June 27, 20214 yr So I've been getting into racing sims and upgraded my trusty Logitech G29 to a direct drive setup by Fanatec. Brother, let me tell you, it's a whole different immersive experience. Covid sent racing sim interest into the stratosphere, and there are a bunch of products that elevate the experience - you can achieve quite a lot of fidelity nowadays. Here's what I ended up with so far: Fanatec DD2 wheel base Fanatec R300 wheel and a 2021 Limited Edition F1 wheel Fanatec Clubsport Pedals V3 Inverted Fanatec Clubsport Shifter SQ and Handbrake Sim Lab P1-X racing cockpit (Sparco Evo II US seat) Samsung Odyssey G9 49" curved display that switches duty with an Oculus Quest 2 Alienware M15 w/ RTX 3080 I'm looking into adding a seat mover (like Next Level Racing's Motion Platform V3), but there are options here, like those from DOFReality. Other than that, I might collect a few more wheels, but the setup is pretty done for a while. The way all the road information gets transmitted to the wheel is something else. You get some great force feedback with the Logitech, but it caps at around 2.5 Nm of force. That's not a lot of headroom to convey it all. The DD2, on the other hand, has 25 Nm of force at the ready, coupled with a free-floating, non-geared drive shaft that feels like butter to spin, which is enough to break your wrists (not broken bones, but broken grip - I GUESS it could break your bones too if you crank up the juice and don't pay attention, who knows...) and deliver an immersive experience like no other. After I skill up a bit, I'll try my hand at racing with the crazies in iRacing. Steam's current sale has the year membership at $30, so that's almost a no-brainer. If anyone else wants to hop on and race in Project Cars 1, 2, 3, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, or rFactor 2, holler. I'll try any game, just pick your poison. Edited June 27, 20214 yr by BoomMF
June 27, 20214 yr I love the idea of getting one of these set ups, I just don't have the time to spend actually racing with the young kiddo. I'm thinking once he can use it I'll spring for a mini and a normal sized setup so we can race together.
June 27, 20214 yr Author Coincidentally, some of my justification was along the lines of, "we can use it to teach the kids how to drive, safely, and without the need to carry some extra personal asset protecting insurance."
July 15, 20214 yr Waiting on the new CSL DD from Fanatec that is compatible with PS5 to be released (8nm w/boost kit under $500). the add accessories. Hoping it’s a big jump from the Thrustmaster set ups.
July 18, 20214 yr Author CSL DD is the first big disruptor to hit this market.I was wave 1 for the pre-order, and while we're waiting for fulfillment I came across a killer deal on the DD2 (which was very lucky since there are NO deals to be had with sim racing gear atm) so I cancelled. Had I not I'd be eagerly anticipating it with the 180W power supply. I don't know how Thrustmaster intend to respond (properly), but they need to quickly. Once the CSL DD becomes stocked, that segment will be on lock.
July 20, 20214 yr Well I bought F1 2021 and the Logitech G923. If I get into as much as I think I will then I’ll start looking into a chair thing.
July 20, 20214 yr Wow, sick setup. I haven't had a wheel in 20 years. What Games do you like to play on it. I haven't really gotten into Horizon, Forza Motorsport is more my groove.
July 24, 20214 yr Author Well I bought F1 2021 and the Logitech G923. If I get into as much as I think I will then I’ll start looking into a chair thing. If not a chair, check out a wheel base of some sort (Wheel Stand Pro kind of thing) since a sturdy mount is the best upgrade next to a wheel. But for seats, if you don't want to go the aluminum profile route, check out Next Level Racing's rigs. I started with a GTTrack and that thing was rock solid. But they have quite a few good solutions up and down the lineup.In other news, I decided to upgrade the button cluster to a Podium Button Module. Should have just done this in the first place, those other buttons didn't really solve any problems. Now I can map far more than I can remember which is a perfect amount.
