does anyone have experience with a geko gs 105?

[Tim Meuris]

I'll be baffled if anyone can because it's not your common chair
http://www.gekosystems.com/
It's a seat that partially moves with you in it
the effect it tries to simulate looks really promising
can anyone share his experience with this, for me unknown, device?
and how does this system compares to that g-seat from simxperience?

 

[Er!c]

I've been playing with mine for about a week and I have no regrets about the purchase. It was extremely easy to set up (attached to my static Vesaro rig). It runs easily as a separate program you turn on before simcommander/simvibe.
The feeling is easy to get used to and really does seem to help with racing, because you feel even more connected to the car. Add to it the ts500 and dk2, and I can get lost for hours. Side note, because you also feel the bumps in the road, you almost don't need simvibe, but it all works together nicely.
I suppose I am especially appreciative of the product, as I had to take a risk ordering it from Poland.

 

[Blkout]

I know there's a few others that run them, I think at least one or two others here on the forum. I'm really interested in one myself and may end up buying one in the next few months if my Fanatec CSW v2 doesn't self destruct again.

 

[Tim Meuris]

well I have one since a few months
it's a nice ffb chair, really great for immersion
ordering and delivery was also top notch
every question got answered by them and they even drilled the mounting holes
in the seat without mistake.
only curious bout the longevity of it and their warrantypolicy when it needs to be returned

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

I know @Paul Walker has one and is very happy with his. I'm very interested in hearing from someone who has tested both this and the SimExperience GS-4 seat because personally the way the GS-4 seat works makes more sense to me, but I have a hard time finding good info and videos on the Geko seat tbh.

 

[MrPix]

I am most definitely happy with my GS-105. It was fairly broken by UPS on the way over, but Julien @ Geko made sure it was all fixed up and sent extra brackets, screws and instructions on how to get it back together along with a small compensation for the inconvenience, despite it being the couriers fault.... it has not faltered since and is as strong as ever.

The effects took a while to get my brain programmed to, and a few that have had short sessions haven't managed to 'get it' as a FFB/G-Force device, but I can't race without it now.

The g-force seat complements both my sFOV wrap around screen and my DK2 very well indeed, but I can't stand my DK2's lack of peripheral vision and poor resolution compared to my DIY screen so the OR does not get any use at all.....

The immersion created once your brain switches on to resisting the forces rather than going with them like on a conventional motion rig (which is what I had previous experience of - D-Box) is tremendous and I haven't got whiplash or motion sickness once from it.

I use it as my office chair too, so have had to add a wheelchair cushion for comfort and to stop the sweaty-betties, but aside from that it does fine, ugly as it is!

 

[Blkout]

OK, I have questions for those of you that have one. Do you have the stationary model or the one with casters that looks like an office chair? Also, I read that its 68lbs, does that sound right and can be moved without too much effort or too cumbersome? How noisy is it when in use, loud enough to wake up anyone sleeping in a nearby room? Also, is the chair comfortable enough to use an office chair when I'm not actually using it to race? I have a nice mesh bottom office chair right now that I love dearly.

 

[Tim Meuris]

stationary model bolted firmly to my alurig
it's f*ckin heavy!
it's almost unhearable, i think (cause i race with headphones), apart from the occasional rumble
is it comfy enough: not for me
i have it tilted slightly backwards and the arms push my upper body a bit forward and then it's okay
but when it's off i feel very clearly the gap between the backrest and the upper backpart when sitting in it

 

[Blkout]

Awesome, thanks @Tim Meuris

 

[MrPix]

@Blkout I have the office chair version and I use it daily as my office chair. It has feet/pads rather than castors. It is heavy, but moves easily enough without sitting on it, and stays where it is when sat on it.Looks ugly though, but would not be without it. Perfect for home use. I have it on a carpeted floor.

For added comfort I use a wheelchair cushion on the base (AIROSPRING AS100) and find the back a little uncomfortable during long stints of office work, which forces me to take a lot of coffee breaks/leg stretchers and rest my eyes from the screen, so works out well

Once you have learnt how to resist the forces, it is almost silent in use. Before that you may get it hitting the limiters which can 'knock' quite a bit.... hence learning to resist the forces is very important, not only for the immersion aspect, but to save the missus beating you up when she is trying to get some sleep in.

