BUILD LOG: Racing + Flying VR Rig

[Callsign BH]

Hello all! New sim racer here and looking to start a bit of a build log for a couple reasons:

1. It seems like you guys like this stuff like I do
2. Because I know I am going to need some guidance and input along the way

Before I get into the present and future of my build, first I'd like to briefly share a bit of background. I'm 100% new to sim racing (currently focusing on ACC only, as I love GT3 cars), but I'm not new to simming in general...

BACKGROUND

Around mid 2014 I heard about Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) and given I spent my entire adolescence wanting to be a fighter pilot (before the Navy told me the dream was dead due to me being red/green colorblind) it seemed like something that might be relevant to my interests. Boy was I right! As I assume most of you have experienced, I quickly fell down that peripheral rabbit hole. Said "rabbit hole" become more of a "black hole" that I was falling down at hyperspeed, and the rest is history. From one HOTAS to the next, I ended up becoming very enthralled with the high-end boutique peripherals. Over the ~6 years since I started on DCS, I've gone through waves of being on and off with playing - "off" times being mostly due to my career taking too much of my time and/or other personal life obligations - and I've ebbed and flowed with my level of seriousness with playing. I've joined virtual squadrons and fought in the SATAL league there, I've read military flight manuals front to back to learn more about operating the jets, etc. To this day I still retain a love and enjoyment for DCS, although I haven't played much the past year or so.

Around June of 2020, after years of thinking "I should get into sim racing" (and being told as much by some of my flight sim buddies), I started to get serious about it. Again, I fell down that rabbit hole and became determined to get a racing rig put together. The twist this time was that my wife and I were expecting our first child in July, and we had just bought a new home that was undergoing a lot of renovations...plus there was a small global pandemic going on. Not exactly optimal timing, but life rarely lines up perfectly, so I said "Screw it" and proceeded ahead anyway. With the learnings from my flight sim hardware shenanigans, I subscribed to the "Buy Once, Cry Once" philosophy from day 1 here with the racing build.

I had never sim raced before, but I own an AMG and have always loved fast cars. In 2018, I did an AMG Academy Track Day @ Leguna Seca which was incredible and gave me confidence that I would love sim racing the same as I do flight simming. That day I was told by "Nipper" (my instructor for the day) that I "was a natural", but still I never took the leap to get a racing rig put together. Now that has changed...

PRESENT DAY BUILD

At the end of July, after the baby had arrived, I started ordering the racing rig hardware and checking hourly for the out of stock items to come back into stock. Below is what I settled on for the build and I ordered as soon as the items came back into stock:

• Rig: SimLab P1-X (Black)
  • Add-ons: SimFeet + Seat Rails + Seat Slider + Keyboard Tray + Mouse Tray + Cup Holders
• Pedals: Wave Italy WAVE FORCE MONZA - SIM PEDALS PRO
  • I ordered the 2 pedal set with no clutch, as I have 0 intentions of ever racing a car that doesn't use clutch paddles
• Direct Drive Base: SIMUCUBE 2 Pro
• Rim: Ascher Racing F-28 Wireless
  • I wanted the F-64 but ran out of patience in waiting for Martin to get this back into stock
  • I might add a new rim in soon, but TBD (would be a F-64 or a Gomez rim)
• Seat: Sparco Evo II QRT

The Ascher rim took the longest to come back into stock, which was painful, but by the end or end of October I finally had everything I needed. Those few months of waiting were rough. Unfortunately, the waiting didn't stop there as our new home had some undisclosed water damage/issues in the basement, which required a very costly waterproofing system to be installed. This also meant that the finishes of the basement needed to be totally ripped out as they dug the perimeter of the cement up to install all of that. While this was quite costly, it did mean that I had a clean slate to work with for remodeling my man cave...so that is exactly what I did.

The contractors were here for a month or so getting all of that done, and at this point everything is mostly finished besides some things I am going to DIY myself, and then having the painters come (which we cancelled in early December due to COVID spiking again, and we will likely have them come in the Spring once things hopefully have settled down).

Here are some photos of the build....

PROGRESS SHOTS:

FINAL PRODUCT:

I have since cleaned up all the wires with some TLC on cable management. I will get more photos of that up soon.

