Racing sim's cockpit's and setups discussion thread

[gatordad]

I am considering the next addition to my gameroom will be a 3 screen racing simulator.

How many people are into racing simulators here?

What is the best cockpit bang for the buck?

What is the best wheel / pedal / shifter setup?

What are some cool 3 screen capable games?

I currently know nothing about racing sims but I tried one out recently and I thought it was really, really, really cool.

Any cool Websites that are as helpful as BYOAC?

[kahlid74]

So I can't help as much with a racing cabinet but I can help with a cabinet using three monitors for gaming.  Currently I'm building a modeled cabinet after the Battletech 2.5/3 pods from the Virtual World Entertainment days of the 90's.  I'm retrofitting the cabinet with three monitors.  Using Nvidia graphics cards (two running in SLI) I can utilize SLI for a native resolution using SPAN of 5760x1080.  This is because nVidia has their own span technology called nVidia Surround.  It works fantastic but be aware that you're going to have to get $250-400 dollar graphic cards to handle modern day gaming at those resolutions.

Now comes the tricky part, what games support this?  Most modern day games support the larger resolution.  Older ones will not.  So if you're looking to play racing games in the last year or two and going forward you're good to go.  If you're looking to play crusing USA the original my guess is it will not support the three monitor getup because it was probably locked in to a specific resolution.  You can always do a search though and see if anyone aftermarket made hacks to support larger resolutions!

If you're super serious into racing, these are the guys you want to model after.  They build super stable purposeful full body racing rigs: http://www.fasttracksims.com/pro-chassis-racing-simulator/  Also their monitor mounts are the best in the business for stability and use in a triple form.

[Unstupid]

Too bad it looks like a piece of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---!  

Check out this website... they reviewed a ton of sim rigs: http://www.insidesimracing.tv/pages/section/Simrigs

[macattack]

just started a build myself on a racing sim. gonna be slow progress but looking forward to it. thinking ps3 powered.  need to sort out a G25/G27 setup next to work out the next bits. That and a seat

[selfie]

just started a build myself on a racing sim. gonna be slow progress but looking forward to it. thinking ps3 powered.  need to sort out a G25/G27 setup next to work out the next bits. That and a seat

I recognise that!

[Generic Eric]

thewayiplay.com has what you are looking for. 
Overview topic. 1 pic of every setup. Click on the pic to view its topic.

[macattack]

I recognise that!

I thought you might

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

thewayiplay.com has what you are looking for. 
Overview topic. 1 pic of every setup. Click on the pic to view its topic.

+1 to The Way I Play. Tons of great info there.

[gbeef]

if you want to go 3 screen setup its almost cheaper to buy a rig.when i built my setup i wanted something that look like an arcade machine. As i play both arcade and Sim.
Thewayiplay has some great setups.

[Brian74]

What is this?

[selfie]

What is this?

Its like one of these


from here
http://www.hyperstimulator.com/personal/features.html

[gatordad]

if you want to go 3 screen setup its almost cheaper to buy a rig.

Thats what I am thinking (my free time is short, kids going in multiple directions at same time)
It appears that most cockpits are in the 400 to 600 dollar range.
At first glance it looks like it may be a expensive endeavor.
3 screens, cockpit, xbox game systems and new computer, controls wheels/ pedals. I'm guessing 2000 to 3000 to assemble a nice rig.
I came across the Fanatec website
It appears that Logitech and Fanatec wheels and pedals are the 2 most popular

[Unstupid]

Popular does not equal best!

Thrustmaster T500RS FTW  

Don't forget the add on shifter and F1 wheel (if thats your thing)

[Vigo]

I have heard enough bad things about the T500RS to say I would never pour $500-600 into it. Just read the amazon reviews, some real horror stories.

[BadMouth]

Popular does not equal best!

Thrustmaster T500RS FTW  

Don't forget the add on shifter and F1 wheel (if thats your thing)

Do the thrustmaster wheels come with software similar to logitech profiler?

I've been tempted to buy a Thrustmaster RGT for the purpose of hacking (hello 5-axis!),
but have stayed away because I'm dependent on profiler to switch wheel settings on the fly.
(Demul and a few games require the pedals to be combined and the console emulators require different sensetivity)

[gatordad]

It appears like iracing for pc is fun
I also enjoy track mania
Any other pc game racers worth considering?

[Vigo]

Most need for speed games, Dirt3, burnout paradise. Maybe the old Carmageddon games for a good change of pace, if you can get em working on a newer PC.

[Vigo]

Anyone use one of the fanatec wheels? I was looking for a good wheel option that wasn't from the Thrustmaster/Logitech pool, and fanatec's stuff blew me away.

http://www.fanatec.de/

[wussie]

It appears like iracing for pc is fun
I also enjoy track mania
Any other pc game racers worth considering?

