If you're tired of your vehicles feeling floaty or sluggish, setting up a solid roblox torque script is basically the first thing you should look into to get that snappy, realistic movement. Most of us start out by just slapping a few wheels on a part and hoping for the best, but the moment you try to climb a hill or take a sharp turn, everything falls apart. That's because Roblox physics can be a bit of a wild horse if you don't know how to tame it with the right constraints and forces.
Torque is essentially the rotational version of a push. While a regular force moves an object in a straight line, torque makes it spin. When we talk about a script for this, we're usually looking at how to apply that force to wheels or a chassis so the vehicle actually reacts to player input in a way that feels natural.
Why torque beats old-school methods
Back in the day, a lot of people used BodyAngularVelocity to get things spinning. It worked, sure, but it felt very "on or off." There wasn't much room for nuance. Nowadays, using a roblox torque script combined with the Torque constraint is the way to go. It allows for a much more physics-based approach where weight, friction, and gravity actually matter.
If you use a simple velocity script, your car might hit its top speed instantly. That's not how real cars work. You want that gradual buildup—the feeling of the engine working against the weight of the car. By scripting the torque, you can simulate things like gear ratios or engine power curves. Plus, it just looks way cooler when the suspension actually reacts to the force of the wheels digging into the ground.
Setting up the physics constraints
Before you even touch the code, you need to make sure your model is ready. You can't just tell a script to "add torque" to a random part and expect it to drive like a Ferrari. You'll need Attachments on your wheels and your chassis.
The Torque object in Roblox needs to be parented to something, and it needs to know which axis it's supposed to spin. Usually, this is the X-axis for wheels, but it depends on how you've oriented your parts. A common mistake I see is people forgetting to set the RelativeTo property. If you set it to World, your car might spin fine when facing North, but as soon as you turn West, the torque is pushing in the wrong direction. Always set it to Attachment0 so the force stays relative to the wheel itself.
Writing a basic roblox torque script
Let's get into the actual logic. A decent roblox torque script needs to listen for user input—usually from a VehicleSeat—and then translate that into a numerical value for the torque constraint.
Here's the general flow of how you'd script it: 1. Reference the VehicleSeat. 2. Locate the Torque constraints in the wheels. 3. Use a Stepped or Heartbeat connection (from RunService) to constantly update the force. 4. Multiply the seat's Throttle (which is 1, 0, or -1) by a "Torque Amount" variable.
It sounds simple, but the "feel" comes from the math. You don't want the torque to stay at 10,000 all the time. If the car is already going 100 mph, you probably want to taper that torque down so it doesn't just keep accelerating into orbit. This is where a little bit of math helps—calculating the current speed and reducing the force as it nears the limit.
Dealing with the "spinning out" problem
One of the most annoying things when working with a roblox torque script is when your wheels spin way too fast and you lose all traction. In the real world, tires have grip limits. In Roblox, if you apply 50,000 torque to a tiny plastic cylinder, it's just going to glitch out or slide like it's on ice.
To fix this, you have to balance your torque with the Friction properties of your wheels. I usually head into the CustomPhysicalProperties of the wheel parts. Bumping up the friction helps, but you also need to make sure your script isn't over-delivering power.
Some builders like to add a "traction control" layer to their script. Basically, you check if the wheel's angular velocity is way higher than the actual movement speed of the car. If it is, you throttle back the torque automatically. It makes the driving experience much smoother for the player, even if they're just holding down the 'W' key.
Adding some personality to the drive
Every vehicle should feel different. A heavy truck should have high torque but a low top speed, while a sports car needs to feel snappy. You can achieve this by playing with the numbers in your roblox torque script.
Don't be afraid to experiment with the Power or Influence of the force. Sometimes, adding a tiny bit of torque to the chassis itself (not just the wheels) can help the car lean into turns, which adds a lot of visual polish. It makes the car feel like it has weight and isn't just a floating box.
Another tip: use LinearVelocity for braking alongside your torque script. When the player lets off the gas or hits the brakes, you can swap the torque for a different force that brings the wheels to a controlled stop. Just setting torque to zero usually results in the car coasting for way too long.
Common pitfalls to watch out for
I've spent hours debugging vehicles only to realize I made a super simple mistake. One big one is the ActuatorType. If you're using Motor constraints instead of raw Torque objects, the behavior changes completely. Motors try to reach a target speed, whereas torque just applies raw force. For a realistic car, raw torque is usually better.
Also, watch out for your MaxForce settings. If your MaxForce is set to inf (infinity), things can get weird fast. It's always better to find a specific number that works for your vehicle's mass. If your car weighs 500 units, maybe start with a torque of 5,000 and see how it feels. If it barely moves, double it. If it flips over and hits the moon, cut it in half.
Optimization and final touches
If you have a game with fifty cars driving around, you don't want fifty heavy scripts running every single frame. Make sure your roblox torque script is efficient. Using AttributeChangedSignals or only running the physics logic when a player is actually sitting in the seat can save a lot of server (or client) resources.
Honestly, the best way to learn this is just to keep tweaking the variables. Change the friction, mess with the torque curves, and see what happens. Physics in Roblox is half math and half "vibes"—you just have to keep testing until it feels right under your fingers. Once you get a handle on how torque interacts with the environment, you'll never go back to those basic, clunky driving scripts again.
It takes some trial and error, but seeing your vehicle climb a steep hill because you tuned the torque perfectly is a great feeling. Keep at it, and don't let the physics engine frustrate you too much!