July 24, 20214 yr 1 minute ago, BoomMF said: If not a chair, check out a wheel base of some sort (Wheel Stand Pro kind of thing) since a sturdy mount is the best upgrade next to a wheel. But for seats, if you don't want to go the aluminum profile route, check out Next Level Racing's rigs. I started with a GTTrack and that thing was rock solid. But they have quite a few good solutions up and down the lineup. In other news, I decided to upgrade the button cluster to a Podium Button Module. Should have just done this in the first place, those other buttons didn't really solve any problems. Now I can map far more than I can remember which is a perfect amount. Ended up getting some kinda stand type thing from Vevor. Should work fine with my gaming chair I think. https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Steering-Logitech-Thrustmaster,Wheel-Included/dp/B077PZKNDH
July 28, 20214 yr On 6/26/2021 at 10:36 PM, BoomMF said: So I've been getting into racing sims and upgraded my trusty Logitech G29 to a direct drive setup by Fanatec. Brother, let me tell you, it's a whole different immersive experience. Covid sent racing sim interest into the stratosphere, and there are a bunch of products that elevate the experience - you can achieve quite a lot of fidelity nowadays. Here's what I ended up with so far: Fanatec DD2 wheel base Fanatec R300 wheel and a 2021 Limited Edition F1 wheel Fanatec Clubsport Pedals V3 Inverted Fanatec Clubsport Shifter SQ and Handbrake Sim Lab P1-X racing cockpit (Sparco Evo II US seat) Samsung Odyssey G9 49" curved display that switches duty with an Oculus Quest 2 Alienware M15 w/ RTX 3080 I'm looking into adding a seat mover (like Next Level Racing's Motion Platform V3), but there are options here, like those from DOFReality. Other than that, I might collect a few more wheels, but the setup is pretty done for a while. The way all the road information gets transmitted to the wheel is something else. You get some great force feedback with the Logitech, but it caps at around 2.5 Nm of force. That's not a lot of headroom to convey it all. The DD2, on the other hand, has 25 Nm of force at the ready, coupled with a free-floating, non-geared drive shaft that feels like butter to spin, which is enough to break your wrists (not broken bones, but broken grip - I GUESS it could break your bones too if you crank up the juice and don't pay attention, who knows...) and deliver an immersive experience like no other. After I skill up a bit, I'll try my hand at racing with the crazies in iRacing. Steam's current sale has the year membership at $30, so that's almost a no-brainer. If anyone else wants to hop on and race in Project Cars 1, 2, 3, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, or rFactor 2, holler. I'll try any game, just pick your poison. That's crazy. That isn't running off of a laptop, is it? Assuming no, what is the laptop for?
July 28, 20214 yr Author 7 hours ago, Elvis said: That's crazy. That isn't running off of a laptop, is it? Assuming no, what is the laptop for? Yeah. Alienware m15 R4 with an RTX 3080 doing the heavy lifting. It can push that 49" monitor (effectively a 6k panel) at a comfortable 140Hz. It's crazy what laptops can do these days.
August 18, 20214 yr Author Installed a Next Level Racing Motion V3 into the rig. Rally racing just got an upgrade.
September 15Sep 15 Author Four year update: System is still has basically the same foundation (Fanatec DD2, Inverted Clubsport pedals), but I've picked up a bunch of wheels (A body can't drive a truck with an F1 wheel, and a body shouldn't even want to try.), including the Bentley wheel with the gyroscopic self-levelling center display. The rig no longer runs on a laptop, but a dedicated Alienware i9 with an Nvidia 4080. I think I'm going to move over to 3 TVs instead of the Samsung G9 49" flanked by 2 1440 27s. Three like TVs sets up much easier across more games than this current setup with its odd dimensions. Also, American Truck Simulator is the tits. Brother-in-law came over to check it out: Edited September 15Sep 15 by BoomMF
November 18Nov 18 Been thinking about getting myself a setup. I'm not that good but I have fun on racing games (although I've only owned F1 recently) and using a controller doesn't just limit performance it obviously limits immersion.
November 18Nov 18 I used to run with a force-feedback wheel, pedals, etc. Granted that was 25 years ago, and things have changed quite a bit since then.
November 18Nov 18 1 hour ago, thunderlounge said: I used to run with a force-feedback wheel, pedals, etc. Granted that was 25 years ago, and things have changed quite a bit since then. I did as well. NASCAR 4 for life.
November 18Nov 18 9 hours ago, atomheartbevo said: I did as well. NASCAR 4 for life. There ya go. That was my 3rd game at that time. Counter Strike, and then F16/F22 (novalogic), then came nascar 4. Once in a while mixed a little mech warrior 4 (or was it 3? I’d have to look) as well. Now? I’m lucky to turn the switch on once every couple of weeks.
December 6Dec 6 Well I think I've decided to piecemeal my sim racing rig by seeing if I really like racing and it's not just a short term interest. Getting a low end direct drive wheel to try it for a while. We will see if a year from now I have a full rig. Edited December 6Dec 6 by Huckleberry
December 8Dec 8 When I did that rally with my neighbors this year we got to stop by Podium 1 Racing in Nashville. They make crazy good sim setups. It will make you sweat.
December 8Dec 8 1 minute ago, Buzzrock said: When I did that rally with my neighbors this year we got to stop by Podium 1 Racing in Nashville. They make crazy good sim setups. It will make you sweat. put a yoke and throttle in there, and that would probably be a pretty serious flight sim too!
December 8Dec 8 1 hour ago, Buzzrock said: When I did that rally with my neighbors this year we got to stop by Podium 1 Racing in Nashville. They make crazy good sim setups. It will make you sweat. Do the screens move too, or just the seat? I was thinking about how the seat simulates g-forces vs body roll of the vehicle/screen. Because a good suspension stays flat during high lateral g-forces. Similar for acceleration and braking. Some lift/tilt but not equal to 1+ g's.
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