SimXperience G-Belt review

[RCHeliguy]

So far I've only been using the G-Belt in iRacing. I need to try Dirt Rally 2.0. I have ACC installed on my computer, but I haven't used it or allowed Steam to make software updates to it for a long time.

 

[anton_Chez]

I've only recently returned to using it, so I'll spend more time with it and report back what I am finding. Two races tonight were fine, no stopping or cutting out or anything, but the menu tension still persists. Interestingly, if you "return to garage", click Drive and then return to garage again, it stops. But sometimes you can't to that, like at the beginning of a race. So this needs to be addressed. I will compile a list of what I would call bugs, and pass them on to the relevant party.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Since the True Drive Paddock opened up, I've been enjoying the FFB better in both iRacing and Dirt Rally 2.0. I'll try DR 2.0 this morning, and I may even start up KartKraft just to see how it feels.

 

[RCHeliguy]

In Dirt Rally 2.0 the G-Belt works fine and adds a bit to the immersion, but it's not nearly as compelling as it is on the track. The NLRv3 is what sells Rally for me with the SC2 FFB using the new profile I'm using and some help from tactile. I'd say SC2 FFB followed closely by NLRv3 ( lots of motion) , then Tactile with G-Belt in last place.

In iRacing I'd say the order of importance is SC2 FFB, G-Belt(braking), Tactile( wheel slide) , NLRv3 ( general immersion )

So I think it's obvious that where the G-Belt shines is on the track.

 

[blekenbleu]

Out of curiosity is there a big performance drop from moving the G-belt from the back of the seat to the base of the rig ?

Supposing that low-friction rollers are located at shoulder height
to redirect belt tensions from vertical to horizontal,
there should be no appreciable performance impact.
Even cheap 2-inch harnesses do not stretch appreciably for the tensions being applied
(around 20kg from my DIY tensioners).

 

[RCHeliguy]

From 5 minutes on this video shows a close up of the G-Belt operating from the side and then from directly overhead. From those angles the G-Belt action is easy to follow.

I turned off my NLRv3 to shoot this and sadly I didn't feel like I was missing much.

For me this helped verify:

1. That the seat isn't flexing where the G-Belt is through bolted.
2. That despite the fact that the Prisma seatbelt openings don't seem wide enough, the belts coming off my shoulders are angled so that it works.
3. That the sound that the G-Belt makes isn't intrusive. The auto-gain is up and you can hear my Index headphones in the background which are set at 60% volume.

It is also obvious that my NLRv3 pivot doesn't hold the seat very still.

 

[vannib]

From 5 minutes on this video shows a close up of the G-Belt operating from the side and then from directly overhead. From those angles the G-Belt action is easy to follow.

I turned off my NLRv3 to shoot this and sadly I didn't feel like I was missing much.

For me this helped verify:

1. That the seat isn't flexing where the G-Belt is through bolted.
2. That despite the fact that the Prisma seatbelt openings don't seem wide enough, the belts coming off my shoulders are angled so that it works.
3. That the sound that the G-Belt makes isn't intrusive. The auto-gain is up and you can hear my Index headphones in the background which are set at 60% volume.

It is also obvious that my NLRv3 pivot doesn't hold the seat very still.

I chime in after a few days of proper testing.
My rig:
- Motion Platform V3, Traction Plus, G Belt, Buttkicker, bass shakers on Brake and Gas activating with ABS and TC. Sparco Seat with 6 point harness set very, very tight.
- Software: ACC, SimHub for shakers, SimCommander for Belt, Software for the motion platforms. I only race in VR with Reverb G2.

After setting up i reached a balance in which everything i feel is perfectly blended together.
In particular, i turned down the motion platform to 50%, reduced bumps setting, kept at 100% lateral and longitudinal forces which gives acceleration/braking and lateral G Force.
The G Belt is set on its standard 100% setting with focus on braking and cornering, and reduced settings for bumps.

Now everything feels just right, i am completely locked into my seat, like really locked in, the G Belt reactions are swift and precise, and it does significantly add to immersion. For the price of the thing, relatively to what adding motion to a rig generally costs, i would say it is absolutely worth it.

It is true that the V3 is unable to stay perfectly stiff and this is its single drawback, measuring it it flexes for about 0.5cm i.e. under braking (it has always been this way). It is not perfect, but it is what it is.

It is absolutely key to truly tight into the harness. I'd say that a 5-6 points harness is an absolute must for the G-Belt.

