$3000 budget - Looking for Recommendations - Realistic 991.2 GT3 Sim Setup

carbon-GT3 · Feb 7, 2020

First, I did read through the full buyers guide, which was thorough but honestly left me with more questions than answers. I hope this request for a full setup recommendation is appropriate here and I thank anyone for their responses.

Budget: $3000 or so, flexible if something is really worth it.

Purposes: I have a 991.2 GT3 manual which I am tracking and want to polish my skills, to the extent possible, in a sim setup. I have no intention of racing against others online, this is entirely to increase my real-life track proficiency.

What I'm looking for: A comprehensive list of 'best options for my stated goals' in the $3k-ish price range. Goals for me are maximum realism, with a major emphasis on pedal and steering wheel feel. Can you tell me exactly what items to get, and confirm full compatibility - what rig base, wheel mount, wheel, pedal setup, shifter setup, seat, etc?

Importantly, I will be using either a 3x 4K monitor setup and/or my oculus. I already have monitors, oculus and a powerful PC (9900K and 2080 Ti, etc) and have currently settled on Assetto as the game.

Can you help a brother out? Any questions that I missed that might be helpful in making a solid recommendation? Basically, in one sentence -- I'm looking for a full hardware recommendation on parts that provide the most realistic and instructive sim experience to make me a better track driver with my 2018 GT3.

Thanks in advance!! Really excited to get into this!

PS I am located in the USA so please recommend US-based sellers.

Thanks!!

BluePotato00 · Feb 7, 2020

Rig: 4-Play rig (he's a US-based eBay vendor of preconfigured 8020-based rigs and they are often much easier and cost effective than planning/building one yourself). You can set up the seating, pedals, and wheel base to whatever dimensions match your car (e.g. distance from pedals to seat back, etc.).
Seat: This is up to you. I don't know what seats are in your car, but these 8020 rigs can accommodate any seat with a flat bottom. A slider set is very nice to have to adjust the seat unless you are certain that nobody besides yourself would ever be in your rig.
H-pattern shifter: At a $3K total budget, a Fanatec CS 1.5 shifter is going to be your best option. The next higher option would be the Frex shifter at ~$650 shipped from Japan.
Pedals: Heusinkveld Sprint 3-pedal set
Wheelbase + rim:
- It will be difficult to do a direct drive wheelbase + rim with the above items and stay under your $3,000 budget. For direct drive, I'd consider a DD1 + the Fanatec Porsche rim or the Accuforce setup. I don't know as much about Simucube, but I think those are a little pricier (somebody can correct me if I'm wrong).
- Otherwise, a Fanatec CS 2.5 wheelbase is often considered the best of the belt-driven wheelbases if you are willing to sacrifice torque, speed, and detail in your rim.

carbon-GT3 · Feb 7, 2020

BluePotato00 said:
Rig: 4-Play rig (he's a US-based eBay vendor of preconfigured 8020-based rigs and they are often much easier and cost effective than planning/building one yourself). You can set up the seating, pedals, and wheel base to whatever dimensions match your car (e.g. distance from pedals to seat back, etc.).

Seat: This is up to you. I don't know what seats are in your car, but these 8020 rigs can accommodate any seat with a flat bottom. A slider set is very nice to have to adjust the seat unless you are certain that nobody besides yourself would ever be in your rig.

H-pattern shifter: At a $3K total budget, a Fanatec CS 1.5 shifter is going to be your best option. The next higher option would be the Frex shifter at ~$650 shipped from Japan.

Pedals: Heusinkveld Sprint 3-pedal set

Wheelbase + rim:

It will be difficult to do a direct drive wheelbase + rim with the above items and stay under your $3,000 budget. For direct drive, I'd consider a DD1 + the Fanatec Porsche rim or the Accuforce setup. I don't know as much about Simucube, but I think those are a little pricier (somebody can correct me if I'm wrong).

Otherwise, a Fanatec CS 2.5 wheelbase is often considered the best of the belt-driven wheelbases if you are willing to sacrifice torque, speed, and detail in your rim.

