LOD Mods Guide - Improve Draw Distance in GTA 5 2026

23 Feb 13:13

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LOD Mods Guide - Improve Draw Distance in GTA 5 2026 for GTA 5

LOD Mods - Increase Draw Distance and Reduce Pop-in in GTA 5

Level of Detail (LOD) mods eliminate annoying pop-in and extend draw distances in GTA 5. This 2026 guide explains how LOD works and how to optimize it for the best visual quality without destroying performance.

What is LOD?

LOD is a rendering technique where objects switch between quality levels based on distance from the camera:

LOD Level	Quality	When Used	Polygon Count
LOD 0 (HD)	Full detail	Very close to camera	100%
LOD 1	Medium detail	Medium distance	~50%
LOD 2	Low detail	Far distance	~25%
LOD 3 (SLOD)	Minimal detail	Very far / skyline	~5%
Hidden	Not rendered	Beyond draw distance	0%

Key Configuration Files

File	Location	Controls
`visualsettings.dat`	`update/update.rpf/common/data/`	LOD distances, shadow distances, grass rendering
`timecycle_mods_*.xml`	`update/update.rpf/common/data/timecycle/`	LOD fade distances per weather/time
`settings.xml`	Documents/Rockstar Games/GTA V/	In-game graphics settings including Extended Distance Scaling

Important visualsettings.dat Parameters

Parameter	Default	Recommended	Effect
`lodScale`	1.0	1.5-2.0	Multiplier for all LOD transition distances
`slodScale`	1.0	1.5	Super LOD scale for distant objects
`pedLodBias`	1.0	1.5	Distance at which pedestrians switch LODs
`vehicleLodBias`	1.0	1.5	Vehicle LOD switching distance
`shadowDistance`	100	150-200	How far shadows render

Step-by-Step LOD Improvement

Backup visualsettings.dat via OpenIV mods folder
Increase lodScale from 1.0 to 1.5 — test performance impact
Adjust slodScale to 1.5 for better distant city rendering
Enable Extended Distance Scaling in GTA 5 graphics settings
Set Extended Distance Scaling to 50-75% for balanced results
Fine-tune per-object LOD — increase pedLodBias and vehicleLodBias

Performance vs Quality Balance

VRAM impact — Higher LOD distances load more high-quality textures; 4GB+ VRAM recommended
CPU impact — More visible objects means more draw calls; modern quad-core+ needed
Diminishing returns — Values above 2.5x rarely improve visuals but tank FPS
Grass LOD — Most performance-heavy; increase carefully with grassLodDistScale
Shadow distance — Keep under 200 unless using high-end GPU