BMWmods.zip contains handling modifications for the original BMW 760Li car when
used with Flight Simulator X. The car was created for Flight Simulator 2004 by
Mitsuya Hamaguchi (hama), but the car also works in FSX. The modifications are
specifically for FSX, not FS2004.
The BMWmods archive contains a replacement for the original BMW aircraft.cfg file,
and it adds a new .air file designed to work with the modified .cfg. BMWmods.zip does
not include the original BMW files. You must download and install the car separately.
Driving is fun, too
===================
With the modified files in place in FSX:
* The BMW accelerates from 0-60 mph in about 6 seconds.
* You can reach a top speed of about 115 mph on a level surface at sea level.
* The car no longer has a tendency to become airborne at high speeds (unless you crash, of course).
* The car has less rollover tendency during sharp turns and on steeply sloped surfaces.
* You can corner more sharply and steer more precisely. To benefit from this
modification, you need to assign the rudder control to a joystick or throttle axis.
* Applying brakes magnifies the steering effect. You can do a somewhat controlled
spinout at low speeds by applying full rudder and brakes while opening the
throttle.
Note that these modifications are for FSX. During brief testing in FS2004, the modifications
did not produce the desired results.
BEFORE installing
=================
IMPORTANT: Installing the modified BMW files overwrites the original aircraft.cfg
file. BEFORE OVERWRITING THE ORIGINAL AIRCRAFT.CFG FILE, make a copy of it in
a safe place. Here's one way to do that:
1. Open your FSX Airplanes folder. The default location is:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes
2. Open the BMW folder. This is the folder where you installed the original BMW files.
3. In your BMW folder, create a new subfolder called, for example, OriginalConfig.
4. Copy the BMW's original aircraft.cfg file to the new subfolder for safekeeping.
Note: The modified files do not overwrite the original .air file, so you don't have
to make a backup of that file. The modified .cfg file works with its own air file,
named BMWmods.air.
Installing the mods
===================
1. Make sure that Flight Simulator is not running and that you have copied your
original BMW aircraft.cfg file to a safe place, as described above.
2. Unzip all of the BMWmods.zip files into your BMW aircraft folder. When
asked if you want to overwrite the existing aircraft.cfg file, click Yes.
Your BMW folder now contains a modified aircraft.cfg, a new file named BMWmods.air,
and the file you are reading, BMWmods.txt. The next time you start Flight Simulator,
your BMW will have new flight, er, ground dynamics.
If you have additional BMW textures
===================================
The modified aircraft.cfg file refers only to the original BMW car (represented
as [fltsim.0] in the .cfg file). If you have installed cars that use additional
BMW textures, you will need to manually copy the appropriate [fltsim.x] sections
from your original aircraft.cfg file to the new one.
After adding those sections, replace each occurrence of
"sim=cessna172sp"
with
"sim=BMWmods"
That will make all the BMW cars use the BMWmods.air file. The new .cfg contains
settings that work with the BMWmods.air file. Those settings probably will produce
strange results if you pair them with the original cessna172sp.air file.
Uninstalling
============
1. Copy the original aircraft.cfg file from its safe location (you did save it,
right?) back into the BMW folder.
2. Delete the BMWmods.air and BMWmods.txt files.
Legal stuff and acknowledgements
================================
Copyright 2007 by Mike Keller. All rights reserved.
You are free to make and distribute copies of the enclosed files, provided you
comply with the following.
* You must distribute all the files provided in the archive, and you must distribute
them as a complete package, not as separate files.
* You must not rename or alter the contents of any of the files you distribute.
* You must not charge a fee for the files or distribute them with a product for which
a fee is charged.
Disclaimer
I created these modifications to make the BMW more fun to drive. The performance and
behavior don't match any real vehicle, so please don't send complaints that the car is
too fast, too slow, turns too sharply, or has an incorrect value in the blahblah parameter.
If you don't like the modifications, just restore the original aircraft.cfg file, or you
might try adjusting some of the parameters to your taste.
These files and instructions are provided without any warranty or support.
I have no reason to believe that they will damage your computer equipment or the data
stored on it, but I make no promises to that effect. Nor do I promise that the files
will even work at all. This is free stuff; if you use it, you do so at your own risk.
My thanks to:
* Larry Nussbaumer, a close friend and experienced pilot, for testing the mods and
offering helpful advice. Larry and I have flown together for 30 years. Now we have
driven together, too.
* Mitsuya Hamaguchi (hama), whose fertile imagination has given us the beautiful BMW,
two motor homes, several boats, and many other clever conveyances for Flight Simulator.
Have fun, and steer clear of those big rigs on the Interstate!
