Despite being over a decade old, Grand Theft Auto 4 is still one of the most popular games ever made. Thanks to an amazing modding community, the game is as relevant today as it was 12 years ago. If you’re a fan of the game, here are the top GTA 4 Mods which will spice the game up and bring it up to date.
We recently did an article covering the best GTA 4 Car Packs, so if you’re interested in that, feel free to check it out. This article will still have an automotive theme to it, but we’ll also list some general mods that are really popular in the gaming community as well.
If you’re only interested in certain mods or a certain style of mod, here’s a little snippet allowing you to skip ahead to the segments you’re interested in:
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Ultra Graphics Cinematic ENB
If you have to download just one mod and one mod alone, you have to try out Ultra Graphics Cinematic. It takes the standard, dated-looking GTA IV, and it turns it into something which looks like it could have been launched just a few years ago.
By using different shaders optimized to enhance reflections and shadows, this mod transforms GTA into an entirely different game to the standard one. Suddenly, sun reflections on car body panels look ridiculously realistic, and the glare from windows looks so crisp you’ll have trouble believing it isn’t real.
This is arguably one of the best GTA 4 Mods, especially if you’re a fan of realism and sharp-looking graphics. It also comes with a different texture pack, to make full use of the new shaders and present you with a GTA 4 world as you’ve never seen it before.
The mod comes with different visual settings too, so you can custom-tailor the experience even further if you really want to. Obviously, better graphics equal more processing power required, but this isn’t a mod that’s particularly taxing on a system in my experience.
Yes, they’ve made it better-looking, but they’ve also optimized it for speed and performance. You might notice a slight hit in FPS, but it’s nothing you shouldn’t be able to iron out in the settings. What’s more, because GTA 4 uses an older engine, most newer PCs are able to run it without breaking a sweat.
You can download this mod here.
Dashboard Camera
With well over 100,000 downloads, this is one of the most popular GTA 4 Mods, and for good reason. GTA is an incredibly exciting game with plenty of features, but even so, it’s still flawed in several key areas.
Although it’s an arcade-like game and not a proper simulation when it comes to its driving mechanics, users want a way to fully immerse themselves in the experience and enjoy every aspect of it. This mod allows you to do that by offering a dashboard camera instead of the standard third-party view the game forces you to drive in.
Driving around Liberty City is not exactly fully immersive. If you want to experience everything the city has to offer, using this dashboard cam you can really get down to street-level and enjoy just how tall the buildings are and how long some of the city streets are.
I won’t necessarily say that you should use this view all the time, because this is GTA 4 after all, and sometimes it’s best enjoyed through the third-person view, but for those times when you want to relax and cruise around, perhaps even obey the traffic laws? Yes, then it’s definitely worth it.
You can check this mod out here.
Better Handling
Remember how I said that GTA 4 isn’t realistic in terms of driving and it’s a bit arcade-like? Well, this mod completely solves that issue by taking the standard driving physics package and throwing it out the window. It replaces every car’s steering, acceleration and brakes with data inspired by the real-world.
Using this mod might feel strange and odd the first couple of times you load the game up, simply because the experience is vastly different to how the regular cars behave. You should notice that cars accelerate more naturally now and they build up speed in a more linear way, but braking also takes more time and it affects the handling, as it would in the real world.
The steering will feel different too. You won’t be able to attack bends at neck-breaking speeds as you were before. You’ll need to carefully judge your speed and adjust your line accordingly. As a fan of realistic physics, this is hands-down the first mod I’d install for GTA IV.
I should point out that not everyone will be a fan of this mod, especially if you want to just load the game up and have a riot. Being more realistic, this mod can be more frustrating as well. The cars are trickier to drive and the handling is just all-around more challenging. That said, if you want as much realism as possible, this is the way to go.
You can download this mod through gtagaming here.
Real Vehicle Names
This mod is relatively straightforward, in the sense that it does what it says on the box. As its name would imply, this mod changes every car’s fictional in-game name to the real one Rockstar would have used had it not been for those pesky copyright laws.
Because manufacturers trademark each individual car model (for example, Ferrari 458), game developers are not legally allowed to use said name unless they get explicit permission from the manufacturers themselves.
This obviously costs a lot of money for permits and such, since car manufacturers want a slice of the cake as well. To avoid unnecessary spending costs, game devs therefore create cars which look similar to their real-life counterparts, and just give them a generic name instead.
Because this is a mod and not an official Rockstar-backed endeavour, you won’t run into any issues when using this mod, nor should you be worried about breaking any laws.
You can download the mod here.
Motor HardcoreENB
Have you ever wondered how people take those ultra-crisp, super-sharp screenshots of the game to then share online and on social media? Well, this is how they do it, with the help of mods like Motor HardcoreENB.
