Car Mods Not Showing in Assetto Corsa

Before diving into detailed fixes, check these first:

• ✅ Did you restart Assetto Corsa after installation?
• ✅ Is the car in the correct folder: assettocorsa/content/cars/
• ✅ Does the car folder contain a ui_car.json file?
• ✅ Are you looking in the right brand/category filter in-game?

The Problem

The most common issue is having too many nested folders. AC needs the car folder directly in the cars/ directory.

Correct Structure

📁 assettocorsa/
  📁 content/
    📁 cars/
      📁 bmw_m3_e92/          ← Car folder here
        📄 ui_car.json
        📁 data/
        📁 sfx/
        📁 skins/
        📁 textures/

Wrong Structure (Too Deep)

📁 assettocorsa/
  📁 content/
    📁 cars/
      📁 BMW_M3_Mod_v1.5/     ← Extra folder!
        📁 content/            ← Extra folder!
          📁 cars/             ← Extra folder!
            📁 bmw_m3_e92/     ← Car folder buried too deep
              📄 ui_car.json

How to Fix

1. Navigate to assettocorsa/content/cars/
2. Find the car folder with ui_car.json inside
3. Cut the car folder (not the parent folders)
4. Paste it directly into the cars/ directory
5. Delete the empty parent folders

The Problem

The ui_car.json file tells Assetto Corsa how to display the car in the menu. If it's missing or has errors, the car won't appear.

How to Check

1. Open the car folder
2. Look for ui_car.json in the root of the folder
3. Right-click → Open with Notepad
4. Check if the content looks valid (proper JSON format)

Example Valid ui_car.json

{
  "name": "BMW M3 E92",
  "brand": "bmw",
  "class": "street",
  "specs": {
    "bhp": "414",
    "torque": "400 Nm",
    "weight": "1580 kg",
    "topspeed": "250 km/h",
    "acceleration": "4.8s",
    "pwratio": "3.81"
  },
  "tags": ["street","germany"]
}

How to Fix

• If file is missing, re-download the mod
• If corrupted, copy ui_car.json from a working car and modify it
• Use a JSON validator online to check for syntax errors
• Make sure there are no special characters or encoding issues

The Problem

Folder names with spaces, special characters, or non-English letters can cause AC to not recognize the car.

Bad Folder Names

• BMW M3 (2008) - Contains spaces and parentheses
• nissan_gtr_'24 - Contains apostrophe
• porsche_911_GT3@RS - Contains @ symbol

Good Folder Names

• bmw_m3_e92
• nissan_gtr_r35_2024
• porsche_911_gt3rs

How to Fix

1. Close Assetto Corsa
2. Rename the car folder to use only:
   • Lowercase letters (a-z)
   • Numbers (0-9)
   • Underscores (_)
   • No spaces or special characters
3. Launch AC and check car list

The Problem

Some car mods require additional files (data packs) or DLC packs to work. Without these, the car won't load.

Common Dependencies

• Data Packs: Shared physics or sound files (e.g., "common_data_pack_v2")
• DLC Requirements: Dream Pack, Japanese Pack, Porsche Packs
• Custom Shaders Patch: Required for advanced visual features
• Base Car: Some mods are variants that require the original car

How to Fix

1. Check the mod's download page for requirements
2. Download and install all required dependencies
3. If DLC is required, purchase it on Steam
4. Install Custom Shaders Patch if needed
5. Check AC's log file at assettocorsa/logs/log.txt for error messages

The Problem

If you're using Content Manager, it might not have scanned the new car yet, or its cache is outdated.

How to Fix

1. Open Content Manager
2. Go to Content → Cars
3. Click the Refresh button (circular arrow icon)
4. Right-click in the car list → Rescan
5. If still not showing, go to Settings → Content Manager → Content
6. Click Rebuild Cache
7. Restart Content Manager

AC logs can reveal specific errors with your mod installation.

1. Navigate to assettocorsa/logs/
2. Open log.txt with Notepad
3. Search for the car's folder name
4. Look for error messages like:
   • "File not found"
   • "Invalid JSON"
   • "Missing dependency"

A complete car mod should have these folders/files:

📁 car_folder_name/
  📄 ui_car.json          ← Required
  📁 data/                ← Required (physics, setup files)
  📁 sfx/                 ← Required (sound files)
  📁 skins/               ← Required (at least one skin)
  📁 textures/            ← Usually required
  📄 livery.png           ← Optional preview image
  📄 preview.jpg          ← Optional preview image

If any required folders are missing, the mod is incomplete. Re-download from a trusted source like AC Supply.

Sometimes Content Manager has issues. Test if the car shows in vanilla Assetto Corsa:

1. Close Content Manager
2. Launch AC directly from Steam or the executable
3. Go to Drive → Practice → Select Car
4. Check if the car appears in the list

If the car shows in vanilla AC but not in Content Manager, the issue is with CM's cache. Rebuild it as described in Issue #5.