Racing simulator cockpits?

[ironman31]

I was just looking for something like this. Right now, all I have is a Logitech Driving Force for playing GT4, and no cockpit yet. When I start saving up money in the summer, I'm looking to get either a PS3 or Xbox 360, and then a racing setup. I don't think I want to spend so much more for the cockpit, so I would love to have ideas for setting it up. Well, if it's cheap enough, I would love a cockpit for my current Driving Force and PS2 setup.

Thinking of getting the G25. I really want the G27, but it doesn't allow sequential shifting for simulating touring and rally cars, and this might just kill it for me, although I don't know yet. Less of a learning curve since my current wheel only allows clutchless sequential.

You should get a setup for your PC instead and race with one of these http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=230
and race with it here: http://www.iracing.com/

and I'm pretty sure the shifter has a sequential shift. I had looked into doing this a while back, but it proved to be a little more pricey than I was willing to go.

edit: now I see they have a new gt2 wheel. Hasn't released yet though

[AvengeR]

love how in geekhack there are threads for (almost) every single way to waste time in your pc.

I'm almost a complete noob regarding racing sims, but from what I've read and experienced it goes like this:
- console games are unrealistic. Also I think gt5 is a bit more believable and ofc it has more cars, including about 30 honda s2000's, but I like how in forza every car is "premium" and how some cars handle in comparison to the said game, and in general it feels better made including sound, graphics, menus, online, etc. Forza4 will surely be the best one out there.

- with that said, racing sims on the pc are way better, but it comes with harder difficulty, including both AI and online oponnents. PC is just the way to go here, not only for realism and better games overall, but also because of better graphics, sound and more variety (mods).
I'd start with gtr2 because it has a great tutorial and then move on to rfactor or live for speed and other sims, and just wouldn't go to iracing because, even if I haven't tried it, it seems prohibitory hard. I remember watching a youtube video in which Adrian Sutil says he plays it and that he doesn't win all the time.

- There's no "definitive" or "ultimate" racing wheel, but there are some that are ahead of their competition like a modded g27, the latest thrustmaster and some fanatecs, but fanatec seems to have huge quality issues.
Also you have to consider getting better pedals. Forums say the best deal for your money are fanatec's clubsport pedals, and those work with probably every wheel.
Finally, the big problem about racing wheels atm is none of them supports ps3, 360 and the pc at the same time, so you need to have 2 wheels (and 2 cockpits) or a device which hasn't released yet, doesn't work flawlessly and it'll be very expensive when it's released. I know there's a fanatec wheel on the way, but it's not perfect (rumble) and since it's a fanatec it'll be very hard to find one.
Actually this is one of the 3 reasons why I'm still not very into this: the wheels, planification (racing cockpits, buttons and even gauges), and ofc this will end spending about $2000 in pc peripherals, which goes into car prices territory. I think that by forza4's release at least 2 of those will be solved because this industry is moving very fast since forza3.

- and now on topic, you can buy a manufactured racing cockpit or do it yourself. The second option will be much cheaper and it leads to much better results


here's a great youtube channel for us beginners, and their forums are pretty good as well.
http://www.youtube.com/user/simracingtonight

[ironman31]

The gt2 fanatec works for all systems

[liist]

I think I want to get a 360, Forza, and use Kinect, that will solve all of my problems . I'm still happy with playing GT4 with a cheapo steering wheel for now at least.

I'd figure that I'd be happy playing Forza with a cockpit and gaming wheel. GT and Forza are hard enough for me, and I'm not yet at the skill (and do not have the time) to be consistently lapping proper laps and stuff.

And this also looks like a slippery slope. Get a nice setup and iRacing one day, the next thing you know I'll go from getting those machines that toss you around as you drive to getting a full simulator that F1 teams use.

[bsft]

Hello All, I have updated my racing simulator some what. Now it is a motion sim! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKAcXtnxHXU
Computer controlled only, sorry console guys. It took some building, robotics control boards, two windscreen wiper motors, one on each pivot point, two PC PSU's.
Cheers, David.

[panda-R]

anyone mention the APIGA yet?

http://www.apiga.com.hk/en/ap1.html

[bsft]

looks good, I could put a motion base under that for some real action!

[Lethal Squirrel]

sooo overpriced

[audioave10]

The MOMO wheel was a great wheel for its day...and I'm not a Logitech fan.
I eventually sold it and miss it at times.

[panda-R]

Which version of the MOMO?

I had the first GT wheel, followed by the non GT version of that which fixed some problems, then i had the black momo, then i got the Driving force Pro, and finally the G25. Gran Turismo stopped being fun around GT4.

[audioave10]

The black MOMO I think. Its been awhile and only for PC games back then.

[bsft]

heres some updated vids of my new simulator. Cost me next to nothing to build with the exception of control boards and power supplys, but the entertainment value is HUGE. I need to fiddle more with the motion
http://www.youtube.com/user/gavinthebadger#p/a/u/0/yLCNLODbwmE
http://www.youtube.com/user/gavinthebadger#p/a/u/1/YbLIN-6oi74
http://www.youtube.com/user/gavinthebadger#p/a/u/0/eeH9q-VRwB0
I am using a friends youtube account as my camera was broken and we used his.

[javifast]

Amazing job bsft...

[bsft]

Amazing job bsft...

Thanks, it took some work but came out well. Heres where other build their own http://www.x-simulator.de/forum/

Regards, David.

[bsft]

Just some photos to add of the motion simulator.


