If somebody is interested I can tell you that I found a method to disable checks on the handling.dat enabling me to change the handling style of cars, take a look at this by the mythic Killatomate.
I know this makes the pull pointless but trust me that the new mods will make it worth it, and if you have a different version you'll have to wait after release for me to add compatibility.
EDIT: I chose to go with the 4th option, GTA IV + DLCs, not only because it requires less space but because I just discovered a method to mod some files that are normally protected by hash checks.
