MTM2.com

Hello,
I'm new here to the boards, but certainly not new to MTM2. I was wondering though, what defines a fast truck. For example, I was racing on "TNT Beach Challange" by DaveTheSmasher (Great work on the track Dave) with all sorts of trucks that I have podded, and averaging times of 6.85. Then I ran it with Bad Influence '98 by Inky & Rudd (Great truck) and everytime I ran that truck, I set a time of 6.59 or so. I could only get those times with Bad Influence. What makes one truck faster than the other, without messing with the ratios, because they were the same for all trucks I used? I am not a truck maker nor a track maker, but I've been playing the game for many many years. Can anyone shed some light on this subject please. Thanks in advance.

mtm2879

The handling of a truck is controled by a few factors

• Whell base - length and width
• Ride height
• Relative position to center - length, width and height

These things are determined when a truck is made. There is no after-build adjustments to be done. However, knowing this can help in the selection of which truck you use on what tracks at any given time. For example, a shorter wheel base (boogey van) would probably be more suited to shorter tracks and drags, whereas a longer wheel base (overkill) would probably be better suited to rallies with few tight corners. The trick would be to find the perfect truck for each racing situation. Most people, tho, usually find their favorite and stick with it for all tracks.

To demonstrate how extreme the set up can affect handling, take a look at what some people call RTS, or real truck suspension, which aims at making the body movement more reponsive to braking, acceleration and corning. Unfortunately, they don't race very well.

http://mtm2.com/~trucks/trucks.cgi?s=rts

Another example is small tires. These trucks have to be set up differently in order to give the appearance of normal size tires.

http://mtm2.com/~trucks/trucks.cgi?sort=type&o=d&y=2003

In all cases, they are still affected by the garage settings in the game.

An example of a truck that is not configured properly (as I found out in a review) would be Monster Attack which was an Expo '03 entry. You may wonder how I came across this truck. I entered it in the contest and discovered its bad center of gravity in the review. Now you're thinking... "I? But the Expo entry reads that 'Tarres' entered it!" And that's true.

I had my name changed because I was getting tired of a name that wasn't possible to pronounce right.

Thank you Phineus and Mat-Allum very much for your clarifications. It was very helpful and I greatly appreciate it. Take care.

mtm2879

>> ...what defines a fast truck ...

manualyautomatic gears and a love for the game.

Also, a lot of practice and refining your driving technique.

Acceleration characteristics remain the same in every truck. The only variable, as fore mentioned, is handling. Mike, nor myself, had done anything that would make that truck "faster than another." The most likely answer for your case is the suspension characteristics of the truck appealed to that track more than other trucks...