Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
You exported a .wav audio file.
You want to use the file as a custom radio station to replace an existing radio in GTA 3, but you noticed a big difference: the file size of the export is very large, despite the custom radio being the same length as the original GTA 3 radio. Why is that, and how can you cut the exported file's size to match the original radio's size?
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This tutorial shows you how to export WAV audio files to use in your GTA 3 PC game, replacing an existing radio station.
Most audio files in GTA 3, incuding the radio station files, come in a .wav file format. The .wav files are relatively small in size. We can create our own .wav audio file using apps like Audacity.
In some cases, when we export the .wav file, we notice that the file size is large. This is because .wav files are usually in lossless quality.
However, we can change the way we export the file, by changing the Encoding used for exporting.
The Encoding 'IMA ADPCM' compresses the .wav audio file, therefore cutting the file size in comparison to the default .wav export.
This video shows you how you can export the .wav file using the desired Encoding. We also show the difference of the file size for .wav files with different Encodings.
At the end, we demonstrate the custom .wav audio file that we exported, in-game.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:40 Tutorial start
03:50 Navigate to GTA 3 folder to copy wav file
05:30 Test file in game
06:33 Outro
You exported a .wav audio file.
You want to use the file as a custom radio station to replace an existing radio in GTA 3, but you noticed a big difference: the file size of the export is very large, despite the custom radio being the same length as the original GTA 3 radio. Why is that, and how can you cut the exported file's size to match the original radio's size?
==========
This tutorial shows you how to export WAV audio files to use in your GTA 3 PC game, replacing an existing radio station.
Most audio files in GTA 3, incuding the radio station files, come in a .wav file format. The .wav files are relatively small in size. We can create our own .wav audio file using apps like Audacity.
In some cases, when we export the .wav file, we notice that the file size is large. This is because .wav files are usually in lossless quality.
However, we can change the way we export the file, by changing the Encoding used for exporting.
The Encoding 'IMA ADPCM' compresses the .wav audio file, therefore cutting the file size in comparison to the default .wav export.
This video shows you how you can export the .wav file using the desired Encoding. We also show the difference of the file size for .wav files with different Encodings.
At the end, we demonstrate the custom .wav audio file that we exported, in-game.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:40 Tutorial start
03:50 Navigate to GTA 3 folder to copy wav file
05:30 Test file in game
06:33 Outro
