Feature Unlock Dates

General Chat
1

Just thought that I should post this list of all the unlock dates for different features of the game in case you wanted to build a car with specific features.

MODEL DESIGNER

CHASSIS TYPE
1940 - Ladder
1955 - Monocoque

MATERIAL
1940 - Steel
1940 - Galvanised Steel
1980 - Corrosion Resistant Steel
1987 - Carbon Fibre
1990 - Glued Aluminium
2000 - AHS Steel

ENGINE PLACEMENT
1940 - Front Longitudinal
1965 - Front Transverse

FRONT SUSPENSION
1940 - Macpherson Strut
1940 - Double Wishbone

REAR SUSPENSION
1940 - Solid Axle Coil
1940 - Solid Axle Leaf
1940 - Semi Trailing Arm
1940 - Double Wishbone
1965 - Torsion Beam
1980 - MultiLink

PANEL MATERIAL
1940 - Steel
1940 - Hand Made Aluminium
1960 - Fibre Glass
1980 - Corrosion Resistant Steel
1985 - Polymer
1990 - Carbon Fibre
2005 - Aluminium

DRIVETRAIN
1940 - Longitudinal RWD
1965 - Transverse FWD
1985 - Longitudinal AWD
1990 - Transverse AWD

ENGINE DESIGNER

BLOCK MATERIAL
1940 - Cast Iron
1970 - Aluminium
1995 - ALSI
2010 - Magnesium

HEAD TYPE
1940 - Push Rod
1940 - Direct Acting OHC
1940 - SOHC
1940 - DOHC
1995 - Modern OHV

HEAD MATERIAL
1940 - Cast Iron
1970 - Aluminium
1995 - ALSI

VVT
1940 - None
1992 - VVL

CRANK
1940 - Cast Iron
1955 - Forged
1985 - Billet Steel

CONRODS
1940 - Cast
1940 - Heavy Duty Cast
1955 - Forged H Beam
1965 - I Beam Steel
1995 - I Beam Titanium

PISTONS
1940 - Cast
1940 - Heavy Duty Cast
1955 - Forged
1970 - Hypereutectic Cast
1990 - Low Friction Cast
1990 - Lightweight Forged

VVT
1940 - None
1992 - VVT

ASPIRATION
1940 - Naturally Aspirated
1975 - Turbocharged

FUEL SYSTEM
1940 - Single Barrel Carburetor
1948 - 2 Barrel Carburetor
1955 - 4 Barrel Carburetor
1965 - DCOE
1968 - Mechanical Injection
1988 - Single Point EFI
1992 - Multi Point EFI
2003 - Direct Injection

FUEL TYPE
1940 - Regular Leaded
1940 - Super Leaded
1960 - Low Quality
1970 - Regular
1985 - Premium
1990 - Super
1995 - Ultimate

MUFFLER BYPASS
1940 - None
2000 - Bypass Valves

CATALYTIC CONVERTER
1940 - None
1975 - Two Way
1981 - Three Way
1990 - High Flow Three Way

MUFFLER
1940 - None
1940 - Baffled
1950 - Reverse Flow
1968 - Straight Through

TRIM DESIGNER

GEARBOX
1940 - 2 Speed Manual (ends 1990)
1940 - 3 Speed Manual (ends 2000)
1950 - 4 Speed Manual
1960 - 2 Speed Automatic (ends 1990)
1965 - 5 Speed Manual
1965 - 3 Speed Automatic (ends 2000)
1980 - 4 Speed Automatic
1995 - 6 Speed Manual
1995 - 5 Speed Automatic
2005 - 4 Speed Sequential Single Clutch
2005 - 5 Speed Sequential Single Clutch
2005 - 6 Speed Sequential Single Clutch
2010 - 6 Speed Automatic
2010 - 4 Speed Sequential Double Clutch
2010 - 5 Speed Sequential Double Clutch
2010 - 6 Speed Sequential Double Clutch
2012 - 7 Speed Manual
2012 - 7 Speed Automatic
2012 - 7 Speed Sequential Single Clutch
2012 - 7 Speed Sequential Double Clutch
2014 - 8 Speed Automatic
2014 - 8 Speed Sequential Single Clutch
2014 - 8 Speed Sequential Double Clutch
2016 - 9 Speed Automatic
2016 - 9 Speed Sequential Single Clutch
2016 - 9 Speed Sequential Double Clutch

