SimXperience G-Belt review

[simxperience]

We find ourselves competing with the auto makers for high quality microcontroller chips.

The global shortage is estimated to last well into next year. Sim racing companies don't tend to produce in huge batches like typical consumer electronics companies might (Samsung, etc..).

If the global shortage estimates are true, I would say that it's highly unlikely you will be able to buy any popular sim racing equipment toward the end of 2021 if it includes a quality microcontroller on the circuit board and even less likely that there will be sim racing product discounts this year end. Companies are going to either have to survive on the inventory they have or they will have to close their doors until it's possible to produce products again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing you to buy now, just stating the facts. I'm sure we (and other quality sim racing part makers) will sell out either way. None of us will get priority over the auto makers.

 

[Beef36]

We find ourselves competing with the auto makers for high quality microcontroller chips.

The global shortage is estimated to last well into next year. Sim racing companies don't tend to produce in huge batches like typical consumer electronics companies might (Samsung, etc..).

If the global shortage estimates are true, I would say that it's highly unlikely you will be able to buy any popular sim racing equipment toward the end of 2021 if it includes a quality microcontroller on the circuit board and even less likely that there will be sim racing product discounts this year end. Companies are going to either have to survive on the inventory they have or they will have to close their doors until it's possible to produce products again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing you to buy now, just stating the facts. I'm sure we (and other quality sim racing part makers) will sell out either way. None of us will get priority over the auto makers.

Thanks for the insightful response.

It is a wake up call for those seeking Sim Racing hardware over the next 12 months. If you want something soon, best not to wait.

 

[anton_Chez]

Christ. I ordered the G-Belt on Monday night / early Tueday morning Australian time. I have it IN MY hand and it's Thursday evening. It came today. I can't even fathom how that is possible!

Also, DEARY ME, is it heavy!

 

[anton_Chez]

This thing is a beast. I was a little worried how the thin fiberglass shell of the seat would provide a sturdy mount for the G-Belt but it seems to be pretty secure. The stock bolts were just long enough to make it through to the threaded holes on the unit. I'm yet to sit in it, I am hoping that the cap heads on the bolts do not cause me discomfort when sitting back but it's at a point where I rarely place my head so it should be fine.

I'm using the "internal" belt mount method. however I have a tonne of belt left over that I intend to roll and tie up as shown in the OP. Is there any reason I would use the external mount? I like the idea of not having the belts mounted all the way at the bottom like I used to, it's a lot cleaner if they just finish up around the unit. Also, it's correct that the belts just sit over the arms inside the unit and not actually tied or wrapped on them, no? I had a hard time understanding how they moved the belts but when I was threading them I pushed it a little and can see the concept. I've followed the manuals as best I could understand and I'm pretty sure it's all as specified.

Now to turn it on....

 

[simxperience]

Don't forget that Microsoft has currently borked automatic driver installation in Windows 10. We're still working with them to get it sorted.

If you have the Windows 10 20H2 update, you will need to go to the start menu and type 'View Optional Updates', expand the driver updates section and install any SimXperience and/or FTDI devices offered there. Repeat this process until no SimXperience drivers are offered.

After this driver installation, you can fire up Sim Commander.

 

[Tim Meuris]

My gs5seat has arrived 2 weeks ago. I didn't know the situation was so 'critical'. Makes me twice as relieved!

 

[anton_Chez]

First try of the G-Belt..... WOW! Super effective translations of just about any lateral, vertical or longitudinal force! I was particularly impressed by the feeling of bumps felt through the tightening and slackening of the belts. It's very authentic in most cases and I can definitely see myself playing with the tuning of those to incorporate them into the profile. The braking speaks for itself. It's SO cool feeling everything tighten under the brake force and honestly I think with a little getting used to, it's easily going to be a useful tool to modulate brake pressure and improve stopping distance and control. It's the one area, even with all the gear imaginable, that's really lost in translation when comparing simulator to real life. This is easily the best solution I've felt for feeling realistic braking force, without distracting movement of the chassis and the inherent problems with it when you mix in brake, gear shifts and modulating the pedal all at once.