 

 

[o2dazone]

[size=12]necro![/size]

Fell out of racing simulators, and then just recently got back in. It went from



to







Modified the frame on top to a new design, recycling everything we could. Me and my dad did all the welds ourselves, which explains why they're so ****ty. Wheel and shifter telescope out, and they adjust in height for maximum adjustability! Using stock sliders, so you can still roll the seat forward and back, along with adjust the inclination of the backing

[Internetlad]

That is boss. I've been thinking about getting a G27, PS3 and GT5 just to play it properly

Racing games on PC blows unless you have good peripherals

[Fobbah]

My father is a steel fabricator and put together a very nice racing cockpit for himself last year, I'll have to remember to take pics next time i'm over at his house.

As to what racing game to play - rFactor all the way, as fun as games like gran turismo are, they are nothing compared to a racing sim like rFactor if you have the right peripherals. Much more difficult, but also far more entertaining - in rFactor it's fun to just drive around on a track on your own because it's actually challenging, unlike most racing games where you're stuck to the tarmac with some kind of magic glue and can take a corner with locked brakes/open throttle in a serious car. Instead of magically taking the corner it will punish you, just like if you opened up the taps with 600 hp on a hairpin - it's not going to end well.

Interestingly, I read somewhere that the company that made the game started out with a tyre physics model which they had designed for the US military for some purpose or another (engineering their vehicles i suppose..), and decided it was a good starting point for designing a racing game .

It does suck if you don't have good peripherals though, i would reccomend G25/G27 as a bare (although quite capable) minimum setup.

[o2dazone]

I thought I was a big racing sim fan until I played rFactor and iRacing. I then realized, I'm more of an semi-arcade/sim hybrid fan, like GT5 and Forza. Maybe I should give rFactor another chance, but I definitely found it so realistic, that I didn't have much fun with it, for the reasons you stated. I guess I'm not ready to go FULL SIM yet, and still enjoy my GT5 lol. But once that grows stale, rFactor (and rFactor2 wooo) seems to be the only way to go. Which will really open the option for better peripherals (load cells, motion sim)

[Internetlad]

Startup costs are the biggest pain. What would the price be for something like this "rFactor", I assume it's a PC  simulator? I'm sure I could figure out some workaround to go from PC to my TV (Planning on getting a new one on black friday, so the 32 inch Vizio should be free :3) if you minus the 250 a ps3 and the 35 for GT, the racing wheel and to a lesser extent, the cage would be much more manageable.

EDIT: Also, I've been leaning towards the Logitech G27 for a racing wheel (passively, this won't be happening until 2012 if it does at all.) But I already own an xbox and a few racing games, do most of my gaming on PC however. Obviously i'd like cross-compatibility between console and PC but the G27 is only compatible with PS3 and PC, any adapter available to make it compatible with the xbox too? Is there a better choice of racing wheel in this situation (TBH I'd prefer higher quality over just compatibility, i'd rather have a good wheel that worked on PC than a **** wheel that worked on both.)

[jpm804]

i want this guys setup:

http://www.youtube.com/user/chilicoke#p/u/0/Z8EUqLtOwKM

[Lethal Squirrel]

All I have is the original red logitech momo. I love it though. Feels so solid. and well build.

lovely set up btw o2dazone

[Fobbah]

rFactor is not that expensive, especially considering the cost of the wheel/dedicated setup to do it properly. Not sure about iRacing these days.

However, it doesn't come with much out of the box - the game primarily consists of a very, very good engine (with next to no tracks/vehicles included), and you have to go hunting down the tracks/vehicles. It's not so hard, but if you're afraid of tinkering with your game to get it to work properly it's not for you. That said, there are very good community sites that will allow you to quickly find anything you're after such as http://www.rfactorcentral.com/

[video=youtube;zc3UPrN0xEc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc3UPrN0xEc[/video]

rFactor2 is coming out soon too

[o2dazone]

lovely set up btw o2dazone

Thanks!

[TheProfosist]

Anyone seen the SteelSeries wheel. I really doubt that anyone serious would use it.

[turbocharged]

I play iRacing and use a Thrustmaster T500RS wheel/pedal with a Logitech G27 shifter (with Bodnar box).

I went to this setup from an old Logitech Momo at the beginning of the summer...it's just incredible.

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 34638[/ATTACH]

[flaming_june]

That seems to be fair amount to be spending for three different peripherals.  Did you buy them all used as parts then put it together?  How do you like that wheel?

[turbocharged]

That seems to be fair amount to be spending for three different peripherals.  Did you buy them all used as parts then put it together?  How do you like that wheel?

It is what I would call middle ground expensive...there are some setups that are well into the $2000+ range. Total I spent $520 shipped on the wheel and pedals (purchased new), $30 shipped on the shifter (used off ebay), and about $35 shipped on the Bodnar shifter controller (new)...so under $600 for everything and mostly new.

The wheel is absolutely amazing. It is incredibly smooth due to the belt drive with zero slop anywhere. The larger diameter makes it feel more realistic and the nothing feels cheap about it. Also, the motor in the thing is very strong and FAST. If you slide sideways and let go of the wheel..watch your fingers.

Here's a video to show just how fast the T500RS wheel is...like it says in the video, NOT FOR CHILDREN.

[video=youtube;IjhVBqm4Dtc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjhVBqm4Dtc[/video]

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend it. The only problem with it is that it doesn't come with a gated shifter...but that is fixed fairly easily for not a lot more money...unless you buy the new Thrustmaster TH8 RS shifter for $200. It does look extremely awesome though...bump shifter and h-pattern in one package that matches the T500RS Wheel.

[flaming_june]

^

[video=youtube;2p1dS9hoptU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p1dS9hoptU[/video]