I'm definitely willing to break that $3k budget, particularly if it's a buy-once cry-once situation.
What kind of setup do you think I'd be happy with, in terms of true training capability for real-world track driving with my GT3?
My GT3 has sport cup 2 tires, carbon ceramic brakes, and the factory porsche carbon bucket seats.

BluePotato00 · Feb 7, 2020

Yes, buy once, cry once! Sim racing equipment has a longer life span than, say, computer hardware. There's also a great secondhand market here, eBay, and on the iRacing hardware forum. I'm able to get 75% - 90% of what I paid for equipment when I choose to upgrade.

For reference, here is my rig. I do 90% of my sim racing on a Valve Index, so no triple monitors for me. But I have other absurdities such as a 4-actuator motion system, a fan that blows depending on the car speed, and an active seatbelt harness tensioner.

I'm happy to help with hardware recommendations. I've been through a lot of equipment myself in the process of settling on what I have now. I also helped a friend build a triple monitor rig albeit at a slightly lower budget than yours.

But when it comes to what sim racing equipment is going to most accurately replicate the feel of your 991.2 GT3, I don't think there are many people on this forum (myself included) who have driven those and can attest to the similarity of feel that you'd get from the sim racing equipment options we have available to us.

BluePotato00 · Feb 7, 2020

And there are little things you can do for realism, like position your pedals the same distance apart as in your car, install a replica shift knob, or even purchase the identical rim from your car as long as it has a common bolt pattern.

carbon-GT3 · Feb 7, 2020

brake and clutch pedals are inverted, gas is hinged.

Gas pedal is quite heavy, clutch is light with actuation within the first 1 inch of travel.

Brake pedal is extremely firm for a street car, has maybe .5 inch of dead space before it grabs very firmly with about 2.5 inches of travel with great modulation throughout.

I also have a WRX rally car with true racing brakes (no brake booster, stoptech bbk with ferodo racing pads, ABS delete, stainless lines etc etc). The GT3 with CCBs is somewhere in between a true racing brake setup and a normal sporty street car, if that helps guide the recommendations.

Steering is only moderately heavy, it has electric power steering, but it's very much on the heavier side of power steering. I feel I won't need the super high torque F1 style motor.
Steering is incredibly sharp and precise though.
So as far as steering recommendations go -- something with moderate torque capability, with exceptional resolution. Something where I can almost feel small pebbles through the wheel if that makes sense.

Attached is how the cockpit looks. Wheel is alcantara.
I'd rather spend the budget heavier on things like steering and brake feel vs identical seat, wheel, or shifter though, at least to start.

carbon-GT3 · Feb 7, 2020

RobertR1 · Feb 7, 2020

Rennlist?

Beef36 · Feb 8, 2020

carbon-GT3 · Feb 8, 2020

Beef36 said:
Today's consumer sim hardware has moved forward in leaps and bounds, but at the end of the day it is just consumer gaming hardware.

If you're willing to accept that, then there is lots of great sim racing hardware and gaming software. I personally run HE Ultimate pedals, SimuCube and a D-Box and it's awesome fun.

But if you're trying to accurately replicate a real-world GT3, then you'd be looking at something like below plus some very specialised, low latency hardware, and that is exponentially beyond the budget specified:

Panthera software - Cruden

OPEN ARCHITECTURE SIMULATOR SOFTWARE FOR USE WITH ANY SIMULATOR AND VEHICLE MODEL, ENABLING SENSOR SIMULATION, TRAFFIC SIMULATION, HIL TESTING AND MORE

www.cruden.com

If that price range is not realistic and you can lower your expectations, then this forum has lots of members that can provide great advice to you.

Absolutely understood.
I think we are both on the same page.

With all of that in mind, what setup would you recommend roughly in my budget range? I could go up to $5k if worth it.
Thanks for the advise!

djm68 · Feb 8, 2020

I am in a similar situation to yourself: I track a Porsche and wanted to have something similar to my track car. A good sim setup will definitely improve your on track skills, even of the rig is not a perfect replica.

