GT Omega PRIME Aluminium Profile Cockpit

[Paul Jeffrey]

This thread is for the general discussion of the item GT Omega PRIME Aluminium Profile Cockpit. Please add to the discussion here.

 

[GuitarTech]

Hey, sometimes Ikea actually makes good stuff! The Poang chair for example, its legendary in simracing bodge jobs. When I build my rig, I went searching for a tablet holder for my 'button box'. I never found anything that was cheap and good until I went through Ikea with my wife (the relationship test) and found a wooden tablet holder which was perfect for the job. Price? £1,5. So dont knock on Ikea! Sometimes Swedes get something right...

I think Ikea did extremely well to take all the abuse I threw at it, as I finally had to throw it out, it was over 20 years old. It didn't take much to dismantle it, as it had so many holes in it, it had no stability any more. It practically fell apart, with a little help from a big hammer

 

[Michael Payne]

Extruded aluminium, not steel Still too expensive for what it is though.

The prices seem to be in line with similar offerings from SimLab and other rigs made from 80/20 or similar. The TrakRacer stuff is even more expensive. I started with a GTOmega Wheel Stand, then later added the rear section, RS6 Seat, Single Monitor Stand, Keyboard Tray, Handbrake Mount. By the time I add all that up, I could have got a decent 80/20 setup (without a seat).

 

[GuitarTech]

The prices seem to be in line with similar offerings from SimLab and other rigs made from 80/20 or similar. The TrakRacer stuff is even more expensive. I started with a GTOmega Wheel Stand, then later added the rear section, RS6 Seat, Single Monitor Stand, Keyboard Tray, Handbrake Mount. By the time I add all that up, I could have got a decent 80/20 setup (without a seat).

The sim rig at Motedis costs €278.00, without seat. The 80/20 extruded profiles are just industry norm parts, to the DIN standard, all in a modular system. SimLab, Trakracer, and the others are more expensive because first of all they take advantage of the fact that people think that the material is some kind of cutting-edge unobtainium, when in fact the parts are made of an aluminium alloy, and part of a modular system that is used to build hundred of different things, from storage systems to bookshelves, and, secondly, because they save you the trouble of having to work out which parts, how long, what fittings etc. But there are free programs where you can do that yourself with a CAD-type program and save a lot of money.
But the system from GT Omega is a rip-off. It is at least twice the price it should be, and €300.00 extra for black eloxy coating is just taking the p*ss. I drive VR, what colour the rig is is irrelevant, I can't see it anyway when I'm driving.
It's a bit like Stevie Wonder deciding what colour the new curtains should be

 

[Turk]

Me too, I started with an old Ikea desk that my daughters used to do their homework when they were younger. In the end, before I bought my Rig, it had more holes than a Swiss cheese from mounting different things, no drawers anymore (built a tray for the shifter where they went), and had to be stiffened all over the place with metal Strips, because eventually the Ikea quality started to come through in a bad way

I started reading your previous post but got distracted and somehow came back half way through this post and said to myself "WTF, what kind of simrig has drawers?!"

 

[GuitarTech]

I started reading your previous post but got distracted and somehow came back half way through this post and said to myself "WTF, what kind of simrig has drawers?!"

I don't know what you've been smoking, but could you please send me some?

 

[Kurupt CDN]

$1000 Canadian for a couple pieces of aluminum without a seat?

The whole sim racing/pc is so ridiculously overpriced now.

$1300 for an aluminum frame and seat.
$2000 avg. For a DD wheel
$500-1500 for pedals
$600 + for a new vr headset
$1000+ for 3080 gpu
Roughly another $1000 for all the other pc parts.
$6000+ to race virtual cars

I bought a 2006 Subaru WRX with 155k in oct. Installed a Exedy performance clutch and new grippy tires for $6k

 

[miker]

$1300 for an aluminum frame and seat.
$2000 avg. For a DD wheel
$500-1500 for pedals
$600 + for a new vr headset
$1000+ for 3080 gpu
Roughly another $1000 for all the other pc parts.

You've described the absolute top end there, it's still more than possible to enjoy sim racing with a great experience on budget far smaller than that.

I like mountain biking, and could easily spend £6K + on a carbon full suspension top end MTB if I wanted, but I'm more than happy on my £800 hard tail. I think it's great there is a lot of choice now days in top middle and bottom ends of the scale...

 

[Turk]

I don't know what you've been smoking, but could you please send me some?

I'm smoking a lidl flat pack cabinet.

$1000 Canadian for a couple pieces of aluminum without a seat?

The whole sim racing/pc is so ridiculously overpriced now.

I think it's becoming clear that sim racers are one of those A rated consumers. Many of us are adults with money to spend. We're probably in a similar bracket to golfers, we want the fancy gear because we think it will improve our game. Expect to see more and more companies try and get into the market offering everything from under priced junk to over priced junk.

