Sim racers - what are you running?

Dwaindibbly said:
If your Willing to spend GT ultimate sort of money and you don't mind a bit of tinkering I'd strongly advise building your own rig out of Aluminium profile. You can design it around whatever space requirements you have
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Whilst I am sure that would work and could help out with some extra options regarding space, I have my concerns:

I don't know where to get the Aluminium, how much I'm going to need and more importantly I don't have any cutting tools. Not even a baby hacksaw. Let alone the space for cutting (I live in a block of flats) and I'm assuming that I would need to take in a long length of it and cut it manually? In which case I can certainly say that I would struggle to get it into my flat past some of the 90 degree corners just to get it to the door of my flat, let alone inside.

Plus I live alone, that means I don't have someone that can give me a hand when it comes to building it (this block of flats hardly socialise). Hence why I would rather everything was at floor level (or thereabouts).

So, if you're going to provide information like this please back it up by pointing to me where to get this kind of thing and let me investigate it.
 
You can just google something like "diy aluminium profile sim rig" you'll find all sorts. You can order it all cut to the size you need so you don't need any tools to cut it but it sounds you're not really in a position for a DIY build.

I looked into building my own and it was cheaper to buy one from Sim Lab or Trak Racer.

Sim Lab have the schematics on their website - https://sim-lab.eu/web/content/2594...ceef517df82a7c6ccf1f7024324d145&download=true

I ended up ordering a TR80 and then emailed asking if they would discount an upgrade to the TR160 and they saved me a good chunk of cash.
 
timmeh said:
You can just google something like "diy aluminium profile sim rig" you'll find all sorts. You can order it all cut to the size you need so you don't need any tools to cut it but it sounds you're not really in a position for a DIY build.
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Yeah I think I done that and was swamped under all of the results and didn't know where to look to be honest. I would rather go with a company that someone has used before that's had a great experience from them.

To be honest with you, I've had to put together items (such as a desk and chair) on my own so you can imagine the struggle. Whilst I have a "wicked idea" for a DYI build, realistically it would need two people to make sure measurements were correct and then there's the cost of it all. Unfortuntley I also suck at CAD (and drawing in general) so there's not much hope with that.

I'm sorry for the attitude of my previous post; most of it is just shear frustration as I know next to nothing when it comes to Sim rigs/wheel stands and the plan that I had is now out the window due to cost.

timmeh said:
I looked into building my own and it was cheaper to buy one from Sim Lab or Trak Racer.

Sim Lab have the schematics on their website - https://sim-lab.eu/web/content/2594...ceef517df82a7c6ccf1f7024324d145&download=true
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Thankyou, that's something I can look into.
 
timmeh said:
You can just google something like "diy aluminium profile sim rig" you'll find all sorts. You can order it all cut to the size you need so you don't need any tools to cut it but it sounds you're not really in a position for a DIY build.

I looked into building my own and it was cheaper to buy one from Sim Lab or Trak Racer.

Sim Lab have the schematics on their website - https://sim-lab.eu/web/content/2594...ceef517df82a7c6ccf1f7024324d145&download=true

I ended up ordering a TR80 and then emailed asking if they would discount an upgrade to the TR160 and they saved me a good chunk of cash.
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Thanks for your suggestion however I don't think that Sim Lab is going to work out for me (sounds over budget but it's hard for me to work out as everything is in euros).

I'm looking to spend about £500 if it included the seat (hence happy with GT Ultimate V2 as it does include the seat).

Argh, now I have just found the seat available somewhere else and it is £100 cheaper than what they are advertising on NLR's website.

Ugh, I'm in a muddle now.

Any suggestions before I hit the big buy button for just the stand (£150, and use my existing chair for now) and then take it from there?
 
You don't need to be good at CAD for this :)
You simply select the profile type, which in this case will be 40 series and it all snaps to a grid and is easily editable.

Or, like timmeh has suggested, simply take an existing design and order the same lengths of profile with the appropriate fixings. We can help if you need it.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with buying the stand you were looking at, but building your own will give you endless scope for it to grow with your ongoing requirements.
 
