Flappy paddle positioning / mounting suggestions?

[R8pilot]

Dear Forum Members,

I just took delivery of a pair of AR's flappy paddles. They are very nice, but I bought them without much thought about how to position and mount them.

My setup is a 12" round rim mounted to a Simucube 2 base through Simucube's standard quick release hub. The AR paddles are clearly designed to be mounted to a wheel only, and the quick release pin has a knob on it that would get in the way of a base-mount anyway, so wheel-mounting is essentially required.

For positioning them, I'm thinking that the outer rim of the paddles should be equal to the inner rim of wheel, having about 1.5" space front-to-back between the paddles and rim (wondering about this in particular), and having the paddles simply at 3:00 and 9:00 positions.

Of course, wireless would be greatly preferred in use, but the Simucube 2's base has aux inputs for 2 switches (e.g. paddles), and these would be incredibly easy to use. So, for those using a cable to your wheel, how much of a pain is it? Enough to warrant engineering a whole bluetooth / battery, etc., system?

Anyway, I'm thinking to start with a 3D printed spacer on which to mount the paddles to the wheel, and maybe just doing a wired solution first to see how that goes.

Let me know if you have ideas or comments.

Thank you.

 

[Elaphe]

If you could provide some photos it would be easier to know your problem. A spacer for your steering wheel is usually a good idea that can help in some cases. As regard the position of the paddles, the best idea is to install them provisionally with double side tape, for instance, and see where they feel comfortable for you. The should be centered with your middle finger, not to distant (forcing your hand to reach the paddle) not to close to the rim (you fingers will touch the front of the paddle when you release your rim). The distance from the outer part of the rim is also important. In my case (which is the worst case scenario because I have a dished steering wheel) I also angled them, although most people use them flat. Well, all this also depends on the shape of the paddles themselves. I 3D printed my own paddles with a curved shape on the back. As regard the cable, no problems here at all. In my case it gently rolls around my wheel spacer and never gets in the way of my paddles and is never noticed at all. Again, you have to test how to install it so that it behaves as expected.

 

[stigs2cousin]

How to build a wireless system with simucube:

Simucube wireless wheel system - Granite Devices Knowledge Wiki

granitedevices.com

 

[R8pilot]

Oh, that module looks interesting - thanks!

And thanks for the comments about paddle positions, etc., too.

 

[R8pilot]

Any idea where I can get one of those modules? I checked just about every Simucube reseller without luck.

 

[stigs2cousin]

I got mine from Racewerk.com with my SC2 Base, but they have both versions listed as sold out.

I heard rumors about a new version with analog inputs for clutch paddles, let's hope there is a new batch soon.

If you don't mind a cable there are lots of DIYs out there with everything from Arduino to Leo Bodnar boards

MFG Carsten

 

[R8pilot]

Thanks for checking.

I've looked at a variety of modules, both wired and wireless. The Simucube one is attractive since it's configured for compatibility with their wheelbases. Here's the only other (generic) Bluetooth one I've found so far:

BlueHID Board

Another possibility is to cannibalize one of those cheap micro-sized game controllers.

But anyway, I intend to do a neat installation of the shift paddles only (for now). If cabled, they can just be plugged straight into the Simucube.

I do wonder how to manage a cable, e.g. to keep it from slapping around or becoming caught or over-wound, etc.

 

[stigs2cousin]

I found it difficult to obtain a good quality coiled cable, the only one I found was from Leo Bodnar and was a tad short.

The standart approach would be to wind it around the steering columm for at least two turns which should give enough slack for all possible steering moves. ( teh bodnar cable was to short for that)

Have a look at this hub adapters:

https://www.3drap.it/product/simple-hub-adapter-with-buttons-and-paddles/

but inspiration only.

I can not recommend the quality, especially of the shifters.

MFG Carsten

 

[R8pilot]

Here's what I came up with. I wanted everything to fit behind the wheel without anything protruding from the sides, etc., except for the paddles of course.

It's just a very simple 3D printed platform. It was supposed to be a test print, but it worked well enough to use. It was printed in PETG, which is strong but not the stiffest material, and it slightly dampens the paddle's response. If I reprint it, I might try PLA, and I might move the paddles up a little more.

A coiled audio cable and jack is used to pass the switch signals to my Simucube by the cube's auxiliary inputs. The coiled cable is not a problem at all in use, at least if your steering wheel is set up with a fast rack.

An odd thing is that the extra 1 cm of space consumed by the printed platform felt absurdly obvious, like now I really need to move the seat back a bit. Weird how strong that effect felt.

I also have a sequential shifter and wanted both to work in parallel. Annoyingly, it seems AMS2 (my current fave) does not allow a second set of control inputs, so I had to use a utility to merge the two. That's disappointing.

The lovely OMP 12" wheel is about two years old. It's held up very well, but it sure did get dirty over that time! I can't imagine how disgusting an Alcantara wheel would have been!

Anyway, it was a fun little project, and it works very nicely. I'm happy with the result!