Questions regarding upgrades/unlocks

[Angel of Verdun]

I have a few questions I hope people can enlighten me on when it comes to upgrades/unlocks.

1. What benefit do you get with the 6x2 and 6x4 over the 4x2 ? With 4x2 I usually have 1000-1400litres of gas, when I upgrade to 6x2 or 6x4 the total gas capacity is reduced to around 400-500 litres... so with that drawback, what is the advantage?

2. Beacon lights... do they have any purpose other than immersion? Will AI vehicles stop if you are doing a wide turn in the traffic (inside cities in particular) with beacon lights on?

3. Is there any penalty for leaving high beams on during night driving? I notice alot of cars comming the opposite direction will blink their headlights at me for blinding them with the high beams, but does it carry any penalty of some sort?

4. Does upgrading tires reduce the time between each service (I noticed tires are usually the first thing that becomes "damaged") ?

Thanks for any and all answers!

Keep on truckin'

[Kyrah Abattoir]

1. For what i understood the 6x2 and 6x4 are more stable on turns. (haven't one yet)
3. Not that i know, i tend to drive with high beams on most of the time

[spdstr]

4x2 have the bigger fuel tanks, but the worst stability at high speed.
6x2 have the worst fuel tanks, but 4 turning wheels means excelent maneuverability at low speed.
6x4 have ok fuel tanks, and the best stability at high speed.
all this is relative, the Actros 4x2 and 6x4 are the same (600L)
Basically you'll only need 6x4 if you're transporting heavy cargo.

I've also heard people getting fined of used high beams (blinding other cars), but I allways do it and never got fined.

[zbobg]

Originally posted by spdstr:

Basically you'll only need 6x4 if you're transporting heavy cargo.

ALL trailers in the game weigh the same. This may change in future patches.

There is a heavy or oversize cargo skill in the game, oddly labeled "high value". You won't get those jobs until you have spent at least one skill point to unlock that skill.

Nevertheless, you DO NOT need a 6x4 to actually take those jobs.

Are the in-game 6x4 trucks more stable than 6x2 trucks? I'm not convinced that there is any or much useable difference. It can sometimes feel like there is a difference but I'm not sure that that isn't just my wanting it to be better. It is however possible that a 6x4 is slightly more stable in high speed turns. It is my observation that the Mercedes 6x4 is the most stable in most driving situations followed by the MAN then the Volvo. The Merc 6x4 and MAN 6x4 have the longest wheelbase and that may be the reason.

It is interesting to note that you can edit a file (files) to make the front wheels powered, so you'll have a 4x4 or 6x6 for example. Does that give the truck better handling? Some users have reported that it does, it certainly gives more grip when driving on grass for example.

Does the installed tire make any difference at all? No, I don't think so although it should. The game does not have any tire data that the user can modify that would change tire characteristics such as grip and wear. So the tire choices are apparently just stuff to make your truck look pretty.

[Angel of Verdun]

I'm going to skip on upgrading to 6x2 or 6x4 then. I normally haul the oversize (high value) cargo with my 4x2 Ivedo and haven't had any problems so far. I did change to 6x2 after I unlocked it, but the gas capacity was so low I found it annoying (I have two ranks in long distance so normally have 3-9 hour runs).

What about the other questions I had in regards to beacons and tires ?

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

AI drivers dont care about your beacons. Pretty much cosmetic thing. Dont think there is any difference in tires, they all wear the same. Never got fined for high beams, let them flash at you, essentially you need them from 23.00-4.00 outside cities. I have like 4 rows of lights on high beam for maximum blinding effect. :P
6x4 is indeed considerably more stable at high speeds, you can even run highways at full speed while it rains and very rarely get into slide.

[zbobg]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

6x4 is indeed considerably more stable at high speeds, you can even run highways at full speed while it rains and very rarely get into slide.

I have tried really hard to find a difference in grip on wet roads, I don't think there's any difference.

I can drive my 1010HP Volvo 4x2 at 120-130 KPH in the rain and it does not slide. Well, it does not slide any more than on dry roads.

I have deliberately tried to provoke slides with both 4x2 and 6x4 on the same pieces of road. There really does not seem to be any difference.

Comparing a Merc 6x4 and Volvo 6x4 both with the same 1010HP engine, the Merc is slower owing to a different transmission. Being slower it would be more stable leading to the illusion that it is fundamentally more stable than the Volvo for example.

By the way a good road to test stability is the highway (24) leading northwest from Berlin to Hamburg, it has ridiculously tight curves with reverse camber.

I have not found configuration files in the game for either truck handling characteristics or for tire grip. But interestingly, I have seen a youtube presentation for a Winter Map Mod (I think for Russia locations) where the truck appears to spin its wheels on the icy road.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

I have not extra tested the grip but when I used 4x2 Volvo with 600hp there was considerably more drifting per trip then with 6x4 750hp Volvo. I'm not using the speed mod so this is all based on 90 km/h speed. With 4x2 I had to slow down in places where 6x4 could plow right through. You can still get the occasional spin with 6x4 if you push it too far but it happens in lot fewer places.
And there seems to be some difference in wet and dry road, truck seems to behave slightly differently. In occasion there have been even the waterslide effect where water beneath the wheel creates kinda cushion and makes the truck slide forward with speed that pushes even about 10 km over the speed limiter.
Those are all seat of the pants feelings though, pretty similar to how you feel the real car with your butt when driving. Cant really swear by it.

[BayneRav]

Its the ideals that inertia with downgrades would cause it to behave improperly for sliding, as for on a flat tight curves... there should not be much differenance as the front of the truck, no matter the dimentions should not change the stability in corners.. As for the downgrades with tight corners? Are these at excess speeds with a trailer or just the cab with tests? Besides that rain is mostly more problematic with braking, same goes with braking on a slick roads under downgrade tight curves... As long as u do not brake agressively and have the correct rpm range it should not affect the stability too much... Now thats not to say that even at H-gears with the correct rpm range to engine brake will prevent your ass end of the trailer to pass u up... Think of it as the TRAILER does not have braking of its own so can be prone to topple over with rear-wheels pulling u into the far part of the apex.

If these Tests on conducted with only cab, then no concrete evidence can be supported to prove that the cab dimentions will change the stability characteristics of the trunk under stress cornering.

[zbobg]

@bayne420 Looks like you use a translator, but I think I understand what you said. All of the points you addressed are valid.

I'm just doing subjective testing with cab and trailer (important to use the same trailer). Mostly just to get a subjective measurement of handling.

I'm not doing brake testing, the trucks in ETS2 have ABS and variable brake strength so it's not possible to objectively test braking. I'm also not testing braking on a curve or braking in the rain. I'm testing the limits of general stability at relatively higher speeds. By the way this is done with a G27 so I do have fairly fine control of the steering.

What I do is drive (cab and trailer) as fast as I'm comfortable with until i get some sliding. I note what the speeds are, what happened and where it happened. I repeat as necessary until the behavior is repeatable. I do this with one brand of truck and then another. I test on the same piece(s) of road in the rain and dry. Finally I compare my notes especially what it "felt" like.

Note that this testing is subjective, it reflects what the handling "feels" like to me. It's not an objective scientific data points kind of test. My conclusions are probably a result more of my style of driving than it is of an objective measurement.