Buying advice please - Next Level v3 Motion Platform

[MarkR]

I'm looking for some advice and thoughts of other owners or people with good knowledge of the product, please.

I always said I'd buy myself a motion simulator if I could afford one and had the room available. Well, that day may have arrived. I'm impressed by what I've seen of the Next Level v3 Motion Platform

This seems to meet all my criteria:

+ Limited space requirements, I don't have room for a huge sim rig but this seems compact enough to work.
+ Works with Oculus Rift VR, that fixed head position setting solution is impressive
+ Great support and regular updates from the developers
+ Available in the UK
+ Works with my current Thrustmaster wheel and accessories.
+ Sub £3k for the full setup, I'm not a pro racer I'm not looking for a practice simulator this is just for fun so the cost/fun balance has to be right.

So help me do the man maths! Is it worth it?

Is there another similar product I should also look at? It would need to be reasonably compact, work with VR, available in the UK without too much hassle and in the same £3-5K price range.

Is there anywhere I can try one or even better several of the systems in the UK?

 

[Steve D]

New CSP v3s rigged, all cables managed, both knees ruined. Only got the CS shifter left to mount and then maybe I can finally start driving some bastard cars.

Looking very good Mascot!

Can I ask a favour please. Can you take a low-down shot of how the NLM & seat sits in / on the rig, utilising your motion platform mounting solution. Would be good to see the potential gains compared to my own, current P1 set up before I consider changing anything. Cheers!

 

[Mascot]

Hi Steve, not near my PC atm but will do later. I did a sketch a few pages back if that help?

In the meantime does anyone know if there's a test mode for the NLV3? I want to move the seat back slightly and want to check clearances on max range of motion. Cheers.

 

[Neil Farren]

Hi Steve, not near my PC atm but will do later. I did a sketch a few pages back if that help?

In the meantime does anyone know if there's a test mode for the NLV3? I want to move the seat back slightly and want to check clearances on max range of motion. Cheers.

If you click on 'Tools and Diagnostics' from within Platform manager and then select 'Platform Diagnostic' you can move the sliders at the bottom to orientate the seat in any position you want.

 

[Mascot]

Thanks Neil, that'll help a lot. I want to gain an inch of leg room and my pedals are outboard already. I'll have to remount the buttkicker so the seat can go back a little instead.

 

[Mascot]

Ah, I don't seem to have that option Neil..?

 

[Steve D]

Platform Diagnostics is at the very top of the menu (above Park It) after you click on Tools & Diagnostics.

In the Motor Position Control section, the sliders for Pos1 & Pos2 should be highlighted in blue. (Make sure your platform is switched on otherwise all will be highlighted) Then just move the sliders for the full range of motion available. Clicking on # sets back to default.

 

[Mascot]

Sorry Neil, sorry Steve - it was there all along. I thought it was a general heading for the list below it, not an actual executable..!
D'oh!

 

[Mascot]

Looking very good Mascot!

Can I ask a favour please. Can you take a low-down shot of how the NLM & seat sits in / on the rig, utilising your motion platform mounting solution. Would be good to see the potential gains compared to my own, current P1 set up before I consider changing anything. Cheers!

This shot is about the clearest - the others I took didn't come out as it's all a dark mass down there.
Any good or do you want me to try to take some more?

This was when I moved the BK to the rear rail, but all it did was create a buzzing effect so I've now reattached it to the seat mount. The Platform Diagnostics showed that there was still room for it back there after I'd moved the seat back and even at the maximum range of platform movement. It also proved my calcs were right (phew!) regarding the mounting depth of the NLV3 - there's about 10mm gap between the seat and the side rails when the seat is tilted left/right at it's maximum position.

 

[Mascot]

Got the shifter mounted so I think that's pretty much it... for now, anyway.

Really like the feel of this CS shifter, especially on such a rock-solid mount. I've got the resistance set pretty strong at the moment for a really positive clunk-clunk action. Clearance with the seat during the full range of NLV3 motion is fine, and the knob is easy to find in VR no matter where the seat is.

BTW, I've not used the NLV3 VR compensation function yet and haven't ever felt it was needed. VR view feels perfectly natural without it no matter how much I'm being thrown around.

 

[Mascot]

@AntoN_CheZ, I've been scratching my head trying to think of a good way to suspend your NLV3 within the depth of your GT1. It's a bit of a bugger due to the wider cockpit (100mm wider than the P1) and reduced depth (80mm high, as opposed to 160mm high). The gap between the inside of your side rails and the NLV3 is therefore a theortical 70mm each side, and the M8 fixings into the NLV3 are centred 67mm up from the NLV3's bottom face (which you want to be around 20mm from the floor for sufficient air circulation to feed the fans). I think a 2.5" x 2" x 1/4" aluminium angle with the 2" leg fixed directly to the inside face of your side rails could do the trick, as the standard 80/20 corner fixing brackets could be mounted on the top horizontal face of the angle bracket flush with its edge. Your NLV3 will be a little bit lower this way, but not by much. It's really limited by the depth of the side rails.

