Sim racers - what are you running?

swannyUK · 5 Jul 2018 at 15:45

I've been sim racing for around 14 years and always used low to mid range wheels. My current being the trusty old Logitech G27.

Lately though I've been longing for the next level and weighed up between the Fanatec CSL range or the Thrustmaster TS-XW. In the end I went for the Thrustmaster as it was a bit cheaper and I could get it from Overclockers and have UK help if it went wrong....well it did. Straight out the box I noticed the downshift paddle wasn't clicking at all until I tried it 3 times and after that it was intermittent. Asked Thrustmaster for a replacement rim but just got a generic check your ffb email. So it's going back to OC for a refund. Uterlly rubbish for a wheel and pedal set that cost over £550!

Have to say in the hour I played before giving up I wasn't blown away with the wheel as much as expected. It was good but not the massive leap I've heard others talk about.

I've come away wondering why I would ever need to move away from a working G27 tbh.

What are others running?

swannyUK · 5 Jul 2018 at 22:30

markoboyo11 said:
That's interesting to hear, I'm on g29 and looking to upgrade to the fanatec elite soon.

Interested to hear that you thought it wasn't a huge upgrade as everyone else says the difference is massive.

The g29 is fine and surprisingly quality feeling but I have to have the ffb very low so it doesn't clip and make noise as I play it at night with baby in the next room. So really need more headroom in the ffb.

Identical to me then, we have a little dude who is almost 2 now and I was looking for something quieter. The belt system is definitelty quieter but you still hear the noise of it turning.

From my very limited time with a "higher end" wheel I'd sum it up as follows

Pro
Feel of an alcantara type wheel was great.
Force feedback does seem smoother with more detail.
No clipping or vibrating

Neutral
Doesn't feel like it would make me quicker or that I'm missing any extra info with the G27 that would aid laptime
Build quality was good but when using it I felt it wasn't as rugged or up to a beating like the g27.

Negative
Pedals are horrible on this model. Don't even care about the lack of load cell - they were just lifeless.
The violence with which the wheel hits the stops when callibrating is ridiculous. I don't know how any wheel could survive this long term.
The price - really not worth over £500.

All this is just my personal opinion and if I had the confidence to buy higher again I'd probably go Fanatec but I've heard too many horror stories about their reliability and returns that I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of money and take the risk again.

My G27 won me 3 online championships and it's a case of it ain't broke don't fix it.

swannyUK · 6 Jul 2018 at 08:30

What load cell mod are you using?

I like my g27 pedals so a load cell would be great.

Did you see the simpit review of the CSL base? It has some ffb rattle but not sure if it's loud enough to bother you.

swannyUK · 6 Jul 2018 at 09:08

That's awesome. How long have you had the fanatec pedals? Had any issues?

swannyUK · 6 Jul 2018 at 10:05

danoliver1 said:
7 months. No issues. Excellent pedals have mine screwed to the floor boards.

Thanks. Just looking at the price, a touch over £200 for those or around £100 for a load cell mod from the US for the g27.

So many options!

swannyUK · 14 Jun 2019 at 13:09

Nice!

My setup now consists on the following:
CSL Elite PS4 wheel base
P1 rim / McLaren GT3 rim
CSL elite LC pedals
G27 shifter with adapter
Custom made seat and pedal base

Couldn't be happier with the fanatec gear.

swannyUK · 15 Feb 2021 at 17:10

My CSL elite ps4 and CSL pedals have been rock solid for years now.

The FFB is great and plenty strong enough. I have in game FFB strength around 60 on most games

swannyUK · 15 Feb 2021 at 19:16

Can't remember if I posted an updated pic since we had our loft done so here's how the race / flying pit is looking. Really pleased with it.

swannyUK · 16 Feb 2021 at 14:17

kevman said:
A different station depending on which sim you are playing - thats what I need. Looks great!

Yep! I got fed up with moving stuff so went with that solution

swannyUK · 16 Feb 2021 at 16:45

GSXR Gaz Mc said:
my god man, get that flag ironed

I might do one day, doesn't bother me haha

swannyUK · 22 Apr 2021 at 19:49

Looking for more people to join the Thursday night sprints here https://www.racedepartment.com/forums/assetto-corsa-competizione-racing-club.187/

I've posted on the OC ACC thread but thought I'd mention it here.

Any questions just PM me

swannyUK · 22 Apr 2021 at 19:55

geekyadz said:
Nice setup. I'm guessing you made that?

Thinking of doing something similar for myself.

Can you please provide me with the dimensions of the desk (height, depth, width) in cm if possible please?

Sorry for the late reply, see below.

Depth - 63cm
W - 200cm
H - 70cm (floor to bottom of the desk)

Seat base I made, desk is an oak kitchen top with Ikea legs and Ikea unit

swannyUK · 23 Apr 2021 at 16:37

Looks great Housey

swannyUK · 25 Apr 2021 at 08:56

RD Racing Club Thursday | Imola Sprint https://beta.simracing.gp/events/H_wSo8izSIkIIIgLH_F7B#cars

Imola this Thursday chaps, would be great to see you on track if you can make it

swannyUK · 25 Apr 2021 at 09:20

Not to sound like a nodding dog but oohhhh yes!

In ACC I think I'll be taking the Bentley for this one, need some stability and good trail braking.

swannyUK · 29 Apr 2021 at 18:22

I suppose it depends on what room you have to play with and budget but 28" and up gaming monitor would be my choice. The wider the better, 120hz-144hz and a low ms latency. 1ms would be ideal.

I've got my Xbox one plugged in to my Samsung ultra wide (there is an option to have the display scale to 1080p)

swannyUK · 29 Apr 2021 at 18:34

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/iiya...esync-ultrawide-gaming-monitor-mo-13j-iy.html

Something like this would be my pick. If you have an Nvidia GPU then that sort of spec with Gsync capability would be good.

I went from 24" to 28" then was going to go triple monitors but read great things about the Samsung super wide and got that. Haven't looked back!

swannyUK · 29 Apr 2021 at 18:42

Yep, you got it.

swannyUK · 30 Apr 2021 at 18:01

+1 for th superwide but yeh if you have room 3 screens would give you a better span

swannyUK · 4 May 2021 at 16:38

If racing is something you're really enjoying and can see yourself doing it for a while then sounds good.

If you don't get on with the gear you can always sell bits and bolt something else on to the rig.

Are you playing anything else that you would swap the rims over for such as GT racing?