Small dual purpose sim racing / turbo trainer setup
Small dual purpose sim racing / turbo trainer setup
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peterh2

Original Poster:

539 posts

261 months

Monday 14th February 2022
quotequote all
I've got a very small room I've created at the end of my garage which is just 125cm wide x 240cm long.

I'm wanting to use this as a dual purpose sim racing & turbo trainer area. I'll be using iRacing for the sim racing and FulGaz for the cycling.

Total budget hopefully <£5k all in. I've already got a bike and a bluetooth turbo.

I was thinking of a Playseat with CSL DD wheel and pedals. This will need to be able to collapse so I can take the bike and turbo off the wall to switch use. There's no other storage here and I can't use the main part of the garage for storage so both must be usable with the other collapsed.

A 55" TV will (just) fit on the wall. I think this will be the best way to go for the cycling. I'd prefer ultra wide for the sim racing but could I just sacrifice some vertical use of the TV and run at a ratio which is equivalent to ultra wide (21:9)? Will this cause any problems that I'm not aware of?

What TV am I best going for? OLED 55" seems the obvious call but I'm a little weary about burn in. What has the best refresh rate / response times / freesync stuff that I'll need?

PC for iRacing on this shouldn't need to be crazy high spec as it's just a single monitor? Does anyone have a suggested CPU and GFX card for this purpose?

Thanks!

CarCrazyDad

4,280 posts

65 months

Monday 14th February 2022
quotequote all
If money is no object you can get very nice IPS displays for PC gaming

Asus ROG PG35 for example

OLEDs are OK from what I read but you need to be careful with them, I'd look at a Samsung QLED or something to be honest just for peace of mind

If you're going for a Fanatec or any other DD wheel then a playseat is not going to be good enough
My lad had a Playseat Challenge (the folding one) and it was OK with his Logitech G29 at the time but having tried better stuff then it's a complete no go with a DD wheel

I have a GT Omega Titan which I use with a T300RS GT which is pretty compact and has a monitor stand in front of it

I wouldn't want to use a DD wheel on anything less than this!

To be honest if it were me I'd cycle outside in the fresh air and keep the space indoors for the sim racing - Never quite understood why you'd want to cycle indoors with no fresh air pretending you are in the Alps?! smile

peterh2

Original Poster:

539 posts

261 months

Monday 14th February 2022
quotequote all
Thanks - that's a little disappointing to hear the play seat is no good as it's going to make the setup very tricky!

Work and young kids who go to bed at 7:30pm means I've got a 7:30-9:30pm window of an evening to do something but can't leave the house as I'm tied to a baby monitor!

Bullett

11,183 posts

214 months

Monday 14th February 2022
quotequote all
Playseat Challenge works fine with a CSL DD, it's what I use.

Limited space, sim racing, the answer is VR.

CarCrazyDad

4,280 posts

65 months

Monday 14th February 2022
quotequote all
Bullett said:
Playseat Challenge works fine with a CSL DD, it's what I use.

Limited space, sim racing, the answer is VR.
Why have a £750 high end wheel and a cheap wobbly, flexy mount?
I get the space argument, but then my point would be why invest in the (some of) best hardware? Sort of like putting the best brakes you can buy and having cheap tyres

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wioeL9pA1CA

Look how flexy and wobbly that is , he says it's OK to use, but there's a reason he doesn't use it himself and has a 80-20 rig

Again just my opinion, I had tried my Sons Challenge (which is what got me into Sim racing to begin with) and decided to invest in a more stable platform rig (granted, it's not a 80-20 but that's a bit much for an old fart like me)



Agree VR being ideal, but I'd recommend trying it first - I tried it and could not get on with it , kept making me feel ill, so I stuck with a screen

Bullett

11,183 posts

214 months

Monday 14th February 2022
quotequote all
Space and storage.

No, it's not ideal. If space (and money) was not an issue it would be a full motion rig.
It's been a gradual upgrade path, wheelstand pro to Challenge, G25 to T300 to CSL DD each step being an improvement from the last.

VR is not for everyone and it can take a bit of getting used to but I'd never go back.