Vehicle Setup

This guide walks you through setting up a vehicle with Realistic Car Controller Pro (RCCP). Whether you prefer a guided wizard or hands-on manual setup, this page covers both approaches in detail.

Overview

There are two ways to set up a vehicle in RCCP:

Setup Wizard (recommended for beginners) -- A 7-step editor window that walks you through every decision, from wheel assignment to engine tuning. This is the fastest way to get a drivable vehicle.
Manual setup -- Add individual RCCP components yourself for full control over every detail. Better suited for experienced users or unusual vehicle configurations.

Opening the Setup Wizard

You can open the wizard from two menu paths:

Tools > BoneCracker Games > Realistic Car Controller Pro > Vehicle Setup > Quick Vehicle Setup Wizard
GameObject > BoneCracker Games > Realistic Car Controller Pro > Vehicle Setup > Quick Vehicle Setup Wizard

The wizard window appears with a progress bar at the top and Back/Next buttons at the bottom. You can move freely between steps before clicking Finish.

Preparing Your 3D Model

Before running the wizard (or setting up manually), your vehicle model needs to meet a few requirements. Getting these right saves a lot of troubleshooting later.

Model Requirements

Requirement	Why It Matters
Wheel meshes must be separate GameObjects	RCCP needs to spin, steer, and suspend each wheel independently. Wheels baked into the body mesh cannot move.
Each wheel should be its own child object (e.g., `Wheel_FL`, `Wheel_FR`, `Wheel_RL`, `Wheel_RR`)	The wizard and auto-detection rely on finding individual wheel objects in the hierarchy.
The vehicle model should face forward along the Z axis	Unity's forward direction is +Z. If your model faces a different direction, the vehicle will drive sideways.
Scale should be realistic (a typical car is roughly 4-5 meters long in Unity units)	Physics behaves unpredictably with very small or very large objects. One Unity unit equals one meter.
The pivot point of each wheel should be at the center of the wheel	WheelColliders are placed at the wheel pivot. If the pivot is offset, the wheel will appear to float or sink.
The body mesh should not include wheel geometry	If wheels are part of the body, you will see duplicate wheels (the body's static wheels plus RCCP's moving wheels).

Quick Checklist

Open your model in the Hierarchy and confirm each wheel is a separate child object
Check that the model faces +Z in the Scene view (the blue arrow)
Verify the scale: select the root object and look at the Transform -- the model should be around 4m long
If your model is a prefab, the wizard can unpack it for you during setup

Setup Wizard Walkthrough

The wizard has 7 steps (labeled Step 1 through Step 7 in the window). Each step focuses on one aspect of the vehicle.

Step 1: Basic Settings

This is where you select your vehicle and set its core properties.

What to do:

Select your vehicle GameObject in the Hierarchy panel (click on it)
Open the Setup Wizard -- it automatically detects your selection
The wizard cleans up the name (removes common suffixes like "(Prototype)" or "by Author")
Set the following fields:

Field	Default	Description
Vehicle Name	Auto-detected from GameObject name	The display name for your vehicle. Also becomes the GameObject name after setup.
Mass (kg)	1350	The total weight of the vehicle. This affects acceleration, braking distance, and suspension behavior.
Handling Type	Balanced	Controls how assist systems (steering helper, traction helper, angular drag) are configured.

Handling Type presets explained:

Preset	Steer Helper	Traction Helper	Angular Drag	Best For
Balanced	0.1	0.125	0.15	Good all-around default
Stable	0.2	0.3	0.3	Casual or mobile players who want easier control
Realistic	0.025	0.05	0.075	Simulation players who want minimal assists

Typical mass values by vehicle type:

Vehicle Type	Mass Range (kg)
Small car / hatchback	1000 - 1200
Sedan	1300 - 1500
SUV / crossover	1800 - 2200
Truck / heavy vehicle	3000+

Model Preparation options: If the wizard detects that your model is a prefab, has existing Rigidbodies, or has existing WheelColliders, it shows additional toggles:

Unpack prefab (recommended) -- Unpacks the prefab instance so you can freely edit children
Remove existing Rigidbodies (recommended) -- Removes any Rigidbodies already on the model that would conflict with RCCP's Rigidbody
Remove existing WheelColliders (recommended) -- Removes any WheelColliders already present that would conflict with RCCP's wheel system
Fix pivot position -- Centers the vehicle origin based on the model's render bounds. Enable this if your model's pivot is not at the bottom center.

