Sim Racing Gear: What do You Run and Why?

Paul Jeffrey

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Sim Racing Hardware.jpg

We ask you the community what sim racing gear you run with and why you have made your choices...


This is something a bit different and will (hopefully) be an interesting topic to discuss. Sim racing gear...

I believe we in the sim racing community are a bit of a unique gaming bunch, more often than not willing to spend considerable amounts of money on our hobby in a quest to find that perfect balance between comfort and realism. If you think of popular games like the FIFA football series or the many first person shooting games, we in sim racing usually have quite a bit more kit behind us when we take to the screens and engage in our hobby of choice.

Now pretty much every sim driver has a wheel and pedals, some picked up at bargain prices either new or used and some of us lucky enough to have a budget for something more high end like a direct drive wheel from one of the many manufacturers springing up in the marketplace.

But a wheel and pedals aren't the only thing a sim racer can use to help improve their driving experiences. We have things as minor as button boxes for additional things to press during a race event, all the way through to some truly impressive looking full motion rigs out on the market today (please, if you are rich and appreciate my articles do feel free to buy me a motion rig, I'd really really appreciate it ;) ).

So what do you use, and why do you think it improves your racing experience out on track?

Let's have a debate :D


For more news, discussion and support on the hardware side of sim racing, take a look over at our Sim Racing Hardware sub forum and get yourself involved in the conversation!

* Picture credit taken from Pintrest
 
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Gives the wife a place to sit and get some driving instruction. Lol
lol
Here's the video then of you and your wife driving and you get... "instruction" from her.
They funny with all that (GPS?don't you trust me?I'll tell you where to go!) talk but - Imagine my surprise when I saw at precisely 2:00, when car comes to end of the road, and there was this exact pipes !?! omg, laughing so hard. Trying to find some generic funny video about girl giving direction while guy driving and it turns out ...it was you !!! :O_o: :laugh:
:rolleyes:
 
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Hi M8, how do you find the APelectix load cell, is it worth the money and is there a big difference.:thumbsup:
I've had it for almost 7 years now and I'm really happy. Installation was easy enough and no problems so far. The load cell itself does the job, but I spent some time getting the right stiffness by replacing the rubber bump stops. Now it is a little softer the first millimeters and then at full force (around 100 kg) it has moved roughly 1-2 cm.
I had one problem in the beginning where I had to calibrate each time I restarted the computer, but that was solved with a separate usb cable for the pedals (bodnar etc).
Haven't tried any other pedals so cant really compare to Fanatec etc., but compared to real cars it feels more like an unassisted racing setup than a road car.
 
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Ok guys so You are running on fancy setups - direct wheels, seriously pedals setups, rigs with buttkickers etc. etc. ..
but nobody of You wrote the price of them just nobody

I assume is not a cheap thing
its also problematic to explain to your wife - hey i need another 2k euro for pedals cause the old one are not enough for me now ...

When i bought G27 my family said one word- idiot.
after 6 years I'm still running G27 - tried to buy a rig cause old table which is used to mount g27 its started to falling apart, however i couldn't find anything or more likely i couldn't decide to spend 400 euro just for rig which has one purpose...

so my idea of this sharing "your setups" add small thing as price of those things :)
 
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Ok guys so You are running on fancy setups - direct wheels, seriously pedals setups, rigs with buttkickers etc. etc. ..
but nobody of You wrote the price of them just nobody

I assume is not a cheap thing
its also problematic to explain to your wife - hey i need another 2k euro for pedals cause the old one are not enough for me now ...

When i bought G27 my family said one word- idiot.
after 6 years I'm still running G27 - tried to buy a rig cause old table which is used to mount g27 its started to falling apart, however i couldn't find anything or more likely i couldn't decide to spend 400 euro just for rig which has one purpose...

so my idea of this sharing "your setups" add small thing as price of those things :)

Some years back when i was out riding my bike i met an older guy (yeah, even older than me...) who was riding a completely restored late 70's early 80's Honda Gold Wing in mint condition. I admired his bike and chatted with him for a bit. At some point we came to the subject of how much money goes into all that and he said: Well, it ain't no proper hobby if it doesn't eat up all the money you can spare. I've followed that "golden rule" since then ;)
 
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@Grabarz

Perhaps the person, with the best rig is not who spends the most, it's the person who is content and enjoys, appreciates what they have.

Some enjoy the actual exploration determining what goes into the rig, building it and the research or community aspects that goes with it. Some have over time ended up with very nice builds and hardware, gradually working towards that step by step enjoying and seeing the progress. I assume for some its part challenge like many hobbies. The financial aspect will always differ with different people some will just have money to blow or push their credit limits further to their max to get what they want.

