpy's Breakers: The most unique Aquilaris track has a straightaway with multiple jumps perfect for flooring the boost on before going on a winding path back to the parts shared with the other two tracks where the strategies for those tracks still apply. On the unique portion, take advantage of the bends to cool down while boosting on the sloped ramps. Drop down onto the lower path where you can floor the booster again before finally ending up back at the overlap. Before entering the grand arena, you are met with a sharp turn that is extremely difficult to avoid hitting without slowing down in some fashion.
Galactic Circuit:
Executioner: This track has major diversion from Max Upgrades in that NU pods are faster taking the middle hole tube where you get a speed boost in the anti-gravity tube. However, the max upgrade path is still significantly safer than the middle hole tube, and especially with NU Mars Guo, Boles Roor, and Ben Quadinaros where they can unleash the extremely high boost thrust max speeds much more safely. Optimally but much riskier, you should aim to max out your heat before the anti-gravity tube speed boost, and use the tube's boost to cool down. However, it can be difficult to max out heat with NU Boles, Ben, and Mars on the first lap before the middle tube path, and therefore it might be more useful to take the Max Upgrade path for lap 1 to max heat before the tube drop. You will have to use the brakes to enter it, and take advantage of the speed boost to cool down in the tube, though you may have to use the brakes to safely navigate and exit the tube if you are not extremely skilled. Coming out of the tube is perfect for unleashing the boost, but watch out for the rotating gate at the end of it that leads into another part you can use the boost on. Unless you are using a pod that cools down fast like Ebe Endocott or Bullseye Navoir, or get your boost patterns thrown out of whack by a crash, the final anti-gravity should be used to cool down only. Going into laps 2 and 3, you will be heated to the point where you will need to use the booster sparingly after the final tube if you want to floor it down the fully upgraded path. This makes the riskier route of taking the middle tube faster as a result, and you can use the turns and anti gravity tube to cool down as it will be easy to max heat before the tube hole on laps 2 and 3 even with NU Boles, Ben, and Mars. However, that middle hole path is much harder to use well with NU Boles, Ben and Mars.
Sebulba's Legacy: This short and winding track has a very distinctive boost pattern to it NU. On the first lap, you should be able to fire off a decent boost down the first bend and straight, then fire off another boost down the long stretch before taking a break on the booster and then using it to climb up the fastest path on track, saving it for a climb out of it, and then fire off one solid boost down the final stretch. The 2nd and 3rd laps are the same apart from not doing the boost down the first bend and straight unless you are using Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, or Bullseye Navoir where they cool down fast enough to do that same boost on laps 2 and 3, though not quite as long as the first lap.
Grabvine Gateway: This is the most winding track in the game, and it has the least amount of difference between upgrade and NU boost patterns simply due to how difficult it is to boost on the track period. On the winding swamp portion, it is easy to lose enough momentum to not be able to boost on the climb out of the swamp portion even with Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner and Bullseye Navoir. On the 2nd and 3rd laps, the earthquake shortcut is so sharp and abrupt that it is slower taking the path NU than continuing on the 1st lap path. Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, and Bullseye Navior are the safest bets for this track, but you can easily use Mars Guo here to go significantly faster.
Andobi Mountain Run: The same advice for Howler Gorge applies to Andobi Mountain Run too, with two major differences. On the final winding path that ends in a steep climb, it is extremely easy to lose enough momentum to boost the whole way up the final climb. Make sure to use the pipe's downward slope to cool down with a speed boost, though you may need to fire off a short boost down the pipe to avoid underheating.
Dethro's Revenge: While there is not much difference apart from boosting patterns from a plain track perspective, it is one of the most hair raising tracks in NU Galactic/Any% and 100% Runs as the AI rubberbanding is exceptionally extreme on this track. One crash at an inopportune time and/or point on this track in a Galactic/Any% or 100% NU run can easily make you lose the whole run here.
Fire Mountain Rally: Another exceptionally difficult and winding track that results in not much difference in boosting patterns between Upgrade and NU. Like Grabvine Gateway, the quake shattering shortcut on laps 2 and 3 is not worth it to take NU. Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, and Bullseye Navoir are once again the safest bets for this track on Any%/Galactic and 100% Runs due to their ability to recover fast, and especially if you happen to take an accidental dip into the lava. Mars Guo can easily be used here too, but it is exceptionally hard for him to recover from an accidental dip into the lava with his poor repair and cooling.
The Boonta Classic: This track is still a brutal killer of speedruns even NU, and you need to take the off road short cut at the start of the track to stand any chance of building a recoverable lead on the track during Any%/Galactic and 100% Runs. Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, and Bullseye Navoir are the safest bets, but there are long enough straightaways where you can easily use Mars Guo for this track on 100% runs if you have the skills and guts to use him.
Invitational Circuit:
Ando Prime Centrum: Not much difference between upgrade and NU runs for this track. Ideally since you cannot use Boles Roor reliably on 100% NU Runs for the N64, you should save this track for stone dead last so you can use NU Ben Quadinaros for this track when he is much faster than both Mars Guo and Sebulba. Ando Prime Centrum also has the distinction of having the highest AI difficultly of all 25 tracks in the game, and it is extremely easy to get lost with all the path options on this track.
