Tried writing this 3 times while at the hospital and the phone browser kept crashing and losing everything...
Im not exactly sure what my questions are at the moment, most of them are things i dont suppose anyone here can help answer, so i'll answer the 3 questions and include some thoughts/concerns along the way.
What's your budget, current room setup and type of race series you enjoy or want to play on?
Budget isn’t firm, but I suspect it’ll end up exceeding £2500 all things considered. I want to go 'buy once, cry once' and i'll wait a month or 2 to complete it if need be, rather than end up selling and rebuying. Right now, im really liking the look of Simagic, specifically the Alpha Mini, Neo GT and P1000s, and seeing multiple buyers in here going down the same path is encouraging. I dont really want to mix & match, and i liked what they had within their eco-system.
Series/Game - i'd most likely be spending most of my time in iRacing, i have a bunch of content (pre-2015) and about $80 credit still on the account. Main interest is in GT3, i like multi-class racing and longer races, and i'd like to get back into endurance events. I'd been thinking about jumping back in at the start of the year, and then i saw the weather update previews and the Sebring 12h weekend and its hard to ignore it. I'd like to try ACC too, given its a good fit, but i'd probably only play it vs AI.
Room setup (
fairly accurate 3d image) is where it gets messy. The 3d layout was created when i decided i wanted to get rid of my Obutto R3v, a steel tube frame, about 18mo ago because it wasnt an efficient use of the space and i hadnt done any sim racing since 2015. I replaced the Obuttu with the desk and Im happy with that decision, but its also giving me a headache now i want to come back and move from a G27 to DD. The desk needs to stay in some form and im unsure how i'd attach it. So far i've come up with 2 possible methods:
- Desk clamp. Simagic sell them for all the units, but it doesnt look like much. I might have to reinforce the desk somehow.
- Buy an extrusion frame kit (or make my own) and have the base right under the desktop. Im not sure whether everything would be at a comfortable height (kb/m, wheel, monitor etc) or compromises would be required.
A Trak Racer type rig wouldnt be a terrible thing, i need something to fix everything down properly, it just needs to fit a specific space that wouldnt be a consideration for anyone else but me. I also need a new chair anyway, so that kinda helps soften the cost a little.
Another important aspect is that I also have long-term health/medical complications (I have the upper body strength of a toddler, and the energy levels of an OAP). So i'll have to run it heavily dialled down, to give you an idea I used to run the G27 (2.3nm) at around 15-25% strength, and im weaker now than i used to be. So part of me is thinking maybe its plausible to just use the desk mount addon.
Does anyone fancy making an educated guess as to whether i'd be able to secure a detuned 10nm base to the desk with FFB suitable for my weak little noodle arms?
What options exist for a frame/chassis kit, besides Trak Racer? ideally based in the UK.