Cockpit:
I just start putting together my P1-X last night. The Sim-lab rigs are cheaper shipped from Europe to the US than the vendors on eBay and the like. The GT1-EVO will be under $500 shipped to the US, the P1-X is about $800, shipped.

GT1 EVO Sim Racing Cockpit

The GT1-Evo sim racing cockpit is designed to feature the best of all worlds. The sturdy profiles are both cost-effective and provide the frame with more than enough rigidity. Also, the aluminium slot profiles are modular and highly flexible in design. The sim racing cockpit is compatible with...

sim-lab.eu

P1-X Sim Racing Cockpit

Moving forward from our successful predecessor we are happy to announce the P1-X sim racing chassis. It is largely based on all what made the P1 one of the best sim racing chassis available.

sim-lab.eu

Heusinkveld Sprint Pedals $700 shipped

Sprint Anthracite • Heusinkveld advanced simracing products

Heusinkveld Sim Pedals Sprint are a perfect choice for both casual simracers as well as professional eSports drivers. A strong, compact and highly adjustable design with custom electronics and powerful SmartControl software.

heusinkveld.com

Seat: Corbeau FX1-Pro in the 'suede' version -- it is a bit like Alcantara. The seat is close enough to your Pcar's carbon fiber seat -- I have the GT2 carbon buckets from the 9x7.2 series -- and Corbeau is close enough.
https://corbeau.com/fx1-pro.html $400, shipped.

Wheel base:
For your purposes, I think you should go for a direct drive wheel -- they convey so much more information about what the car is doing, it allows you to catch slides that you'd other wise miss. Given that you are willing to stretch your budget, I'd go for one of the options from either of this two:

Simucube 2 Archives - SimRacingBay

www.simracingbay.com

SimSteering Force Feedback : Leo Bodnar Electronics

Leo Bodnar Electronics : SimSteering Force Feedback - Loadcell Amplifiers Cables Universal USB Interfaces Racing Simulator Products Buttons, Encoders, Switches SimSteering Force Feedback Enclosures Potentiometers, Sensors Precision Frequency Reference (GPSDO) NTP server GPS Antennas Fast pulse...

www.leobodnar.com

You are looking at roughly $1500 to $3500 on the high end.

Fanatec shifter $250

ClubSport Shifter SQ V 1.5

The ClubSport Shifter is entirely made of metal, which equates to mean: built-in quality, durability and reliability.

fanatec.com

OMP is the OEM for Porsche Cup car wheels, so I went with an OMP 320S, $350 shipped.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/omp-od-2042-n/ GIven that you are replicating a car with a manual, you do not need a button box + paddle shifters, so use whatever wheel rim suits you.

Seat brackets + an NRG steering wheel quick release $200.

This would be an excellent setup for your purposes and can be configured to come in under $5000k and yes, it will be worth it.

FWIW, I went with the P1-X and the Leo Bodnar 53 wheel base, HE Sprint pedals.

Cheers,
DJM

Deleted member 197115 · Feb 8, 2020

The bare starting minimum without fancy extras
- Sim lab P1X rig (~$1500-1700 with accessories)
- Racing seat ($350-1000)
- Simucube 2 Pro ($1500)
- HE Spring or Ultimate ($700 - $1100)
- Wheel rim, like Sparco P310 ($250)
- Wheel plate e.g Martin Ascher B16L-SC ($600-700)
- Shifter Fanatec SQ1.5 + USB adapter (~$300 shipped)

Optional:
- HE Handbrake
- Transducers with amps
- Etc.

djm68 · Feb 8, 2020

Andrew_WOT said:
The bare starting minimum without fancy extras
- Sim lab P1X rig (~$1500-1700 with accessories)
- Racing seat ($350-1000)
- Simucube 2 Pro ($1500)
- HE Spring or Ultimate ($700 - $1100)
- Wheel rim, like Sparco P310 ($250)
- Wheel plate e.g Martin Ascher B16L-SC ($600-700)
- Shifter Fanatec SQ1.5 + USB adapter (~$300 shipped)

Optional:
- HE Handbrake
- Transducers with amps
- Etc.