Abyss: No track has killed more speedruns in this game than Abyss, and it is even more deadly and agonizing NU. Without a doubt the safest pod for this track is NU Mars Guo when no other pod comes close to his ability to recover on this track if you fall off the top ledge or fail the full skip which is common on an 100% run.
The Gauntlet: No track has such radically different boosting patterns from upgrade to NU as The Gauntlet. From the start of the lap to the off road portion, you need to use the booster as sparingly as possible so you can maximize the boost time on the off road short cut. After the off road portion, save the boost for the long straight after the sharp 180 turn to get one long boost on it where you stop the boost at the bowl use the downward slope to cool down before boosting on the steep climb before the anti gravity tube, and use tube's speed boost to cool down before doing a quick boost on the final climb to the finish line. Repeat the same cycle on laps 2 and 3. On 100% Runs on the N64 at 24 FPS, make sure to save this track for the bitter end so you can use NU Ben Quadinaros on it, who happens to have the greatest reliability of making the off road shortcut under boost using this super frugal use of the booster. This strategy for the off road short cut also works with NU Boles Roor and NU Mars Guo.
Inferno: Being the last one you will unlock in the game, this track was not intended to be run with NU cooling like you will be doing in NU runs of any kind. This track you have to deliberately underheat with your pod NU as the whole track practically heats your engines up without even using the booster, and even more so using the booster where the heat rate is accelerated over these portions. Since all NU pods heat up faster than they cool down, it is extremely easy to catch fire badly on both engines, and especially from a miscalculated boost even minuscule. On N64 100% Runs, it is actually most optimal to save all the Invitational Tracks for last just so you can do this track first to unlock the fastest super reliable NU Pod in the game in Ben Quadinaros.
By Tier Lists:
Two stats in raw top speed and heat to cool ratio made for an exceptionally different Tier List between NU and Max Upgrade. In the case of raw top speed, every pod tops out at 650 max upgraded, while NU it ranges from 600 with Sebulba to 475 with Slide Paramita and Ody Mandrell. With heat to cool ratio, almost every pod NU heats up much faster than it cools down to the point where it is agonizingly slow unless the NU top speed is extremely high, and all pods NU heat up faster than they cool down too. In sharp contrast, Max Upgrade heat to cool ratios result in all but 4 pods cooling down faster than they heat up, with 1 tie, and 3 that still heat up faster than they cool down. Both Max and NU, the best heat to cool ratio is Toy Dampner, and the worst is Gasgano.
As a control, here is the Tier List for Max Upgrades: Top Max: Ben Quadinaros 'Bullseye' Navior Mars Guo Mawhonic Aldar Beedo Boles Roor
High Max: Elan Mak Neva Kee Ratts Tyerell Clegg Holdfast Toy Dampner
Mid Max: Slide Paramita Ebe Endocott Gasgano Dud Bolt Ody Mandrell Bozzie Baranta Anakin Skywalker Ark 'Bumpy' Roose
Low Max: Fud Sang Teemto Pagalies Wan Sandage Sebulba
And here is the Tier List No Upgrades: Top NU: Boles Roor Ben Quadinaros Sebulba
High NU: Mars Guo Aldar Beedo 'Bullseye' Navior Ratts Tyerell Toy Dampner Mawhonic Clegg Holdfast
Mid NU: Ebe Endocott Anakin Skywalker Slide Paramita Fud Sang Dud Bolt Bozzie Barranta Neva Kee
Low NU: Elan Mak Gasgano Ark 'Bumpy' Roose Ody Mandrell Teemto Pagalies Wan Sandage
Higher Tier NU than MU: Sebulba: Low MU to Top NU Fud Sang: Low MU to Mid NU
Lower Tier NU than MU: Elan Mak: High MU to Low NU Mawhonic, Mars Guo, Bullseye Navoir, and Aldar Beedo: Top MU to High NU Neva Kee: High MU to Mid MU Gasgano, Ark 'Bumpy' Roose, and Ody Mandrell: Mid MU to Low NU
Same Tier MU and NU: Top: Boles Roor and Ben Quadinaros High: Ratts Tyerell, Toy Dampner, and Clegg Holdfast Mid: Anakin Skywalker, Ebe Endocott, Slide Paramita, Dud Bolt, and Bozzie Barranta Low: Teemto Pagalies and Wan Sandage
All the top tier NU pods in Ben, Boles, and Sebulba have such a high raw top speed NU that they only need a Plug 5 to hit the 650 max, and the only ones to do so.
The pods of Mars Guo, Aldar Beedo, and Bullseye Navoir border between the top and high tiers NU. While they are significantly slower compared to Ben, Boles, and Sebulba, they are also significantly faster (Aldar Beedo) or significantly more agile and easier to use (Mars Guo and Bullseye Navoir) then the other high tier pods of Clegg Holdfast, Ratts Tyerell, and Toy Dampner.
