Any advice on building your own cockpit?

[Josh Barton]

I really want to build a full racing cockpit, as my current setup (wheel attached to desk with office chair) just doesnt really cut it in terms of immersion. However, some of the pre built cockpits you can buy are frankly too expensive, especially to an Australian like me (most of these units need to be shipped out, at great expense). I had a look through the "show us your cockpit) and there are definetley some great ideas out there, but to be fair going through 147 pages of those cockpits seems excessive, and doesnt actually solve my problem: how should i build my dream cockpit?

Essientally, i want a car seat (probably can get a decent bucket seat thats comfortable and in decent condition from the auto wreckers for not much cost, with seat rails) which i can then mount onto a platform with the rails, so i have full seat adjustability. i then need to find some way of having a frame to hold my pedals on (im on a g27) with some sort of adjustability in regards to distance from the seat. this means i'll have to use metal, but im not good with working with metal so that may be an issue....then i need a frame to hold my wheel and monitor, a separate side frame for my gearstick, and maybe one for keyboard/cup holder. complex.....does anyone know of any completed designs that actually have plans that accompany them? my google searches have failed to find any actually "blueprints", and of course the actual design needs to have some sort of cost benifit over a playseat evolution in the end, so it cant be TOO complex. any ideas?

 

[Jim Cole]

Perhaps send PM's to those that have shown that they have built their own and see if they can draw something up for you? If you offer a little bit of cash to help persuade them you might be surprised at who will help out.

 

[Josh Barton]

haha im too much of a tightwad to pay cash ive been thinking about it, i reckon i can build it out of metal provided i can find metal bars with pre-drilled holes in them (like, every couple of inches or so) and using nuts, bolts and washers to hold it together nicely. the only bit i can work out in my mind is that im going to need a telescopic metal extender bit so i can adjust the length of the pedals away from the chair, one that locks into place at the desired distance. can i buy telescopic bits like that from a hardware store, or will i have to dismantle some other machine to get these kind of parts?

i know its more of a hardware question, but anyone got any ideas? thanks

 

[Jim Cole]

If you setup with the automobile seat with the sliding rails, why would you need to be able to adjust the pedal position as well?

 

[Josh Barton]

well moving the seat would allow me to adjust the distance the wheel is mounted from me, my reach if you will (assuming wheel position is static, as this would give me the greatest strength and least flex, and be generally easier to make). however, if i decide to go closer, with fixed pedal position the pedals would then be too close. so if i can make them move telescopically away from me i can find any seating position i like, without having to go through the difficulty of building a wheel holder that can change position.

 

[Will Currington]

But don't most cars have the pedal and wheel position as in distance as something that always stays the same. The only thing you can usually change is the distance the seat moves away from them both, oh and usually the rake on the wheel can be adjusted. But not the pedal distance.

 

[David Ross]

This might be something that interests you.

 

[Chris Butcher]

haha im too much of a tightwad to pay cash ive been thinking about it, i reckon i can build it out of metal provided i can find metal bars with pre-drilled holes in them (like, every couple of inches or so) and using nuts, bolts and washers to hold it together nicely. the only bit i can work out in my mind is that im going to need a telescopic metal extender bit so i can adjust the length of the pedals away from the chair, one that locks into place at the desired distance. can i buy telescopic bits like that from a hardware store, or will i have to dismantle some other machine to get these kind of parts?

i know its more of a hardware question, but anyone got any ideas? thanks

Meccano

 

[Josh Barton]

But don't most cars have the pedal and wheel position as in distance as something that always stays the same. The only thing you can usually change is the distance the seat moves away from them both, oh and usually the rake on the wheel can be adjusted. But not the pedal distance.

Yeah this may be ok in a car, but what if i dont get my dimensions right for my rig and end up being horribly uncomfortable/cramped? with pedal adjustment, it would also let other people use the rig and find their own desired driving position.

David, that rig is insane!! but the only thing with piping is that if you glue them for the nessesary stability, its hard to dismantle again, which will make this hard say if i have to move etc

Im getting ideas now though, which is good

 

[Dave Flower]

Josh - You say you are good at working with wood, but not metal. There is no reason at all why you can't use wood throughout for such a cockpit.

At its most basic you could have two (say) 6 foot long wooden 'rails' say 4' x 2' - you could screw the seat runners to one end (big screws or extra holes drilled in the seat runners).

Then on the other end mount another set of seat runners in the same way - however instead of having a seat attached this set of runners have just the seat base or just the frame onto which you could attach (again screws) some sort of adjustable pedal mount. Hope you can visualize what I'm getting at here? If you used a base for a seat from a car that had seat height and incline adjustment and mounted a board at roughly the correct angle (you could use wooden stoppers or even screw your pedals to this) then you may even be able to incorporate not just backwards forwards movement but a small amount of incline/height adjustment.

Then its just a case of securing your two 4' x 2' rails to a secure base/board on to which you could mount a wheel/gearstick mount. Ingenious use of yet more seat runners could even make these adjustable - key is making sure you get seat runners that are tight and not worn out so they don't allow play and movement.

Hope this helps - wish I had space to have a go at it myself.

 

[Josh Barton]

This is sounding promising i may have a look at this wooden idea, start drawing some stuff up....im also thinking about the pvc option, but its just a matter of thinking this stuff through in my head

I dont really have the space for all of this either, but sometimes exceptions must be made in the name of sim racing.... lol

 

[Jim Cole]

The wood with the seat runners sounds like the most doable allowing for adjustments easily and can be disassembled easily if needed. If you don't find the rails to your satisfaction, having different mounting plates for the pedals for different locations or angles would work as well, you would just have pieces laying about that you aren't using.

 

[Nigel Atkins]

I dont really have the space for all of this either, but sometimes exceptions must be made in the name of sim racing.... lol

lack of space?..... where theres a will theres a way http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=914885

 

[Shannon Blond]

Mate, I built an adaptation of this guys rig here http://www.thewayiplay.com/mainforum/index.php?topic=443.0
he's put up the plans for free use and I'm super happy with my build.

Check mine out on page 135 post #1345 of the cockpit build thread for a bit of a look see.
Didn't cost a lot... materials, fittings and paint for under $300.00 and a weekend to knock it up..