I think that if someone buy's high end hardware, with in mind, he will be faster as soon as he will plug it and will beat the aliens, he's mistaken and expose himself to big disapointment. Everytime i changed my hardware, it took me a while to readapt my reflex : a one step behind in my progression.
It's a fact that performance is not laying in the hardware itself, but in gift and work : just take a look on RSR Live Timing best laps where you can have the description of the hardware aliens use and you will see. So not having top notch hardware ain't no valuable excuse not to practise.
That said, it doesn' t mean that hardware is to be neglected ; the first and and most important thing is that it must be reliable ; the second, is, that depending on the stage of your progression, you might need a hardware change.
If i was given the opportunity to jump back in time and start it all over again, this is how i would proceed :
- beginning with something like g27/g29 wheel pedal shifter combo is ok and can now be found at reasonable rates (at the moment where i'm writing, i just googled and saw a second hand at 150 € in the first results)
- instead, i would focus on a good screen, minimum size 27" for a single screen setup, because you won't go very far if you don't set a correct FOV. Even better if you can afford to setup a triple screen or VR from the start. I personaly commit the mistake to ignore this point and use a 24" far from my eyes with a too wide FOV, and had to relearn almost everything when i realized my mistake
Beginning with this, you have what you need to focus properly on the right racing line while beeing able to stay aware of what is going on on the track (btw, please don't forget to switch virtual mirror on)
- when you'll reach the stage where you want to improve your braking technique, you might feel the need to upgrade your pedals, especially if like me, you're driving real car in real world , as Ghoul already pointed that out in that thread : some say there are ok with pots, lucky they, and i would recommend you to stick to them if you're ok with it, because you wil save a big amount of money and time (as you will see if you're patient enough to read this post till the end).
I just can't get consistent with pots braking. If you can't afford high end pedals, load cell mods can be a good compromise for you ; to be true, i didn't find it full satisfying, because it tends to reduce pedal travel, and once again, interfered with my real world driving experience, where you use both travel and force. So i did the jump to load cell pedals (i used Fanatec CSP v1, had to go back to Thrustmaster T3PA, and did the jump to Fanatec CSL Elite LC a few month ago) That move implied further moves :
- As LC pedals implies using more force to achieve full braking, you'll need to set up an environment where
the pedal set won't move away from you everytime you have to brake hard
- i tried to use wheelstand with a classic chair, it just didn't do the job, so i lost a 100 € here, and what i recommend is just to forget about it
- having no more money to spend, i began to be a little more imaginative, and drew a few holes in the floor of my house to : secure my chair to the floor with the help of brackets (yeah, i defenetly ruined the chair's design) and secure the pedal set to the floor ; the wheel was secure to the desk (that was drilled to use the mounting holes, so i also ruined the desk design)
I used this configuration for a little more than a year before the chairback began to feel like having its own life away from the seat. That made me considered for a real automotive chair : unless you plan to use it on a motion system (where you will need to secure a harness), try to find a basic one that doesn't need the so expensive FIA homologation, and i spent a 100 € there.
With this new chair came the need of having a cockpit and beeiing short of money (as usual), i used my skills and the machine tools i already own to build one from unused wooden pieces and that's where i'm standing now.
As the moment, i'm thinking about further moves :
- i now realize that i would like to have the ability to fine tune my position in my cockpit (wheel height, seat inclination), wich is not possible unless i rebuild most of it : due to the amount of work needed, i think it's a better solution to start it all over again from scratch using 80/20 profiles to make it fit my needs perfectly ; as a first estimation, it will cost me about 300 euros and 4 full days of work to do that. I'm aware that 80/20 solutions already exist on the market, but it's at least 600 euros here (including screen standing), and still not allowing me to fine tune my position from my seat (as you would do it in a real car)
- a little flash back on the LC pedals : though i'm using Fanatec CSL Elite LC pedals, i really hesitate to recommend buying them. It 's true that the feeling out of the box is more than ok for me and that i didn't find anything that can compare at this range of price (about 250 €). However, after a short period of usage, some malfunctions appeared (like the gas pedal whobbling randomly when releasing it), and even if that can be worked around using manual configuration, i'm not sure it won't get worse in the future, hope it won't be too soon. As i can't afford the 1 000 € euros more high end pedals like Heusinkveld or others, i think there is still a niche in the market for affordable and reliable LC Pedals, Mr Thrustmaster if you read me
.
I don't feel like buying a DD wheel in a soon future. First have to focus on having a perfect driving position for me that will allow long race and training sessions without getting distracted from little aches here and there and improve my heel and toe technique, and that will take me a while cause i ain't no alien. But i don't doubt a time will come when i'll feel that i'll have to pay more attention to FFB to improve my driving, and maybe then i will consider doing the jump and probably have to sollicitate your generosity to do so
As a conclusion : don't be a fashion victim, focus on consistently improving your driving technique (go to the academy here, that is no doubt the best initiative i've ever seen since years, and it's a pitty i can't participate due to my weird job schedule), only upgrade when you feel it will help (i think a good sign is when you achieve a technique but find hard to do it consistently along a whole lap, even after hours of practising) and choose proven reliable hardware. As in all life activities, be attentive to your real needs, take time to think by yourself to find what best suits you (the market won't help you there), adn share with others.
Happy track everybody. Best Regards.
Freddo
