If you’ve been playing DayZ for a while, you’re probably getting a bit tired of the long walks. The Chernarus map isn’t exactly small, and if you want to travel to the other end, it can take several hours or even 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 have to take care of it. If you find a great vehicle, you should definitely keep it and secure it from sneaky thieves. We’ll look at all this in today’s guide so you can repair, drive, and protect your cars from theft.
Advantages of Vehicles in DayZ
As in most games, vehicles are primarily useful for getting from point A to point B faster. DayZ is no different, as it can take you hours to walk across the map. A vehicle is certainly very handy! Of course, it’s also just fun to take a joyride around the map.
Vehicles are also great for carrying more items. The trunk provides additional storage space, and depending on the size of the car, it can hold a lot. This is useful for base building if you need 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 functioning vehicle nearby can definitely be worthwhile.
Types of Vehicles in DayZ
In DayZ, you currently have six different vehicles to choose from in the vanilla gameplay. While a few more have been announced, they haven’t been added to the game yet. But with these six vehicles, you should manage just fine. You can find them in different colors and often in cities or military bases. The vehicles are modeled after real cars, so you might even recognize which ones they are!
Ada 4x4: A good vehicle for off-road tracks that can take quite a beating.
Olga 24: A typical station wagon with plenty of storage space.
Gunter 2: Small and fast, but not great on rough and hilly terrain.
Sarka 120: Quite slow as it only has four gears. Unique in that the engine compartment is in the trunk.
M3S: A large vehicle, ideal for transporting building materials.
M1025: A very rare combat vehicle, highly sought after on servers! It’s good for off-road and mostly bulletproof. Plus, it has an automatic transmission.
DayZ Vehicles: Repair and Maintenance
As mentioned earlier, you typically can’t just find a drivable car and take off. Most have been damaged by the apocalypse, and you’ll need to repair them before you can drive. However, if you have all the necessary items, the process can be quick.
You should find spare parts and tools either in garages, parking lots, or regular residential buildings. These include a screwdriver, a gas burner, a wrench, and a tire iron. You’ll also need a canister for both water and gasoline.
Engine Compartment and Drivability
First, you should take a closer look at the engine compartment. Here you’ll 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 drivable. The M3S only requires a battery, and for the M1025, you’ll need a unique glow plug.
Spark plugs and glow plugs can be easily replaced as long as you find a working replacement. Batteries can be repaired with an electrical kit. The radiator needs to be refilled with water to adequately cool the engine. The more damaged it is, the faster it loses fluid. It cannot be repaired, only replaced. The engine itself can be repaired with a gas burner, but if it’s completely broken, it won’t do much good.
To preserve your vehicle’s components, we recommend shifting gears correctly. Don’t let the RPMs hit the red zone, and always try to keep everything in optimal condition.
Repairing Other Components
Of course, these are not the only parts that a car has. You can repair or modify many other things if you wish. Just keep in mind that each of the six vehicles has its specific parts that cannot be interchanged.
When you find a car, it’s likely missing doors. You can easily reattach them and repair them with a gas burner. Unfortunately, broken windows cannot be restored, so you’ll need to find new parts with intact windows. Tires can be patched with a repair kit or completely removed and replaced.
A small tip is that you can push your car from the outside in neutral gear. This is handy if you get 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. However, if you’re not careful, it can happen quickly. It’s very frustrating and can cost you hours of work. With a few tricks, you can make your vehicle more secure so that no one can steal parts or the entire car.
Block doors, the trunk, and the hood with a wrench so they can’t be removed from the car.
Block tires with a wheel wrench to prevent them from being taken off the car.
Secure the spark plug, radiator, and battery with a screwdriver. We recommend completely removing the spark plug and draining the battery (or hiding a full battery nearby).
These measures alone make it much harder for thieves to simply drive off with your beloved car. However, it’s safest in your own base where other players can’t see it.
Conclusion: Efficient Use of DayZ Vehicles
Cars are a great way to explore the vast map of DayZ 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 race around the map with your friends! Maybe you’ll even find the rare military vehicle and restore it. Racing with different models is also incredibly fun!