I would say that they key with motion platforms etc is to reduce the manufacturer standard forces, as those are meant more to "impress" vs. giving real realistic feedback. Besides, the added benefit is that you reduce stress on them.

I would say that the G-Belt besides adding up on immersion (meaning fun), does give and edge on improving performance.

While i've understood that for some type of people, like me, 50% of the fun is on the driving and 50% is on the tinkering, i am truly having a freaking blast in racing with my rig (which admittedly is a very, very expensive rig).

 

[anton_Chez]

Had another drop out of the G-Belt yesterday. Software is still running, the unit is still running, I can hear the motors receiving power as they are making the usual coil whine-y noise. It just stops mid session, dead. When I go back to the Simcommander window, I think (I cannot remember for certain now) that it gives me the little error messages, like when you turn everything off in the wrong order, 4 or 5 times, followed by another 4 or 5 times, and then the software closes.

When I relaunch it and try to connect, it all works as normal. No reconnecting of cables or power cycling, it just works. So I am now wondering, where is the disconnect? I know this isn't a tech support thread, but I'd like some feedback from other users and what their feelings are on it. I've mentioned previously that I am running the Extreme mode, but nothing is set over 100% and I would not consider the settings excessive in any way. I doubt it's a USB issue, as those normally require you to at least power cycle the device to reconnect it. This doesn't do that.

I'm frustrated. I removed motion from my system for this very reason and I've replaced it with another device doing similar things. I have an AMD X570 build but I am up to date on all my BIOS revisions and all my USB connectivity issues inherent to the platform recently have been resolved, as far as I know. Both times it was in ACC, I think, again I cannot be certain. But last night it was in ACC definitely. There is still the menu bug that exists at least in that title and I'll need to find time this weekend to investigate with other titles for it.

 

[blekenbleu]

where is the disconnect?

Possible failure points:

• between game and Sim Commander
• in Sim Commander
• between Sim Commander and G-Belt
• in G-Belt

If also using Sim Commander for another device (e.g. SimVibe),
note whether that quit at the same time.
Otherwise, enable Sim Commander telemetry logging,
then check whether logging continued after G-Belt went catatonic:
Lap Telemetry Logging & Analysis

Also check log in Documents\SimXperience Commander 4\Temp\

what their feelings are

AccuForce can be used with or without Sim Commander;
using AccuForce without Sim Commander has been less problematic.

 

[anton_Chez]

I think it's more likely that there is an issue with SimCommander itself, as the hardware does not seem to stop working or disconnect from the USB connection. I can hear that it's still running, and the device does not require to be unplugged and re plugged nor does it require a power cycle. So to me it's either ACC and SimCommander not playing nicely together (which someone mentioned that ACC is not listed as a supported game yet?), as seen with the menu bug I mentioned earlier. Or the connection between SimCommander and the G-Belt breaks while the software is still running because it doesn't actually crash and quit itself.

I'll see if I can enable the logging, but in general I try to disable this stuff because in the past there has been issues with logging and VR performance.

For reference the G-Belt is the only thing I use SC for and I would not run the software at all if not for that device.

 

[blekenbleu]

someone mentioned that ACC is not listed as a supported game yet

ACC is/was discussed in the old owners club forum: https://simxperience.azurewebsites.net/
.. and is reportedly auto-discovered, but is not in their list of supported games:
https://www.simxperience.com/supported-games

If you were to contact SimXperience support,
they would most likely ask to check their logs:

Documents\SimXperience Commander 4\Temp\

in the past there has been issues with logging

In fact, telemetry was noted as unavailable for ACC launched with the cloud tuning profile. Instead, the default ACC profile should be used.
Supposing G-Belt is driven based on telemetry signals, that may be the issue.

 

[anton_Chez]

I looked through the log in the folder you mentioned @blekenbleu , and it seems that there indeed is a timeout registered there in the last session that I ran it when it dropped out. So I'll be sure to test further on other titles, and create a manual profile for ACC and see if it cures both the drop outs, as well as the buggy menu behaviour.

 

[RCHeliguy]

So far I've not experienced any issues with iRacing or Dirt Rally 2.0. My time is probably 70:30 iRacing/DR2.

This is not meant as an attack on any other sim title, but as a rule of thumb, everything always runs well in iRacing. You can already have iRacing running with a control disconnected where it shows you the Yellow "Configure" button and then just plug that control in and it immediately recognizes it and the configure button goes away.

