For those who have been playing DayZ for a while, the long treks on foot might get a bit tedious. The Chernarus map is not exactly small, and if you want to walk 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. But you can’t just grab a car and drive off; you also need to take care of it. If you find a great vehicle, you should definitely keep it and secure it from sneaky thieves. In this guide, we’ll look at how you can repair, drive, and secure cars from theft.
Benefits of Vehicles in DayZ
As in most games, vehicles are primarily useful for getting from point A to point B faster. It’s no different in DayZ, as it can take you several hours to walk across the map. A vehicle is very handy in such cases! Of course, it’s also just fun to take a spin around the map.
Vehicles are also good for carrying more items. The trunk provides additional storage space, and depending on the size of the car, you can fit quite a bit in there. This is particularly useful for base building, where you need to gather a lot of materials but don’t want to carry everything on foot (Your Ultimate Guide: Building Successful Bases in DayZ) . In any case, having a working vehicle nearby can be quite beneficial.
Types of Vehicles in DayZ
Currently, in DayZ, you can choose from six different vehicles in the vanilla gameplay. Although a few more have been announced, they have not yet been added to the game. But these six vehicles should suffice. You’ll find them in various colors, often in cities or at military bases. They are modeled after real cars, so you might even recognize some of them!
Ada 4x4: A good vehicle for off-road tracks, capable of withstanding a lot.
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, perfect for transporting building materials.
M1025: A very rare combat vehicle, highly coveted on servers! It’s good for off-road and mostly bulletproof. It also has an automatic transmission.
DayZ Vehicles: Repair and Maintenance
As mentioned earlier, you can’t just find a driveable car and start driving in most cases. Most vehicles have been damaged by the apocalypse and need to be repaired before you can drive them. If you have all the necessary items, it can be done in no time.
You should find spare parts and tools in garages, parking lots, or regular residential buildings. These include a screwdriver, a blowtorch, a wrench, and a tire iron. You should also have a canister for both water and fuel.
Engine Compartment and Driveability
First, 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 needs to be in good condition for the car to be driveable. The M3S only has a battery, and the M1025 requires 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 can’t be repaired, only replaced. The engine itself can be repaired with a blowtorch. If it’s completely broken, however, there’s not much you can do.
To preserve your vehicle’s components, we recommend shifting correctly. Avoid revving the engine into the red zone and try to keep everything in optimal condition.
Repairing Other Parts
Of course, these aren’t the only parts 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, and you can’t interchange them.
If you find a car, it’s likely missing doors. You can simply reattach them and repair them with a blowtorch. Broken windows can’t 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 handy tip is that you can push your car from the outside while in neutral. This is useful if you’ve gotten 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 super frustrating and can cost you hours of work. However, with a few tricks, you can secure your vehicle 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 dismantled from the car.
Secure tires with a lug wrench so they can’t be removed from the car.
Fix the spark plug, radiator, and battery with a screwdriver. We recommend removing the spark plug entirely and draining the battery (or hiding a full battery nearby).
These measures make it significantly harder for thieves to simply drive off with your beloved car. However, the safest option is to keep it in your own base, where other players can’t even see it.
Conclusion: Efficiently Use Vehicles in DayZ
Cars are a great way to explore the expansive map of DayZ and move faster than on foot. With some effort, you can make many vehicles in the world driveable again. You can rent your own server with us and cruise across the map with your friends! Maybe you’ll even find the rare military vehicle and restore it to top condition. Racing with different models is also incredibly fun!