Scene readiness: The wizard also checks if your scene has an RCCP Camera and a ground collider. If either is missing, you will see a warning with instructions on how to add them.

Step 2: Wheel Assignment

This step identifies which child objects are your vehicle's wheels and assigns them to front and rear axles.

Auto-detection: When you enter this step, the wizard automatically runs wheel detection. It analyzes the model hierarchy looking for objects with names like "wheel", "tire", "rim", or position patterns like "FL", "FR", "RL", "RR". Detected wheels are highlighted in the Scene view:

Green circles with labels (FL, FR, RL, RR) = assigned wheels
Yellow circles with "?" = detected candidates that were not assigned

What to do:

Check if auto-detection found all 4 wheels correctly
If a wheel is in the wrong slot, use the Swap L/R button to swap left and right
If auto-detection missed a wheel, drag and drop the correct GameObject from the Hierarchy into the field
If auto-detection found nothing, manually assign all four wheels using the object fields

Field	Description
Front Left	The front-left wheel mesh GameObject
Front Right	The front-right wheel mesh GameObject
Rear Left	The rear-left wheel mesh GameObject
Rear Right	The rear-right wheel mesh GameObject

Wheel Type preset: At the bottom of this step, choose a wheel friction preset:

Preset	Description	Use Case
Balanced	Good all-around grip with moderate slip	Default choice for most games
Stable	More grip, less slip	Easier to control, good for beginners or arcade feel
Realistic	Closer to real-world tire behavior with more pronounced slip	Simulation-style driving
Slippy	Low grip, high sideways slip	Drift games or ice/mud surfaces

The wheel type controls the forward and sideways friction curves applied to every WheelCollider on the vehicle. You can fine-tune these curves later in Settings.

Note: You must assign at least 2 front wheels and 2 rear wheels before the Next button becomes available. For vehicles with more than 4 wheels (6-wheelers, 8-wheelers), you can add extra axles manually after the wizard finishes.

Step 3: Suspension Settings

This step configures how the wheels connect to the vehicle body -- how they bounce, compress, and absorb impacts.

Auto-calculation: Suspension values are automatically computed from the vehicle mass you entered in Step 1:

Spring Force = Mass x 30
Damper Force = Spring Force x 0.1

For a 1350 kg vehicle, that gives Spring = 40,500 N and Damper = 4,050 N.

Field	Default	Range	Description
Suspension Distance (m)	0.2	0.05 - 0.5	How far the wheel can travel up and down from its rest position. Increase for off-road vehicles (0.3 - 0.5), decrease for low sports cars (0.1 - 0.15).
Spring Force (N)	Auto from mass	1000+	How stiff the suspension is. Higher values make the ride stiffer and reduce body roll. Too low and the vehicle bottoms out.
Damper Force (N s/m)	Auto from mass	100+	How quickly the spring stops bouncing. Higher values reduce oscillation. Too high and the suspension feels rigid.

Recalculate from Mass button: If you changed the mass in Step 1 and want to recalculate spring and damper values, click this button.

Tips:

For sports cars: lower suspension distance (0.1 - 0.15), higher spring force
For SUVs and off-road: higher suspension distance (0.25 - 0.4), moderate spring force
For trucks: higher spring force to support the weight, moderate suspension distance
These values apply to all wheels initially. After setup, you can fine-tune each axle independently on its RCCP_Axle component.

Step 4: Engine and Drivetrain

This step configures the engine power and how it reaches the wheels.

Auto-calculation: Max Engine Torque is automatically computed as Mass x 0.2. For a 1350 kg vehicle, that gives 270 Nm.

Field	Default	Description
Drive Type	RWD	Which wheels receive engine power (see table below)
Max Engine Torque (Nm)	Auto from mass	Peak torque the engine produces. Higher = faster acceleration.
Min Engine RPM	800	Idle RPM. The engine stays at or above this speed.
Max Engine RPM	7000	Redline RPM. The engine cannot exceed this speed.
Max Speed (km/h)	240	Top speed limiter. The gearbox ratios are adjusted to match.