The Trak Racer TR80 is £709 with the seat and £489 without. It's a good chunk over your budget but the aluminium profile rigs are such a step up from something like the GT Ultimate. You can add to them and adjust them really easily too and any 8020 profile addon will work on it.

I wonder if you could buy the one without the seat and build it in a way that would allow you to use your office chair with it until you can get a seat :D
 
Motedis also do their own kits.

https://www.motedis.co.uk/shop/__9095.html?filter[164]=558&filter[166]=567

I bought the S dream a few years back and it's a good rig, with a small footprint for an alu rig, no complaints at all for the money. Easy to set up, even tho the instructions were in German!

I've since modified it quite heavily due to upgrades and i quite like making it my own, I'm a bit addicted to messing about with it to be honest.

If i was to do it again i probably would go the full DIY route but mainly because of the fun factor.

There are quite a few other places in the UK that are jumping on the sim rig boat.

https://www.aluminium-profile.co.uk/sim-rig-frame - These are local to me but i cant comment on their pre built rig but i have used the company a fair amount for bits and they are a decent company.

https://www.racingsimrigs.co.uk/shop - Not used these guys personally but they get good reviews on Race department.
https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...-aluminium-extrusion-rigs-accessories.185575/
 
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Thankyou all for the advice. I've gone for the NLR stand just so I can try and see if it is something that I will look to upgrade at a later date (or replace it should I feel that way). At least then it's £150 down the drain worst case scenerio.

At the moment what I don't want to do is sink in a whole load of money in a setup then realise that "it's not for me", however I do enjoy using a wheel (when it isn't being a pain for me due to a poor setup arrangement). Is it something I could get into? Maybe.

Uncle Petey said:
You don't need to be good at CAD for this :)
You simply select the profile type, which in this case will be 40 series and it all snaps to a grid and is easily editable.

Or, like timmeh has suggested, simply take an existing design and order the same lengths of profile with the appropriate fixings. We can help if you need it.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with buying the stand you were looking at, but building your own will give you endless scope for it to grow with your ongoing requirements.
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The last "CAD" program I used was Microsoft Visio (at where I used to work - mainly used for floor plans, certainly in the role I was in anyway). My biggest issue is that I don't tend to scale or even how to scale :rolleyes: I'll work something out when I take a look at it properly.

However I will install that CAD program and "have a play" but maybe not until next weekend (or this Sunday depending on how I feel; I have an ITIL exam on Saturday and starting a new job on Monday - probably explains some of my responses and I apologise if I have come across poorly).

I've also spoken to a family member that has a Sim Rig setup and has suggested Demon Tweaks (which I'm assuming they brought theirs from) so I'll also check them out as well as what others have suggested.
 
Let us know how you get on with the stand, it will no doubt enhance your enjoyment of your wheel no end.

If you do get on with it and at some point decide you want to get something more permanent, you've got some paces to look at.

Hope you enjoy your new set up
 
Dwaindibbly said:
Let us know how you get on with the stand, it will no doubt enhance your enjoyment of your wheel no end.

If you do get on with it and at some point decide you want to get something more permanent, you've got some paces to look at.

Hope you enjoy your new set up
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Don't worry I will try to keep everyone updated.

Edit: well that will teach me not to check again before posting: looks like it will be ready to ship today
 
Uncle Petey said:
You don't need to be good at CAD for this :)
You simply select the profile type, which in this case will be 40 series and it all snaps to a grid and is easily editable.
Click to expand...
I have downloaded MayCAD and already I'm struggling with it :D typical me! :rolleyes: All I wanted to do was "mess around" with it.

Oh wonderful, I made it crash :D

Error reporting 2020-10-29 20:41:10.222000

ATI Technologies Inc.

Radeon RX Vega

4.6.14736 Compatibility Profile Context 20.8.3 27.20.12027.1001

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====================================

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "app.pyo", line 993, in wrapper

File "fdcontroller.pyo", line 679, in mousePressEvent

File "operators\steeringwheel.pyo", line 423, in mousePressEvent

File "operators\steeringwheel.pyo", line 390, in on_center

File "render\fdcamera.pyo", line 387, in fitall

File "ge\bbox.pyo", line 153, in getCornerPoints

AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'x'

Ok, so the first thing I want to do is set it to a similar shape to my lounge where the PC and SIM will be. I'm assuming youtube will be the answer?
 
