Building a Racing Rig

[Redline88]

Hi guys,

A while back I had a basic sim racing rig set up consisting of a cheap rig, Logitech g29 and the associated pedals & shifter. I sold this back when moving house and now with all of the joys of lockdown have decided that I’d quite fancy getting one again.

I’ve decided to go down the console route and purchased a PS4 Pro - aware that the PS5 is due to be launched soon however this should give me plenty of options - I’m not fussed about having the latest in terms of games etc.

I was then considering a Playseat Challenge - I know that this isn’t the sturdiest of seats/based but the ability to fold it up is really appealing as space in my apartment is really limited!

For a bit of an upgrade on the old Logitech bits, I was looking to go for the following:

•Fanatec CSL Elite Wheel
•Fanatec Clubsport Pedals V3
•Club sport Shifter SQ V1.5

Does anybody have a setup similar to the above and are there any particular issues that I should be keeping an eye out for?

Cheers!

[Speckle]

I have the clubsport pedals and rate them very highly - a proper bit of kit.

I used to have a playseat challenge and definitely recommend it. It was a very tidy solution and, whilst there was a bit of flex as you might imagine there would be, it was very quickly forgotten once you started racing. I only got rid of mine as I upgraded to a more powerful wheelbase so needed a sturdier rig.

[Redline88]

Thanks Speckle. Did you ever mount the Clubsport v3 pedals on the challenge? Did they fit ok?

[Kit352]

I have a Gt omega pro with every single possible attachment and upgrade for it, even the cup holders. I got it for a steal off the bay otherwise its complete overkill for my use. I have that with a g29 and pedal box and shifter.
I have the rs seat with sliders and a 5pt harness, which i actually find i need. I use it only for vr racing on my ps4 pro. Games like dirt rally 2 and drivers club.
Its very sturdy and has a lot of adjustability. It needs to sturdy with vr as i find myself leaning out the vr window to check for cars behind me or see if i have blown a tire. The race harness keeps me more in place as i fell out of the rig a few times. The shifter has been modded to be sequential so thats nice on dirt rally. I dont use a lot of the attachments so its kind of small and simple.

[Speckle]

Redline88 said:

Thanks Speckle. Did you ever mount the Clubsport v3 pedals on the challenge? Did they fit ok?

Sort of. The playseat has a decent fold out metal tubular platform for the pedals which has bar that the pedals rest against. This means you can put lots of pressure on them without them moving. The main issue was the width. I ended up having to daisy chain the substantial velcro straps together so that I could wrap them all the way round and secure them. The pedals are too wide for the rig but, you'll be able to make them work without too much trouble.

Mounting a gearstick is a bit more fiddly. I had a thrustmaster TH8A mounted by using a motorbike satnav mount and a heavy duty fence bracket. That also seemed to work well.

[skinny]

I have a Playseat Challenge, it's pretty good, slight up and down wobble in the wheel but not a deal breaker. I also mounted an H-pattern gearshift, sequential shift, and handbrake on there.
I don't like the velcro holding the pedals on so I just put a flat metal bar / plate under the rig pedal loop and bolted the pedals to it, much more secure but also avoids a thick velcro strap on the heel plate of the pedal set.

[Benmac]

I went down the aluminium profile route after having a wobbly old playseat for years. It's great and definite improvement, I just run a G29 currently but plan to get something better in time. The alloy profile rigs can be done DIY if you're prepared to put up with some minor faff sourcing bits or there are a few places that make the kits. This chap is a great bloke

https://www.sim-racing-workshop.co.uk/home

For mine I bagged a cheap VX220 seat to use on it which works a treat and isn't as bulky as the generic racing buckets that are typically used.

[Speckle]

skinny said:

I have a Playseat Challenge, it's pretty good, slight up and down wobble in the wheel but not a deal breaker. I also mounted an H-pattern gearshift, sequential shift, and handbrake on there.
I don't like the velcro holding the pedals on so I just put a flat metal bar / plate under the rig pedal loop and bolted the pedals to it, much more secure but also avoids a thick velcro strap on the heel plate of the pedal set.

Skinny's pedal solution is undoubtedly better and more a more secure fixing but, try the strap first as I never considered it a problem.

Skinny, that looks like a slightly modified mounting solution for the shifters as I don't recall my playseat coming with much aluminium profile
Nice setup though.

Benmac said:

I went down the aluminium profile route after having a wobbly old playseat for years.

Same here eventually but, only because of my lust for a Direct Drive wheel. I think the OP is after a foldaway solution though.