← All cars

Car Profile

RoadSlayer

Front-heavy RWD muscle · 1973 Pontiac Firebird / Trans Am

RWD

The front-heavy V8 muscle car most players start with — stable and forgiving, but the torque will step the rear out if you ask too much.

Setup

The Hybrid tab is an all-round setup that does OK on any surface, in the game's real sliders and units; each surface tab shows what to change from it. The filled marker is the setting, the tick is the hybrid value, and the coloured number is the change (green higher, blue lower). Gamepad players: Steering Ratio one notch slower than shown.

Braking Force
Balance56 %
RearFront

Slight rear bias to help it rotate on lift

Pressure97 %
LowHigh

Less on loose (locks easily), more on grip

Front Balancer
EnabledOn
OffOn

Undocumented — test both ways in one braking zone

Differential — Rear
Power71 %
OpenLocked

Locked on loose for traction, opener on grip to tame the exit snap

Coast56 %
OpenLocked

A little more on loose for braking stability

Preload21 Nm
OpenLocked

More base lock on loose, less on grip

Final Drive
Final3.60
Top speedAcceleration

Shorter keeps you in the torque out of slow corners

Forward Gears
1st2.90
Top speedAcceleration

Stock ratios — reference

2nd2.00
Top speedAcceleration
3rd1.40
Top speedAcceleration
4th1.10
Top speedAcceleration
5th0.90
Top speedAcceleration
6th0.75
Top speedAcceleration
Springs
Front59.3 N/mm
SoftStiff

Compliance over the bumps

Rear32.0 N/mm
SoftStiff

Runs notably softer than the front — rear grip for the torque

Ride Height
Front25.1 cm
LowHigh

Up for kerbs and ruts, down for grip

Rear27.0 cm
LowHigh
Anti-roll Bars
Front54.5 N/mm
SoftStiff

A touch stiffer than the rear — anti-snap

Rear50.5 N/mm
SoftStiff

Kept softer for exit traction

Camber
Front-2.62°
NegPos

Less negative on loose, more on grip

Rear-1.62°
NegPos
Toe
Front0.03°
OutIn

A touch of toe-out sharpens turn-in

Rear0.20°
OutIn
Ackermann
Ackermann74 %
NoneFull
Wedge
Oversteer Bias0 %
LeftRight
Steering
Lock to Lock750.00°
LowHigh
Steering Ratio12.00
LowHigh

Gamepad: set one notch slower than shown

Why these numbers

The Differential is the RoadSlayer’s biggest lever, and it runs opposite to instinct: locked on loose, opener on grip. On mud and gravel, low grip means an open diff just spins the inside rear away — locking it drives both wheels and puts the torque down (the loose surface still lets you rotate on the throttle). On asphalt, a locked diff snaps both rear wheels loose together, so opening it up keeps the exit progressive.

Everything else follows the surface: soft/high/less-brake on loose, stiff/low/more-brake on grip. The rear stays a touch softer than the front (springs and bar) so the torque hooks up on exit rather than snapping.

Worth noting: the rear springs run much softer than the front, and brake Pressure’s scale runs 50–150%, so 100% is mid-travel, not the max.

Braking Force
Balance60 %+4 %
RearFront
Pressure118 %+21 %
LowHigh
Front Balancer
EnabledOn±0
OffOn
Differential — Rear
Power58 %−13 %
OpenLocked
Coast48 %−8 %
OpenLocked
Preload12 Nm−9 Nm
OpenLocked
Final Drive
Final3.30−0.30
Top speedAcceleration
Forward Gears
1st2.90±0
Top speedAcceleration
2nd2.00±0
Top speedAcceleration
3rd1.40±0
Top speedAcceleration
4th1.10±0
Top speedAcceleration
5th0.90±0
Top speedAcceleration
6th0.75±0
Top speedAcceleration
Springs
Front76.0 N/mm+16.7 N/mm
SoftStiff
Rear42.0 N/mm+10.0 N/mm
SoftStiff
Ride Height
Front22.0 cm−3.1 cm
LowHigh
Rear24.5 cm−2.5 cm
LowHigh
Anti-roll Bars
Front70.0 N/mm+15.5 N/mm
SoftStiff
Rear64.0 N/mm+13.5 N/mm
SoftStiff
Camber
Front-3.50°−0.88°
NegPos
Rear-2.50°−0.88°
NegPos
Toe
Front0.03°±0
OutIn
Rear0.20°±0
OutIn
Ackermann
Ackermann74 %±0
NoneFull
Wedge
Oversteer Bias0 %±0
LeftRight
Steering
Lock to Lock750.00°±0
LowHigh
Steering Ratio12.00±0
LowHigh

Why these changes

On asphalt the RoadSlayer has real grip to lean on, but it snaps the rear on power if you get greedy. The springs and bars stiffen, brake pressure climbs, and the car drops closer to the road — and the diff opens up: on high grip a locked diff breaks both rear wheels loose together, so a looser diff keeps the exit progressive.

Keep some compliance even here — Wreckfest’s tarmac is bumpy and kerbed, and a mid-corner bump can step the rear out unexpectedly.

