Playseat Challenge

[Bazooka_Joe]

I'm planning to invest a little into something more sophisticated for my sim-racing attempts and need some advice, perhaps confirmation of my thoughts before splashing out.

Background
I'm currently using my desk and standard office chair which isn't just cutting it for me. The chair keeps going backwards every time when I'm braking and pressing clutch at the same time (or during an emergency braking procedure with no clutch), then to regain position I'm pulling myself back by holding the wheel. This process is repeated few times a lap. On top of that my better half is not happy as the wheel is always attached to my desk (lack of spare room so in lounge) as I can't be bothered to pack it to the box every time after each session.
I was looking for a chair, or a wheel stand (especially Wheel Stand Pro V2) but I don't think this will work as my sofa is quite far from TV and PC screen is only 23in, plus I'll have no way to prevent that from going away from me during the braking either, apart from chaining it to the sofa

Playseat Challenge chair
Then by accident I came across this seat.

It was like a love at the first sight Most important feature - it can be folded and put into storage easily, still with wheel attached, so after playing it's literally 1 minute to clear the room completely. Watched/read plenty of reviews and everyone seems to be happy with it. My wife likes it visually too, so it sounds like it might be it. The only thing is £140 for a racing looking deckchair sounds like a lot. I still quite like it, but at this price the decision is not a no-brainer. Add the gearbox attachment cost another £25 bringing it over the cost of the wheel itself (although I'm thinking of a home made attachment for it).

Since plenty of my friends are involved in social marketing I have very little trust into the overall verdicts (watching mostly to see the features/unboxing to know what to expect and trying to judge it myself) so I just wanted to double check before purchasing as I'm sure that in this wonderful community someone would have some first-hand experience of using it.

The questions:
I have some technical questions I couldn't find the answer for, targeting those who experienced this piece of kit:
1. On the scale 1 to 10 - how much would you rate it. I'm expecting a budget chair, not Vesaro £30k system with seat vibrations etc. so 10 is the best racing-deckchair ever ?
2. How large is it folded with a wheel (G27 here) - trying to find out whether it'll fit in preferred storage place?
3. Long term use - does it have some common faults - things to look at/prevent?
4. Is there any other interesting chair that would be better, or similar stuff but cheaper.

Cheers!

 

[Globespy]

Thanks for your update, I've always wondered what a 'real' review of this gear would be like. It falls in line with what I thought when I first saw it online.
I'm sure it's a huge improvement o the desk/office chair setup, and the storage capabilities can't be denied.
I'm with you 100&% on the price part. For what you could get for a little more, it's overpriced, but they have a niche market with this product so it is what it is.
Enjoy! And here's to faster lap times!

 

[hgaouar]

Thank you very much for this review it's much appreciated.

I had an omega gt stand but i sell it because it's too heavy to put away. I have 3 low ages children so i can't leave anything in place...

How heavy it is to store ?

 

[Bazooka_Joe]

How heavy it is to store ?

The chair is quite heavy at ~10kgs. Add the weight of your wheel to that to get more kgs. It's somewhat awkward to carry too, but nothing extreme - I'm not a heavy lifter however even my wife managed to carry it to the storage with no real dramas
In terms of dimensions it folds up quite nicely - the deepest part would be the diameter of your wheel + roughly 3cm (which is quite impressive actually). The seat part up to the pedals joint becomes the height so not that much either - it is cleverly designed to accommodate different wheels and collapse to that size.

 

[Andrew Harper]

As a follow up to my previous post

Fanatec plate I had to make up...

You can see I cut a section from the top to sit into the bar. Something extra to try and stop it moving under braking.

And the fix I put in place for the wheel..

The mdf is screwed to the plate so won't move with the wheel. It works ok until I save enough to upgrade in the future.

The pedals work fine too but with the effort required to press the pedal I'm not sure if the seat would be more suited to g27, g29, t500 style pedals.

 

[hgaouar]

Ok i received mine here is my feedback.

To sum it all : mixed

Pros :
Easy to store
Conformtable for the back
Easy to assemble
All the pros of having a simracing seat of course
Great package, mine was totally new

Cons :
Poor quality of somes velcros (not very important), already broke some bits
Maybe the T500RS is a litte too much ? Pedals (t3pro) cant fold so you have to store them elsewhere
Bad neck support and worse, i feel like i can't move my head freely -> It hurts after 30 minutes, you too guys ? Or mayabe it is because you have to look up to the screen ?
Difficult to adjust seat opening angl, but once set it is ok
Not horizontal plate for the wheel (i use a tool to check) so you have to adjust to seat to compensate

I order it form amazon so i'm thinking about returning it or not.

My main concern is that my neck hurt but except that i'em satisfied and i already spent 10hours in it

 

[Andrew Harper]

Poor quality of somes velcros (not very important), already broke some bits

Odd, I haven't really noticed any issues with mine, seems good quality and had no problems.

Maybe the T500RS is a litte too much ? Pedals (t3pro) cant fold so you have to store them elsewhere

Yes, same with the Fanatec pedals. They are too heavy and bulky to leave on the chair. I have to remove them if I want to put the chair away. Quick process though.

