Custom vehicles are one of the most popular additions to a FiveM server. Whether it is police cars, supercars, or trucks, addon cars make your server unique. In this article, we explain how to install them.
What is an addon car?
An addon car is a vehicle model not included in standard GTA V. It consists of:
- .yft: the 3D model of the vehicle.
- .ytd: the textures (paint color, details, decals).
- vehicles.meta: vehicle properties (speed, handling, class).
- handling.meta: detailed driving dynamics.
- carvariations.meta: color variations and extras.
- carcols.meta: light configuration (emergency lights, headlights).
Step 1: Resource structure
Create a resource folder for each vehicle or group of vehicles:
resources/
[cars]/
my-car/
fxmanifest.lua
stream/
my-car.yft
my-car_hi.yft
my-car.ytd
data/
vehicles.meta
handling.meta
carvariations.meta
carcols.meta
Step 2: fxmanifest.lua
Create a fxmanifest.lua in the resource folder:
fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'
files {
'data/vehicles.meta',
'data/handling.meta',
'data/carvariations.meta',
'data/carcols.meta'
}
data_file 'HANDLING_FILE' 'data/handling.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_METADATA_FILE' 'data/vehicles.meta'
data_file 'CARCOLS_FILE' 'data/carcols.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_VARIATION_FILE' 'data/carvariations.meta'
Step 3: server.cfg
Add the resource to your server.cfg:
ensure my-car
Or if you use a category folder:
ensure [cars]
Step 4: Spawn in-game
Start the server and spawn the vehicle in-game. With vMenu: Vehicle Spawner and search for the model name. Or via console/chat:
/car [modelname]
Common problems
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Car is invisible | Missing .yft file | Check that the model is in the stream folder with the correct filename. |
| Black/white texture | Missing or corrupt .ytd | Re-download the vehicle or find the correct texture. |
| Server crash on load | Model too large or corrupt file | Check the file size. Models above 50 MB are suspicious. |
| Vehicle handles poorly | Wrong handling.meta | Use the original vehicle's handling.meta as a base. |
| Resource won't start | Error in fxmanifest.lua | Check for typos and missing files. |
Where to find addon cars
- GTA5-Mods.com: the largest source for GTA V vehicles. Not everything is FiveM-compatible.
- FiveM forums: vehicles specifically optimized for FiveM.
- Paid marketplaces: Tebex stores from modders for exclusive, optimized models.
Performance tips
- Limit the number of addon cars. Each vehicle increases the download size for players.
- Optimize textures: 1024x1024 is sufficient for most vehicles, 2048x2048 for hero vehicles.
- Use a CDN or fast server for streaming. Large car packs (100+ vehicles) require significant bandwidth.
- Group vehicles by category (police, civilian, sports) in separate resources.
How many addon cars can I install?
Technically hundreds, but consider download times. Each car is 5-50 MB in streaming files. With 100 cars, you quickly reach 2-5 GB in downloads, making new players wait a long time. Start with 20-30 well-chosen vehicles and expand based on feedback.
Do addon cars work with ESX and QBCore?
Yes. Addon cars are framework-independent. The vehicle files are streamed by FiveM regardless of which framework you use. You can add them to your framework's vehicle shop, though.
Do I need to generate a vehicle hash?
No, FiveM automatically generates a hash based on the model name in vehicles.meta. Just make sure the model name is unique and does not conflict with existing GTA V vehicles or other addons.
Install your addon cars on a FiveM server at HostValues with full file access and txAdmin.