Given you are emulating a street car with a manual gear box, no need to spend the $600 - $700 on the Ascher racing wheel plate + paddle shifters.

My P1-X was $955, shipped to the US with keyboard tray, front mount for DD wheel, adjustable feet, and hardware kit for HE sprint pedals.

My Sim-lab triple heavy duty triple monitor mount was under $400, shipped. https://sim-lab.eu/product/triple-monitor-mount/ -- this is what would is needed if you are going to support 3x 4K monitors.

Cheers,
DJM

Deleted member 197115 · Feb 8, 2020

djm68 said:
Given you are emulating a street car with a manual gear box, no need to spend the $600 - $700 on the Ascher racing wheel plate + paddle shifters.

My P1-X was $955, shipped to the US with keyboard tray, front mount for DD wheel, adjustable feet, and hardware kit for HE sprint pedals.

My Sim-lab triple heavy duty triple monitor mount was under $400, shipped. https://sim-lab.eu/product/triple-monitor-mount/ -- this is what would is needed if you are going to support 3x 4K monitors.

Cheers,
DJM

My bill came at $1,486.26 USD shipped with Black Friday holiday discount. Guess it all depends on accessories and extra parts you get. I believe integrated monitor mount was the most expensive but it all adds up.
And it was black profile, a bit more expensive.

carbon-GT3 · Feb 8, 2020

djm68 said:
DJM

Amazing info thanks guys!! I'm ready to pull the trigger on parts here, now my questions come down to, what exact accessories and extras do I need to round up to make sure this is all good to go from day one.

Simucube 2 Pro

P1-X with adjustable feet, question is -- what wheelmount option do I select? Wheeldeck Wheel mount and then direct drive wheel mounting bracket for SC2??

What other options should I grab from sim-lab at the time of purchase? Anything else I need from them?
See attached pic for my current cart and lmk if I need to add anything else.
For now, I'll skip the triple monitor setup and just run my Oculus for a while to keep the costs down.

Clubsport Shifter V1.5, with USB adapter.

HSP Sprint 3 pedal setup

Corbeau FX1-Pro --- What brackets/slider do I need to make this work?

OMP 320S wheel as recommended.
Is this the correct NRG quick release? https://www.amazon.com/NRG-Innovations-SRK-200BK-Quick-Release/dp/B000UWWX7G

Can you guys run through that list and lmk if I'm missing anything and advise further?

GREATLY appreciate the help!!! The sim racing community is a totally different breed from other gaming cultures, clearly.

Deleted member 197115 · Feb 8, 2020

SC2 comes with own quick release, you can replace with 3rd party, if you wish, but it's pretty good already.
Side mounts and seat slider from simab should work with your seat.

Deleted member 197115 · Feb 8, 2020

-Drop wheel mounting bracket, you don't need it.
-Replace wheel deck with front mount.
-For pedal deck you need to get seat slider or you can skip adjustable pedal deck and just get heel support, pedals can bolt directly to P1X standard pedal support, heel support does not work with sliding deck)
-Keyboard tray
-Mouse pad
-Cable management clips are quite handy
-Think what you do with monitors, integrated mount or separate stand
- Headphone holder is nice, works for phones, HMDs and wheels, get two.
- Side mounts and slider for your seat

carbon-GT3 · Feb 8, 2020

Andrew_WOT said:
-Drop wheel mounting bracket, you don't need it.
-Replace wheel deck with front mount.
-For pedal deck you need to get seat slider or you can skip adjustable pedal deck and just get heel support, pedals can bolt directly to P1X standard pedal support, heel support does not work with sliding deck)
-Keyboard tray
-Mouse pad
-Cable management clips are quite handy
-Think what you do with monitors, integrated mount or separate stand
- Headphone holder is nice, works for phones, HMDs and wheels, get two.
- Side mounts and slider for your seat

Many thanks!!! Will post pics once it's all set up.