Test drive unlimited and unlimited 2 are awesome

[ChrisK]

I have a Fanatec Porsche Turbo S.  It's got wireless to the 360, a dongle-based wireless to PS3, and USB to the PC.  Great wheel, although every once in a blue moon (maybe once every few weeks) it'll spaz out, crank itself full left and lock up.  Powering it off and back on fixes that, and it hasn't been enough of a problem to bother trying to figure out.  Other than that it's perfect.  Great force feedback, nice feel to the wheel itself, highly configurable, and a full six-speed (6 forward, 1 reverse) gear shift, along with a throw-in sequential shifter.  The shifters are plasticky, but you can apparently buy higher-end ones from Fanatec now.

If you're playing Forza on the 360 it's a must-have.  If you play on the PS3 I'd check out the Logitech wheels because GT5 has some Logitech-specific features.  If you play on the PC you've got your pick of the litter.

[gatordad]

Patients pays off......
Picked up a smoking good deal on my local craigslist

A limited edition Forza 4 playseat
Fanatec Clubsport pedals w/ tuning kit
Fanatec CSR wheel
Fanatec CSR Elite pedals with the pedal inversion kit

I may resell one set of the pedals after I have a chance to give them both a through testing as I won't need 2 sets

Everything was dirty and dusty from sitting out for a while but after cleaning it up everything looks brand spanking new.
I'm excited about this project as I love racing games and this will be awesome!

Sim racing here I come!!!!!!

Need to pick up a buttkicker, and monitor stand

Any advise on good triple monitor stands that don't cost an arm and a leg?

[ChrisK]

Wow, that's some awesome gear, Gatordad!  You're going to love the wheel.  Fanatec make some really nice equipment.

[drventure]

I'm looking forward to building out a sim rig of some sort. Definitely keeping an eye on threads like these (and thewayiplay!)

Haven't played a really good sim in a long time. I'd really like to setup "PowerSlide" again. That game had some of the best force feedback I've ever played with. As I understand it, they calculated the forces involved instead of just playing canned "force scripts" which is what most other games I've played seem to do. You could actually feel it in the wheel.

[ChrisK]

If you have a 360, give Forza 4 a shot.  The FF is impressive in FM4; you can feel road surface changes, the wheel gets more tight or slack depending on the slip of the wheels, and the Fanatec wheel can give some really wicked kicks that challenge you to keep the wheel under control if you have the FF turned up all the way.  I actually turn the FF down a bit so I can keep the wheel under easy control one-handed for shifting.

FM4 is a very realism-slanted sim, so if that's not your thing you might not like it.  But if you like realistic driving, it's a great way to show off your wheel!

[drventure]

Just popped over the the website. Looks like Forza4 is mainly a track based sim. Never been much of a fan of that.

But.... Forza Horizon looks like more of a rally type sim. And damn does it look nice!

I'm much more of a realistic sim driving type guy than just a flat out arcade racer. I've always loved Rally type games.

I'll have to check Forza out though...

[ChrisK]

Yeah, Forza is 100% track oriented.  There's a "mountain back road" course that might remind you somewhat of a WRC road rally course, but that won't be enough to hold your attention if you don't like circuit racing.

You might want to check out DIRT if you like rally style driving.  I haven't tried it with my Fanatec wheel (some 360 games have subpart wheel support) but it's a very popular series for rally racing.

I just wish MS had carried forward from the Rallisport Challenge 2 on the original XBox.  That was far and away my favorite rally game of all time.  Realistic handling, but not punishing, with fun, beautiful courses.  I haven't seen a game like it yet.  TDU2 off-road is the closest I've seen since, but the "game" portion of that was no more involved than, say, driving around town in Grand Theft Auto.  You pretty much made it a game of your own accord

[BadMouth]

The ffb on iRacing is pretty interesting.  It gives you some slight indications when your tires starting to lose grip.  I like it.

I did a trial, but would never be able to invest the time in it to progress to an actual race.
(They make you practice and jump through hoops first so you don't ruin everyone elses race experience with your lousy driving)

The driving cab was loaded up with a half dozen pc games that I've only been able to put a few hours into also. 
Keep telling myself that someday I'll stop starting new projects and spend more time actually playing the games.
Until then, it's a couple quick arcade games here and there.

[gatordad]

Finished going through everything

I'll need to pick up the screws and bolts that I'm missing, and hopefully be playing some Forza4 this weekend!

[gatordad]

Picked up the seat slider cause my 2 sons range in height from 6'1" to 4'10" and a buttkicker gamer2, can't wait for the buttkicker to arrive and install it, that's gonna be cool!

I have everything up and running currently with the exception of the shifter, Fanatec is releasing a clubsport shifter soon so I will wait for that as the current ones are plastic and feel cheap. Plus I would really suck at Forza 4 if I had to shift manually!

I had to custom drill the wheel mount because there were no pre drilled holes for the fanatec wheel on the playseat.
It's been popular with my kids and their friends, even the 16 and 17 y/o's were arguing who was to go next.

[gatordad]

Grandpa goes racing!

Fun stuff, My Dad is 74!

[ChrisK]

Nice!  Looks like a great setup!  I use a stand that doesn't have a chair, and the driving position is more minivan than race car.  The only thing missing from your racing seat is a cupholder.