The person looking to ALWAYS upgrade to the newest or next best thing constantly seeking more isn't necessarily happy, or appreciates what they have. Part of the chase for them is always having something "cool" to show off or own. Their hobby is more about "buying stuff" than finding contentness in what their hobby revolves around.

If I may openly share with you all.
I've personally found myself in both ends of that spectrum, having spent (or call it lost) thousands on hardware I just had to have, or high-end PC, triple projectors, multiple wheels, multiple tactile, amps etc. Often, hoarded stuff I bought for this idea of a one-day brilliant cockpit I wanted to build.

Yet it never was to fully materialise as I found issues with things I bought, they wern't "perfect" didn't live up to the expectations I had, or I kept pushing my expectations and things to something greater/better. So often things I bought never fully met my satisfaction, they didn't get properly enjoyed. Sure enough, soon something better/newer was on the horizon or just around the corner to buy and the cycle would continue. I fell into this trap the problem wasn't what I was buying, the problem was myself not enjoying, being content or appreciating what I had at the time.

*Not arguing here but just an observation:

You will notice some people are treating this thread like another "show your rig" type thread.
Not stating "WHY" they have what they have or "SHARING THEIR STORY" making enjoyable reading based on their own personal journey, passion or interests for this hobby. I may be wrong but I think that's what was more intended with this thread and Pauls excellent own piece at the start.

It's not what you have that really counts, it's what it means to you and how much you enjoy it!!!
 
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Bob Earl Racing Seat
Fanatec CSR Wheel and Pedals
42" Plasma TV
Up-cycled office desk for PC/ beer holder and book shelf for TV and kids play floor tiles for $25. A WIP to be sure and at some point go with triple screen or VR.
IMG_3290_1.jpg
 
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I started my journey back on the Playstation and Xbox consoles. Playing Colin McRae, Gran Turismo and F1 games.
Then I started playing online with PGR and Forza on Xbox 360. All with pads
Gran Turismo on PS3 for some reason warranted a G25 so I got one of those with a Wheelstand Pro and next thing you knew I already had the bug. Albeit on a rather tiny budget.
I'd met a girl at work and she soon became my wife, but before then I'd started to realise that console racing was just the tip of the Iceberg as I found out that I could also use the G25 on PC and a modest box would run something called rFactor and GTR or Race 07
Suddenly the box I'd built with a 965 black edition cpu and Radeon card was not quite enough.
Xmas came and I'd already upgraded the wheel to a Porsche GT2 off eBay. Thing died on me and, whilst the user wouldn't refund me due to buying it second hand, he did give me the receipt as the wheel was still barely under warranty. Fanatec sent me the part to try and repair the wheel which I did using their instructions but alas the wheel was dead.
Fanatec then decided to send me a new wheel. So now I had a new GT2 and a duffer for spares so bought CSP Elite pedals.
After a fairly decent system upgrade with new CPU graphics card case and motherboard etc. I got a new card and things started to snowball.
Ordered a Fanatec CSW V1 which I still have along with the pedals. I also got a shifter set from Fanatec, and things felt good.
We updated the TV in our front room as I'd got a new job and the wife promised a new Smart TV so I inherited the old 40 inch Samsung.
We moved to Malaysia and have bought a new condo and car and had a baby girl so money is a lot tighter than it was when we were just husband and wife.

So all in all my journey over the years started with great promise. But has stalled now due to lack of funds but I am very happy with it all. I can race any sim normally maxed out and find each one immensely enjoyable as I came from such humble beginnings on a pad.
Also she still let's me upgrade the odd bit every now and then. A new GTX 1070 recently and I got another SSD to put more of the sims on so I can get to racing more quickly.

So current rig is fairly basic but I love it.

I7 3770k with 8GB Corsair Dominator and Palit Gamerock GTX 1070. Water cooled with Corsair H100i due to temps here in Malaysia
CSW V1 with F1 and BMW rims, CSP Elites and basic sequential shifter. Wheelstand Pro and a chair from my mother in law as she was throwing them out anyway.
Cheap Sony 5.1 Surround Sound system with speakers that are from a system that broke down over 15 years ago makes it that much more immersive with the old trusty 40 inch Samsung flat screen that I've had for years.
One day I'd like to have triples and a rig to put it all on with racing seat. But if that day never presents itself I can see myself using this for years to come without really needing to spend anymore on it.
Would do pictures but it's not much to look at really. Just fun to use.
 
