To build a realistic ATS mod pack for version 1.61, one mod of each type is all you need. Use one traffic density mod, such as Real Traffic Density, and a single weather base, such as one of Grimes’ seasons. Add Sound Fixes Pack for sound, Improved Suspension Behavior for physics and Realistic Economy by Slayin Egos for the economy. The rule is never to double up on a category: two weather or density mods don’t stack, one overrides the other. Below you’ll find the alternatives in each category, three recommended combos and the load order.
If it’s your first time, read how to install mods in ATS first. For a general list, check out the best ATS mods. And if you also play Euro Truck Simulator 2, there are the realistic ETS2 mods.
Traffic: density, behavior and packs
Pick just one density mod
They all edit the same files, so only one can stay active.
| Mod | What it does | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Real Traffic Density | Rush hours, quieter nights and density based on road type. Size: 5.8 MB. | 1.61 |
| Brutal Traffic | More density, traffic jams, accidents and more believable AI. It doesn’t add vehicles. | 1.61 |
| RealRoads AI Traffic – Medium | RealRoads’ balanced preset. The Heavy one is denser and needs a stronger PC. | 1.61 |
| More AI Traffic | More cars and jams, longer traffic lights and higher speed limits. Its author says it’s Convoy-compatible. | 1.61 |
| Real life traffic density | A detailed 24-hour cycle that uses SCS’s AI. | 1.59 and 1.60 |
| Express Performance | Reduces traffic in heavy areas. Designed for low-end PCs and the Steam Deck. | 1.60 |
Urban Traffic Overhaul works differently: it hand-marks the busy areas of big cities. Its author believes it needs all the map DLCs.
Add-ons that do stack
- RealRoads SignalFlow Plus cuts down the AI’s pointless waits at traffic lights and yield signs. It goes above the RealRoads preset.
- Extended Traffic Signal Timing gives you green lights of about 30 seconds and protected turns. It helps prevent queues at high density.
- Faster AI Traffic Speeds makes the AI often go over the limit, like on real highways. It goes above the density mods.
- Real World Plates adds license plates with real sequences and cars from other states. It goes above the density mod, and Coast to Coast isn’t supported yet.
- Long Freight Trains adds trains about 800 m long, but it takes up more than 570 MB.
Trailers, buses and police
- Mr Larrington’s Traffic and Trailer Pack adds doubles and triples plus cargo from your DLCs. Traffic Trailer Mega Pack adds about 500 trailers with real brands, although it weighs 1.24 GB.
- Clean Traffic No Default SCS Trailers removes the default trailers from traffic. It goes below your trailer packs. Enabling it cancels your current job, so finish the delivery first.
- Bus Traffic Pack by Jazzycat adds buses to traffic. With Real Traffic Density, use the Jazzycat/TrafficMan patch.
- Generic Police Removal removes the generic police. Then Extra City Police Vehicles and Local Police Traffic add each city’s real patrol cars.
Graphics and weather: just one base
Pick one of these bases. They all change the rain or the lighting, so they override each other.
- Grimes’ seasons: New Summer, Early Autumn, Late Autumn/Mild Winter, Spring and Frosty Winter. They’re available for 1.61. Use only one at a time. The free download goes through ShareMods, which shows ads; the direct download costs $1.
- Realistic Weather System: rain based on region, with summer climate data and ten intensities. Version 3.0 for 1.61. It isn’t compatible with Grimes’ seasons.
- Realistic Brutal Graphics And Weather: HDR, more than ten rain intensities, fog and water. Version 11.2 for 1.61. It also changes headlights, traffic lights and traffic.
- Allan’s All-In-One Graphics Fidelity: 73 HDR skies, storms and rain on the windshield. Size: 6.54 GB.
- Realistic Graphics Mod (TGMODZ): also designed for low-end PCs. Its latest stated compatibility is 1.60.
Rain, lights and details
- Yet Another Rain Mod adds fine droplets on the windshield and works alongside weather mods, always placed above them. YARM: Particles Addon multiplies the spray from the wheels. With YARM you don’t need Glass Bounds Corrections. If you prefer a different rain, Realistic Rain requires DirectX 11.
- For flares, pick Better Flares or Realistic Vehicle Lights, but not both. Better Headlights redoes the headlight beams and goes above the graphics mods.
- Improved Vegetation LOD shows detailed vegetation farther away and costs almost no performance. It isn’t compatible with mirror field-of-view mods.
- Real World Car Colors gives parked cars real-world colors. If you play in Mexico, Real MX Graphics touches up the Reforma-based maps and goes above them.
Physics and driving
The usual approach is to run a single general physics mod:
- Improved Suspension Behavior makes use of the chassis parameters that came with 1.61: caster angle, steering and damping for each truck. It’s designed to coexist with other physics mods, and its author places it high in the list.
