Sim racers - what are you running?

[MassiveJim]

So I had the opportunity to have a go on a pretty nice sim setup today, spent about 45minutes on it and it has had me looking at sim racing kit since.

The setup apparently cost around £12k new 3/4 years ago.
Will a more budget friendly setup come anywhere close ?
The setup I had a go on was
3 x 32" samsung curved 144hz monitors
Simucube DD motor + F1 style steering wheel
Heusinkveld Ultimate pedals
Not sure on the rig itself, but it looks very similar to a trakracer with a sparco bucket seat


I have looked up the prices of this kit and I'm definitely not in the market to spank £5k on a brand new full setup.


I have a decent spec machine already and a Samsung ultrawide Odyssey monitor.

There is such a variety of prices and kit out there, I don't really know where to start.
There is a possibility of me borrowing a G29 off a mate (haven't asked him yet) just to get a feel for it and see if it would be suitable

 

[ShiWarrior]

i have a playseat challenge, and im trying to find a replacement part of this

anyone able to help me find one ?

its this part that stops the wheel from dropping

 

[andy_mk3]

So I had the opportunity to have a go on a pretty nice sim setup today, spent about 45minutes on it and it has had me looking at sim racing kit since.

The setup apparently cost around £12k new 3/4 years ago.
Will a more budget friendly setup come anywhere close ?
The setup I had a go on was
3 x 32" samsung curved 144hz monitors
Simucube DD motor + F1 style steering wheel
Heusinkveld Ultimate pedals
Not sure on the rig itself, but it looks very similar to a trakracer with a sparco bucket seat


I have looked up the prices of this kit and I'm definitely not in the market to spank £5k on a brand new full setup.


I have a decent spec machine already and a Samsung ultrawide Odyssey monitor.

There is such a variety of prices and kit out there, I don't really know where to start.
There is a possibility of me borrowing a G29 off a mate (haven't asked him yet) just to get a feel for it and see if it would be suitable

Certainly don't need to spend that much to get into it. The Logi G29/G920 is a good entry point, but personally I would go straight to a direct drive wheel as they are far superior and not all that much more expensive, especially if you can pick up a good second hand deal which there's usually no shortage of.

 

[MassiveJim]

Certainly don't need to spend that much to get into it. The Logi G29/G920 is a good entry point, but personally I would go straight to a direct drive wheel as they are far superior and not all that much more expensive, especially if you can pick up a good second hand deal which there's usually no shortage of.

I'm definitely leaning heavily towards a DD wheel, it was the whole feel of the setup I tried that I am trying to replicate, I feel like a cheaper wheel just wouldn't be the same.
I have ordered a set of pedals already, just weighing everything else up now.
Si Turnbull rigs look like a great option,, £200 without the monitor stand (won't need that at present as I will have to use my main PC monitor)
Seating wise from reading it looks like bucket seats might not actually be that great of an option, a lot of people say they have gone with a normal car seat for comfort.
I've found a sportyish car seat on ebay in good nick around £100 or someone on MM is selling a reclining bucket seat for similar money, can't decide which way to go. the bucket seat I sat in definitely added to the experience but would it be comfortable for a couple of hours, I don't know.

wheel wise, is there any reason to choose a Moza over a fanatec over a Thrustmaster etc ?
Moza R9 looks like a good place for me to start, not stupid money but still has a fair amount of power (9nm)

 

[andy_mk3]

I'm definitely leaning heavily towards a DD wheel, it was the whole feel of the setup I tried that I am trying to replicate, I feel like a cheaper wheel just wouldn't be the same.
I have ordered a set of pedals already, just weighing everything else up now.
Si Turnbull rigs look like a great option,, £200 without the monitor stand (won't need that at present as I will have to use my main PC monitor)
Seating wise from reading it looks like bucket seats might not actually be that great of an option, a lot of people say they have gone with a normal car seat for comfort.
I've found a sportyish car seat on ebay in good nick around £100 or someone on MM is selling a reclining bucket seat for similar money, can't decide which way to go. the bucket seat I sat in definitely added to the experience but would it be comfortable for a couple of hours, I don't know.

