Arcade durability steering Wheel with buttons?

[twistedsymphony]

Planning out my racing cab I'm using San Francisco Rush cabinets  and I would like to leave them as un-modified as possible.

However a few games that I'd like to play feature steering wheel buttons, and the SF Rush games seem to have fewer available buttons compared to other games.

I'll be using the original HAPP Force feedback setup. I want the arcade durability and a motor strong enough to pull stumps but I was thinking a cheap way to get extra buttons without cutting into the cab would be to swap to a steering wheel with some integrated buttons.

The SF Rush wheels seem to be larger than most racing wheels and the shifter is mounted next to the seat so there is plenty of room. I was thinking I might be able to get away with using an aftermarket car wheel like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320mm-RACING-STEERING-WHEEL-BLACK-PVC-LEATHER-GRIP-CARBON-FIBER-LOOK-HORN-BUTTON-/301094242022?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item461a9d86e6&vxp=mtr



I wouldn't put that in my car but it seems appropriate for an arcade machine and I'd get 3 buttons (2 "NOS" buttons and a horn button). The hard part would be running the wires so they don't bind and getting an adapter boss made to space this out and bolt it to the original 3 bolt wheel hub.

The only thing I don't like about this wheel is the plastic "Carbon fiber" sections that the buttons are mounted to, I'd rather have the whole thing "leather" wrapped or rubberized.

I was wondering if anyone else has swapped to a different wheel/run wheel buttons and if they had any other advice/ideas/suggestions.

Please don't suggest that I buy a Logitech wheel or something similar. I'm quite happy with the force feedback setup that I've got and I'm just trying to add buttons to my existing wheel for < $50.

thanks 

[BadMouth]

Widely available 3-hole adapters come pretty close to working with the original happ mount.  Search fleabay or Amazon for 3 hole or golf cart steering wheel adapter and you'll see them.

The holes need widened a bit, but I don't remember exactly how much.  I have the parts laying around and can take a pic when I get time.  (might be a few days before I get time)

I don't have any advice for the wiring.  I have a CP that I built with steering wheel wiring, but it never got used much more than testing.  I drilled an extra hole in the adapter, ran the wires through, then hot glued where they exited in hopes of them not bending at a hard angle.  From there they just passed to a connector under the dashboard.  Can't say I was totally satisfied with it, but like I said it was untested longterm. 

If I wanted a perfect solution, I'd rework everything so that a hollow steering shaft was used, then put one of these in the end:
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=382&zenid=s2do766ntqcc7gqkq5vjliv6l5

Of course, the happ setup has the potentiometer on the very end, so you'd have to add an extra 1:1 gear or pulley to work the potentiometer.

[SegaOutrun]

There are plenty of mod posts for the g25/g27 wheels to add or relocate more buttons on web. You may want to check those out to see anything is useful for you.






 

[twistedsymphony]

Widely available 3-hole adapters come pretty close to working with the original happ mount.  Search fleabay or Amazon for 3 hole or golf cart steering wheel adapter and you'll see them. The holes need widened a bit, but I don't remember exactly how much.

I didn't even think of that... I wonder if they make clock-springs for golf-carts too... that would solve the rotating wiring issue since most proper car clocksprings are way too big.

Either way with only a 270 degree wheel the wires only getting spun 135 degrees at lock so worst case would be having to run a strong sheath to keep it from getting pinched.

  I have the parts laying around and can take a pic when I get time.  (might be a few days before I get time)

don't worry about it, I'm sure I can track down an adapter now that I know what to look for.

There are plenty of mod posts for the g25/g27 wheels to add or relocate more buttons on web. You may want to check those out to see anything is useful for you.
 

Thanks I'll give it a look. If I got with the car wheel I posted above then the only real problem I have is figuring out how to keep the wires from getting pinched/keeping them out of the way.

[BadMouth]

browsing ebay, it looks like searching for 3 hole adapter or grant adapter is the way to go.
seems people with golf carts will pay more for the same part. 

[twistedsymphony]

browsing ebay, it looks like searching for 3 hole adapter or grant adapter is the way to go.
seems people with golf carts will pay more for the same part. 

Thanks, looks to be a ton of options.


Considering the wiring situation... it seems that "faster than speed" as well as Mario Kart GP and F-Zero AX all use steering wheel buttons, I'd be interested to see what they're using to get electrical to the steering wheel.. Pretty much all of the Logitech wheel adapters I've seen are just using phone cord which doesn't seem like a durable or a very clean solution to me.

[BadMouth]

had some unexpected free time this evening and the parts were handy, so I went ahead and snapped a pic.

The 3-hole mount for a Midway(Happ) steering wheel is underneath.

You could either widen the holes inward or just rotate and drill new holes.

[Howard_Casto]

I don't really have anything to add, these guys have you covered but I wanted to remind you that the diameter of the wheel needs to be as close to the stock wheel as possible. 
If it's smaller your FF will feel too strong, larger and it'll feel too weak.  In this instance the power of leverage is NOT your friend. 

[BadMouth]

I don't really have anything to add, these guys have you covered but I wanted to remind you that the diameter of the wheel needs to be as close to the stock wheel as possible. 
If it's smaller your FF will feel too strong, larger and it'll feel too weak.  In this instance the power of leverage is NOT your friend. 

To go along with that, I ended up with a 280mm wheel.
Primarily because when using a 320mm wheel, my knuckles were hitting the shifter housing on the Sega Model 2 control panel.
But yeah, it would also change both the feel of the ffb and the speed at which you can change direction.
I think the SF Rush wheels were a little larger than most arcade games, but it's been so long since I played on a real machine that I'm not sure.

Last time I checked there was only one affordable 280mm wheel on ebay.
There are a lot of nice ones that aren't affordable. 

[twistedsymphony]

I don't really have anything to add, these guys have you covered but I wanted to remind you that the diameter of the wheel needs to be as close to the stock wheel as possible. 
If it's smaller your FF will feel too strong, larger and it'll feel too weak.  In this instance the power of leverage is NOT your friend. 

The San Fran Rush wheel is significantly larger than most arcade wheels, I haven't measured it but seem close in size to a real car wheel. I also don't have to worry about hitting the shifter since it's mounted down by the seat and there's nothing to interfere with the wheel.

Even still, wouldn't I be able to just up the gain on the FFB output? I know the original hardware allows me to adjust the intensity of the output and even at the default setting of 50% it's strong enough to rip your arms off 

[Howard_Casto]

Yes unless the size difference is too much for it to matter. 

[Paul Olson]

The Cart Fury wheels have 2 buttons.

[twistedsymphony]

The Cart Fury wheels have 2 buttons.

That's actually superhelpful... I was able to get the assembly diagram from the manual online... The Mario Kart GP and F-Zero AX manuals were totally worthless in this regard but Cart fury manual actually has something useful.

it looks like the just throw a protective cover over the wire and that's it... kind of what I was planning on doing myself 

[twistedsymphony]

if anyone is interested I got around to measuring the San Francisco Rush Steering Wheel... it's 12.25 inches so ~ 311mm... that's close enough in size to the 320mm wheels that I doubt it will make much difference in terms of force feedback feel.