Realistic Driving Settings [RETIRED]

Settings you may want to change to enable a more realistic driving experience, as the default settings are very forgiving.

This guide has been retired and will no longer be updated.

Settings

The settings shown above are what you'll be changing. Each one is detailed below. Feel free to give me ideas to make the game more realistic and I'll be sure to update.

Transmission Type
If you have a physical shifting device, use it. If you don't, change this to Sequential. Real Automatic works best with a wheel and pedals, but Sequential can actually prove challenging. If you don't shift properly, you can gain too much speed going downhill and be unable to stop. Likewise, you can lose too much speed going uphill, causing you to either stall or roll backwards.

Fatigue simulation
Turn this on. It requires you to rest occasionally. If you don't, you can be fined. In real life, you're limited to hours as well by law.

Steering autocenter
Turn this off. While the steering wheel in real life will slowly correct itself, no way does it do it as fast as in the game. This requires you to actually maintain good steering, instead of doing sharp turns and letting the wheel reset itself.

Braking intensity
Move this all the way down (to the left). If you're carrying something that's 30,000lbs, plus the weight of the truck, no way will you be stopping as quickly as you do in game; physics and momentum just won't allow it. This makes it so you need to brake properly, instead of speeding up to cars, lights, etc. and then pushing down on the brake, stopping almost immediately.

Trailer stability
Move this down a bit (to the left). Play with this however you feel comfortable, because in real life, not all trailers react the same way. The lower you go, the more unstable the trailer becomes. This means that if you take a sharp turn at 90mph, your trailer will wobble and could disconnect from the cab, flip, etc.

Truck speed limiter
Turn this on. Modern trucks built after a certain year require them to have a limiter. This is law in some jurisdictions, but is not federally mandated by an official body. This caps the truck at a certain speed, usually set by the employer, in relation to any law they may follow. My employer caps our trucks at 105km, which is 5km over the highway speed (Canada).

Automatic retarder
Turn this off.

Automatic exhaust brake
Turn this off.

Automatic engine and electricity start
Turn this off. If on, you'll start the engine simply by hitting the accelerator. With this off, you'll need to start it yourself before the accelerator will do anything.

Automatic drop of liftable axles
Turn this off.

Air brakes simulation
Turn this on. As you brake, you use up air, since trucks use an air brake system. This air constantly gets refilled. However, if you brake a lot too often, you'll empty the system. To fix this, you need to let the truck sit idle with the engine running while the air pressure builds back up.

Realistic fuel consumption
Turn this on.

Parking difficulty
Make this always set to the hardest, "where would you like it" option. More often then not, when delivering a trailer in real life, it's not going to be in an easy spot, and even the easier spots might be narrow or require very precise movements to get into.

Contact, Connect, Credits

Thanks for reading! Feel free to connect at the following places, or get in touch if there's any issues with this (or any other) guide.



CCG Discord: https://discord.gg/NnzNkXe
CCG YouTube: https://youtube.com/coffeechatgaming
CCG Curator: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39082514-Coffee-Chat-Gaming/
CCG Group: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/CoffeeChatGaming
CCG on the web: https://coffeechatgaming.com
Other guides: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheCanuckJ/myworkshopfiles/?section=guides
Reviews: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheCanuckJ/recommended

[GT182]

I'd love to see someone do a mod to bring back the trolley brake for the older trucks. It was always a Godsend to have it, especially on hills with a red-light.

[razorman51]

how do i drive in snow?

[racer2787]

A word on air brakes in this game. The simulation for air brakes is not anywhere near how air brakes work in reality..... you lose air pressure way too quickly and regain it way too slowly in game. I keep this turned off because it's so annoying.

[RazorsEdge]

Ya your right on the money Retired. I'm retired as well with over 25 yrs of driving and the adjustments should always be at there hardest and a good driver should fly by the seat of his or her pants and always expect the un expexted and don't take other drivers for granted..Just because you have the lisence to drive doesn't make you a good driver.. There are a lot of 90day wonders out there...Happy Trails to all...The Edge...

[CreepyCanuck]

@always glass0fjuice: Clearly says RETIRED in both the title and overview.

[dis0nored]

Updates?

[CreepyCanuck]

@escetic: I cannot comment on the shifting, as it's been quite a long time since I played, and I have no idea if they've tweaked any of the core mechanics.
When I did play, it seemed fine. That's pretty much all I can say without lying about something. I shifted with a keyboard, as I don't use a wheel or pedal device.

[escetic]

Thanks for the guide! Sorry you don't play anymore. Can you comment on how realistic the shifting is in the game? Using a G27 wheel and stick the game seems to correctly emulate double clutching but I don't think it's correctly emulating catching the sweet spot RPMs or brake/clutch/rev/clutch for downshifting. Or getting rolling up a hill, because I find need to rev and brake simultaneously then move my foot off the brake while also revving. Parking brake doesn't help at all, engine shuts down as soon as you rev in park. But I'm not a trucker so what do I know...

[Happyspikes]

Nice. Thx for the info.

[CreepyCanuck]

No, I've lost interest in the game and haven't played it for several months.