Getting into Tactile Immersion - Help please?

[Ceolmor]

Noob enquiry here from someone seeking guidance from others who are prepared to share their experiences of tactile immersion.

I have a good 80/20 rig with a fibreglass racing bucket seat. I am getting good ffb from my wheel, but I am looking to dip my toes (or backside) into the world of tactile immersion. I do mostly Assetto Corsa with some DiRT Rally and rFactor2. Maybe also PCars2 next month.

What I'm looking for is two shakers for the seat (left and right) to give me engine, gear change, bumps and rear slippage tactile feedback. Later, I might want to extend 'simvibe' to other parts of the rig (pedals) but I want to keep it simple at this stage until I better understand what I'm doing. I've read a lot of threads, but still have a lot of questions.

Noise
I've read reports of people not using simvibe due to the noise and the shakers become expensive paperweights! Is simvibe noisy? My rig is upstairs on carpet with cushioned underlay. Can I resolve the problem completely with rubber isolators, or will there always be some noise, and how much?

Amplifier
I think this one is simple. The iNuke NU1000 DSP here seems to be the way to go. Would go for the iNuke NU3000 DSP here if that was considered necessary or advisable. Is it?

Shakers
The Buttkicker Mini LFE here would be the simplest option, as they are currently available in the UK and I can get brackets here to easily attach to the rig. But, should I be concerned about the apparent noise issue? Mr Latte has been testing here on resolving the issue, but would I be better to avoid having to do a work-around and go for a different shaker instead? How would the ADX Maximus here compare, which is also available in the UK? What are others experience of these two shakers?

Placement

It seems I have a number of options. (a) The shakers sitting on the aforementioned brackets attached to the outside of the two runners. (b) Each shaker bolted to either side of a sheet of aluminium or wood attached to the bottom of the two brackets. (c) Each shaker bolted to either side of a sheet of aluminium or wood attached to the bottom of the runners. (d) Shakers bolted directly to the bottom and back of the seat (which I'd prefer to avoid if possible as I don't want to be drilling holes in my seat.)

Does anyone have any thoughts on which might be the best? Maybe there is a better option I've not thought of. Wood or aluminium? Where is it best to put isolators. With these placements (except d) will I feel any left and right separation?

Software
SSW here or Sim Commander 4 here? I am thinking of trying the SSW, which is a bit cheaper and may suit my 'simple' needs. Will this give me what I am looking for?

Any advice will be gratefully appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Gerzson]

Hi everyone. I just dropped by as a seat shaker transducer user myself, without much knowledge on the topic.
I wanted to share a post that I read recently, suggesting that Simhub might have "body-shaker support" in the not-so-distant future. That might be interesting to follow.
SimHub, DIY Sim racing Dash

 

[Balroque]

Hi Vic

Thanks for your comments. I am not so precious about this thread that I would have a problem with you using it for your build. However, as the title of this thread is about starting out with tactile immersion for the first time, and your project is more an upgrade from your existing tactile immersion, you might want to consider starting a separate thread. I'm happy, either way.

I like my 80/20 rig. Very sturdy, looks good and has the ability to change everything about when you want or need to.

With the ADX and BK Gamer, I would be inclined to isolate them completely from the 80/20 profiles, as I have done. My current set up of the shakers being attached to mild steel plates to which the seat brackets and pedal plate are attached works better than attaching the shakers to 80/20 profiles of the seat and pedal sections. My theory (quite possibly wrong) is the less weight the shakers have to move the better.

I haven't tried attaching my BK Advance to the seat direct, as I read a post of someone who tried this and said it was awful. But with all this tactile immersion, it is trial and error at the end of the day, as no two setups are ever the same. I also think what sort of seat you have is important. I have a fibreglass racing seat, with no metal or wooden parts to it.

As to noise, my rig is noisy. How noisy depends on what software I am using and, probably more crucially, how much you turn it up. When I first introduced the mild steel plate to the rig my wife reported it was quieter, but I used that as the OK to turn up the volume/energy to get more tactile feedback. So now she complains it is noisier than before. I know there is a lot more I could do to reduce noise, but I need to get a balance between constantly fiddling with tactile immersion and actually driving in sims.

I have the same issue as you with the rig in a corner and only accessible on one side. Makes it a nightmare when trying to change things on the rig.

With the high end hardware you have, and limited space, have you looked at going VR? I have small MIGE with HE Pros and Oculus Rift, and it is all amazing.

thanks Ceolmor,

I will do the new thread then, not to mixed up the things

I tried Oculus Rift, but I was not happy with it. I know many ppl can't praise it enough, but I will wait for another generation

I will be probably not as fast with the progress as you, but all your inputs will be more then welcome