Well for me I've become addicted to sim racing and hardware, plus I have an understanding wife who supports me in my obsession!
I started out life on console with a Microsoft ffb wheel and Xbone 360, then moved over to PC with the trusty Logitec G25 (which I've still got in reserve) clamped to a wooden table in front of my little 19" monitor. I even fashioned a nice block of wood to push against the wall and keep my pedals half stable under load...
Fast forward a whole bunch of years (has it really been that long...) and I've amassed a bit of a collection that continues to grow. So much so that we recently had to build a considerable extension as the man cave wasn't big enough anymore (I badged it up as having a playroom build for the boy and the wife assumed the upstairs room would be for a new master bedroom - ha fool!!!).
Now I'm running the following kit:
GT Omega Supreme rig
Nice piece of kit, very solid and no flex plus it fits my 6ft 5 frame and long legs quite nice. Bit of a shame that the seating position is maybe more upright than is idea, but no big deal.
Fanatec Clubsport V2 wheel base and quick release wheel adapter.
Love this thing. It feels like good quality German engineering and the ffb feels simply superb in most sims imho. I've had good reliability so far (touch wood) and just love the thing. With the wheel adapter I've got a F1 style wheel for open wheel cars, GT style for GT and road and a big old wooden one for classics and truckin'... love it! Bought it because the intention was to experience the best ffb possible and improve immersion as much as possible.
Fanatec CSP V2 pedals.
Again some great kit and plenty happy with them, plus I really like the load cell element of the pedals (where it registers pressure rather than pedal distance travel). Nowadays I see some superb kit from the likes of
@Niels_at_home and Derek Spears Designs amongst others, so these might get looked at again in future as I feel a good pedal set is key to consistency and realism. Very keen to look at these further when budget allows.
Fanatec V1.5 Shifter.
Gives me the option of h-pattern or sequential, feels solid as a rock and is made of metal. Great kit. Picked this because I simply love manual shifting in either sequential or h-shifting, and the kit gives a nice solid feel between gears.
DSD Race King Button Box.
Originally bought this for the ability to have more buttons than I have access to on my wheel. The plan was to map various commands and chat phrases. Sadly I never got round to it so now it's basically just a pretty thing to make the rig look better... might be selling in future as I don't really use it now (or ever really).
DSD Fanatec side panels.
These attach to both sides of the wheelbase and are for me essential. It has toggles, buttons and even a starter switch. I use this for key functions such as brake bias adjustments, ignition, wipers and lights. Stuff like that. Plus everyone likes a toggle switch don't they.......
Buttkicker Gamer 2...
Something fairly new to my setup, but due to other circumstances I've not had the chance to properly install and set them up yet. The plan is to have 1 on each corner and one under the seat. I've got 2 v1's and 2 v2's at the moment and on the lookout for another v2. Basically it's a cheaper alternative to upgrading to motion.
Triple screens & VR. Since getting the Rift CV1 used on eBay I've pretty much gone for VR from that point, for the reasons that are often discussed in game forums that I'll not regurgitate again here. One of the biggest things I've ever done in terms of immersion and increasing realism. Works out cheaper than 3 decent 27" monitors too....
I'm probably a bit unusual as a sim racer in that performance out on track doesn't really matter much to me. I don't care for putting it on pole and walking away from the field (which is lucky because I'm not that fast!), I like a close fight and to feel as close to the real thing as I possibly can. That has been the only influence in my hardware purchases, realism and the quest to get as close to the real thing as I can.
Sim racing is an expensive but very rewarding hobby and no matter what you run you can always find something bigger and better around the corner. To be honest that for me is all part of the fun! I love saving up over the months and making a new purchase, trawling though the big wide world of the web and searching out a bargain, it's great fun!
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