Vehicle Features/Drivetrains

 are the system of connecting the transmission to the wheels on a land-vehicle.

Description
The drivetrain is defined as "the group of components that deliver power to the driving wheels", where its function is to couple the engine that produces the power to the driving wheels that consume this mechanical power. This connection involves physically linking the two components, which may be at opposite ends of the vehicle and so requiring a long propeller shaft or drive shaft.

The way a car's drivetrain and engine are set up can have a drastic effect on occasions such as police chases and enemy gang wars (escaping, for example).

Drivetrains and Descriptions
Front Wheel Drive= Front wheel drive (FWD) is when a car's engine power is channeled to the front wheels. FWD cars cost a lot less than other drivetrain types because of less moving parts. In addition, front engine, front wheel drive (FF) cars tend to have understeer when accelerating mid-turn, because accelerating causes the weight of the vehicle to shift onto the rear axle, resulting in decreased acceleration and decreased steering ability. Rear Wheel Drive= Rear wheel drive (RWD) is when a car's engine power is sent to the rear wheels. RWD cars tend to be more expensive because they tend to have higher horsepower and more moving parts. Front-engine, rear wheel drive (FR) drivetrain layouts are commonly used in drifting, other rear wheel drive configurations are used in oval racing, circuit racing and drag racing. There are a lot of RWD cars in GTA IV. Four Wheel Drive/ All Wheel Drive= Four wheel drive/ All wheel drive (4WD/AWD, respectively) is when the engine power is transferred to all four wheels of a car. Acceleration is usually great but sometimes less than FWD cars because the model may have a lower power-to-mass ratio. Still, it provides great acceleration, great offroad capabilities, and the ability to climb rocks, walls, etc without being stuck on them, mostly because the wheels that are in the ground can push the car off the obstacle. In theory, it is the best drivetrain layout because the effects of understeer and oversteer counterbalance each other. In practise, 4WD/AWD vehicles tend to suffer greater drivetrain power losses due to the increased weight and parts, sometimes resulting in an overall decrease in performance.

Note that a few AWD cars may have uneven torque distribution (e.g. 30% front, 70% rear). This will affect acceleration, handling and drifting capabilities. Greater front torque distribution causes characteristics of FWD vehicles to show through, while greater rear torque distribution causes characteristics of RWD vehicles.

Key

 * Front-engine - Engine is placed on top or in front of the front wheels.
 * Rear-engine - Engine is placed on top or behind rear wheels.
 * Front-mid engine - Engine is placed behind front wheels, in front of cockpit.
 * Rear-mid engine - Engine is placed in front of rear wheels, behind/partly within cockpit.

Table
The layouts featured are as follows (Combining physical appearance of the engine's location and the handling.cfg);

Key

 * Front-engine - Engine is placed on top or in front of the front wheels.
 * Rear-engine - Engine is placed on top or behind rear wheels.
 * Front-mid engine - Engine is placed behind front wheels, in front of cockpit.
 * Rear-mid engine - Engine is placed in front of rear wheels, behind/partly within cockpit.
 * Torque distribution on AWD vehicles reads here as "(front-rear)"

Table
The layouts featured are as follows (Combining physical appearance of the engine's location and the handling.cfg);


 * Unknown
 * Caddy
 * Forklift

Key

 * Front-engine - Engine is placed on top or in front of the front wheels.
 * Rear-engine - Engine is placed on top or behind rear wheels.
 * Front-mid engine - Engine is placed behind front wheels, in front of cockpit.
 * Rear-mid engine - Engine is placed in front of rear wheels, behind/partly within cockpit.
 * Torque distribution on AWD vehicles reads here as "(front-rear)"

Table
The layouts featured are as follows (Combining physical appearance of the engine's location and the handling.cfg);


 * Unknown
 * Caddy
 * Forklift

3D Universe

 * The drivetrain of a vehicle is determined by a parameter called " ", where the reading of the drivetrain is very simple, having only a single letter or a number, which are:
 * F: for front wheel drive vehicles.
 * R: for rear wheel drive vehicles.
 * 4: for all-wheel drive vehicles.

HD Universe

 * The drivetrain of a vehicle is determined by a parameter called " ", where "1.0" means that the vehicle is front wheel drive, while "0.0" means that the vehicle is rear wheel drive. Any value between these numbers means that the vehicle is all wheel drive, with a certain torque distribution based on its proximity to either "1" (front) or "0" (rear). For example, if the Bison's "DriveBias" reads "0.2", that means it has an AWD layout, with a torque distribution of 20% front and 80% rear.


 * Handling.meta, used in Donwloadable Content and update files post-Business Update in Grand Theft Auto V, has a similar parameter called " ", but it works the same way as "DriveBias".

Trivia

 * Even though only land vehicles can have the drivetrain options, Aircraft, Watercraft, trailers and other types of vehicle are listed in the handling files with such parameters, as a normal car would do. Said effect of the drivetrain is obviously ignored on these vehicles, as the extra data reading would render these useless for the vehicle types in question.
 * Strangely, all wheel drive vehicles tend to "hide" their full layout. For example, holding the accelerator and brake will only spin the front wheels or rear wheels (depending on the "natural" layout), and driving against a wall only sometimes reveals if the vehicle is AWD or not. Currently, the best way to determine a vehicle's drivetrain is by rolling the vehicle upside down, and accelerating.
 * On the Rockstar Games Social Club, when the player views the modifications on their Online garage's cars, all rear-mid engine'd cars will show the engine location as rear-engine instead.