Extending rFactor

August 21, 2011 | by Michael Manning | News, Simulation

rFactor over the years has become the base for an extremely varied and high quality selection of motorsport simulations. This game has one of the most active modding communities for the genre which is still outputting remarkably high quality free content to this day. Enthusiasts have poured thousands of hours and buckets of sweat into recreating some very specific areas of motorsports.

I’ve spent the last few weeks collecting mods and working up a list of my favorites so that I can present them for you here on this site. If you’re new to rFactor or if it has just been sitting on your shelf collecting dust for a couple of years this article will tell you everything you need to know about what the mods are, where to get them and how to use them.

Here’s a video I made which demonstrates most of the mods I mention in this article:

Prerequisites:

First install rFactor, 7Zip is required to install the Historic GT & Touring Cars mod. Once installation is complete, download the mod launcher and place the contents of the file anywhere logical on your computer. It’s probably a good idea to launch the game and set your control and graphics settings. When you’ve got it all set up, open the mod launcher and point the ‘rFactor path’ to where your game is installed. That’s all for now, you can close everything down.

If you have any trouble with the download links, just head over to rFactor Central, set yourself up a username and just search for the mods there: [http://www.rfactorcentral.com/]

rFactor: [http://rfactor.net/web/rf1/buyonline/]

7-Zip: [http://www.7-zip.org/download.html]

Mod Launcher: [http://www.rfactorcentral.com/dloader.cfm?dlID=6F38D606-FF85-EC10-7BA8FBA4D9BF5D8]

Mod #1: Historic GT & Touring Cars

Hands down this is my favourite mod for the game, I have a love for classic cars not just in the way they sound and look but also they add a whole new dimension of fun and challange when translated in to a video game. This mod uses the base 3D models taken from SimBins game GT Legends (a great game in its own right), the rFactor mod improves on the work SimBin started by adding further vehicles and meticulously recreating/reworking the handling, art and sound for each vehicle. The result is quite simply beautiful, there’s so much content here that this could be its own game the mod even comes with its own UI overhaul. Couple this with some classic tracks like the popular Leinz (as featured in my video) and you can do your best Steve McQuin impression.

Download Torrent: [http://www.mediafire.com/?402ra9xf9e7ueoe]

Download (File Serve): [http://www.fileserve.com/file/5UzgkRY]

Download Patch (Media File): [http://www.mediafire.com/?0m2tdyjyemq]

Installation:

Once files are downloaded, extract the main executable, right click on the file and then extract the contents of it to your rFactor directory for example C:\Program Files\rFactor

Installing the mod this way instead of running the executable by-passes the need to own the GT Legends DVD.

Once everything is extracted, extract the contents of the patch into the directory and overwrite files when prompted.

After this is complete, open your mod launcher and select Historic GT & Touring Cars from the list to the right and press start game.

Have fun!

Mod #2: Historics Rally Cars (HRC)

Quite similar to the Historic GT & Touring Cars mod but with classic rally cars instead. All of the most violent and agressive looking Group B cars along with the curvaceous turbo charged beasts from the 90’s. rFactor aint’ no Richard Burns Rally but with this mod and some tracks it comes almost close.

Download (File Serve): [http://www.fileserve.com/file/APv77Qb]

Download Tracks (MegaUpload): [http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KUPV4S3F]
Installation:

Once files are downloaded, extract all files into the rFactor directory for example C:\Program Files\rFactor – merge files if asked, be sure to extract each version one at a time, so if the download comes with both 1.0 and 1.1, install 1.0 first and then overwrite the files with the later version.

After this is complete, open your mod launcher and select HRC-Historics Rally Cars from the list to the right and press start game.

Mod #3: Cart Factor

I had no idea what CART racing was before this mod, now I know I feel like I missed out. This mod focusses on a 1998 season, the cars are blisteringly fast, not quite F1 fast but still you’re scared to accelerate too quick in these things. The cars have a real character to them, this is clearly a faithful interpretation to the essence of these insane vehicles. Outside of Historic GT & Touring Cars, I have been playing this most the most having set up a race season based around the best American tracks I can find.

Download (Rapidshare): [https://rs547tl3.rapidshare.com/#!download|547l34|262611121|CART_Factor1.0.exe|197849|R~85AA6B42A1BA29DBFB68E768ABCAF8BA]

Installation:

Pretty easy this one, just run the .exe you downloaded and point it to your rFactor directory. Use the mod launcher to select CART Factor: 1998 Season

Mod #4: Soapbox Racing

Wow this is amazing, it’s a gimmick and a novelty but it feels like a sim version of Trackmania. This is classic American Soapbox racing, no engines just a break and a wing tilter. This mod is tough but lots of fun, it comes with two tracks – yeah love it, I wish the audio was better though, it’s super basic.

Download (Rapidshare): [https://rs367l3.rapidshare.com/#!download|367l3|86373558|soapbox_1.01.rar|28707|R~0]

Installation:

Easy, just extract the files into your game directory and select Soapbox Racing from the mod launcher.

Mod #5: World Karting

Go Karts! No gears just accelerate and break, incredible cornering and top speeds of about 60mph. If you’ve got any friends who are into rFactor this could be a brilliant introduction to multiplayer sim racing.

Download: [http://games.on.net/file/20196/World_Karting_1.00_rFactor_Cars]

Installation:

Easy, just extract the files into your game directory and select World Karting from the mod launcher.