Arma Reforger 1.9 Update: Rebuilt Vehicle Physics, Racing Wheel Support and Manual Clutch, Plus the Rally DLC

Arma Reforger 1.9 is Bohemia Interactive's next major update, and it's built around the biggest change to driving the game has had: a complete rewrite of the vehicle powertrain simulation, plus full racing wheel and force feedback support, a manual clutch, mouse steering and vehicles that get muddy. It's playable now on the Experimental branch on Steam. Bohemia hasn't given a release date for the main game yet. Separately, a paid Rally DLC with three rally cars and six stages is coming soon.

Arma Reforger 1.9 at a glance

When is the Arma Reforger 1.9 release date?

There's no date yet. 1.9 has been on the Experimental branch since September 15, with several builds since. In Dev Report #24, Bohemia said there is "still more to tune as 1.9 moves toward release". To try it now, install Arma Reforger Experimental from your Steam library and report problems on the Feedback Tracker.

What's new in Arma Reforger 1.9?

The headline is vehicle simulation. Bohemia rewrote the whole powertrain (engine, clutch, differential and wheels) from scratch, while keeping it compatible with existing mods. The old system caused one of Reforger's most notorious problems: some vehicles, trucks in particular, became very slow on hills or couldn't move at all, because torque flowed the wrong way and sent the engine to redline. Earlier patches papered over it by making the M923A1 and Ural trucks more powerful, which made them too fast on flat ground. 1.9 fixes the root cause.

• Inter-axle differentials: trucks and APCs with several drive axles now share torque by traction. Before, a truck with one axle in the air wasted a third of its power and often couldn't move.
• A real clutch: it transfers torque properly and can stall the engine. Leave a manual car without putting it in neutral (on Partial or None driving assistance) and it stalls with a jolt.
• Engine braking: a parked car left in 1st or reverse now barely moves, thanks to engine compression.
• Proper steering geometry: caster, camber, toe, Ackermann steering and steering torque feedback, so cars turn without scrubbing speed.
• Self-steering: a vehicle with no driver, or an unconscious or dead one, now steers itself as it rolls, for example into a slope. Bohemia's advice: always use the handbrake.
• Per-vehicle tyre grip: each vehicle can have its own tyre model, with different behavior on and off road. Modders can also use new ABS braking.

Does Arma Reforger support racing wheels?

Yes, from 1.9. Bohemia now supports the whole racing wheel, pedals (gas, brake and clutch) and shifting sticks, with force feedback for steering torque, clutch slip, gear grind, engine vibration and suspension vibration. How the shifter works depends on the Driving Assistance mode: on Full it does nothing, on Partial every vehicle drives like an automatic (R/N/D), and on None you can fully use it in manual cars.

How do you use the manual clutch in Arma Reforger?

1. Set Driving Assistance to None.
2. Turn on Manual clutch in the gameplay options.
3. Bind the clutch action, or pick a controls preset.

The vehicle needs a manual gearbox. You can then shift freely, but release the clutch badly and you'll feel strong gear-grind feedback. It also works on a gamepad or keyboard, though Bohemia doesn't recommend it.

What other driving changes are in 1.9?

• Mouse steering: on by default for keyboard and mouse players who want analogue steering, with adjustable speed.
• Same steering speed on every device: controllers no longer turn instantly (which could flip vehicles at speed), and the wheel re-centers naturally.
• Quick reverse-to-drive: hold Gear Shift Up (E, or left stick up) to jump to 1st or D, and Gear Shift Down (Q) for reverse.
• Dirty vehicles: vehicles pick up dust and mud, rain and water wash them, and tyres leave skid marks and smoke when they spin.

The 1.9 Experimental changelog also lists stability fixes, better voice chat performance, a night-vision optic for the LAV-25 and FIA versions of the Šárka 1203 and 105.

What is Arma Reforger Rally?

Arma Reforger - Rally is upcoming DLC that brings racing to the game: three rally cars (the Šárka 105 RS, Sputnik 600 RS and Dana 2001 RS), six stages across all three islands, customisable race conditions, and a ghost car that drives the best time on record. Think Arland's airfield in the rain, Kolguyev's volcanic slopes at dawn, or Everon's forest switchbacks at night. Its Steam page says "coming soon", with no price yet.

What else is Bohemia fixing in Arma Reforger?

Besides vehicles, 1.9 Experimental continues fixes for AI seeing through vegetation, stability, replication, server browser usability, Conflict balancing and supply handling. It follows 1.8.0.13, which fixed Far Hide, helicopter damage, vehicle behavior, server performance and several crashes.

How much is Arma Reforger?

$39.99 / £32.99 / €39.99 on Steam. About 4,350 people were playing on Steam when we checked on November 2.

Watch Arma Reforger

Official update trailers play on the Arma Reforger Steam page.

More Arma Reforger on iGame Magazine

• Arma Reforger Update 1.8 Adds Better Camouflage and AI: the previous major update, 1.8
• Best Arma Reforger Console Mods (2026): Top Workshop Mods for Xbox & PS5: the best console mods
• New Kolguyev Map in Arma Reforger Redefines Tactical Warfare: the Kolguyev map

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