My butt kicker is a lot noisier than the chair itself, but only from the room below. Can't hear either from the room next door under normal circumstances. I would recommend having tactile feedback of some sort in addition to the chair as it doesn't do a fantastic job of creating any feeling under the seat/butt itself, but a BK G2 attached to the stalk under the chair completes the picture.

 

[Blkout]

Thank you @MrPix

 

[Tim Meuris]

any owners who have been tinkering with the settings
cause i use the default ones
if so, is it worth a try or are default settings more then good?

 

[Er!c]

Tim, I changed some settings and I think it's an improvement. At first I felt like I was being thumped in the back pretty hard with gear shifts. I started with default "heavy/smooth", and then think I reduced all forces by 10%, and then reduced "short forces" (gear shifts, bumps) by another 10%. This ends up being more than enough for me to feel immersed.
I would be interested to hear from others - I wonder, am I the only one using "heavy smooth" on almost all cars?

 

[Tim Meuris]

thnx eric
i will look into that!

cheers

 

[chelseap21]

I agree with Mr Pix. It's better with the Airospring cushions - a lot more comfortable.

 

[asteroulis]

Just tried it and will be buying it used from a guy here in Greece. First run said wtf. It doesn't feel normal. After a while and some settings it came to life. For the really reduced price it's a no brainer. But I don't think it makes the impact simvibe does when first added to a rig. It surely will be adding to the immersion.

 

[Tim Meuris]

found the impact at first more immersive than simvibe
but the longer i play with both of them
the more i like simvibe
gekoseat still very good product imo

 

[asteroulis]

Ok ,so I got it and been racing for two weeks with the seat. It sure is a big upgrade. Still cannot believe that I have a motion simulator in my living room (nor my wife).
The building quality is not really promising. OSB covered with leatherette and padding doesn't really feel robust. But the low cost explains that , and I can feel that for its price range its surely easy to explain.
It works flawlessly out of the box and the software is brilliantly simple for beginners and frustratingly undocumented for advanced tweaking.
It has so much space available inside for placing bass shakers , and the OSB makes mounting the shakers a very easy process. There is even space in the back that I will try to place a puck. If not I will have to place them on the outside,and there is no need to compromise with a puck.
The most amazing feature for me is that once you learn how to fight the forces this machine is making ZERO NOISE.
I mean I have a motion simulator for god's sake and the only thing my family hears is the click click of the paddles. Still , I don't know what buzz will be there after all the shakers in my new rig design. But will sure fight to keep it minimal.

Once finished I promise a detailed thread with the perfect family man's rig.

 

[TRC7]

Ok ,so I got it and been racing for two weeks with the seat. It sure is a big upgrade. Still cannot believe that I have a motion simulator in my living room (nor my wife).
The building quality is not really promising. OSB covered with leatherette and padding doesn't really feel robust. But the low cost explains that , and I can feel that for its price range its surely easy to explain.
It works flawlessly out of the box and the software is brilliantly simple for beginners and frustratingly undocumented for advanced tweaking.
It has so much space available inside for placing bass shakers , and the OSB makes mounting the shakers a very easy process. There is even space in the back that I will try to place a puck. If not I will have to place them on the outside,and there is no need to compromise with a puck.
The most amazing feature for me is that once you learn how to fight the forces this machine is making ZERO NOISE.
I mean I have a motion simulator for god's sake and the only thing my family hears is the click click of the paddles. Still , I don't know what buzz will be there after all the shakers in my new rig design. But will sure fight to keep it minimal.

Once finished I promise a detailed thread with the perfect family man's rig.

Asteroulis,
I am considering this seat and would be interested in an update of your opinion. What do you consider the biggest negatives. I also have a concern with shipping to the US but I guess I can discuss with Geko if I decide to purchase.
Thanks
TRC7

 

[asteroulis]

Ok, I think I have a good idea now.
The negatives :
-It doesn't look like a racing seat (not really a con for me)
-You don't feel the forces on your butt and legs as like in gs4 for example
-Its probably better to use a wheelchair pillow because it gets tiring after a while
-Has a small learning curve but nothing annoying.
But I think the pros are far more and I'll state them here :
+Completely silent. Its crazy that I can be completely fighting with my car and my whole family sleeps without being bothered.
+Quite cheap for a motion simulator
+The software has easy and understandable settings with decent presets

Pair it with a vr headset and it's crazy immersive. Go for it!