 

[Monty97]

It is good to see more companies coming out with better rig offerings. The issue I have with this setup is that even with the free shipping it still costs more than a P1X. The P1X has a significantly stronger and more easily adjustable pedal tray, The P1X also has the options for a front mount direct drive mounting system where the Prime only has the wheel deck.

 

[Kurupt CDN]

You've described the absolute top end there, it's still more than possible to enjoy sim racing with a great experience on budget far smaller than that.

I like mountain biking, and could easily spend £6K + on a carbon full suspension top end MTB if I wanted, but I'm more than happy on my £800 hard tail. I think it's great there is a lot of choice now days in top middle and bottom ends of the scale...

I have an entry level setup and it's cost me just shy of 3/4 of the cost of my original post of higher end products.

Motion sims are starting at thousands of dollars for an entry system yet with a little bit of knowledge my buddy was able to build a diy using 4 windshield wiper motors and racing seat for under $500

I also mountain bike and bought a trek rosco 7 hardtail aluminum frame cause I couldn't afford a carbon or full suspension....still cost me $2k here

Maybe we just need some Canadian companies producing these products so we don't get screwed with currency conversion and shipping

Never the less, I still find it crazy that some of these products are costing more to build a decent rig to sim race than the cost of a good used sport car.

 

[Michael Payne]

The sim rig at Motedis costs €278.00, without seat. The 80/20 extruded profiles are just industry norm parts, to the DIN standard, all in a modular system. SimLab, Trakracer, and the others are more expensive because first of all they take advantage of the fact that people think that the material is some kind of cutting-edge unobtainium, when in fact the parts are made of an aluminium alloy, and part of a modular system that is used to build hundred of different things, from storage systems to bookshelves, and, secondly, because they save you the trouble of having to work out which parts, how long, what fittings etc. But there are free programs where you can do that yourself with a CAD-type program and save a lot of money.
But the system from GT Omega is a rip-off. It is at least twice the price it should be, and €300.00 extra for black eloxy coating is just taking the p*ss. I drive VR, what colour the rig is is irrelevant, I can't see it anyway when I'm driving.
It's a bit like Stevie Wonder deciding what colour the new curtains should be

Good points, I haven't looked at the Motedis, but I can't be bothered to make one myself. I understand its all the same 80/20 profile stuff at the end of the day. However I neither have the time, patience, tools or skills to do it, and when you have a parent with Alzheimer's to look after as well ad your day job, I want my time spent enjoying the rig rather than having to make it and I am prepared to pay for it.

The same goes for my car. Can I wash it myself, service it myself, etc? Yes. Can I be bothered to do it? No. I prefer to spend what time I have doing things I enjoy. But I certainly get it that some people will get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction on building it themselves.

Whilst I also play in VR, I think the Black 80/20 rigs look so much better than the silver. But each to their own though. It would be a boring world if we all agreed on everything

 

[GuitarTech]

Good points, I haven't looked at the Motedis, but I can't be bothered to make one myself. I understand its all the same 80/20 profile stuff at the end of the day. However I neither have the time, patience, tools or skills to do it, and when you have a parent with Alzheimer's to look after as well ad your day job, I want my time spent enjoying the rig rather than having to make it and I am prepared to pay for it.

The same goes for my car. Can I wash it myself, service it myself, etc? Yes. Can I be bothered to do it? No. I prefer to spend what time I have doing things I enjoy. But I certainly get it that some people will get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction on building it themselves.

Whilst I also play in VR, I think the Black 80/20 rigs look so much better than the silver. But each to their own though. It would be a boring world if we all agreed on everything

Good point about the black version, but as you said that you hadn't looked at the Motedis kit, I can tell you that it is a finished kit with everything you need to put it together. In that respect, they're all the same: you get a an assortment of 20/80 extrusions that've been cut to exact length, and a huge pile of fittings.
All you need to assemble it is two to three hours and a few hand tools.
If you ever want to buy a 20/80 kit, from whichever company, you're going to have to assemble it. AFAIK, no one delivers them fully assembled. Actually, that'd be quite a good idea for people with no time, or two left hands: like buying a fitted kitchen

 

[Michael Payne]

Good point about the black version, but as you said that you hadn't looked at the Motedis kit, I can tell you that it is a finished kit with everything you need to put it together. In that respect, they're all the same: you get a an assortment of 20/80 extrusions that've been cut to exact length, and a huge pile of fittings.
All you need to assemble it is two to three hours and a few hand tools.
If you ever want to buy a 20/80 kit, from whichever company, you're going to have to assemble it. AFAIK, no one delivers them fully assembled. Actually, that'd be quite a good idea for people with no time, or two left hands: like buying a fitted kitchen

Yes, I don't mind the assembly bit, that could be quite fun and wouldn't require much more than a few Allen Keys and Screw Drivers or Spanners. I wouldn't be able to get a fully assembled rig through the door and up the stairs! It would be like people trying to get a grand piano into a upper storey flat, using a block and tackle to winch it up and through a window. Thanks for the tip on the Motedis kit. It is seriously cheap by comparison.