DIFFERENTIALS
1940 - Open
1940 - Manual Locker
1950 - Automatic Locker
1970 - Viscous LSD
1980 - Geared LSD
1995 - Electric LSD

MINIMUM TYRE PROFILE
1940 - 105
1941 - 100
1945 - 95
1949 - 90
1953 - 85
1957 - 80
1960 - 75
1964 - 70
1968 - 65
1972 - 60
1976 - 55
1980 - 50
1983 - 45
1987 - 40
1991 - 35
1995 - 30
1999 - 25
2003 - 20
2006 - 15

RIM MATERIAL
1940 - Steel
1980 - Alloy
2000 - Magnesium
2015 - Carbon Fibre

BRAKES
1940 - SLS Drums
1955 - 2LS Drums
1965 - Solid Disc
1975 - Vented Disc
2000 - Carbon Ceramic

BRAKE PISTONS
1965 - 1 Piston
1965 - 2 Piston
1975 - 3 Piston
1990 - 4 Piston
2000 - 6 Piston

UNDERTRAY
1940 - None
1940 - Offroad Skidtray
1960 - Semi Clad
1975 - Fully Clad
1995 - Downforce

ACTIVE STUFF
1995 - Cooling Flaps
2005 - Active Wing

ENTERTAINMENT
1940 - None
1940 - Luxury AM radio
1945 - Premium AM radio
1950 - Standard AM radio
1955 - Basic AM radio
1955 - Phonograph
1970 - Luxury 8 Track
1972 - Premium 8 Track
1974 - Standard 8 Track
1976 - Basic 8 Track
1982 - Luxury Cassette
1983 - Premium Cassette
1986 - Standard Cassette
1988 - Basic Cassette
1992 - Luxury CD
1994 - Premium CD
1998 - Standard CD
2001 - Basic CD
2003 - Luxury Sat-Nav
2005 - Premium Sat-Nav
2010 - Luxury Infotainment
2011 - Premium Infotainment
2012 - Standard Infotainment
2013 - Basic Infotainment
2017 - Luxury HUD
2019 - Premium HUD

DRIVER AIDS
1960 - Power Steering
1971 - ABS
1980 - Traction Control
1990 - Electronic Stability
2000 - Launch Control

SAFETY
1940 - None
1940 - Advanced 40’s
1945 - Standard 40’s
1950 - Advanced 50’s
1955 - Standard 50’s
1960 - Advanced 60’s
1965 - Standard 60’s
1968 - Basic 60’s
1970 - Advanced 70’s
1975 - Standard 70’s
1978 - Basic 70’s
1980 - Advanced 80’s
1985 - Standard 80’s
1988 - Basic 80’s
1990 - Advanced 90’s
1995 - Standard 90’s
1998 - Basic 90’s
2000 - Advanced 00’s
2005 - Standard 00’s
2008 - Basic 00’s
2010 - Advanced 10’s
2015 - Standard 10’s
2018 - Basic 10’s

SPRINGS
1940 - Standard
1955 - Progressive
1965 - Hydropneumatic
1975 - Air
2010 - Active Sport
2010 - Active Comfort

DAMPERS
1940 - Twin Tube
1970 - Gas Mono Tube
1990 - Adaptive
2010 - Semi Active

SWAYBARS
1940 - Passive
2005 - Semi Active
2010 - Off Road
2015 - Active

4 Likes
2

Nice one, can be good to have as a guide for those that make the Community Challenges.