NEXT STEPS:

1. Add a pedal slider to the racing pedals
2. Add tactile feedback to the rig
3. Add my flight sim peripherals to the rig
4. Build button boxes for both racing and flight
5. Add motion

With the guidance of @Mr Latte , I've gotten a small start on adding tactile feedback to the rig. Yesterday I ordered a Behringer NX3000D + 2x ButtKicker Concerts. Configuration of the two BK-CT's is TBD, but I am likely going to add one to the seat and one to the pedals. Unfortunately, the amp is on backorder under the end of January (yay, more waiting!) but once that is here it will mark the next big progress I am able to make on the rig. Once I get this all set up, I will work on adding anywhere from 4-8 exciters onto the seat. On my old flight setup, I used a JetSeat SE from Andre, which was very nice, but I know it will pale in comparison to what I am working on for this build.

Regarding adding my flight sim equipment to the P1-X, I still have some more thinking/planning to do on this one. Since we all love photos, here are some shots of my current gear...

FLIGHT GEAR:

• Rig: WheelStandPro for TM Warthog
  • Add-ons: Left Side RSG module
• Pedals: Slaw RX Vipers
  • Add-ons: Motorcycle damper
• Throttle: Custom made Throttletek F/A-18C throttle
  • Add-ons: Made with Halls sensor instead of a standard pot, and I procured ~$500+ worth of custom switches for them to use in the build, these are the OTTO mil-spec switches that are used in the real jet
• Stick Base: Virpil VPC T-50 base
  • Add-ons: Sahaj 15cm Black extension
• Grip: Thrustmaster F/A-18C Replica
  • I also have my old A-10C/F-16 Warthog grip from when I had a TM Warthog HOTAS

I've got some plans to change some of this stuff up a bit as well, but one step at a time...

Regarding the button boxes, I have about $1500 worth of mil-spec switches, rotaries, and other misc stuff that I purchased when I was planning to build a 1:1 replica cockpit of a F/A-18C Hornet. These are mostly Honeywell and EATON/Cutler Hammer, and are incredibly high quality with a great tactile feel. I've also got a landing gear handle from a GR-4 Tornado fighter jet that I will need to build into one of the botton boxes as well, as well as a landing HOOK handle. My point here is that I've got a lot of the materials already on hand that I can use for a racing box, I'll just need to add a few things here or there maybe.

While I've never soldered a thing in my life, and am largely not "handy" whatsoever, I did acquire all the necessary soldering equipment before...despite never finding the time to use any of it Hopefully that changes in 2021, but I'm not so sure given it seems that newborns take quite a bit of your free time, and I've got a lot already on my plate. Someday, though.

That is all for now....the baby needs fed again...but I hope you've enjoyed reading. I'll get the specs of my rig and VR put up sometime soon. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and feedback!

Happy New Year to all!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit to add PC specs:

GAMING RIG:

• GPU: Nvidia RTX 3090 Founders Edition
• CPU: Intel i7-9700K
  • Still searching daily for a AMD 5900X to come into stock and allow me 2 seconds to be able to add it to my cart before the scalpers, and which point I will just go ahead and update the mobo, RAM, AIO, etc.
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master
• AIO Cooler: Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
• RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 3200
• Monitor: Dell U3415W Curved 3440x1440
• VR HMD: Reverb G2

 

[Callsign BH]

@Mr Latte appreciate all of the info, and as I said, I still intend to add some exciters to the seat. At least 4.

For the purposes of revising my log now that some time had passed since I first started it, I wanted to update my rig's roadmap a bit.

ROADMAP/NEXT STEPS:

1. Install tactile components to the rig using RaceBass Isolations and Installation/Mounting plates
   • Phase 1: Seat install = 1x BK-CT + 1x BK-LFE + 1x TST-429
   • Phase 2: Pedals install = 1x BK CT (or) LFE + 1x TST-429
   • Phase 3: 4x (or more) DA 40W Exciters
     • NOTE: Exciters will wait for now, given finite funds on my end with some major (i.e. very costly) home renovations continuing to go on
2. Add a wheel extension to lock in the geography of my rigs seating positions; currently eyeing this one: https://www.simracingbay.com/product/extension-for-simucube-2
   
3. Add my flight sim peripherals to the rig
   • This will require some additional 8020 profile and some planning on my part, but I want to get the tactile fully installed with the RB isolators and mounting plate(s) first, so that I can plan accordingly to make my pedals fit, etc.
4. Build button boxes for both racing and flight
5. Add a belt tensioner

This biggest revision to the above plan is that I plan to add a belt tension before adding motion. I had not prioritized a belt tensioner previously, but now desire to add this ahead of adding motion. It is now TBD if I will add motion at all.

#1 and #2 are my biggest priorities in the short term, the rest I am not in that much of a hurry on. DCS seems to be in a rough spot at the moment, so not in the biggest hurry to rush back into that development disaster I do have some plans for swapping/upgrading flight peripherals, but I will reserve those for now.

