Simagic M10

[rjkoneill]

Hi RD

Looking to upgrade my wheel at some point this year. Currently using a T300 with CSL LC pedals on a GT1 Evo.

My plan was to grab a CSL wheel or maybe a CS2.5 but this Simagic unit seems very affordable, especially compared to the cost of a fanatec clubsport base and any of their compatible wheels.

The wheel and quick release look really well built, good features on the buttonbox and plenty of mounting options on the wheelbase itself.

I know it's early days but what would be my main drawbacks considering a relatively new unit like this other than software support?

It looks like the torque figures are much lower than other DD bases, but would it be significantly more detailed than a belt driven unit?

My only experience with DD is a business meeting I had at Vesaro around 5 years ago when I worked at OcUK and it was mind-blowing but I think that opinion was swayed by the simulator as a whole and not just the wheel specifically. (I ran nords in their top of the range setup on the day).

I have only spotted a few videos on YouTube with brief overviews on the Simagic unit so I guess nobody has one in hand yet? I also know nothing about the development of this product or its background

 

[mrswadge]

It still opens and pivots so you can get in.

Brilliant, thanks

 

[mrswadge]

It still opens and pivots so you can get in.

Final question from me, thanks for replying so quickly to my previous posts too.

With the steering mounting plate pushed towards the pedals/screen, it means drilling some of the swivel mounting. I'm fine with that as I don't think that would affect strength especially. This would be to accommodate the DD1 centre mounting screw.

The back two mounting holes (nearest the pedals/screen) are already pre-drilled, so these can simply be used as they are. This is fine.

If I were to use all five mounting holes on the base of the DD1, then I need to drill the two wider holes near the steering wheel, but these look to overlap with the brackets which mount the steering mount plate to the chair bar.

Did you go with a five point mount and drill the remaining two holes or did you go with a three point mount?

Thanks again!

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

Yup, you need to scallop the swivel mounting a bit in the centre - you don't need to remove much material and almost two years later mine is holding up fine to heavy use. I only fixed with 3 bolts - otherwise it would require more drilling of the swivel - right next to the mounting screw - this seems a bad idea to me. 3 bolts is fine though - the base is solid to the plate. The only holes I drilled in the plate are at the back for the supports that minimise rotational and vertical flex. Because a picture tells a thousand words...

 

[mrswadge]

Yup, you need to scallop the swivel mounting a bit in the centre - you don't need to remove much material and almost two years later mine is holding up fine to heavy use. I only fixed with 3 bolts - otherwise it would require more drilling of the swivel - right next to the mounting screw - this seems a bad idea to me. 3 bolts is fine though - the base is solid to the plate. The only holes I drilled in the plate are at the back for the supports that minimise rotational and vertical flex. Because a picture tells a thousand words...

Thanks @GagarynGaribaldi, that's really helpful! Very much appreciated.

 

[BluntedDonkey]

I picked up a Simagic M10 second hand on the forum here. I haven't seen much written about them, so I thought I would post a few of my thoughts.

- The wheel was pretty much plug and play. There's a facebook group to download the software from (and an ini file needed for dirt rally 2) and then it worked straight out of the box. I've tried the wheel with ACC, AMS2, RF2 and R3E so far, no problems with any of them and getting the settings dialled in was fairly straightforward.

- I came from a Thrustmaster T300 and I can say that the M10 is a massive leap forward. I haven't tried any other DD bases, or the CSW 2.5 so I can't compare it directly to them. I will say that the biggest difference for me is the speed of the thing, it reacts so much more quickly and I can catch slides I would never have been able to catch with the T300. This seems to be an advantage inherent in a DD wheel, since AKAIK belt drive wheels are geared down to allow the use of a weaker motor. This gearing to increase torque would obviously come at the cost of speed. The M10 is significantly cheaper than any other DD wheel I'm aware of (at least in Europe, where we would have to pay hefty tax on an accuforce) so it seems to me that it competes mainly against the CSW2.5. I'd be interested if anyone has tried both for a fair comparison.

- The quality of the hardware is simply outstanding. The wheel rim feels like a proper premium product and the QR is fantastic. That said, the GT1 rim it comes with is very heavy. A useful tip I have discovered is that the QR is compatible with the D1 Spec QRs available on ebay for about £50 each. I've bought a few so that I can run some custom USB rims as well. With some lighter rims it comes alive even more.

When I was looking into this wheel there were a few issues identified in the small number of reviews that are out there. Here are my thoughts on them:

- Some people have had issues with missed shifts on the wheel. I haven't encountered anything like this (yet).

- One reviewer commented on a "notchy" feel due to the use of a stepper motor (rather than servo). This is certainly true when turning the wheel without any force on it. I have not been able to detect it when running with FFB on so for me its a non issue.

- A few people raised concerns about software & support given that this is a chinese product. There is an active community on facebook (in English) which helps a lot with this and a representative of Simagic frequently posts there. It is a somewhat unconventional method of support, but it seems to work. The software has a few questionable translations and a slightly unpolished UI, but has worked flawlessly for me. I was worried that it would a bit impenetrable, but its actually very logical and was pretty easy to get everything dialled in to my liking. I have no experience with DD bases and I was able to figure it out quickly. I cannot speak about returns/warranty etc. as I have not had any issues with mine.

I hope this might be useful to anyone thinking about buying one of these and I'd be interested to hear from anyone else on here who has one and wants to discuss settings.

could you link the facebook group please

 

[Sim-Motion]

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