Bad neck support and worse, I feel like I can't move my head freely -> It hurts after 30 minutes, you too guys ? Or maybe it is because you have to look up to the screen ?

Really? I can't say I've had any issues. I suppose if you had the seat very low (almost F1 style) I guess it could start to hurt your neck as you would have to keep your head upright? My only suggestion is to get one of the cheap head style cushions they use on real race seats.

Not horizontal plate for the wheel (i use a tool to check) so you have to adjust to seat to compensate

The adjustment on the plate allows you to tilt it, so yes mine is horizontal

There's always going to be a compromise on something like this. Even my mates Playseat Challenge style seat (F1 Style seat) is not perfect (it takes us a lot of space, very heavy, not super comfortable).

It does for the time being though until one day when I manage to make enough space for a proper setup and of course as you mention it's certainly much better than a desk!

 

[hgaouar]

I almost sure the problem is that now i have to look up to the screen (no i didn't use F1 position). But the position feel real for racing ! Tha'ts what we are looking for...

I can't put the screen lower because otherwise the wheel would be in my view.

Buying a cushion is a simple and great idea Thx i will try

 

[Bela Valko]

I have the Playseat Challenge for about a year and I love it, I think this was one of the best investment in my life (for simracing purposes ). Before this I had a "regular" cockpit made of wood, taking up a lot of space.

I have 2 problems with it.

1. if you use a pedalset with progressive load brake pedal (even the G27 with Nixim mod) the base for the pedals will fall off, the "glue" is not strong enough. This happened to me after 1 or 2 weeks of usage. Fortunately I could fix this with a simple super glue (Loctite), since then it's perfect.

2. it's hard to get out of the "cockpit" also there is no castor under the cockpit so you have to move the entire thing with your body to find the perfect position. Fortunately it won't scratch the wooden floor.

 

[hgaouar]

Finally i return it, too much pain in the neck. Because my screen is on a desk.

I prefer to be "above" the wheel and see the screen below, otherwise neck pain.

So be advised if you want this product you need to be able to put the screen low. Not on a desk like me. But more like a TV.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Finally i return it, too much pain in the neck. Because my screen is on a desk.

I prefer to be "above" the wheel and see the screen below, otherwise neck pain.

So be advised if you want this product you need to be able to put the screen low. Not on a desk like me. But more like a TV.

Fair enough matey, yes I'm in a similar situation the TV/Monitor is about two feet above my eye line so it's not as comfortable as having the display directly in front of you. I have to look up at a 30 degree angle. I can't say I've ever had neck pain, I have to sit some distance away from the screen to get a decent viewing angle (too close and I'd be almost looking vertical) but that's the problem with the arrangement not the chair. When I tried the same chair in the living room the screen is directly in front of me, more comfortable but not suitable in my case.

In an ideal world you'd have a monitor on a stand directly in front of you but that takes up space..

 

[Metalogic]

Finally i return it, too much pain in the neck. Because my screen is on a desk.

I prefer to be "above" the wheel and see the screen below, otherwise neck pain.

So be advised if you want this product you need to be able to put the screen low. Not on a desk like me. But more like a TV.

I think I've decided to go the Wheelstand Pro route instead, which seems to be the only other compact folding setup (the GT Omega stand looks better, but is much larger). Will be ordering this soon.

 

[Bazooka_Joe]

So after nearly 2 months of using the seat - I'm still happy with it. Eventually managed to tweak the position so it's VERY comfortable in longer stints, no back or neck pains etc.

Due to the fact that the frame is in a 'X' shape the only way to adjust the distance for the wheel is by releasing/tightening the straps that are working as armrests too. So if you're tall - you'll end up in a more reclined position, if you're short - you'll be closer to the granny style driving position Then fine tune it to find the right spot. Don't forget about sets of velcro straps underneath the seat to make it deeper or flatter. Basically - despite the frame limitations it's still possible to find the perfect setup (at least in my case).

Now, let's talk about some issues.
First of all the move of the wheel shelf (forward/backward) is much bigger, not sure if that's caused by my adjustments to the seating position or the hardware giving up, but it's definitely moving more than straight after purchase. There's definitely more move on the swivel joint alone (next to left knee), probably affecting the other side as well.

Secondly - the joint where 'X' frame meets the seat tubes is also looser. It's only noticeable when the seat is folded and when seated - driver's weight is pulling it down and it's a no issue. But it caught me few times when carrying the folded thing and all of a sudden the back comes out. Similarly to the previous issue - this could have been also caused by adjusting the velcro's.

I'm using G27 with it and by default it comes with no space to mount the h-shifter module. I've added a wooden shelf that seats between the wheel base and the table that's big enough to attach the shifter. The position is the same as in the branded £25 attachment and I must say - it's too high. Looking for something to attach to the 'X' frame next to the knee for more realistic placement (unless the Ford Transit mod is completed then the position is perfect). Looked at the RAM mounts, but first of all - there are no stockists near me to see if they would be any good for mounting the shifter to, and they cost a bit too. If you have any suggestions - please share!

