2 x Racingpod

[filuren33]

I hope this is a relevant project for this forum and if not please tell me, I have been missing some racing project allthough I admire all the great builds here on the forum. I have done a couple of MAME build in the past but for a while I have been fond of racing simulation, I am not good at it but I have a lot of fun and the more the merrier they say so I have started and allmost finished a set of 2 pods for sim-racing. My friends at arkadtorget.se have allready seen this but I wanted to share it here to.

The pictures are not in correct order but so what ;-) Well here goes nothing.

All projects start with some material and so is mine, the pods are in 19mm and 12mm chipboard and the template are 12mm chipboard.

I started by measuring up the position of seats, steeringwheel and pedals the rest of the design just "happend" around those points. In retrospective the things looks like Santa's sledge, at least before the seats where mounted 

As far as construction we all knows the procedure, cutting the template, sanding, drew the lines on a thicker piece of board, milling the pieces to match the template. So I will not bore you with tons of pictures from that only one.

The slot cutter came to use one more time since I think the easyest best looking way to hide the edges on chip board is t-mold cant beat that finish.

Supports where screwed and glued in place according to the measurements I mentioned earlier.

The mounting was very straight forward just screwing and gluing the rest of the pieces together with the sides. Since I have screwed from the inside I don't need to put any putty on the sides.

And before knew it there was two of them.

I had to try it out and my daughter wanted to help me to :-)

[emphatic]

Hello. 

Someone here commented the other day on how there's a lack of racing cabs on this forum, so I think you're just in time.  Glad to see you post it here as well as "back home".

[filuren33]

Thanks empi  .
The whole Idea with this is to get an easy built, relatively cheap way to race side by side. I think I got the job done.

After hiering some professional help  I ended up painting myself. This project isn't anything like those super sweet, high finish builds stretching over years and years. I do admire those of you that can keep the spirit for so long but I'm not one of them who can. So instead I wanted something that look decent but above all is done.

Some automotive carpet and t-mold will look just fine.

I first used two seats from a SAAB 900 nice comfort but old.

After a visit to the local timberyard I got the question "what are you building this time" When I said I was building car games one of the guys told me he had two good SAAB 93 seat that I could get for free. People are so nice . The seats are hardly used, I have dismantled the airbags since there are no games that support them anyway.

Here is the general idea, the pods facing the wall and two LCD TV:s on the wall. The computer on the floor for easy access for changing game.

It's starting to come together, the wheel on the left is a Logitech Driving Force GT a good wheel but the G27 is better. Both pods will have a 2.1 speaker system.

Well here is the exiting part at least I think so. I bought the G27 because I allready had put a lot of work into a custom H-shifter and pedals for a logitech momo racing force wheel and I didn't want to do it again to have two sets...

I will post more details about those parts later on. Right now it's so nice to have some friend over and both drink and speeding legally 

[yotsuya]

The seats are hardly used, I have dismantled the airbags since there are no games that support them anyway.

That would be the ultimate in force feedback.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Wow:


Awesome sequential shifter. I guess its OK if you post your race sim stuff here . .. 

Welcome.

[filuren33]

Thank you TopJimmyCooks.

BTW It's not a sequential shifter. It's a H-shifter you just cant see the "H" 
The "H" is located in the bottom of the shifter.
This picture of the early prototype may clarify that.

@yotsuya. It would, but I would spill my beer if that thing went of in the seat 

[TopJimmyCooks]

Thank you TopJimmyCooks.

BTW It's not a sequential shifter. It's a H-shifter you just cant see the "H" 
The "H" is located in the bottom of the shifter.
This picture of the early prototype may clarify that.

[/quoteI
Incredible, can't wait to see more.  Do you do any iRacing?

[gbeef]

Nice build we should start a racing gang!..
That shifter is insaneeeee

[drventure]

+1 on the shifter. Nice.

I'm so wanting to do a racing cab. And a vpin, and a juke....doh!