3

Would like to see this stickied.

4

I second this sticky motion!

5

Aluminium panel is missing.
Anyway, good work sir! :wink:

6

Oh sorry. When I next play I’ll update it for the aluminium panels. I think its something like 2000

7

I updated the OP to include aluminium panels.

8

This will be perfect for the Automation Wiki once that’s unlocked :slight_smile:

9

IIRC Land Rover used all aluminum on the Range Rover Classics and that was in the 70s and 80s, I dont think it was handmade or was it?

10

Why isn’t this thread stickied? Just spent over 15mins searching for it. :cry:

11

I have a couple of comments on the unlocking dates: aluminum engine construction is unlocked in 1970, while in reality, there were already several such designs being built in the 1950s (such as the Alfa Romeo Twin Cam).
Mechanical fuel injection is unlocked in 1968, while this feature was also already in use on some cars in the '50s (such as the Mercedes 300 SL and Maserati 5000 GT).
Electronic multi-point fuel fuel injection is unlocked in 1992, while in reality this was in use on many engines from early 1980s (such as the Volvo 240 and Saab 900 Turbo 16).

Perhaps you could adjust some options a little bit to make things more realistic?

12

There is a difference between first use and “common” use, the game is set up for “common” use where that certain tech had gained enough acceptance to become “mainstream”. You CAN unlock things earlier when the tycoon bit comes out but you will pay for it. Ford had the EEC-IV MPFI in the mid/late 80s but it was also not the best compared to Fords later MPFI and this is what will be simulated with the earlier unlock dates.

13

Cool stuff. :slight_smile:

I considered posting something like this a couple of times, but I kept wondering if some people would call “spoilers!”. Glad to see people like it. :slight_smile:

14

I REALLY hope that there is some kind of R&D system that you can invest in to get technologies earlier. Of course, we are still a ways out before fully developing this system, but here’s how I’d really like to see it:

Invest Money in researching a technology that should no be unlocked for a long time
The further away it is from it’s “common” date, the more expensive it is to research
Once it is unlocked, reliability and possibly efficiency are lower than normal
Investing more R&D or putting the early adapter tech into production will cause this technology to become gradually better.

Example:
If I’m really rich by 1960, and I want Direct Port Injection, I should be able to invest ridiculous amounts of money to get it, but it may take 3 years of ridiculous amounts of money, then another 5 of years of development or production to really get the tech to where it would be automatically in the 2000s.

In reality, Direct Injection was first mass produce my Mercedes in 1955, but it was nowhere near what it is today. A-la this system, you could reproduce that. Additionally, it may be possible to get something earlier than any company ever did in real life, because it’s “your” company’s story. But it should take a lot of dedication in R&D research and resources to make it happen.

Some things shouldn’t be available to early. Like a CD player in a car before CDs were even invented. I think it’d be a little much to say my car company invented CDs in 1968. But if CD’s were initially invented in the late 70s, put into mass production into early 80s, then begin common acceptance in the mid 80s, including high end cars, then I think being able to begin early adopter research in the late 70s should be possible.

Just like in reality, this gives you something to spend your large profits on, and something to look forward to as your company progresses. If you desire to try to be the first cars made of carbon fiber, have direct injection engines turbo engines, and Sequential Transmissions in the 70s, you can! It’s just REALLY expensive!!!

15

There will be, you can search for it but I’m pretty sure it will allow up to a possible15 year researched advancement , 10 will be more reasonable though, in tech year unlock, but with reliability penalties.viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6991&p=76672&hilit=research#p76672

16

Awesome, thank you! Missed that thread, lol.

Glad to see they are already planning on such a system.

17

I don’t mean to resurrect my old thred but here are some more cool ideas being thought about by the dev team.viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4068&hilit=wages

18

This is pretty handy

19

I updated the OP to include minimum tyre profile for each year.

20

Nice work!