 

[metalnwood]

I have the simracingbay extension. It is really good and looks good on the wheel so I think you will be happy with that.

Its a shame about the motion if it was something you ere hoping for, you have gone really deep in to the tactile and its costs, honestly I think a trade off would have worked in your favour. The tactile is nice but its hard to underestimate what motion can bring to the table.. An LFE is a 4lb mass moving trying to vibrate your entire rig. Imagine what it feels like when its a 400lb thing moving quickly and the energy that delivers.

As a flight simmer, well I will just not mention the very cool moments I have had in flight sims landing, taking off etc when you have a full moving rig. Its probably something you dont want to hear now

 

[Callsign BH]

I have the simracingbay extension. It is really good and looks good on the wheel so I think you will be happy with that.

Its a shame about the motion if it was something you ere hoping for, you have gone really deep in to the tactile and its costs, honestly I think a trade off would have worked in your favour. The tactile is nice but its hard to underestimate what motion can bring to the table.. An LFE is a 4lb mass moving trying to vibrate your entire rig. Imagine what it feels like when its a 400lb thing moving quickly and the energy that delivers.

As a flight simmer, well I will just not mention the very cool moments I have had in flight sims landing, taking off etc when you have a full moving rig. Its probably something you dont want to hear now

Totally understand what you're saying....my "Roadmap" above is almost like my talk track to my wife. "Just let me do X, Y and Z, and then I will be done". We all know we are never done.

Then after completing X, Y and Z in a couple months/years, it becomes "Oh wait, I also want to add this too". The last "this" will then be motion. I say it is TBD now....but check back in a couple years haha

 

[Deleted member 1451080]

Deleted

 

[Callsign BH]

Just found your thread!

Interesting to see your route and the development over time of your rig!
That seems to be a never ending story indeed

Happy you found it. Hopefully it starts to get a little more interesting again soon It's been pretty boring since I first kicked it off....stupid life responsibilities getting in the way of the fun stuff

 

[Deleted member 1451080]

Deleted

 

[Callsign BH]

Lots of weekend plans lined up with the family this weekend, but, I am planning to try to get some small misc work done on the rig....

Ordered this grip tape, should be here tomorrow, and I am going to put it on my pedal tray to help keep my feet (heels) from slipping:

Also going to try to do some cable mod work on the SpeakON cables this weekend, that way I am set up well to run some tests while I have a few days off during Thanksgiving (mostly just to make sure everything works properly and file warranty claims, if needed, before I am out of warranty/return periods).

This morning during a call, I tweaked my brake pedal setup to the "#5 Hard" setup below. Looking forward to finding some time to give this a go and try to get acclimated:

Lastly, my first pair of racing gloves should be here on Tuesday....just in time for my Thanksgiving PTO.

 

[Callsign BH]

Grip tape is in place, will test later this evening.

Cable work will be tomorrow, drank far too much bourbon and beer during football games and then helping the wife put up the Christmas tree.

 

[Tom_Hampton]

Ordered this grip tape, should be here tomorrow, and I am going to put it on my pedal tray to help keep my feet (heels) from slipping:

Should work fine. What we tend to use in racecars is, skateboard tape:

Amazon.com

 

[metalnwood]

Keep the vacuum near, you you are going to get lots of shoe sole dust

Gloves look comfy, I like the feeling of wearing my sparcos

 

[Callsign BH]

Should work fine. What we tend to use in racecars is, skateboard tape:

Amazon.com

Roger that, thanks. Great to understand what the real cars use.

Skateboard tape is around 60-80 grit and this is 80, so should do the trick…and I wanted to minimize coverage area as much as I could (4” wide).

@metalnwood haha yup, tried it for a short while earlier and already had my shoe heels black and a lot of white spots worn in on the tape.

 

[Neilski]

tried it for a short while earlier and already had my shoe heels black and a lot of white spots worn in on the tape

Hehe! Maybe put some grip tape on your shoe heels as well, so you don't wear through them and need medical attention

 

[Callsign BH]

Took the grip tape back off already. Lasted about an hour with it on then decided it was better to just take it off and not burn through the heels of my driving shoes (on a sim, no less) over and over.

Cool experiment, but not worth it. If anything I might try to cut out pieces to put on the pedal plates themselves instead.

 

[Callsign BH]

Picked up a second Soundblaster X3 today. Trying to find a second NX3000D in stock somewhere, but that is looking to be impossible at the moment.