I've only had an hour or so in it and it's super late so no more playing with it right now but I'll be diving into the profile and effect settings over the next few days and really looking forward to seeing what I can achieve with it. Even gear changes now blend in so much better with the Simvibe gear effect for tactile units. Now you get the feeling of inertia coupled with the bump from engaging the gear. A great synergy should be possible there now.

 

[wajdi]

First try of the G-Belt..... WOW! Super effective translations of just about any lateral, vertical or longitudinal force! I was particularly impressed by the feeling of bumps felt through the tightening and slackening of the belts. It's very authentic in most cases and I can definitely see myself playing with the tuning of those to incorporate them into the profile. The braking speaks for itself. It's SO cool feeling everything tighten under the brake force and honestly I think with a little getting used to, it's easily going to be a useful tool to modulate brake pressure and improve stopping distance and control. It's the one area, even with all the gear imaginable, that's really lost in translation when comparing simulator to real life. This is easily the best solution I've felt for feeling realistic braking force, without distracting movement of the chassis and the inherent problems with it when you mix in brake, gear shifts and modulating the pedal all at once.

I've only had an hour or so in it and it's super late so no more playing with it right now but I'll be diving into the profile and effect settings over the next few days and really looking forward to seeing what I can achieve with it. Even gear changes now blend in so much better with the Simvibe gear effect for tactile units. Now you get the feeling of inertia coupled with the bump from engaging the gear. A great synergy should be possible there now.

I’m glad you like it.
Do you use 4 or 5 point harness? I use 6 point and I believe that 5/6 points seatbelt is a must for G-Belt.

 

[fwyflyer]

I like reading all of the favorable reviews. But, has nobody considered the price. The price seems waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high to me.

 

[simxperience]

I like reading all of the favorable reviews. But, has nobody considered the price. The price seems waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high to me.

If you sit down and add up the key components you'll quickly realize that's not the case:

-4 axis motor controller (same one that we use on the GS-5, capable of 8000 updates per second and lifting humans at speeds sufficient to simulate G-Forces

-2x low backlash, high quality gearboxes and ball bearings

-2x motors

-2x 4k encoders

-enclosure for controller

-Meanwell PSU

-Machined arms

-metal fabrication

-power coating

Then add to that:

-R&D cost to make it fit an extremely wide variety of seats and mounting configurations
-Support

-Wages for assembly, healthcare for these workers

-Warranty costs associated with people doing absurd things and blaming us

-Software with well maintained cloud tuning database and associated infrastructure costs, etc...

It adds up pretty quick.

 

[anton_Chez]

I’m glad you like it.
Do you use 4 or 5 point harness? I use 6 point and I believe that 5/6 points seatbelt is a must for G-Belt.

I have a 5 point cam but I seem to only be able to relocate 4 of the harnesses for it. I cannot remember if I actually got 5 harnesses or only the 4 and the 5th point is just provisional. Nonetheless, when I had motion I only ever used 4 and from my time with it tonight during a 2 hour endurance event, I at no point felt the need to utilise the crotch harness. The lap belts are firm and are enough to withstand the pulling of the shoulder belts. I might find that not to be the case when I play more with the settings and increase the intensity but honestly out of the box, the 100% brake feel is pretty strong and you don't want to be suffocated the entire time you're in the seat.

The price? I think for a ready made, professionally created solution, it's actually very good value. If you compare the cost of a non DIY motion platform, you're well into the thousands of dollars and at the entry level, they tend to leave a lot to be desired. It's only when you really get into the mid and high end motion that things start to get good from what I have seen. For $5K+ and requiring a suitable rig, plus all the cabling and extra stuff you need to mess around with motion can quickly become a burden. If you're in the US, for around a thousand bucks, you have a solution that only requires a bucket seat and existing harness to get the most out of the system. With it, you can generate practically ALL of the forces you'd rely on feeling in a real vehicle. Tactile definitely helps round out the experience but honestly, I think this is easily the best bang for the buck addition to adding immersion and realism to your sim racing all while offering useful cues to help improve your driving. When you consider that it has not only one, but dual servo motors to service individual shoulder harnesses it's actually quite a good deal.