wheel wise, is there any reason to choose a Moza over a fanatec over a Thrustmaster etc ?
Moza R9 looks like a good place for me to start, not stupid money but still has a fair amount of power (9nm)

Sounds like you're on the right track already then. Which pedals did you order? I have a Si Turnball rig and I am super happy with it, especially for what it costs vs other options. Bucket seats can be comfortable, the one I have isn't very comfy but it is really old (90's) and all the foam is no good any more. I know a trimmer who said he will sort it for me for just material cost though so I'll stick with it. But seat is of course very much a personal preference, a decent bucket can be very comfy but a regular car seat would be better still, but might take away from the 'racing' feel perhaps lol.

I think Moza and Fanatec have a much better name than Thrustmaster in the world of DD wheels, they both offer a good selection of products. I'm very happy with my Fanatec stuff, and I know people that love their Moza stuff. The difference might come down to what deal you find, I found a great deal on the MM for my Fanatec stuff so that's the route I went down.

 

[MassiveJim]

Sounds like you're on the right track already then. Which pedals did you order? I have a Si Turnball rig and I am super happy with it, especially for what it costs vs other options. Bucket seats can be comfortable, the one I have isn't very comfy but it is really old (90's) and all the foam is no good any more. I know a trimmer who said he will sort it for me for just material cost though so I'll stick with it. But seat is of course very much a personal preference, a decent bucket can be very comfy but a regular car seat would be better still, but might take away from the 'racing' feel perhaps lol.

I think Moza and Fanatec have a much better name than Thrustmaster in the world of DD wheels, they both offer a good selection of products. I'm very happy with my Fanatec stuff, and I know people that love their Moza stuff. The difference might come down to what deal you find, I found a great deal on the MM for my Fanatec stuff so that's the route I went down.

Simjack pro pedals, £140 delivery from ali express for brake and accelerator.
Obviously i haven't just randomly found these, they are generally highly regarded although looks like I might have a bit more config to do than just buying an "off the shelf" product

I'm guessing I'll need to find a pedal plate or heel rest for them. I would have bought them with one but they only did the 3 pedal set with the plate and that pushed the price up to £240, and I'm pretty certain I won't be using a clutch pedal, not even thinking of buying a shifter at this point

I was initially thinking of building a cheapy cheap rig out of 4x2 or 6x2 timber to see if i would like it or not, but the si turnbull rig is cheap enough to make me not want to bother, measuring cutting, working out how to mount the kit to wood, probably spending £100+ on adapter plates and brackets to make it work. etc.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Simjack pro pedals, £140 delivery from ali express for brake and accelerator.
Obviously i haven't just randomly found these, they are generally highly regarded although looks like I might have a bit more config to do than just buying an "off the shelf" product

I'm guessing I'll need to find a pedal plate or heel rest for them. I would have bought them with one but they only did the 3 pedal set with the plate and that pushed the price up to £240, and I'm pretty certain I won't be using a clutch pedal, not even thinking of buying a shifter at this point

I was initially thinking of building a cheapy cheap rig out of 4x2 or 6x2 timber to see if i would like it or not, but the si turnbull rig is cheap enough to make me not want to bother, measuring cutting, working out how to mount the kit to wood, probably spending £100+ on adapter plates and brackets to make it work. etc.

Plus wood is expensive these days.

Your better off building a aluminium rig from like simlab gt1 evo or gt omega prime lite for example.

All cut up for u and u just need to assemble it

 

[glenimp617]

So I had the opportunity to have a go on a pretty nice sim setup today, spent about 45minutes on it and it has had me looking at sim racing kit since.