- ATS Trucks Physics by MK tweaks the suspension, cab, weight and brakes. It works from 1.50 onward.
- Improved Suspension, by Vaq3r, uses real data for fifth wheels, tires and braking.
- GDC Logistics – Realistic Physics is designed for a wheel and pedals: brakes that heat up and grip you lose if you push too hard.
There are also add-ons that cover a single aspect. Air Ride simulates an air-suspension seat, needs camera physics at maximum and goes above the physics mods. ATS Tire Stats gives tires grip and rolling stats. Realistic Cargo Weight 2x doubles cargo weight. And Real Mirror FOV adjusts the mirrors based on photos of real trucks.
Sound
- Sound Fixes Pack: road noise based on the surface, rain, railroad crossings, traffic, regional sirens and coupling. It works with any truck and is optional in Convoy.
- Realistic Rain & Water & Thunder Sounds: more than 40 thunderclaps and improved water. It can clash with other rain mods.
- Interior Soundproofing: improves cab sound insulation in 15 SCS trucks and 4 SCS cars.
- For engines there are packs per engine block, such as Cummins ISX Stock Sound (marked up to 1.60) or Volvo D13 Engine Sound for SCS’s VNLs. Use only one per engine.
Economy and rules
- Realistic Economy by Slayin Egos: pay per mile, diesel prices by state and fines based on US data. It only works on 1.61 and disables other economy, fine or traffic mods.
- Immersive Economy & Business Overhaul: a slower career, with bank loans after 30 deliveries.
- Realistic Fines, Realistic Weighstations and Realistic Day & Night Duration: more believable fines, weigh stations and daylight hours. The last one goes above the graphics mods.
- ATS Elog: an hours-of-service log (ELD) in beta, Windows only.
Don’t mix these mods with generous economies like ATS XP & Economy Rebalance, because they aim for exactly the opposite.
Recommended combos
- High-end PC: RealRoads Medium with SignalFlow Plus, Mr Larrington’s and Clean Traffic, plus one of Grimes’ seasons with YARM. Add Better Flares, Sound Fixes Pack, Improved Suspension Behavior and Realistic Economy.
- Low-end PC or Steam Deck: Express Performance, Realistic Graphics Mod (TGMODZ), Sound Fixes Pack and ATS Trucks Physics by MK.
- Convoy: according to their authors, More AI Traffic, Realistic Vehicle Lights, Realistic Rain, Realistic Cargo Weight 2x and Realistic Economy are suitable. Every player needs the same mods in the same order.
Load order
In the Mod Manager, the mod higher up wins. We explain the full method in the ETS2 load order guide, and it works the same in ATS. From top to bottom:
- Economy and rules, plus Realistic Day & Night Duration.
- Rain: Particles Addon, YARM and other rain mods. Headlights like Better Headlights.
- The weather or graphics base (only one).
- Physics: Air Ride and Improved Suspension Behavior on top, with the general physics mod below.
- Police: Generic Police Removal, Extra City Police Vehicles and Local Police Traffic. Below them, Sound Fixes Pack, as those authors ask.
- Traffic: Real World Plates, the density mod, the Jazzycat patch, the vehicle and trailer packs and, below them, Clean Traffic.
- Modded trucks and trailers.
- Real MX Graphics and, at the bottom, the maps.
If a mod’s author specifies a different position, follow the author.
Keep going with our guides on truck mods for ATS and mod load order in ATS.
Frequently asked questions
Can I combine Real Traffic Density and Brutal Traffic?
We don’t recommend it. Brutal Traffic also raises density, so they overlap. Pick one and add vehicle and trailer packs to it.
Which weather mod is the most realistic?
Realistic Weather System makes it rain based on region, using real climate data. Grimes’ seasons pay more attention to the vegetation and light of each season. You can’t use them together.
Do I need DLC?
Almost none of them require it. Urban Traffic Overhaul probably needs all the map DLCs. Mr Larrington’s and All Trailer Cargoes in Traffic show cargo from whichever DLCs you own.
Can my PC handle that much traffic and weather?
High-density mods and heavy graphics cost performance. If your PC is borderline, try Express Performance or RealRoads Medium before the Heavy preset.
Do they work on 1.61?
Most of the ones in this guide do. Real life traffic density, Express Performance, Realistic Graphics Mod (TGMODZ) and ATS Trucks Physics by MK don’t confirm 1.61. Test them in a separate profile.
Holymod isn’t affiliated with SCS Software or with the brands or companies that appear in these mods. These are fan-made mods, and the brands belong to their owners. We don’t host files: every download happens on the author’s website or platform.