Drive Type options:

Type	Full Name	Power Goes To	Best For
FWD	Front Wheel Drive	Front wheels only	Everyday cars, less oversteer, good traction in rain
RWD	Rear Wheel Drive	Rear wheels only	Sports cars, drifting, most common for fun driving games
AWD	All Wheel Drive	All wheels	Off-road, rally, SUVs, best traction on all surfaces

When you select AWD, the wizard creates two Differential components -- one for the front axle and one for the rear axle. FWD and RWD use a single Differential.

Recalculate Torque from Mass button: Recomputes the recommended torque if you changed the mass.

Validation: The wizard warns you if:

Max Torque is below 100 Nm (too low for most vehicles)
Min RPM is below 600 (engine would stall unrealistically)
Max RPM is above 10,000 (unusually high for most engines)

Step 5: Addon Components

This step lets you choose which optional vehicle systems to include. All addons are enabled by default -- you deselect any you do not need.

Component	What It Does
Inputs	Keyboard, gamepad, and mobile touch controls. You almost always want this unless you are building AI-only vehicles.
Dynamics	Aerodynamic drag, downforce, engine inertia, and weight transfer simulation. Adds realism at higher speeds.
Stability	Electronic driving aids: ABS (anti-lock brakes), ESP (electronic stability), TCS (traction control), and steering helpers.
Customizer	Runtime paint changes, wheel swaps, and performance upgrades. Useful for garage/customization menus.
Lights	Headlights, brake lights, reverse lights, and turn indicators.
Damage	Mesh deformation on impact and detachable parts (bumpers, doors, hoods). Requires Read/Write enabled meshes.
Particles	Tire smoke, exhaust fumes, dust trails, and sparks.
LOD	Level-of-detail system that reduces mesh complexity for distant vehicles. Important for performance with many vehicles.
Audio	Engine sounds, tire skid sounds, crash sounds, and wind noise.
Other Addons	Networking integrations and other external systems.

Use Select All and Select None buttons to quickly toggle everything.

Tip about Damage: If you enable Damage, the wizard checks whether your mesh assets have Read/Write enabled. Mesh deformation requires writable meshes. If any meshes are not readable, the wizard offers to fix them automatically by enabling Read/Write on the mesh import settings and re-importing.

Step 6: Body Colliders

This step ensures your vehicle has physics colliders so it can interact with the environment (hit walls, land on the ground, etc.).

What happens:

The wizard scans all MeshFilters in your vehicle hierarchy (excluding wheels)
It sorts them by volume (largest first) and displays them as a checklist
Meshes larger than 10% of the biggest mesh are auto-selected
You check or uncheck which parts should receive MeshColliders

Option	Default	Description
Convex MeshColliders	On	Makes the colliders convex, which is required for Rigidbody physics. Non-convex MeshColliders only work on static objects.

Use Select All and Select None to quickly adjust the selection.

If no body meshes are found: You can skip this step and add colliders manually later (for example, using a simple Box Collider on the body).

Important: Without at least one body collider, your vehicle will not collide with anything. Wheels have their own WheelColliders, but the body of the car needs a separate collider for wall hits, rollovers, and stacking.

Step 7: Finalize

This is the review and confirmation step. It displays a summary of everything you configured across all previous steps.

Summary sections (clickable): Each section header is clickable -- clicking it jumps you back to that step for editing.

Vehicle -- Name and mass
Wheels -- Names of all four assigned wheel objects
Suspension -- Distance, spring, and damper values
Engine -- Torque, RPM range, drive type, and max speed
Components -- Count of enabled addons (e.g., "8 / 10 enabled")

Scene Setup: The wizard checks for:

RCCP Camera -- If missing, an "Add" button lets you place one instantly
Ground Collider -- If missing, an "Add" button creates a ground plane

UI Canvas toggle: If no RCCP UI Canvas is in the scene, you can opt to add one. The UI Canvas provides a ready-made dashboard with speedometer, RPM gauge, and control buttons.