The setup apparently cost around £12k new 3/4 years ago.
Will a more budget friendly setup come anywhere close ?
The setup I had a go on was
3 x 32" samsung curved 144hz monitors
Simucube DD motor + F1 style steering wheel
Heusinkveld Ultimate pedals
Not sure on the rig itself, but it looks very similar to a trakracer with a sparco bucket seat


I have looked up the prices of this kit and I'm definitely not in the market to spank £5k on a brand new full setup.


I have a decent spec machine already and a Samsung ultrawide Odyssey monitor.

There is such a variety of prices and kit out there, I don't really know where to start.
There is a possibility of me borrowing a G29 off a mate (haven't asked him yet) just to get a feel for it and see if it would be suitable

Simracing equipment has massively come down in recent times. You can get a very respectable DD base, wheel and loadcell pedals for £1k. The aluminium rig and bucket seat anywhere from £500-£1,500.
That will last you many years. Personally I'd add a couple of bass shakers and use your current monitor and see how you get on. You should be able to get a very good setup for £2k.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Simracing equipment has massively come down in recent times. You can get a very respectable DD base, wheel and loadcell pedals for £1k. The aluminium rig and bucket seat anywhere from £500-£1,500.
That will last you many years. Personally I'd add a couple of bass shakers and use your current monitor and see how you get on. You should be able to get a very good setup for £2k.

Yea if his budget is 2k for the whole lot minus the pc then he or she has lots of options

 

[MassiveJim]

Simracing equipment has massively come down in recent times. You can get a very respectable DD base, wheel and loadcell pedals for £1k. The aluminium rig and bucket seat anywhere from £500-£1,500.
That will last you many years. Personally I'd add a couple of bass shakers and use your current monitor and see how you get on. You should be able to get a very good setup for £2k.

£2k is a lot more than I am willing to spend to "dip my toe", I'm scouring 2nd hand markets at the moment.
I think a rig and seat for £300 is easily doable, I have the pedals for £140 already (may need to spend £50 on a pedal plate yet)
that just leaves the wheel and base, which I think is the most important, doesn't seem to be a lot of discount 2nd hand with the deals available at the moment, been looking at the Moza R9 and cheapest wheel bundle for just over £500, I have seen people asking for more than that 2nd hand.

As for bass shakers and add-ons, those will almost certainly come later if I enjoy the hobby.
I saw a set of 3 32" 144hz screens going for £300 on facebook, an absolute bargain and I would have jumped at them, but I'm trying to be sensible and not spend too much money at this point.

 

[jonneymendoza]

£2k is a lot more than I am willing to spend to "dip my toe", I'm scouring 2nd hand markets at the moment.
I think a rig and seat for £300 is easily doable, I have the pedals for £140 already (may need to spend £50 on a pedal plate yet)
that just leaves the wheel and base, which I think is the most important, doesn't seem to be a lot of discount 2nd hand with the deals available at the moment, been looking at the Moza R9 and cheapest wheel bundle for just over £500, I have seen people asking for more than that 2nd hand.

As for bass shakers and add-ons, those will almost certainly come later if I enjoy the hobby.
I saw a set of 3 32" 144hz screens going for £300 on facebook, an absolute bargain and I would have jumped at them, but I'm trying to be sensible and not spend too much money at this point.

If you want to dip your toes in just buy a wheelstand and a g29 kit and give it a go. If you like it. Then spend 2k for the real deal

 

[MassiveJim]

If you want to dip your toes in just buy a wheelstand and a g29 kit and give it a go. If you like it. Then spend 2k for the real deal

I thought about that, but what got me interested in the first place was having a go on a proper setup and I feel like a wheel stand and "cheap" wheel just wouldn't cut it.

 

[jonneymendoza]

I thought about that, but what got me interested in the first place was having a go on a proper setup and I feel like a wheel stand and "cheap" wheel just wouldn't cut it.

But for dipping your toes that's enough to make a proper decision to buy once cry once. Most important bit to get initially is the rig. You can still slap on a g29 on it and upgrade that later. Harder to upgrade the rig then the wheel and pedels.

