Wheels are simply structures that the game creates automatically out of standard features to make creating vehicles easier. They are simply Nodes connected by Beams with a contactable Submesh. They are unique in that they will rotate when given input to accelerate.

=Wheels= Wheels are the most basic wheels in the game. The width of a wheel is determined by the distance between the two reference nodes and is composed of pie slices known as rays. The more rays a wheel has, the smoother it will be but will also contain more nodes and beams and consequently lower performance. It is considered good form to keep your rays between 10 and 20.

The optional snode option allows for game-managed Axle Rigidity. This will keep the two wheel reference nodes in line under normal conditions. If snode is NOT used, you must enter 9999.

wheels
;radius, width, numrays, node1, node2, snode, braked, propulsed, arm, mass,  spring,   damping,   facemat          bandmat
 0.54,   1,  12,       1,     2,   9999,    1,      1,         25,  400.0, 800000.0, 4000.0, tracks/wheelface tracks/wheelband2
 0.54,   1,  12,       3,     4,   9999,    1,      1,         23,  400.0, 800000.0, 4000.0, tracks/wheelface tracks/wheelband2

First step: The snode is Disabled ( The data is 9999), the nodes 1 and 4 are hanging just down.

wheels
;radius, width, numrays, node1, node2, snode, braked, propulsed, arm, mass,  spring,   damping,   facemat          bandmat
 0.54,   1,  12,       1,     2,      3,    1,      1,         25,  400.0, 800000.0, 4000.0, tracks/wheelface tracks/wheelband2
 0.54,   1,  12,       3,     4,   9999,    1,      1,         23,  400.0, 800000.0, 4000.0, tracks/wheelface tracks/wheelband2

Second step: You type 3 to the snode option of the wheel 1,2. Now node 1 will always have the ambition to be at the same "line" like the nodes 2 and 3.

wheels
;radius, width, numrays, node1, node2, snode, braked, propulsed, arm, mass,  spring,   damping,   facemat          bandmat
 0.54,   1,  12,       1,     2,      3,    1,      1,         25,  400.0, 800000.0, 4000.0, tracks/wheelface tracks/wheelband2
 0.54,   1,  12,       3,     4,      2,    1,      1,         23,  400.0, 800000.0, 4000.0, tracks/wheelface tracks/wheelband2

Third step: You type 2 to the snode option of the wheel 3,4.

Now all nodes will be on one level / line even node 1 and 4 aren't mounted primary to the chassis.

Contents 1 Wheels2 2 Meshwheels 2.1 Notes 3 Axles 3.1 Problems?

Wheels2

This feature improves the default wheels section by splitting wheels into rims and tires. This allows the player to set tire pressure with the keyboard.

Wheels2 (also known as the "complex wheel model") allows you to separate the wheel [rim] from the tire (tyre). This requires extra syntax, namely specifying the characteristics of the wheel versus the tire. Traditionally the wheel will be very rigid with the tire being much less so. The rigidity of wheels2 tires can be altered by holding [ and ] ingame, resulting in this:

Inflated tire	Deflated tire

The adjustable tire pressure allows you to adjust handling in real-time. Lower pressure creates more grip while higher pressure creates more stability.

Meshwheels

Meshwheels takes advantage of a mesh's static nature. It also creates a smoother tire. The wheel rim is a standard Ogre3D mesh.

Meshwheels are very similar to normal wheels, but require specification of the wheel rim radius. Likewise, the direction the wheel is facing must be specified in order for the mesh to be rotated properly.¹

Here is an example picture of a rim mesh, as it should be modeled. The actual tire will be added dynamically and will still flex.	This material should be slightly different to other tire materials as it covers both the tire face and the tire wall:

Notes

1. The mesh should be centered (Where should the wheel be placed in the L/R direction? Should it face left or right?) and of the right size for the wheel you want to do: its outer diameter should be as the "rim_radius" parameter, and its width should be the same as the distance between node1 and node2.
2. All wheels are able to do skid steering. See the steering chapter.
3. It is considered good form to keep your rays between 10 and 20.

Axles

This section defines axles on a vehicle, allowing more accurate distribution of torque among the wheels.

Sample axle section

axles
w1(1 2), w2(3 4), d(ol) ; axle 1
w1(5 6), w2(7 8), d(l) ; axle 2

The axle section introduces open differentials, and Spooled (aka locked) differentials. By adding axles to your vehicle file you override the propulsed property for the tires. Only wheels connected to an axle are powered, if multiple axles are defined the axles are interconnected in a locked manner. If no axle section is defined the old model of equal power distribution is used. Because the axle sections looks up already defined wheels, it must be defined AFTER the wheels have been defined

The axle section if different from other sections in that it is broken into properties, properties are not order dependent, currently the available properties are:

• w1(<node1> <node2>) - this defines which wheel the axle is attached to, <node1> and <node2> refer to the node1 and node2 as defined in the wheel section
• w2(<node1> <node2>) - wheel 2, same as w1, this is the second wheel attached to the axle. w1 and w2 are interchangeable.
• d(<list of diff types>) - Defines the available differential types for this axle. the list of axles is cycled through in the order specified, differential types maybe specified more than once. Each differential type is specified by a single letter, the letters are not to be separated by spaces or any other character. if no differentials are specified the axles will default to opened and locked.
  • Available differential types
    • o - open
    • l - locked
    • s - Split evenly (each wheel gets equal torque regardless of wheel speed)

Problems?

Wheel weight has a big effect on top speed since heavy wheels have lots of rolling resistance in RoR. Try to make the wheels as light as possible. If the wheels explode, they probably have too high damping for the weight. If the wheels and rpm needle start shaking, set lower clutch torque in the engoption section. This can take some tweaking, but it's worth it.

Used together with fusedrag and realistic truck weight, real torque is often enough so there's no need to have several thousand hp engines. That makes the trucks easier to drive and better handling.