The Original Dirt Rally 1.0 would lose all of your control settings and drop you back to keyboard config if you forgot to plug them in when you opened up the game requiring you to reconfigure all of them. After being burned so many times, I've learned not to do that with DR2, so I don't even know if that problem still exists.

I've not tried ACC or KartKraft yet.
I uninstalled PC2 and AC a while back.

 

[anton_Chez]

How could ANYBODY uninstall AC????? I think even as much as I love ACC and have respect for all the other titles for what they offer, if I was to choose only one sim to have installed and race in, it would be AC every day of the week.

I'll give a run in other titles to confirm, and also, I'll run the non cloud profile in ACC and see if anything changes.

 

[RCHeliguy]

How could ANYBODY uninstall AC????? I think even as much as I love ACC and have respect for all the other titles for what they offer, if I was to choose only one sim to have installed and race in, it would be AC every day of the week.

I'll give a run in other titles to confirm, and also, I'll run the non cloud profile in ACC and see if anything changes.

It's pretty simple actually.

I started out with PC2 and it did nothing for me, but I got Dirt Rally 1.0 and loved that, so I spent most of my time in DR. Then I installed AC and for VR it was incredibly clunky ( out of the box ) especially compared to PC2 that was designed for VR. I looked at all the patches and mods I would need to make AC do what it was capable of and I wasn't ready to take that deep dive. But the fact is that I wasn't taking racing against AI seriously and I lost interest in driving the track. When I tried iRacing, I immediately felt more involved because I was racing against real people and realized I sucked as a driver. So I started learning how to drive. I got the VRS subscription to see the videos of how I should drive the tracks and compared my telemetry data to see where I could improve etc..

So the bottom line is I never gave AC a chance and the lure of racing against real people hooked me so I never looked back. I think I picked up ACC shortly before I jumped into iRacing and I've only been in it a couple times shortly after it was released and still had a lot of issues. Most of those issues have been resolved by now based on the following it has.

It takes effort to dial in each game with motion ,tactile, FFB, etc.. and I decided to simply focus on iRacing and DR2.

I'm not a fan boy. I'm just using what I like and nothing more. Given the money I have in my rig, I don't consider the subscription cost + DLC an issue. That's all. Use what you like!

 

[anton_Chez]

My only point to it was that AC is probably the most balanced sim overall when you consider all the key factors. Not that any other title wasn't worth the time. Not at all. But I'll always have AC on my system, it's such a versatile sim and does most things almost exceptionally well, to me.

 

[wajdi]

In the last 11 years I used only rfactor2. For me physics/tire model is the most important thing . Rfactor2 is simply the best… I tried AC some times, it’s very good but I didn’t like the FFB of it.

 

[anton_Chez]

I actually feel sorry for you only using rf2 for over a decade.... !!

Anyway we're a little off topic now so we shouldn't derail any further. I'm mostly to blame.

 

[anton_Chez]

One question I wanted to ask. I replaced my NX1000D amplifier fan with a MUCH quieter one, as I got sick of having to turn the main unit on every time I wanted to drive. I have my gear all connected via a power board that connects to one outlet plug. So one switch from the mains and everything is on. However that amp is actually criminally loud, it's a leaf blower level of loud. The SimXperience box is slightly better but still nowhere near the level I'd like to have it. I've read in places that people have actually removed the fan entirely. Anybody done that hear for the G-Belt? I was going to do it for the amp but ti does drive some decent power to the bass shaker connected to it and I thought better of it. If the SimX one can get away with just removing it, or unplugging from the PCB, I might just do that. Worst case I'll order another of the fans I got already. I found a nice cheap one that's done the job incredibly well, but if it doesn't need it, I'll just save the hassle.

 

[RCHeliguy]

My NX4-6000 was also loud and I installed a Noctua fan that is much quieter.

Where I have my controller box located centered behind my seat on the floor which is carpeted, I don't hear mine while I'm in my seat.

That said, if you open the box you will find the fan is part of the Meanwell power supply and I would not recommend that you remove that fan.

The good news is that this is the RSP line which is the nicer more efficient line. I've got one of their 2kW x 48V RSP PS's and it runs very nicely. I have another that is a 24V x 1000W and it's a Meanwell SE and runs much louder.

FYI, my 2kW Meanwell PS feeds 2 x Dual charging units. Technically at 120V it is de-rated to about 1800W which is fine because my 2kW generator doesn't really run 2kW continuous.