 

[Beef36]

I'm thinking of getting one with a Universal Mount connected at the bottom of the seat.

I'm wondering, will the seat belts rub against the 2 holes in the seat, and if so, how do I protect the seat and the belts from rubbing?

 

[anton_Chez]

I don't understand? The belts go through the holes in the seat and the seat holes have plastic surrounds that do exactly as you say. For what it's worth, I'd do away with the thought of the bottom mount and just drill 2 6-7mm holes in between the belt slots there and mount it direct. The action of the pulling straight back rather than down is what makes it so convincing. I've tried passive tensioners with the harness mounted to the bottom and can understand the concept. You really do feel it all through your chest with the belt action pulling straight back and being very close to your body. You also avoid the harness messing with the Buttkickers mounted on the lower rear of the seat, which is exactly where I have one of mine.

 

[worms14]

Can you count on a video review of this solution in the future?

There are very few films in the network with G Belt, and I am very curious how loud this device is, but I can't find anything about it.
Maybe there would be a person who would make a movie, where the action from the top and the commonality is shown, the volume and noise emitted by the G Belt are also recorded?

 

[wajdi]

I built a tower behind my seat and mounted the G-Belt on it.
For me it’s the best software

 

[anton_Chez]

Question: My lap belts, are VERY difficult to tighten once I connect the buckles into the cam. When I am out of the seat, they pull tight, but the direction the belt sits when I am in the seat makes it IMPOSSIBLE to pull tight. Therefore, I have to have my lap belts always very tight and putting it on is a pain in the arse.

Is this normal? Or do I have them fitted incorrectly? I've been happy that they don't move, as I had a dodgy harness a little while ago and when motion was going the belts would always come loose. This one is great, it's a proper race harness so I've never really bothered to change it again. I can pull the shoulder straps tight without too much effort. Getting them back loose however is also a pain. You need to push the belt through the loop, create some slack, then pull the slack through, all with two hands.

Anyone have any feedback on how they get themselves prepped? Adding the harness back in has made things significantly harder now with the earbud cable, the G1 big boy cable and the harness itself all making my life harder. It's OK once you're in but if you ever forget something, say goodbye to 5 minutes doing it all again!

 

[blekenbleu]

SimXperience appears to have changed their webserver;
their site no longer accepts my password.

 

[anton_Chez]

This is HIGHLY annoying, happened to me just now, too.

Was planning on testing the G-Belt some more. Guess not.

Edit: Apparently you can use the non cloud profiles so I'll just mess with that for the time being. I don't even remember putting in a user name and password to log into the owners club. I was being logged in with a generic name and password after I installed SimCommander again when the G-Belt came.

Hopefully there is some sort of update or info available to let us know what's happening. Looks like the website got a face lift but in the transition I've had to create a new log in and it does not contain any of my recent purchase information.

 

[simxperience]

SimXperience appears to have changed their webserver;
their site no longer accepts my password.

Sorry gentlemen. We are in the process of updating our website.

Part of that is splitting off the cloud tuning functionality. The redirects for the web services in Sim Commander did not function as expected, so we had to revert back to the old website while it gets sorted out.

There will be an update to Sim Commander this evening that points it directly at the webservices rather than needing to be redirected. Please be sure to accept the update.

Again, I apologize for the inconvenience.

 

[blekenbleu]

We are in the process of updating our website.

Would appreciate another reply when updates complete
including whether current passwords are expected to work for logins at simxperience.com
Also, the updated website seemingly wanted an email address for login
where the old one wanted a userid; is that change likely to persist?