Swing Glitch



The swing glitch (also known as the swingset glitch of Death) is one of the more famous, and humorous, glitches in Grand Theft Auto IV. It encompasses a certain swingset which is capable of catapulting the player or their vehicles with considerably great force.

Location
There are said to be several "glitched" swing sets around Liberty City and Alderney, the most infamous of them being the swingsets in the playground in Firefly Projects, yet two are accessible to cars and vans, and in a back garden of a mansion in Westdyke, on the junction of Owl Creek Ave and Tenmile St. Most of these are easy to access, specifically the two listed above, so it leaves sufficient space to allow the player to maneuver a decent-sized vehicle into position, the most popular method of exploiting the glitch.

Description
If the player presses up against the swings in a vehicle it will often, with little to no warning, be flung an incredible distance through the air. It is not uncommon for flying vehicles to reach or even clear Outlook Park to the west. The end result of vehicular flight is almost always catastrophic body damage (often in a manner that is not easily achieved through normal crashes), although the engine will frequently still run. This enables the player to cruise away in their ruined vehicle.

The player risks being thrown out through the windshield upon launch, facing the vehicle towards the swing increases the likelihood of this happening. After being thrown out, the player may fall to his death the likelihood of this is lessened if one is thrown to the east (where the player may land safely in water). However, it is nearly impossible for players to get launched through the windshield in multiplayer. It is recommended that the area of the vehicle containing the engine not touch the swing set, lest the engine catch fire.

One of the best swing sets to use is the northern one, as using the southern one will almost always guarantee crashing into large apartment buildings. It is often also preferable to use the middle pole rather than the side ones.

As well as flinging vehicles, the swings have been known to hurl players, as well as unsuspecting pedestrians that hang from or brush against them. Although amusing, this is will almost always result in their death, unless they are lucky enough to land in water.

To get the most distance, back the back of the car to the middle pole then reverse. When the swing catapults you, you should go the furthest you can go (e.g. East Hook, this is one of the furthest locations the vehicle can land in).

Best vehicles
Most vehicles are capable of going high and far but only with the correct conditions, some are more reactive than others such as the DF8-90, and some only go far on much rarer occasions (like the Ingot, Blista Compact, and Yankee. These can be launched as far as the Humboldt River under the right conditions). The best vehicles that hardly get stuck and go as far as (or beyond) Outlook on average are the: Turismo, Cabby, Declasse Taxi, Habanero, Stallion, Merit, Minivan, Moonbeam, NOOSE Cruiser, Perennial, Police Patrol, Police Cruiser, and the Vapid Taxi. It is possible, yet difficult, to use the glitch on a motorcycle,(or on foot) and it would be unwise to do so because of the increased likelihood of being flung off the motorcycle to your death. If a Bus is used on the swingset it will either be flung to the west and land somewhere not to so far or if its done on the swings right next to the block of apartments, it can send you underground spinning endlessly until you or passengers exit the vehicle, which will end up with you spawning in random places in Hove Beach or right next to the swingset. Also, the Bus has a rare outcome with the swings in the playground where the Bus will appear in blue hell and then completely vanish along with one of the swings, leaving the player floating in the jungle gym while in the driving position. The swing set can be used to get the "Rolled Over" achievement/trophy (a car must be rolled over 5 times in a row from one crash) as the swing set can roll the car alot in mid-air, though it may take some time to do.