Vehicle Mod Installation

Two main tools are required for a typical vehicle mod for any of the 3D GTA trilogy.

An IMG editing tool
Any text editing tool

The standard operating procedure is to first back up any and all files being edited.

Step 1: DFF and TXD

Navigate to the "models" folder of your GTA install and open gta3.img with your IMG editor.

Find the model file of the vehicle you are replacing. Look in your default.ide file for more information regarding specific model names. We will be replacing the Linerunner. Once you find "linerun.dff", right click it and choose "delete". Do the same for the "linerun.txd" file.

Choose "add" and add the dff and txd that came with the mod. Make sure they are named correctly, in this case "linerun.dff" not "linerunner.dff". If the IMG editor have an option to rebuild the archive on demand, use this option and wait until it is finished.

In case you're doing it for GTA III, also open "txd.img" with your IMG editor. Navigate to "linerun.txd" and delete it. Add the file that came with the mod and rebuild the archive.

Make sure that "read-only" is unchecked for your entire installation folder, or other errors may occur.

Step 2: Carcols.dat

If the readme file does not specify any changes to the carcols.dat file, skip this step. Not all models have new car colors. Open carcols.dat in your data folder with a text editor.

Change the car's colors by pasting new lines next to its entry towards the bottom of the file. The first number is the primary color and the second is the secondary color - see here for more info.

If you need to add new colors, paste them underneath the last entry on the top of the file. Make sure their number does not match a previous color - see here for more info on this.

Step 3: Default.ide

You may need to change the default.ide line for a car. Find the car's entry in the default.ide and paste the information specified in the readme file. You may simply receive instructions to change the wheel size to a certain number - change the last number in the entry.

Step 4: Handling.cfg

This entry dictates how your car will handle when you drive it. Most mods will have a readme with a handling entry - simply paste this entry over the old one. Customization is possible but difficult - see here for more info.