RaceRoom will see a big addition to its content roster soon – quite literally, as racing trucks are set to make their debut in the sim. They are not just going to be a particularly large and heavy vehicle, as there is more to it: RaceRoom shared interesting details on how a racing truck works in a preview post on Steam, meaning you can get ready to try and master the behemoths with a 12.4 liter (!) engine.
The massive motor is not the only thing that makes the new vehicle stand out: 1100hp, 5000nm of torque and a 16-speed gearbox come as standard with the truck, which is also going to feature water-cooled brakes – all fully functional and operable by SimRacers.
To achieve maximum realism for the truck, RaceRoom has partnered with Sascha Lenz. The 35-year-old has been competing in the European Truck Racing Championship since 2015 and provided valuable insight to the development team. The result: A working 16-speed transmission and water-cooled brakes, plus physics that differ considerably from race cars.
The gears in the truck are split: The low range consists of gears 1-4, the high range of gears 5-8. Drivers can switch between the ranges by pressing a button. However, the gears themselves are divided into a low and high split each as well, which can also be switched via button press. Effectively, this means two 8-speed gearboxes.
Due to the enormous torque of the engine, though, drivers usually only use the two splits of eighth gear, the rest is only used to get up to speed after pit stops or at the rolling start. As per truck racing regulations, the vehicles are limited to a top speed of 160kph for safety reasons.
RaceRoom offers three options to handle this: SimRacers can opt for automatic, sequential or manual H-pattern shifting, which requires binding two buttons to select the ranges and splits.
Meanwhile, the water-cooled brakes can also be operated manually. But beware: Since the size of the water tank is limited to 200 liters, it needs to be used carefully, adding another strategic element to the trucks. The release date is not yet known, but RaceRoom promises that the racing trucks will be available “very soon”. Meanwhile, you can read the full preview post here.