How to Create a Car in Garry's Mod

Last Updated: February 28, 2021 References

Garry's Mod (sometimes referred to as Gmod) is a physics game that allows users to manipulate their environment and create different things.^{[1]
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Research source} Though the game doesn't have any particular objectives, perhaps you've decided to make your own car. This requires some know-how, and to create a well-finished product, it may take some time. However, Garry's Mod contains all the tools you need to make a car of your own.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Researching Necessary Materials

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Peruse your chassis options. You can use any relatively large, flat object to form the base of your vehicle. This base of your car is also referred to as your "chassis."
- Open the Spawn Menu of Gmod by pressing and holding the Q button. In this menu, you should see an extensive list of props that can be used in this game.^{[2]
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  Research source} Browse your available props until you find a chassis that will suit your purposes.
- If you spawn a prop you have decided will not work for your vehicle, you can hover your cursor over the prop you wish removed, opening the context menu by pressing C, and selecting "Remove" from the drop-down menu.^{[3]
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2
Investigate suitable wheels for your vehicle. You will need at least four wheels for making your car, but once you've become more comfortable with the physics behind car creation in Gmod, you may want to add more to your design.
- Look through your wheel choices by opening your Spawn Menu. Press Q, and from list that appears, choose the "Tools" option. Under the "Construction" heading in Tools, you should find the "Wheel" option.^{[5]
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  Research source} Select this to look through potential wheels you might use.
- Spawning causes your wheels to weld in place, either to the ground or the object the wheels have been spawned against. You may want to wait until assembling your vehicle before spawning your wheels.
- In the event that your wheels don't work for your situation, keep in mind you can alter the wheel model in the context menu by hovering your mouse over the part, holding C, and selecting "Model" from the dropdown menu.^{[6]
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3
Pick out your thrusters. Your thrusters will give your vehicle the forward and backward force that you'll need to move.^{[7]
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Research source} You will also need thrusters to steer your vehicle. Open your Spawn Menu by pressing Q, open "Tools" from the Spawn Menu, and look under the "Construction" heading for a list of potential thrusters.^{[8]
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- Spawning your thruster will also cause it to affix either to the ground or an adjoining prop. You may want to wait until you begin assembling your vehicle before spawning your thrusters.
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Find an acceptable chair. This step is optional, but if you want your vehicle to look like an authentic car, you'll need a chair in which to sit. You can find a list of potential chairs in your Spawn Menu by pressing Q and looking under the "Vehicles" tab.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Assembling Your Vehicle

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Position your chassis. You will need to use your Physics Gun, which should be your default Gmod manipulator, and left-click your chassis to pick it up. While you are holding your chassis in the air, right-click your mouse to freeze the object in mid-air.^{[9]
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- Having your chassis suspended in the air will make it easier for you to attach wheels and will keep it from sliding or moving.
2
Attach your wheels to the chassis. Go into your Spawn Menu by pressing Q, and locate the "Tools" option. Here you will find several categories; select the heading labeled "Construction." In the list of construction materials, you will find a "Wheel" category. Choose the wheel you have decided upon to activate your wheel attachment gun.
- Aim your wheel gun at the corners of your chassis. You should see a translucent wheel appear where your gun is aimed. To attach the wheel, shoot your wheel gun by left-clicking and your wheel should attach to your chassis.
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Adjust your wheel settings. When you approach your wheel with your in-game character, you will be able to adjust the wheel settings by pressing and holding C and entering your context menu. These variables can be adjusted to your preference, but your torque should be about 2/3's your friction.
- The friction rating of your wheels will influence your car's sturdiness, and higher wheel torque will give your car more speed. Setting your friction too high may affect your car's top speed.
- Keep your "Force Lift" set to zero, or your wheel may fall off.
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Bind your wheels to numpad keys. In your context menu (accessible by pressing C while hovering your cursor over the part) you should see the "Keypad" option. Use this to set a numpad value that you can use to control the spin of your wheels. Many players default to:
- Right side wheels:
  - Front spin: 9
  - Back spin: 6
- Left side wheels:
  - Front spin: 7
  - Back spin: 4
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Release your chassis. The rest of your parts will have to be added to the body of your car directly, so using your physics gun, left-click your chassis and then release your left-click to unfreeze your vehicle so it can fall to the ground.^{[10]
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- You may need to refreeze your chassis by left-clicking with your Physics Gun to hold it in place and right-clicking to freeze it. If you are not on level ground your car may start rolling away.
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Add your thrusters. Thrusters can be found in your tools menu, which you find in your Spawn Menu by pressing and holding Q. Under tools there will be a heading labeled "Construction," and under this you will find "Thrusters."
- Selecting your thruster will equip you with the thruster attachment gun. You can attach your thrusters by left-clicking while hovering your cursor over the part of your chassis to which you wish to attach them.
- You can use your thrusters to control turning by placing one on each side of your vehicle. You may have to experiment with positioning, as an improperly placed thruster might cause your vehicle to flip.
- After attaching your thrusters, you will need to set keys to activate these parts. Do so by hovering the part with your cursor, holding C to open the context menus, and selecting the "Keypad" option. Consider the following key-binds for your thrusters:
  - Right thruster:
    - Forward: →
    - Reverse: ←
  - Left thruster:
    - Forward: ↑
    - Reverse: ↓
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Set your thruster force. Depending on the weight of your chassis, your vehicle might require a lot of force or only a little. Too much force will make your vehicle difficult to maneuver, but too little force (or a high friction setting for your wheels) will severely limit your speed.
- Access the context menu to set the force of your thruster by hovering over the part with your cursor and holding C. Select "Force" from the following dropdown menu and adjust to your preference.^{[11]
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Attach your seat. Seats can be found under the "Vehicle" category of your Spawn menu (accessible by holding Q). Once you have selected your chair, left-click to spawn it in a place of your choosing on your chassis.
- You will need to go into the "Tools" section of your Spawn Menu and select the "Weld" option. This will equip you with a gun that, by left-clicking, you can use to attach your chair to your chassis.^{[12]
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Release your fully functional vehicle, if applicable. If you have refrozen your vehicle due to uneven terrain, you will have to unfreeze it before you are able to give it a test drive. After you have verified that all the moving parts work correctly, you can continue to add to your car, or enjoy it as is.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I make the wheels turn?

Community Answer

Use thrusters, or the buttons, for moving it forward or in reverse (they can be found in the menu).

Warnings

If your car isn't moving remember to unfreeze it.

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Helpful 22 Not Helpful 3
Make sure all the wheels are moving in a forward (clockwise) direction.

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