I better do a sketch.

Edit:

 

[Mascot]

Oops - bracket should be 250mm long, not 200mm. And I forgot to add that it could be locally stiffened up with the same 80/20 corner brackets fixed to the internal corner underside.

 

[Mascot]

Is it only me posting in this thread now...?

I drove Spa last night for the first time in my NLV3, using a variety of GT3 cars.
Me after navigating Eau Rouge:

 

[Soulstoner]

I posted something similar in this thread a while back, but recently came into a great deal on this V3 via BestBuy in Canada. I got the unit for $3000 CAD, which is a full $1000 discount from MSRP, so I had to jump on it.

Now i'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it with my Obutto R3v. Copying and pasting what I've posted in an Obutto Thread today:

I currently have an Obutto R3volution and have ordered the Next Level Racing V3 motion platform. Mounting the seat shouldn't be an issue, but I'd still like to keep my keyboard/mouse tray and shifter mounts. Obviously the kb/m tray can't be mounted on the Obutto seat frame during motion operation, so I'm brainstorming a way to incorporate an 80/20 solution somewhere, or mounting those shifter/tray posts elsewhere.

Maybe attaching a 15 series bar on the outside of the motion platform (a part which doesn't move), then attaching the keyboard tray to that.

I found someone on the Elite Dangerous forums that simply mounted their Obutto Ozone seat mount on top of the NLR v2 (1st picture attached), and that seems to be working for him. I could do the same, and just remove the keyboard/mouse tray during racing sessions, but keeping it a permanent attachment would be ideal.

Anyone have any intuitive ideas?

 

[Neil Farren]

Completed the build today.

I went for the @Mascot method of mounting the seat to the NLMV3 by using a round file, was surprisingly easy to do.

And a bit of a close up.

I’ve got a few more cables to tidy up and need to mount the rear speakers, I’ve got some spare ali from the old triple screen mount that I’ll use. All in all a really good build with a few issues to sort out along the way but it’s great stuff to work with and is solid as a rock. Very happy!

 

[Mascot]

Completed the build today.

I went for the @Mascot method of mounting the seat to the NLMV3 by using a round file, was surprisingly easy to do.

And a bit of a close up.

I’ve got a few more cables to tidy up and need to mount the rear speakers, I’ve got some spare ali from the old triple screen mount that I’ll use. All in all a really good build with a few issues to sort out along the way but it’s great stuff to work with and is solid as a rock. Very happy!

My man.
I have those speakers.

 

[Mascot]

I posted something similar in this thread a while back, but recently came into a great deal on this V3 via BestBuy in Canada. I got the unit for $3000 CAD, which is a full $1000 discount from MSRP, so I had to jump on it.

Now i'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it with my Obutto R3v. Copying and pasting what I've posted in an Obutto Thread today:

I currently have an Obutto R3volution and have ordered the Next Level Racing V3 motion platform. Mounting the seat shouldn't be an issue, but I'd still like to keep my keyboard/mouse tray and shifter mounts. Obviously the kb/m tray can't be mounted on the Obutto seat frame during motion operation, so I'm brainstorming a way to incorporate an 80/20 solution somewhere, or mounting those shifter/tray posts elsewhere.

Maybe attaching a 15 series bar on the outside of the motion platform (a part which doesn't move), then attaching the keyboard tray to that.

I found someone on the Elite Dangerous forums that simply mounted their Obutto Ozone seat mount on top of the NLR v2 (1st picture attached), and that seems to be working for him. I could do the same, and just remove the keyboard/mouse tray during racing sessions, but keeping it a permanent attachment would be ideal.

Anyone have any intuitive ideas?

View attachment 249586 View attachment 249587

I've got a feeling there's a NLV4 on the way. Amazon have been out of stock of the NLV3 for three weeks (I had the last one) and they've been making noises about traction loss.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I've got a feeling there's a NLV4 on the way. Amazon have been out of stock of the NLV3 for three weeks (I had the last one) and they've been making noises about traction loss.

They do go out of stock quite often on all the sites selling them for fairl long periods of time.

 

[Neil Farren]

I've got a feeling there's a NLV4 on the way. Amazon have been out of stock of the NLV3 for three weeks (I had the last one) and they've been making noises about traction loss.

Just noticed that Next Level are a listed as a participant at E3 in June so you might be onto something.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Overclockers has massively discounted the V3 right now so that could be an indication of clearing out the old units.

 

[Mascot]

Overclockers has massively discounted the V3 right now so that could be an indication of clearing out the old units.

That's pretty much the original price I paid at Amazon before the further 10% refund.

Good deal!