 

[Callsign BH]

Ordered a second NX3000D today. Curious to see if the order actually gets filled (given they are out of stock everywhere in the US, it seems), but fingers crossed.

I also ordered an amp rack, finally. I gave up and just shelled out the $ for this one....I got tired of searching for something else at a more attractive price.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QDRTOG/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MDF4A0FY9SR6T1KW02KJ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Mr Latte]

I would advise you to get either of the recommended 40w exciters placing 4 on the seat
(2 shoulders 2 mid/sides).

Six units on the seat can bring some benefits with additional effects control/immersion and is what my own seat will use on the back.

You just need to find, even a temporary way to install the BK/TST which you will get help with if you need it. With this, then should start enjoying that hardware you have....
This will let you experience either the RaceBass approach or the approaches of some others and determine for yourself what brings the best immersion.

Of course, having the hardware installed that properly represents how the effects should be experienced on a fully capable 1-200Hz multi-channel configuration is needed. It appears others who duplicate many of the approaches/things shared, are still not building effects to fully utilize the hardware combo in the best way....

As, the developer of those effects, most will not know by feel alone, what the combined frequency output is at any given time for any of the hardware used. Going by what I see, many more recent beta effects I shared 6-7 months ago with my own 1-1 testers, have not leaked, as already the copycat variants would be out there...

I am now moving beyond those effects, onto a newer stage again of effects development, as my own hardware rack is almost finished. This next stage is all about better using the hardware, with specific layers and a more musical approach to effects operations.

Doing things at a higher level, bringing extensive visual analysis of the generated audio with the best possible applications. Thus for increased understanding/learning and achievable performance benefits.

One of the bigger challenges for the next revolution/pioneering work to happen in tactile immersion is when we can bring more authenticity to the felt sensations of different cars.

Already, we can come up with pretty immersive and entertaining effects without much difficulty, that will feel great on a RaceBass installation..

However as an example,
We find, Pro racers do not want sim fantasy, they know more of what the real racecar feels like. They want their test/simulator to represent what the real car feels like as best possible.

Highend sim fans will appreciate this too.

This is one reason, why the approach, with custom effects and often (user interpretation), is being applied to code these effects operations as to what the user *thinks* is a good way to develop engine or other sensations. While entertaining they may be, they are nothing like the real car and as effects to use, can suffer from compatibility issues with different cars or sims too.

Simhub has its own limitations. Some will try to do things like "fake throttle off" using data to generate tones etc. Real cars, generate their own rpm/speed-based vibrations, including engine/gear whine, exhaust/manifold characteristics. These are not simple tones they are complex audio that differs from every car.

Better engines? This will come down to a much greater analysis of the characteristics "each car" brings, not just some users fantasy approach in building effects!

Based on what I see, I am confident the RaceBass community will offer the most realistic/accurate vibrations for specific cars engines that any solution will bring.

Doing this without any complicated "Midi" or fiddling with 3rd party software solutions (more things to go wrong). Instead, with tried and tested, reliable hardware and an approach that already has had much previous work put into it. Some things are still being developed in how we can take tactile forward and this is part of the RaceBass journey that, its followers will be able to be part of.

To bring the best, most accomplished effects, free and guaranteed to work well on your RaceBass configuration hardware. Here you are also going to find the most in-depth look at Simhub, its settings, and discover what they REALLY do or how we can apply them. This will include a discussion series that will also look into (every single effect) and (every option) that effect has. To then share with people, part of my own knowledge in effects creation, as well discovering the community's own input and preferences others will offer.

Simhubs own community is also now a bit of a mess, so many opinions, different ideas, and many combinations of installations or different hardware. So I need a place that is focused on the RaceBass concept, is non-toxic and for people that want to be part of that who can come and avoid conflicts or insults by others doing different approaches....

 

[metalnwood]

I would advise you to get either of the recommended 40w exciters placing 4 on the seat
(2 shoulders 2 mid/sides).

Six units on the seat can bring some benefits with additional effects control/immersion and is what my own seat will use on the back.

You just need to find, even a temporary way to install the BK/TST which you will get help with if you need it. With this, then should start enjoying that hardware you have....
This will let you experience either the RaceBass approach or the approaches of some others and determine for yourself what brings the best immersion.

Of course, having the hardware installed that properly represents how the effects should be experienced on a fully capable 1-200Hz multi-channel configuration is needed. It appears others who duplicate many of the approaches/things shared, are still not building effects to fully utilize the hardware combo in the best way....