Summarising - I still have a feeling that £140 for it is quite a lot, but I've not seen anything similar, allowing drivers to pack their gear up within few minutes and put it away, especially important for those who cannot have a comfort of a full-time setup.

Would I buy it again if I had another choice? Very likely.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Summarising - I still have a feeling that £140 for it is quite a lot, but I've not seen anything similar, allowing drivers to pack their gear up within few minutes and put it away, especially important for those who cannot have a comfort of a full-time setup.

Nice write-up and useful information for the others that may be looking at one of these

I'm pretty happy with mine, no it's not perfect but it fulfils my needs so far and it's way more comfortable than racing at a desk.

I'm in agreement on price, if it was in the £100-110 bracket I think it would easily get five stars from me. Can't see it being much cheaper than that. The company needs to make at least 50% profit on each one they sell.

 

[burrito]

Bought this and now I see this thread, typical Anyway I use this with my newly acquired DK2 and while I can completely understand people complaining about having to look up and the discomfort that causes, I must say that with a DK2 this seat is really good. I have a G27 and have noticed some of the harder forces being translated through the chassis rather than to my hands but it's minor if I have to be honest. Folds and unfolds very tidily. However I must say it unfolds very violently, I have caught myself or been hit by it quite a few times due to it's weight and the speed it will suddenly unfold it catches me by surprise if I position it wrong while setting it up.

Regarding the G27 I have it attached with the holders on the bottom of the G27 and have looped all the wires together to the back of the unit as well as cable tying the power pack just under the wheel unit. So all I have to do is plug the second half of the power cable into the transformer/power pack on the stand and then plug in the USB for the wheel.

Some of the red tabs on the velcro straps came off with very little force and the soft foam around the front of the pedal mount was being cut by the base of my pedals so I had to place some thick card to spread the pressure and remove the sharp edge. Other than those small issues I haven't seen any cases of bad manufacturing but there are some horror stories on ebay and amazon (but I guess that's the same with everything).

 

[Andrew Harper]

Yeah I try and take some online reviews about build issues with a small pinch of salt

I'm very careful with what I own (because I may want to sell items on afterwards) but I've witnessed many people who treat their belongings as disposable items, and then they wonder why things start to go wrong with them.

That's why I tend to trust points of view on places like here rather than an Amazon. Although any reviews are useful

 

[Bazooka_Joe]

That's why I tend to trust points of view on places like here rather than an Amazon. Although any reviews are useful

This is the main reason I've posted such review (and a follow-up) in a first place - similar to you @Andrew Harper - I'm always struggling to find all relevant info that goes slightly deeper in terms of the details and hoping it'll be useful for someone out there in the Internets.

Majority of reviews online are meaningless, especially on Amazon or any shopping platform. There's just so much junk reviews and marketing blurb. What's 'Good product' for one doesn't necessarily makes it good for everyone else. Especially in a specialised/niche* sim-racing world, where certain users' conditions can disqualify product altogether. That's why sharing a bit of your background is so important when writing any useful review.

Agree with @burrito on the unfolding 'surprising' smack when the velcro is unfastened - nearly caught me out the first time I unfolded it with all the gear attached. Now holding the base with my knees when undoing the velcro strap to stop it happening in the future - it works for me.

* I know sim-racing is not a niche anymore, but it's still far from a common gaming branch.

 

[burrito]

Anyone with this and a G27, worked out an easy way to properly secure the pedal base to the bars? Every time I put it away the pedals slide downwards (toward the seat when unfolded) and its damaging the foam on the pedal supports. Been thinking about fixing it but haven't come up with an easy way to secure it longitudinally yet.

Any advice welcome

 

[Bazooka_Joe]

Anyone with this and a G27, worked out an easy way to properly secure the pedal base to the bars? Every time I put it away the pedals slide downwards (toward the seat when unfolded) and its damaging the foam on the pedal supports. Been thinking about fixing it but haven't come up with an easy way to secure it longitudinally yet.

Any advice welcome

I'm using the velcro strap provided - just tighten it up properly and it'll be pushed down to the foam underneath the pedals which prevents them from falling down when in upright position. Once in a while the velcro needs to be retightened, but not a big deal.

Alternatively you can use the pedal cable and wrap it around the back which should help the pedals to stay in place - just be careful and don't damage the cable by doing so!

 

[burrito]

I'm using the velcro strap provided - just tighten it up properly and it'll be pushed down to the foam underneath the pedals which prevents them from falling down when in upright position. Once in a while the velcro needs to be retightened, but not a big deal.

Alternatively you can use the pedal cable and wrap it around the back which should help the pedals to stay in place - just be careful and don't damage the cable by doing so!

The included velcro belt is not doing it for me. I've had it for a while now and to be tightening it up every other time I get it out is not desirable. I use a load cell mod so it gets really annoying ensuring its placed correctly every time.

 

[Bazooka_Joe]

There were few different versions of this seat, and velcro definitely works for me, especially since the pedals base is wedge shaped, so it should hold it in place.

I suppose tying it around the back would be an option - attach couple of bolts underneath the pedals (should be plenty of space) and run a couple of cable ties towards the top of the unit when in a folded position. Or secure the velcro in place so it won't slide down and pedals would have nowhere to go.