For those who have been playing DayZ for a while, the long walks might become a bit dull. The Chernarus map isn’t exactly small, and if you want to get to the other end, it can take several hours or game days. This is where various vehicles come into play, making long distances much more pleasant. However, you can’t just grab a car and drive off; you must also take care of it. If you find a great vehicle, you should definitely keep it and secure it from sneaky thieves. Today, we’ll look at how you can repair, drive, and secure vehicles against theft in this guide.
Advantages of Vehicles in DayZ
As in most games, vehicles are primarily good for getting from A to B faster. It’s no different in DayZ, as it can take you several hours to walk across the map. A vehicle is very practical! Of course, it’s also just fun to take a spin around the map.
Vehicles are also good for carrying more items. In the boot, you have additional storage space, and depending on the size of the car, you can fit quite a lot in there. This is worthwhile, for example, for base building, if you want to gather many materials but don’t want to carry everything on foot (Your Ultimate Guide: Successfully Building Bases in DayZ) . Either way, having a functional vehicle nearby can be quite beneficial.
Types of Vehicles in DayZ
In DayZ, you currently have the choice between six different vehicles in the vanilla gameplay. Although a few more have been announced, they have not yet been added to the game. However, you should be fine with these six vehicles. You can find them in different colours and often in cities or at military bases. The vehicles are modelled on real cars; maybe you can even recognise which ones they are!
Ada 4x4: A good vehicle for off-road routes that can withstand a lot.
Olga 24: Typical estate car with plenty of storage space.
Gunter 2: Small and fast, but not good on unpaved and hilly terrain.
Sarka 120: Quite slow as it only has four gears. However, the unique feature is that the engine compartment is in the boot.
M3S: A large vehicle that is excellent for transporting building materials.
M1025: A very rare combat vehicle, highly sought after on servers! It is good for off-road and mostly bulletproof. It also has an automatic transmission.
DayZ Vehicles: Repair and Maintenance
But as already mentioned, in most cases, you can’t just find a driveable car and drive off. Most vehicles have suffered from the apocalypse, and you need to repair them first before you can use them. If you have all the necessary items with you, it is straightforward to do so.
Spare parts and tools should either be found in garages, car parks, or regular residential buildings. These include a screwdriver, a blowtorch, a wrench, and a tyre lever. You should also have a canister, both for water and petrol.
Engine Compartment and Driveability
First, you should take a closer look at the engine compartment. Here you will find the three most important components: the spark plug, the car battery, and the radiator. Everything must be in good condition for the car to be driveable. The M3S only has one battery, and the M1025 requires a unique glow plug.
Spark plugs and glow plugs are easy to replace as long as you find a working spare. Batteries can be repaired with an electrical kit. The radiator needs to be refilled with water to cool the engine properly. The more damaged it is, the faster it loses fluid. It cannot be repaired, only replaced. The engine itself can be repaired with a blowtorch. However, if it is completely broken, it won’t do much good.
To preserve your vehicle’s components, we recommend shifting correctly. Don’t push the revs into the red zone, and always try to keep everything in top condition.
Repairing Other Components
Of course, these are not all the components a car has. You can repair or modify many other things if you like. Just remember that each of the six vehicles also has its special components, and you can’t swap them around.
If you find a car, it probably lacks doors. You can easily attach them and repair them with a blowtorch. Unfortunately, broken windows cannot be restored; you’ll need to find new components with intact windows. Tyres can be patched with a repair kit or completely removed and replaced.
A little tip is that you can push your car from the outside when it’s in neutral. This is handy if you’ve got stuck and can’t move.
Protecting Your Vehicles from Theft in DayZ
There’s nothing worse than losing a fully repaired car to another player. But if you’re not careful, it can happen quite quickly. It’s extremely annoying and can cost you hours of work. However, with some tricks, you can make it so that no one can steal parts or even the entire car from you.
Block doors, the boot, and the bonnet with a wrench so that they cannot be removed from the car.
Block tyres with a wheel wrench so that they cannot be removed from the car.
Secure the spark plug, radiator, and battery with a screwdriver. However, we recommend completely removing the spark plug and emptying the battery (or hiding a full battery nearby).
These measures alone make it much more difficult for thieves to simply drive off with your beloved car. However, it is, of course, safest in your own base, so other players can’t see it in the first place.
Conclusion: Efficiently Using DayZ Vehicles
Cars are a great way to explore the vast DayZ map and move faster than on foot. With some effort, you can make many vehicles in the world drivable again. You can rent your own server with us and zoom across the map with your friends! Maybe you’ll even find the rare military vehicle and get it back in top shape. Races with different models are also incredibly fun!