As, the developer of those effects, most will not know by feel alone, what the combined frequency output is at any given time for any of the hardware used. Going by what I see, many more recent beta effects I shared 6-7 months ago with my own 1-1 testers, have not leaked, as already the copycat variants would be out there...

I am now moving beyond those effects, onto a newer stage again of effects development, as my own hardware rack is almost finished. This next stage is all about better using the hardware, with specific layers and a more musical approach to effects operations.

Doing things at a higher level, bringing extensive visual analysis of the generated audio with the best possible applications. Thus for increased understanding/learning and achievable performance benefits.

One of the bigger challenges for the next revolution/pioneering work to happen in tactile immersion is when we can bring more authenticity to the felt sensations of different cars.

Already, we can come up with pretty immersive and entertaining effects without much difficulty, that will feel great on a RaceBass installation..

However as an example,
We find, Pro racers do not want sim fantasy, they know more of what the real racecar feels like. They want their test/simulator to represent what the real car feels like as best possible.

Highend sim fans will appreciate this too.

This is one reason, why the approach, with custom effects and often (user interpretation), is being applied to code these effects operations as to what the user *thinks* is a good way to develop engine or other sensations. While entertaining they may be, they are nothing like the real car and as effects to use, can suffer from compatibility issues with different cars or sims too.

Simhub has its own limitations. Some will try to do things like "fake throttle off" using data to generate tones etc. Real cars, generate their own rpm/speed-based vibrations, including engine/gear whine, exhaust/manifold characteristics. These are not simple tones they are complex audio that differs from every car.

Better engines? This will come down to a much greater analysis of the characteristics "each car" brings, not just some users fantasy approach in building effects!

Based on what I see, I am confident the RaceBass community will offer the most realistic/accurate vibrations for specific cars engines that any solution will bring.

Doing this without any complicated "Midi" or fiddling with 3rd party software solutions (more things to go wrong). Instead, with tried and tested, reliable hardware and an approach that already has had much previous work put into it. Some things are still being developed in how we can take tactile forward and this is part of the RaceBass journey that, its followers will be able to be part of.

To bring the best, most accomplished effects, free and guaranteed to work well on your RaceBass configuration hardware. Here you are also going to find the most in-depth look at Simhub, its settings, and discover what they REALLY do or how we can apply them. This will include a discussion series that will also look into (every single effect) and (every option) that effect has. To then share with people, part of my own knowledge in effects creation, as well discovering the community's own input and preferences others will offer.

Simhubs own community is also now a bit of a mess, so many opinions, different ideas, and many combinations of installations or different hardware. So I need a place that is focused on the RaceBass concept, is non-toxic and for people that want to be part of that who can come and avoid conflicts or insults by others doing different approaches....

@Callsign BH Sorry to reply to Latte in your thread, I have tried to only post here on your project, as it should be.

@Mr Latte I really don't think it's on you coming here as a commercial seller ragging on about what other people are doing in their tactile while those people are giving away their profiles and what they are learning in a free manner. Just keep it to yourself or don't pollute private threads. Have a bit of courage to take conversation to the proper place where people might want to discuss it rather than feel like they are imposing on other peoples build logs.

At what point does racedepartment confine you to a commercial space like they have with a dozen other sellers? I dont see any of the other sellers come in to threads here and rag on people freely doing something similar to them.

 

[EsxPaul]

With respect, I don't think that post polluted the thread at all. Advice, opinion and suggestions were offered and they are free to be taken or left alone.

Wouldn't it be better to let the OP decide what information he wants to take or leave?

This divide that has developed over the last few months makes the topic far less enjoyable

 

[metalnwood]

With respect, I don't think that post polluted the thread at all. Advice, opinion and suggestions were offered and they are free to be taken or left alone.

Wouldn't it be better to let the OP decide what information he wants to take or leave?

This divide that has developed over the last few months makes the topic far less enjoyable

Yes, OP can decide what he wants, I agree with that. I read this Lattes post much earlier than when I replied and it has been edited, so perhaps there isn't all the context to my reply in his current post.

Also yes, there is too much this way/that way/my way/the only way. Thats why I dont understand why the racedepartment rules have not been adapoted with this commercial product.

 

[blekenbleu]

One of the bigger challenges for the next revolution/pioneering work to happen in tactile immersion is when we can bring more authenticity to the felt sensations of different cars.

Given SimHub limitations and @Wotever statements of intent and direction,
better tactile effects want generation by e.g. synthesizers:

.. which may be expediently driven via MIDI from SimHub telemetry signals.