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.
 * Notes
 * III - Grand Theft Auto III
 * VC - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
 * SA - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
 * LCS - Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
 * VCS - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Table
The layouts featured are as follows (Combining physical appearance of the engine's location and the Handling data). Because of the multiple drivetrain and design changes through the 3D Universe, some cars will be listed more than once.

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 data);

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 data);

Transmission ratios
 * Unknown
 * Cyclone
 * Ruston
 * Vigilante

As the transmission is also part of the drivetrain, the ratios are as well. Note that every car with the same amount of gears of another one (Tailgater and Schafter, both 5 speed) will share the exact same ratios, and if a car had a transmission upgrade, thus adding another gear, such as an upgraded Tailgater (6 speed), it will have the same ratios as one that natively came with that amount of gear, such as the 811 (6 speed). The game does not generate gear ratios that make actual sense below 3 speeds and above 5 speeds, and it only gets worse after a 6 speed, therefore a 6 speed is the most desirable transmission as it has the closest spacing. All gearboxes except the single speed have a ratio span of 3.7:1 ( quotient of 3.33/0.90).

Single speed 2 speed 3 speed 4 speed 5 speed 6 speed 7 speed 8 speed 9 speed 10 speed

3D Universe
Assuming there is no extra conditions for AWD vehicles, it is presumed that by being AWD will have equal torque distribution for all wheels.
 * In the Handling.cfg, 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

 * In the Handling.dat, 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 Comet's "DriveBias" reads "0.2", that means it has an AWD layout, with a torque distribution of 20% front and 80% rear.


 * The Handling.meta, used in Downloadable 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".
 * The final drive ratio is adjusted by the value "fInitialDriveMaxFlatVel"

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 handling data 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.
 * It is noted, however, that using the first method on said AWD vehicles, most of them will move forward for a few centimetres, something that a RWD or FWD vehicle cannot perform.
 * 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.