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SIM racing on a budget so
T500rs triple 27inch or hdk2 and a custom made SIM rig
Hey Wotever, I am very impressed with your 3d printed rig!! - Thanks for posting the Arduino Dash -( ( http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/simhub-diy-sim-racing-dash.10252/ )which is the best; and a great example of giving back to the community with your skill and time. I couldn't have figured that out in a lifetime:D
Really impressed too with your 3d Thingy file for the dash holder, great work and just waiting on my Nextion to see how it works:) Thanks for sharing and it has inspired me to learn more about the Arduino and programming it. Even old people can have a great time playing with this stuff! Who would have ever thought that Sim racing would lead to all kinds of new knowledge and skills:geek:
 
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Hey Wotever, I am very impressed with your 3d printed rig!! - Thanks for posting the Arduino Dash -( ( http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/simhub-diy-sim-racing-dash.10252/ )which is the best; and a great example of giving back to the community with your skill and time. I couldn't have figured that out in a lifetime:D
Really impressed too with your 3d Thingy file for the dash holder, great work and just waiting on my Nextion to see how it works:) Thanks for sharing and it has inspired me to learn more about the Arduino and programming it. Even old people can have a great time playing with this stuff! Who would have ever thought that Sim racing would lead to all kinds of new knowledge and skills:geek:

Thanks :) Honestly I take more time developing and customizing than really using my sim rig, but I really like the "hardware" feel of these dashboards, and the rig was a kind of challenge, I wanted to prove that 3d printing could do better than printing a bunch of useless stuff, I still have to improve a bit the stiffness but the result is already above all my hopes.
 
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Ok guys so You are running on fancy setups - direct wheels, seriously pedals setups, rigs with buttkickers etc. etc. ..
but nobody of You wrote the price of them just nobody

Recently, ISRTV on their youtube live show, did a similar poll. Would be nice if @Paul Jeffrey could do a "how much $$$$$ have YOU spent on sim racing" poll. That would be very interesting to see. People could either post their sim gear with the price they paid for each. AND/OR simply answer a poll question of; $500 or less, $1000 or less, etc.......... A lot of us have no idea how much we've spent until its all added up!

If I'm not too tired after work this morning, I'll post my setup with some recent changes.
 
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Ok guys so You are running on fancy setups - direct wheels, seriously pedals setups, rigs with buttkickers etc. etc. ..
but nobody of You wrote the price of them just nobody

so my idea of this sharing "your setups" add small thing as price of those things :)
I made a spreadsheet up once, but it was too depressing (and I was scared my wife would find it and commit murder on me :roflmao:). Pricing just the Rig as I posted, not broken bits that needed replacing (broken pedal set, broken shifter) and including the monitors but not the keyboard, mouse, and PC.... about USD$5000. (All the iRacing content adds significantly to that total :poop:). My rig in the picture is now 4 years old and in that time I've only replaced the SQ Shifter, for ~$250. My latest PC is about 10 months old and another $3000.

I've got what I consider a "mid-range" rig. No Direct Drive while. No fancy $1000+ pedals. No motion.

Though when you consider it, hobbies in general, can cost a lot of money - golfing has clubs, balls, bags, shoes, other clothing, membership. Cycling has shoes, helmets, bikes (a few thousand $ there), etc.
 
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I've now 4 shakers for each tyre plus two under the seat running SimVibe with 6 channels, but i'm running Sinustec BS250 (200 Watt), which costing just 34 Euro each here in Germany and people knowing both say, they are as good as the Buttkickers. Probably just available in a few countries like my two amplifiers to power them (The t.amp & Fame Quad).

I had some problems with neighbors since and a handfull of vibration dampeners under the rig not only solved this problem. This cheap rubber-feets making the rig shaking and adding some kind of motion to it just for 30 Euros. I would even suggest to put them under rigs without SimVibe, because they are amplifying the FFB-effects an arm-movements as well through the rig. Running over curbs, especially this nasty ones in AMS is very intense now and don't miss motion at all:D

Other than that: 80/20 rig with Accuforce Pro, HE Pro pedals, HE sequential shifter, CSS shifter, Sparco Sprint seat, Samsung 55" 4k-display powered by a GTX1070 and Bayerdynamic DT990 for the sound.

Hi!
I'm planning on exchanging my current shakers for the Sinustec BS250 as well. Could you give some thoughts on how do they perform? I currently have 2xSinuslive Bass Pump III (those are the ones I want to change) and one Reckhorn BS-200. I wonder how would the Sinustec compare to these and if it would be a worthy upgrade?
Thanks in advance for any information and thoughts on it you could share
 
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OpenSimwheel (Large Mige)
Fanatec CSP V3s (terrible brake no matter what I do)
Fanatec Shifter v1.5
I have the same pedals and pretty much play Assetto Corsa. When I first started using the pedals the break did not feel consistent. It felt like I had to push it pretty hard to get it to do anything and once it did something it was usually to much brake and skidding. Very unstable feeling when it came time to stop.

I found out that in Assetto Corsa there is an option called Brake Gamma and it default value is 2. With a loadcell brake that option needs to be set to 1 so the loadcell can take on load. Once I changed that the break pedal became amazing.

Have you checked that option?
 
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