Finishing:

Review all settings in the summary
Click Finish Setup
The wizard runs final validation (wheels, suspension, engine, body colliders, mesh readability)
If the scene is missing a camera or ground, you get a non-blocking warning with the option to continue anyway
Body colliders are applied to selected mesh parts
The vehicle is created with all chosen components
If UI Canvas was selected, it is added to the scene
A confirmation dialog appears: "Vehicle setup successfully completed!"

Your vehicle is now ready to drive. Press Play and test it.

Manual Vehicle Setup (Without Wizard)

If you prefer full control or have an unusual vehicle configuration, you can set everything up by hand. This is also useful for understanding what the wizard does behind the scenes.

Step-by-Step Manual Setup

Drag your vehicle model into the scene from the Project panel

Add RCCP_CarController to the vehicle root GameObject:

Select the vehicle root
Click Add Component > search for "RCCP Car Controller"
This automatically adds a Rigidbody component
Set the Rigidbody mass (default 1350 kg), drag (0.0025), angular drag (0.35), and interpolation to Interpolate

Add the drivetrain components as child GameObjects. Each one is its own GameObject under the vehicle root:

Component	GameObject Name	Purpose
RCCP_Engine	RCCP_Engine	Produces torque based on RPM and throttle input
RCCP_Clutch	RCCP_Clutch	Connects/disconnects engine from gearbox
RCCP_Gearbox	RCCP_Gearbox	Multiplies torque through gear ratios
RCCP_Differential	RCCP_Differential	Splits power between left and right wheels on an axle
RCCP_Axles	RCCP_Axles	Manager that references all axle components

Create axles as child GameObjects under the vehicle root and add RCCP_Axle to each:

Create "RCCP_Axle_Front" -- set isSteer = true, isBrake = true
Create "RCCP_Axle_Rear" -- set isBrake = true, isHandbrake = true
Assign wheel model transforms to leftWheelModel and rightWheelModel on each axle

Connect the differential to the correct axle:

Select the RCCP_Differential component
Set connectedAxle to the axle that should receive power (rear axle for RWD, front for FWD)
For AWD, create a second Differential and connect each to a different axle

Wire up drivetrain events (the engine-to-clutch-to-gearbox-to-differential chain):

Engine's output event connects to Clutch
Clutch's output event connects to Gearbox
Gearbox's output event connects to Differential
The wizard sets these up automatically; manually, you can use the Inspector to connect them

Add optional components as needed:

```

RCCP_Input -- player input handling

RCCP_AeroDynamics -- drag and downforce

RCCP_Stability -- ABS, ESP, TCS

RCCP_Audio -- engine and wheel sounds

RCCP_Customizer -- paint, wheels, upgrades

RCCP_Lights -- headlights, brake lights, indicators

RCCP_Damage -- mesh deformation, detachable parts

RCCP_Particles -- smoke, dust, sparks

RCCP_LOD -- level of detail

```

Important: All RCCP components auto-register with the RCCP_CarController through the RCCP_Component.Register() method. You do not need to manually wire component references -- the car controller discovers them automatically.

Configuring Axles

After setup (wizard or manual), you can fine-tune each axle individually. Select any RCCP_Axle GameObject in the Hierarchy and use the Inspector.

Key Axle Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
leftWheelModel	Transform	--	The visual mesh transform for the left wheel
rightWheelModel	Transform	--	The visual mesh transform for the right wheel
isPower	bool	false	Whether this axle receives engine torque. Set automatically by the Differential's drive type -- do not set this manually.
isSteer	bool	false	Whether this axle turns with steering input
isBrake	bool	false	Whether this axle responds to brake input
isHandbrake	bool	false	Whether this axle responds to handbrake input
antirollForce	float	500	Anti-roll bar stiffness. Higher values reduce body roll in turns.
powerMultiplier	float	1.0	Scales engine torque for this axle (-1 to 1). Negative inverts direction.
steerMultiplier	float	1.0	Scales steering angle for this axle (-1 to 1). Use negative values for rear-wheel steering.
brakeMultiplier	float	1.0	Scales brake force for this axle (0 to 1).
handbrakeMultiplier	float	1.0	Scales handbrake force for this axle (0 to 1).