Designed to help you take extremely realistic in-game photos, you can think of this mod as adding a gallery showroom to your game. It makes taking snapshots of your favourite car in your favourite place super easy. Plus, installing this mod is super easy and quick. All you have to do is drop the files into the game directory and that’s it, the game takes care of the rest.
I’m not a big fan of simple miscellaneous mods like this one as I think they’re often a waste of time. They’re usually not worth the hassle of downloading the mod and installing it, since they either don’t work or take care of a task that needs solving.
This one is different though, because this mod is the answer to one of the most common questions associated with any car in any car game ever: “How do I take cool screenshots and pictures like the ones I see on social media?”
You can check out this mod and download it here.
2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
This is one of those mods that you absolutely have to have it if you’re at all a fan of muscle cars. When Dodge released the Challenger Hellcat, we all thought the company had slightly lost its mind. When they announced their four-door Charger would be getting the same treatment as the Challenger, they just confirmed our previous theory.
The Charger SRT Hellcat is easily one of the most ridiculous cars currently on sale. Powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 (not the 4.7 liter Dodge engine), it produces an astronomic 707 horsepower and a mind-blowing 650 lb-ft of torque. At the time, the Charger SRT Hellcat was not just one of the most powerful muscle cars ever made, but one of the most powerful production cars ever built, full stop.
You expect a Ferrari to be fast because it’s a Ferrari, but no one ever expected to see the day when a manufacturer would offer a 700+ horsepower four-door family car with factory warranty and a number plate.
They call this car the supercar killer, because it likes to eat McLarens and Porsches for breakfast. Underneath that slightly unassuming body lurks the heart of a beast. A beast which can hit 62 mph in just 3.4 seconds and go on to a top speed of 204 mph. Let me quickly remind you that this is a four-door family sedan which can hit a top speed in excess of 200 mph!
This in-game replica is a model originally derived from Forza Horizon 2, but it’s been modified to have a Hellcat bodykit and adapted for GTA 4 thanks to IronicRainbow. To create it, he used different components from several other games. The hood is from Racing Rivals, as are the bumpers, and the wheels were custom made by Voodoo.
This is one of the best GTA 4 mods hands down, especially if we’re talking car mods. It’s currently got over 11,000 downloads on gtagaming, has a 9/10 average rating, and it replaces the in-game Sabre GT. You can find the download link here.
Bentley Continental GT3 – GTA 4 Mods
The Continental GT3 is a race-only variant of the regular Bentley Continental, that’s been stripped out and lightened to compete in GT racing. It’s the largest car on the grid in any GT race, as it’s usually lined up against smaller Lamborghinis and Ferraris.
Built by Bentley, the regular Conti then gets shipped out to ‘M-Sport’ in the UK who go about the business of stripping it down to its bare shell, equipping the interior with racing gear, and going so far as to move the entire engine back to where the bulkhead is in the regular car, in order to giving better weight distribution front to back.
The end result is a GT3 car that’s over 1,000 kgs (2,000+ lbs) lighter than the standard road-going Continental, and has enough downforce to stay planted through corners at over 150 mph. It still uses the same twin-turbo V8 derived from Audi, albeit in a different state of tune to meet series regulations and requirements.
Bentley recently announced that they’re withdrawing from GT3 racing and will no longer support factory-backed teams, but will instead try to focus on electric racing as that’s where the entire motorsport industry is inevitably headed. Seeing as how we will no longer be able to see a GT3 Continental competing against other GT3 cars, I thought it’d be only fitting to list this mod here so everyone can at least enjoy it in the virtual world.
The model for GTA 4 has been taken from Project CARS, and because it’s a right-hand-drive vehicle, Niko sometimes does weird actions when interacting with the car. If you’re not bothered by that, I strongly suggest checking it out as it’s one of my personal favourites, especially the way it looks.
This mod replaces the factory DF8 and you can check it out here.
BMW M3 GTR NFS – GTA 4 Mods
This is a car which, I think, needs no introductions. It’s the infamous M3 GTR from Need for Speed Most Wanted, and is the one car we all wanted to unlock when playing that game. Apart from being an awesome E46 M3, this car was really interesting because of its livery.
Finished in silver and deep blue, it’s a car which spawned an entire generation of car enthusiast, and a car which probably inspired at least one or two customization mods in the real world.
For starters, it has a ridiculous body kit on it that makes it look like a racecar for the road. It’s functional aero too, in the sense that everything on the car was designed to either increase downforce or aid with cooling.
Speaking of cooling, the M3 GTR didn’t come with a straight-six engine like the regular car did, but with something much more potent, hence the need for better cooling. Inside the M3 GTR’s engine bay resides a detuned version of the Le Mans M3 GTR’s V8, producing 380 horsepower and enough torque to stop the Earth’s rotation.