 

[GuitarTech]

Yes, I don't mind the assembly bit, that could be quite fun and wouldn't require much more than a few Allen Keys and Screw Drivers or Spanners. I wouldn't be able to get a fully assembled rig through the door and up the stairs! It would be like people trying to get a grand piano into a upper storey flat, using a block and tackle to winch it up and through a window. Thanks for the tip on the Motedis kit. It is seriously cheap by comparison.

Or the GT Omega is seriously overpriced, whichever way you look at it. With Motedis you have to pay extra for a seat, but that's the case with GT Omega too, and their seats are carp, mine is splitting along all the seams after two years use.
When it goes totally fits up, I'm going to buy a Sparco, and use the fittings from the GT Omega RS9

 

[Peter Koslowski]

Totally overpriced, bad optics, too big (there is no sense in 160x40)!

Look I have 40x40, and no flex!

 

[Michael Payne]

Or the GT Omega is seriously overpriced, whichever way you look at it. With Motedis you have to pay extra for a seat, but that's the case with GT Omega too, and their seats are carp, mine is splitting along all the seams after two years use.
When it goes totally fits up, I'm going to buy a Sparco, and use the fittings from the GT Omega RS9

I fancy a Sparco seat anyway, so thats not a problem.

 

[DKGORACE]

Being in the USA, Sim-Lab is a tough ask. Shipping, tax, customs, time waiting. The GT Omega is nice to see indeed. No tax (for my State), no shipping, no customs, etc. So by far GT Prime is an excellent deal for me. No feet, one deck to choose from, etc..... It's brand new, and only available on pre-order only. More accessories will come soon after they get through designs, and copyright lawyers and such. But for now this is the best option for me as an individual choice. For others on here maybe, maybe not. As my friend Albert said......"It's all relative my good man". For a guy who started with a G27 clamped to a tea tray with dumb bells at the feet,

to a stand, then the rest of the frame, to an aluminum extrusion rig in 10 years????? I'm okay with that. P.S. If anyone decides to go with this rig, don't forget to get the 10% discount code!

 

[Turk]

Look I have 40x40, and no flex!

I used aluminium profile to make a fabrication jig at work, must be 15-20 years ago now. I used 50x50 and the issue we had was it would just rattle itself apart over time, the bolts just wouldn't hold. That experience has made me apprehensive about using profile. But if your using it for a motion rig it must have gotten better over the years. The wider profile gave me the impression it would hold up better over time simply because there's more fixings and surface area to hold everything in place.

 

[Wilko Jones]

I guess this is a good place to bring this up.

I was just looking at the Prime on GTOmega's website, and then I noticed that Sim-Motion has an extruded aluminum chassis for sale, so I went to their website, and I swear the GTO Prime and the Sim-Motion Premium Alum... Chassis are exactly the same!

GTOmega's Prime (look at the version without a seat)

PRIME Cockpit

The GT Omega Racing PRIME Cockpit is our newest and best racing simulator.This modular, aluminium profile cockpit features unbeatable levels of adjustability

www.gtomega.com

Sim-Motion's P-A-E Chassis (Again, the seat less version)

Sim-Motion Premium Aluminum Extrusion Chassis without Seat

Aluminum Extrusion tubing racing simulator chassis. Fully modular. Compatibility: Simagic M10 and Alpha Simucube Pro Fanatec Clubsport Wheels Fanatec Elite wheel series Fanatec Podium DD wheels DD1, DD2 Thrustmaster wheels (T500RS, TC-PS, TS-XW, T300RS, T-GT) Logitech G25, G27, G29, G920, G923...

us.sim-motion.com

They also seem to be sharing one of the same images, too.

This got me thinking about the various knock-off stands that can be found on sites like Amazon, that sell spitting images of the stands (and whatnot) on GTOmega's site. What gives? I don't see NLR or Sim-Labs knockoffs anywhere, although I admit nothing jumped out at me. So why is it only GTOmega's gear spawning a bunch of duplicates, clones and doppelgangers?

Edit:

After reading some of the reviews on Amazon about a knock-off of the GTOApex stand. I think I see some of what is happening. One way or another, the imitations are non QC'd cost cut ripoffs. At least with a GTO product, there should be some quality assurance behind it. No entity is perfect. If I were dead set on getting either the Prime or the P-A-E (both with a seat), I would go with GTOmega Prime. But for the price, there are other options I would be more likely to explore.

 

[Bigfella65]

Gotta say Im not a big fan of the Aluminum profile chassis as I think they look to chucky and industrial and take up a lot of room. Probably they only saving grace is that they are very customizable.