Typical Axle Configurations

Standard 4-wheel car:

Axle	isSteer	isBrake	isHandbrake	Notes
Front	Yes	Yes	No	Steering + front brakes
Rear	No	Yes	Yes	Rear brakes + handbrake

Rear-wheel steering (forklift, some sports cars):

Axle	isSteer	steerMultiplier	Notes
Front	Yes	1.0	Normal front steering
Rear	Yes	-0.15	Slight counter-steer at rear for stability

Drive Types Explained

The drive type determines which wheels receive engine power. It is configured on the RCCP_Differential component, which automatically sets isPower on the correct axles.

FWD (Front Wheel Drive)

Power goes to the front axle only. The front wheels both steer and drive.

Pros: Better traction in rain/snow, less oversteer, predictable handling
Cons: Can understeer under heavy throttle, front tires wear faster
Common vehicles: Economy cars, hatchbacks, most family sedans

RWD (Rear Wheel Drive)

Power goes to the rear axle only. The rear wheels drive while the front wheels steer.

Pros: Better weight distribution, natural oversteer for drifting, more fun for driving games
Cons: Can oversteer (spin out) if too much throttle in corners, less traction on slippery surfaces
Common vehicles: Sports cars, muscle cars, most trucks

AWD (All Wheel Drive)

Power goes to all axles. When you select AWD in the wizard, it creates two Differential components -- one connected to the front axle and one connected to the rear axle.

Pros: Best traction on all surfaces, great for off-road and rally, very stable
Cons: Heavier, harder to drift, slightly more complex setup
Common vehicles: SUVs, rally cars, off-road vehicles, supercars

Common Setup Issues

If something goes wrong after setup, check these common problems first.

Vehicle flips or bounces on start

Cause: Wheel colliders are too close to or intersecting the ground at spawn time.

Fix: Increase the suspension distance or raise the vehicle slightly above the ground before pressing Play. Also check that the vehicle mass is reasonable for its size.

Wheels spinning in the wrong direction

Cause: Wheel model pivots are not centered or the model's local axis orientation is incorrect.

Fix: Check each wheel model in the Scene view. The pivot should be at the exact center of the wheel. If the model was exported with a different axis convention, you may need to re-export it or add a parent wrapper object.

Vehicle slides sideways

Cause: Wheel friction curves are set too low, or the wrong wheel type preset was selected.

Fix: Try changing the Wheel Type to "Stable" for more grip. You can also adjust wheel friction curves directly in Settings.

Vehicle is too slow

Cause: Max torque is too low, or the wrong axle has power.

Fix: Increase maxEngineTorque on the RCCP_Engine component. Also verify that the Differential is connected to the correct axle and that the driven axle's isPower is true.

No engine sound

Cause: RCCP_Audio component was not added, or audio clips are not assigned.

Fix: Make sure the vehicle has an RCCP_Audio component. Check that engine audio clips are configured in RCCP_Settings (go to Tools > BoneCracker Games > Realistic Car Controller Pro > Settings).

Vehicle falls through the ground

Cause: The scene has no ground collider, or the ground object is set as a trigger.

Fix: Add a Plane or Terrain with a Collider component. Make sure isTrigger is unchecked on the ground collider.

Meshes not readable warning

Cause: You enabled the Damage component, but the vehicle's mesh assets do not have Read/Write enabled in their import settings.

Fix: Select the mesh asset in the Project panel, open the Import Settings in the Inspector, enable Read/Write, and click Apply. The wizard can also do this automatically during setup.

Vehicle already has RCCP_CarController

Cause: You are trying to run the wizard on a vehicle that was already set up.

Fix: The wizard only works on fresh models. If you need to reconfigure, remove the RCCP_CarController and its child components first, then run the wizard again.

Next Steps

Settings -- Fine-tune physics, behavior presets, and global options
Inputs -- Configure keyboard, gamepad, and mobile controls
Camera System -- Set up the vehicle-following camera

Support: bonecrackergames@gmail.com | www.bonecrackergames.com

Need help? See Troubleshooting