[yotsuya]

..and a cocktail cab, and dedicated shooting cab, and... 

[filuren33]

Don't we all want to build every single cab that can be done:-) I would like to build a steampunk Mame machine.

@ TopJimmyCooks: No I don't do iRacing maybe some day but I really suck at driving I just enjoy the ride. I am playing some of SimBins awesome racing sims and I had a whole bunch of laughs with "Volvo the game" and "BMW M3 challenge" both are totally free sims with great physics and graphics.

@gbeef: A racing gang.. sounds like fun, I just have to get some internet in my "playhouse". BTW your racingstuff looks great, are you doing any progress?

I tried to take some closeups on the shifters innerworkings to show the function of the stick.

And finally a picture of my pedals.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Never thought I'd see a heim joint on this forum . . . .

You have a pot on the clutch pedal - are there games with an analog clutch control mapped?  I would have just assumed that the games don't look for clutch input, that's some serious simulation!  You better not have a little vial of burnt clutch aroma under the seat with a servo controlled atomizer!

Seriously, you've fabricated some really sweet driving controls.  Wonderful. -

[filuren33]

There are several games with an analog clutch input, take a look at and download the demo for "BMW M3 challenge", "GTR2" or "Live for speed" the later even has an analog handbrake input option so that what I'm aiming at next.
I am using an microswitch on the clutch for an digital input option. The reason is that I'm using the wheels interface for gas and brake to be able to play games that can't handle several gamecontrollers.
The clutch is then wired to the shifter interface that have inputs to spare.

[Ond]

I'm impressed by the custom selector and pedals, very nice work.  The whole racingpod thing is starting to take root in my imagination for a next project. Multi monitor technology i.e. AMD Eyefinity seems well suited to these projects also transducer feedback into the seat such as Buttkicker etc, the list goes on and on for cool possibilities, I'm really going to have to learn how to weld damn it!     The kid in me really wants to dismantle my Logitech Momo Force Feedback steering wheel and start messing with the technology ala custom built stuff,  m u s t   r e s i s t   f  o  r     n  o  w.

[BadMouth]

The kid in me really wants to dismantle my Logitech Momo Force Feedback steering wheel and start messing with the technology ala custom built stuff

Forwarned is forearmed..... (this applies to the black "momo racing" wheel.  may not apply to the older red one)
Nothing to the pedals but 10k pots.  Easy hack.
The steering wheel uses a mouse sized optical encoder wheel mounted on the end of the feedback motor.
(this is how most modern pc wheels are)
Unfortuneately, you can't just mount the encoder on the end of a steering shaft because it passes through a handfull of gears first.
I've been too lazy to work out the math.
There is also another sensor that tells it where center is by sensing a silver strip down the center of the main steering shaft.  
Older wheels have a pot for the steering and are a lot easier to hack.

I started this hack a while back, but had to set it aside because of work and other projects.
I'm hoping that by removing the stops on my happ ffb wheel and adding a set of optical sensors on the other side of the encoder wheel that I'll end up with a wheel that can do double duty on 270 and 360 degree wheel games.  I hope to get back to it within the next few weeks.
The next plan is to print custom encoder wheels on transparency paper, so I can experiment with different tooth counts and hopefully end up with something that I can just mount on the end of a steering shaft.  

Keeping paddle shifters on a 360 degree wheel will be the next problem to work out.  

Honestly, I'm not that motivated because I'm pretty happy with my unmodified momo wheel.
The only thing I'm really gaining with the Happ wheel is stronger FFB.

[BadMouth]

are there games with an analog clutch control mapped? 

As far as arcade goes, just the San Fransisco Rush series and Hard Drivin'
Ridge Racer had a clutch pedal, but it only worked a switch.

I'm getting ready to install a set of SF rush pedals in my cab and have the clutch pedal wired with both a pot and a switch that engages when the pedal is most of the way down.
The happ pedals are ok, but you're pushing them down, not forward like filuren33's.
That pedal setup is sweet!