If you want to make the shape of your room, then you'd have to create the representative outlines with bits of extrusion.

I've made a very quick and rough video to demonstrate the basics.

 
NRL stand has arrived. Circa 3 hours 20 minutes (including a couple of incoming phone calls and a lot of cursing) later I have finally got everything mounted and it almost works as I want it to; the part that's not worked for me I can live with and was something I was going to look into anyway (rather do that at the end of November).

Haven't actually used the new setup in a "game" yet (I need to recover from all the lifting and cursing first, dam it's heavy with everything on it) but the position of the wheel and pedals feels a lot better already. To my surprise I had to lower the height of the steering wheel with my chair fully up.

Just as a test I have just lowered my chair as low as it'll go: yes that's an even better position for me, but then leaves me with the issue I want to sort out at the end of the month.

In other words, I believe I (we?) have a good base to start looking into how to improve on that.

Uncle Petey said:
If you want to make the shape of your room, then you'd have to create the representative outlines with bits of extrusion.

I've made a very quick and rough video to demonstrate the basics.

Click to expand...
You are a gentleman and a scholar, thank you. I will watch that later if that's ok?
 
Updated firmware and Fanatec software, finally managed to get the 'ITM' working on the Porsche wheel! I've only had the wheel since last Decemeber..

Also got the button cap and sticker set, given the Formula V2 wheel a more purposeful look.

PXL_20201031_200903934.jpg


PXL_20201101_172606069.jpg
 
Uncle Petey said:
If you want to make the shape of your room, then you'd have to create the representative outlines with bits of extrusion.

I've made a very quick and rough video to demonstrate the basics.

Click to expand...
Thank you again for making this video.

Unfortunately my situation has changed again (think Portal 2, except the job was a lie :rolleyes: - I'm still rather bitter about it hence why I haven't been posting recently). Therefore I'm concertrating on job searching rather than worrying about trying to sort out a Sim/stand section.

I have used the NLR stand a couple of times and I'm enjoying the wheel and pedals more than what I was with it being on my desk. Still haven't used the H shifter yet though.
 
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Uncle Petey said:
Sorry to hear that.
As for the rig situation, you have a decent setup as it is :)
Click to expand...
I was quite excited and looking forward to getting myself a half decent PC/SIM rig setup as well as being back in work. I currently feel like that's been taken away from me (please forgive my lack of optimism here but I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from. I know I'll get there eventually but it feels like a way off at the moment).

As for the rig situation: as you said it is better than it was. I'm sure it's still not a lot when compared to someone else having buttkickers etc but then I have also read that "more realism doesn't mean faster pace". However what does make pace is practice, practice and more practice.

My plan was:
Get a slightly larger desk and say "goodbye" to the storage area which I only seem to keep rubbish in (old HDDs and some paperwork). For refernce I'm currently using an Ikea Malm desk with a single drawer and a "cupboard" door, with a homemade Ikea shelf with feet that has my two TV's on it. At this stage I feel like photos would be a better idea but at the moment I'm not sure what image hosting site I can use for free. But first I need to do things with my power cables that are under the desk :p.
Obtain a gaming monitor (I've not decided on size or what resolution to go for - in fact I would appreciate some assistance with what to go for - my GPU is in my signature and seem to of found out a ridiculous resolution for it (about 8K UHD? Impossible I feel) obviously I know that the biggest factor is going to be price but for now just something that can show me what I can get up to will be good (as I said previously: it just needs to be better than a Sony 32 inch TV at 1080P which is limiting me to 60FPS, which I'm sure will gain me a 1/10th of a second :p)).
Subject to size of desk, put a vast bulk of the NRL stand (ie up to the wheel) under the desk (yes I have been playing with a tape measure and eyeing up some desks, but then with my "Ikea experience" surely I could use table legs and a large plank of wood? :D), with the gaming monitor on a stand that can swivel from being more/less middle of my desk to the left with minimum of fuss (hopefully?) and take it from there. (And yes, there was some "tongue in cheek" comments made by me in that sentence)

Delusional? Maybe, but I can dream can't I?
 
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