BMW had to build a road-legal version of their Le Mans M3 GTR race car to meet homologation rules, so they decided to stick a big V8 in the road car, give it better aero and improve braking, and send it off.
The M3 GTR built for GTA IV replaces the Sultan RS or the Sentinel. It currently has a staggering 48,000 downloads on gtagaming alone, making it one of the most popular car mods of all time. It’s got an excellent rating of eight out of ten starts too.
You can check it out and find the download link here.
1993 McLaren F1 – GTA 4 Mods
When the McLaren F1 made its debut back in 1992, it was one of the most impressive cars ever made. Designed and created by the legendary car designer Gordon Murray, it was the fastest car in the world at the time.
It uses a 6.1-liter, BMW-sourced, naturally aspirated V12 engine. Producing 618 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, it sends its power to the road through a 6-speed manual transmission. In 1998 the original XB5 prototype, using a modified rev limiter, set a new Guinness World Record for top speed, reaching an astonishing 241 miles per hour. It shattered the previous record set by the Jaguar XJ220, which stood at 217 mph.
The F1’s party piece was a central driving position, which meant that there was room for two passengers, one on either side of the driver. Production ended in late 1998, with a total of 106 cars being built. The UK’s Autocar magazine called it “The finest driving machine yet built for the public road”.
A number of celebrities and famous car enthusiasts have owned an F1, including Elon Musk, Rowan Atkinson, Jay Leno, George Harrison and many more. The Sultan of Brunei also famously had an F1 in his dream car garage.
This particular mod is a proper conversion for GTA 4, that’s been developed with a working EPM spoiler and a highly detailed Autovista’s interior. It’s also got an incredibly accurate 3D engine model. Most of the components have been taken from Forza 4 and have been converted to GTA 4.
It’s an excellent mod simply because you get to drive one of the best cars ever made. Not many of them exist in the real world today, so the only way for us to properly enjoy it is in the virtual world.
This mod has a 9 out of 10 rating on gtagaming, and it’s been downloaded nearly 3,500 times. You can check it out and download it here.
2015 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT – GTA 4 Mods
The Mercedes AMG GT is Mercedes’ latest and greatest sports car. Built as a successor to the Legendary SLS AMG, it’s one of the most popular and iconic sports cars of our generation.
It uses a 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8, putting out anywhere between 480 and nearly 700 horsepower, depending on the trim-line and the model. Torque figure is a monumental 500 lb-ft on even the base cars.
It’ll easily crack 200 miles an hour and it’ll sprint to 62 miles an hour in right around 3 seconds. It’s rear-wheel-drive only, sending its power to the ground through a dual clutch transmission.
The AMG GT is everything you want in a sports car. It’s light, extremely powerful, fun to drive, and ridiculously good looking. With its elongated bonnet and its massively flared arches, it looks really mean on the road.
This particular mod has been taken from Need for Speed: No Limits, and it’s been converted to GTA 4. It’s got a 9 out of 10 rating on gtagaming, where it also has over 12,000 downloads.
You can find the link to download it here.
2010 Lexus LFA – GTA 4 Mods
Lexus’ first-ever and only supercar is arguably one of the best cars ever made. Lexus initially wanted to build it from aluminium, but after 9 years spent in development and countless hours of research, they deemed it would be too heavy, so they decided to scrap the project and start all over again, with a new chassis that would be built from carbon-fiber.
The end result is a car that was so costly to develop and produce that Lexus ended up losing money on every single one they sold. That being said, the LFA received a ton of praise from enthusiasts and journalist alike, who noted its exceptional handling and its incredible drivetrain.
Speaking of its drivetrain, the LFA uses a 4.8-liter naturally-aspirated V10, that’s as compact as a V8 and as light as a V6. Lexus spared no expense when developing the engine and it shows in the way it behaves.
Producing 550 horsepower, it sends its power to the rear wheels through an old-school Aisin automated manual with flappy paddles, not a dual-clutch. Automated manuals are considerably lighter than DCTs, hence why Lexus opted not to use one in the LFA project.
Jeremy Clarkson once famously called it the best car he’s ever driven, and he maintains it’s still his favourite supercar ever built. Given the fact that the LFA was Lexus’ first endeavour into the world of supercars, they’ve clearly done a great job then.
Much like the AMG GT, this particular model has been taken from Forza Horizon 4 and then subsequently converted for GTA IV. It’s got over 12,000 downloads on the platform, which is impressive, but not as impressive as the soundtrack the LFA makes. Take a listen to what an LFA at full chat sounds like.
You can find the link to download this amazing mod here.