Braking Force
Balance55 %−1 %
RearFront
Pressure95 %−2 %
LowHigh
Front Balancer
EnabledOn±0
OffOn
Differential — Rear
Power72 %+1 %
OpenLocked
Coast56 %±0
OpenLocked
Preload20 Nm−1 Nm
OpenLocked
Final Drive
Final3.60±0
Top speedAcceleration
Forward Gears
1st2.90±0
Top speedAcceleration
2nd2.00±0
Top speedAcceleration
3rd1.40±0
Top speedAcceleration
4th1.10±0
Top speedAcceleration
5th0.90±0
Top speedAcceleration
6th0.75±0
Top speedAcceleration
Springs
Front58.0 N/mm−1.3 N/mm
SoftStiff
Rear31.0 N/mm−1.0 N/mm
SoftStiff
Ride Height
Front25.5 cm+0.4 cm
LowHigh
Rear27.5 cm+0.5 cm
LowHigh
Anti-roll Bars
Front54.0 N/mm−0.5 N/mm
SoftStiff
Rear50.0 N/mm−0.5 N/mm
SoftStiff
Camber
Front-2.50°+0.12°
NegPos
Rear-1.50°+0.12°
NegPos
Toe
Front0.03°±0
OutIn
Rear0.20°±0
OutIn
Ackermann
Ackermann74 %±0
NoneFull
Wedge
Oversteer Bias0 %±0
LeftRight
Steering
Lock to Lock750.00°±0
LowHigh
Steering Ratio12.00±0
LowHigh

Why these changes

Gravel is the RoadSlayer at its most fun, and it sits close to the hybrid setup. It oversteers on exit, which is what you want on a loose surface — steer it with the throttle and keep corrections small, which matters on a pad where a big stick input overshoots.

Let the car rotate on power and drive out of it; do not try to hold it dead straight.

Braking Force
Balance52 %−4 %
RearFront
Pressure80 %−17 %
LowHigh
Front Balancer
EnabledOn±0
OffOn
Differential — Rear
Power82 %+11 %
OpenLocked
Coast62 %+6 %
OpenLocked
Preload30 Nm+9 Nm
OpenLocked
Final Drive
Final3.90+0.30
Top speedAcceleration
Forward Gears
1st2.90±0
Top speedAcceleration
2nd2.00±0
Top speedAcceleration
3rd1.40±0
Top speedAcceleration
4th1.10±0
Top speedAcceleration
5th0.90±0
Top speedAcceleration
6th0.75±0
Top speedAcceleration
Springs
Front45.0 N/mm−14.3 N/mm
SoftStiff
Rear24.0 N/mm−8.0 N/mm
SoftStiff
Ride Height
Front27.5 cm+2.4 cm
LowHigh
Rear28.5 cm+1.5 cm
LowHigh
Anti-roll Bars
Front40.0 N/mm−14.5 N/mm
SoftStiff
Rear38.0 N/mm−12.5 N/mm
SoftStiff
Camber
Front-2.00°+0.62°
NegPos
Rear-1.00°+0.62°
NegPos
Toe
Front0.03°±0
OutIn
Rear0.20°±0
OutIn
Ackermann
Ackermann74 %±0
NoneFull
Wedge
Oversteer Bias0 %±0
LeftRight
Steering
Lock to Lock750.00°±0
LowHigh
Steering Ratio12.00±0
LowHigh

Why these changes

The RoadSlayer’s weight and low-down torque work against it in mud — the rear digs and lights up. Soften the springs and bars, raise the ride height to clear the ruts, and lock the diff up: on low grip a tight diff drives both rear wheels instead of spinning the inside one away, and the loose surface still lets you steer with the throttle.

Roll onto the power smoothly out of corners rather than stabbing it — a bogged-down muscle car is very hard to recover.

Hybrid = a do-everything setup; each surface tab shows what to change from it. All recommendations to test against your own feel — the game stock tune (identical for every car) sits mid-range of these.

Want the full theory behind every slider? See thegeneric RWD guide. New to Wreckfest racing? Read the racing lessons.

Overview

The RoadSlayer is the car the game hands you as a default, and it is a genuinely good place to learn Wreckfest’s rear-drive handling. It is a big, front-heavy V8 bruiser: the weight of the iron engine sits over the front axle, so it is stable and soaks up contact, but that same nose weight makes it reluctant to turn — and the torque will light the rear up if you get greedy on the exit.

How it drives

On tarmac the RoadSlayer understeers at turn-in — the heavy nose pushes wide if you carry too much speed in. Get it slowed and pointed, then the low-down torque takes over on exit: feed the power in and the rear hooks up and drives; stab it and the tail steps out. So it rewards a patient entry and a smooth right foot rather than a dart-and-flick style.

On dirt and gravel the same balance turns into mild, controllable oversteer on exit. You can steer it with the throttle once the surface is loose, which is exactly the skill the game rewards. It is forgiving enough that catching a slide is a matter of easing off, not a fast correction — worth knowing on a gamepad, where big corrections cost you time.

In a pack it shrugs off door-to-door contact and holds its line through the rough. Its one weakness is a heavy front end in tight hairpins, where it will push wide if you carry too much speed in.