I highly suggest either a gt omega prime lite or none or simlab gt1 evo /pro.

Start from there

 

[PaulC2K]

I think ive convinced myself to spend more than i was originally planning on spending YEY.

Im pretty sure im settled on getting VX-Pro pedals (Throttle & Brake) and the GT Neo & Maglink.
For the DD unit, im torn between the SC2 Sport and Asetek Forte, and i genuinely keep going back n forth from one day to the next. On Friday Simucube was the obvious choice, then on Saturday common sense kicked in with Asetek being largely the same tech, the powered QR adapter, and £140 cheaper, and now im leaning towards Simucube cos it has a pretty long & solid history and a strong community. Asetek is still working towards that (and using GD tech its reasonable to think it should be as reliable etc).

What do you guys think? Im not arsed about the price difference really, the Asetek ends up about £100 cheaper due to fewer front-mount options (£135 vs 100).
Also, Sport vs Pro, is there a noticeable/justifiable difference between the two, given that i'll have to run either at a fraction of what they're capable of maintaining. I've had medical issues for 25yrs that leave me pretty weak and low energy, im genuinely knackered climbing the stairs. The issue is i know buying a 5NM DD isnt the same as buying the same model capable of 10-15-20NM, im just wondering if its worth the extra £200 to go Pro. My understanding is that the slew rate is plenty on the Sport, and that seems to be the only other incremental benefit to Pro.
I know neither is a bad choice, but do folks think it'd be better going with an Asetek Forte rather than Simucube 2 Sport (or Pro)?

I still need to get a rig, mount, seat and a handful of other stuff too.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Asetek. Newer and imo better qr system where you can easily transform a lot rims to usb connected directly to the wheel base without using a USB cable

 

[PaulC2K]

Asetek. Newer and imo better qr system where you can easily transform a lot rims to usb connected directly to the wheel base without using a USB cable

Yeah the USB through the stem/shaft is nice, but if you dont need it, its a feature that added to the cost thats no use.
Maybe the only wheels i'm interested in (GSI) arent getting Asetek support, but if the wheel needs a USB connection, it seems to come with a 1m (ish) length coiled cable which still leaves you with a mess to tidy up. The GSI wheels have a 'fancy' (possibly proprietary?) connector, and only come in 1 length, so i'd still have to wrap that round the stem or let it hang, which are the options i'd have with a dumb £60 SC2 QR compared to the £140 Asetek QR with USB pass-thru.

One thing i do like about the Asetek is the hub, and i'd assume being part of the DD its a powered hub, making it handy for powering wheel displays etc. Its just missing that last 10% to make me see the value in it, and this feature seems to be adding £80 onto their QR cost whether you need it or not, because they dont sell a dumb QR that doesnt pass USB through.


While ive brought up GSI, i've just seen that demon-tweeks has got the GSI FPE v2 wheels in stock now, and my thinking had been to get the Neo GT and pick up a FPE later on, or maybe try one of the Pokornyi DIY wheels.
I've seen at least 1 person mention owning one, but i suppose it applies to anyone with a similar display - i was wondering just how practical the LCD screens are? Do you find yourself doing things using the screen that are easier than using in-game menus and/or physical dials, or is it just something that simply brings you joy when you do glance at it, cos i suspect i'd fall into that last camp and probably gonna get it instead of the Neo GT cos it just looks amazing, even if its insane that it costs more than the DD unit itself.

 

[N0ddie]

Yeah the USB through the stem/shaft is nice, but if you dont need it, its a feature that added to the cost thats no use.
Maybe the only wheels i'm interested in (GSI) arent getting Asetek support, but if the wheel needs a USB connection, it seems to come with a 1m (ish) length coiled cable which still leaves you with a mess to tidy up. The GSI wheels have a 'fancy' (possibly proprietary?) connector, and only come in 1 length, so i'd still have to wrap that round the stem or let it hang, which are the options i'd have with a dumb £60 SC2 QR compared to the £140 Asetek QR with USB pass-thru.

