Vehicle Dynamics #

Add-on components modifying the vehicle's handling and behavior.

You could write your own add-on components easily if the provided components don't fit your needs or you need other features.

VPAntiRollBar #

Anti-roll bars (also "stabilizer bars" or "sway bars") connect the two wheels of the same axle allowing a limited degree of freedom between their suspensions. When one of the wheels is pushed upwards, the stabilizer bar transfers a portion of that compression force to the other wheel, so its suspension compress as well. This reduces the body lean in turns at that axle.

Axle

The axle this anti-roll bar component will be attached to. 0 is first axle, 1 is second axle and so on.

Mode

Several working modes are provided:

• Stiffness: configures the stiffness ratio of the bar.
• Spring rate: configures the spring rate of the bar. The spring is applied based on the difference of travel between both suspensions.
• Legacy: applies an anti-roll rate based on the difference of compression ratio between both suspensions.

Stiffness

0 removes the anti-roll effect (fully elastic bar). 1 means a rigid, totally inelastic bar. The effect is achieved by shifting the given ratio of suspension properties (spring, rate) among the wheels depending on their relative contact depths.

Spring Rate

Spring rate transferred from the less compressed to the most compressed suspension. For example, if the difference in the suspension travel is 10 cm, then the transferred rate will be 0.1 x Spring Rate.

Anti-roll rate

Legacy mode only: amount of spring rate transferred between suspensions based on the difference in their compression ratios.

Emit Telemetry

Includes this component in the telemetry system. These channels are added: CompressionLeft, CompressionRight, CompressionDiff, SpringLeft, SpringRight.

Here's an example of the effect of the anti-roll bar in the front axle. It shifts the weight of the vehicle to the rear axle so it gains traction in corners. Without front anti-roll bar the rear inner wheel just lifts up:

VPAeroSurface #

Stand-alone component (it doesn't require a VehicleBase-derived component) providing drag and downforce based on the velocity of the vehicle. The forces are applied to the vehicle at the position of the GameObject containing this component.

The recommended setup is having a VPAeroSurface GameObject at the middle of each axle, at least at front and rear. These components can configure the behavior of the vehicle at high speeds.

Drag Coefficient

Coefficient for the drag force with the speed. The force is applied counteracting the vehicle's velocity.

Downforce Coefficient

Coefficient for the downforce with the speed. The force is applied at the transform's position in the transform.down direction.

The force magnitudes are calculated with a simple quadratic formula:

$$F = \rho \times v^2$$

where $F$ is the force in Newtons, $\rho$ is the coefficient and $v$ is the vehicle's speed in m/s.