One thing i do like about the Asetek is the hub, and i'd assume being part of the DD its a powered hub, making it handy for powering wheel displays etc. Its just missing that last 10% to make me see the value in it, and this feature seems to be adding £80 onto their QR cost whether you need it or not, because they dont sell a dumb QR that doesnt pass USB through.


While ive brought up GSI, i've just seen that demon-tweeks has got the GSI FPE v2 wheels in stock now, and my thinking had been to get the Neo GT and pick up a FPE later on, or maybe try one of the Pokornyi DIY wheels.
I've seen at least 1 person mention owning one, but i suppose it applies to anyone with a similar display - i was wondering just how practical the LCD screens are? Do you find yourself doing things using the screen that are easier than using in-game menus and/or physical dials, or is it just something that simply brings you joy when you do glance at it, cos i suspect i'd fall into that last camp and probably gonna get it instead of the Neo GT cos it just looks amazing, even if its insane that it costs more than the DD unit itself.

I have an Asetek Invicta wheelbase and GSI Hyper P1 wheel so can tidy up the "way they work". The internal USB connection on the Asetek quick release outputs a maximum of 1A (according to Dan Susuki). The dash display with all the LEDs on the Hyper P1 when set to low brightness pulls 0.9A. I was experiencing disconnects of the wheelbase on the odd occasion. GSI suggested trying a powered USB hub for my P1 wheel to confirm their thoughts that the power delivery through the Asetek quick release was maxing out. Since connecting the P1 wheel to a powered USB hub I've not had 1 disconnect of my wheelbase suggesting that the GSI guys were correct.

I have my Asetek wheelbase going to its own USB on my PC, the Asetek pedals going to their own USB on the PC and my GSI P1 going through its own powered USB hub then to the PC. I use the wee curly USB cable that comes with the GSI wheel, wrap it around the spacer behind the wheel and into the USB hub mounted on my rig. Its not as tidy as using the Asetek quick release internal USB solution but I've done a really good job of keeping it look good.

And as for is have a dash display worth it? Hell yes. If, like me, you are into doing longer races then having all this information as a quick glance is fantastic.

 

[PaulC2K]

Ah ok, what you’ve said is pretty much what I’d heard or read elsewhere but hadn’t quite put it all together and realised it would have occasional issues. If the most practical solution is still to use a regular powered USB connection, then the powered QR is as useful as BT on the SC2.

I’m pretty sure I’ll grab the FPE v2, even though it’s hard to justify, and I’m hoping I can make a trip to demon tweeks showroom to take a look at a few things. Picking a seat based on photos is impossible, and even user feedback is hard to trust, good or bad. I also wouldn’t mind looking at things like karting boots and gloves, part of me thinks it’s daft, but I understand the gloves part now, particularly on £1k wheels. Not quite the same with a G27.

 

[PaulC2K]

Had to put things on hold spent the week sulking cos the area I thought the rig could go isn’t really feasible. I need a regular desktop space and somewhere to mount the DD base, and they’d share the monitor.

My old steel frame rig had a kb tray just under the wheel mount, but I can’t do something similar to that here, and having it set up side by side means both locations wouldn’t be central to the monitor.

Best idea I can come up with is VR, but that rules out the fancy GSI wheel. So I’m sulking.

 

[delta0]

Had to put things on hold spent the week sulking cos the area I thought the rig could go isn’t really feasible. I need a regular desktop space and somewhere to mount the DD base, and they’d share the monitor.

My old steel frame rig had a kb tray just under the wheel mount, but I can’t do something similar to that here, and having it set up side by side means both locations wouldn’t be central to the monitor.

Best idea I can come up with is VR, but that rules out the fancy GSI wheel. So I’m sulking.

I don’t know your setup but I have my monitor on an adjustable arm so I move it to my rig which I have at the side of my desk.