Advice on sim racing gear

Advice on sim racing gear

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anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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I thought I'd give VR sim racing a go. I've got a 2700X, 16GB, M.2 SSD and an RTX2070.

I'm thinking the HP Reverb VR headset looks like a good start?

As for wheel a G920 with either logitech or thrustmaster H pattern? Is the fanatec kit really worth so much more (granted it looks the nuts)

Any advice appreciated, cheers


Rod200SX

8,086 posts

175 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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I'm using an oculus rift and a G920 with shifter with an Omega GT stand & my own bucket seat. It's absolutely adequate and probably a good starting point to find out if you enjoy it or not.

I do a mixture of racing and drifting but mainly the latter. Just made (well, my friend did) my own 'hydro' handbrake for a cost of maybe £5 in parts. Looks rough but works tremendous.

I've tried a fanatec once but it was a forza demo with full assists etc on, which isn't exactly much use for finding out if it's worth it or not hehe

PHuzzy

2,747 posts

171 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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I recently upgraded my stuff to Fanatec, expensive but worth every penny.
Reliability wise I've had 2 issues with it in the first couple of months but their service and support is great.

I'd recommend it and although fairly quick already, it has actually made me a little quicker.

Hoofy

76,253 posts

281 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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Also think about the seat. If it's the wrong height for realism, it'll just feel wrong.

BigDaveTheMighty

153 posts

192 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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I'd see if you can give VR a go first before dropping cash on it. Some people get on with it, others - like me - don't. I love the idea, but my brain isn't wired up right to handle it for very long without wanting to chunder.

Given that I do a lot of team endurance events in iRacing it's not for me. VRS GT3 enduros are 3hrs and the iRacing Le Mans Series races are six or seven hours. I share the 3hr events with one other driver and we usually have at least three of us for the longer races.

G920 is a decent starter wheel if you're just giving it a go. I started out with a Thrustmaster TMX (el cheapo, but with the three-pedal set up I modded with the BBJ kit to give the brake a bit more feel) and after a couple of years and once it had started to get a bit tired, made the leap to a Fanatec CSW 2.5 and the elite pedals (three pedals with a load cell brake).

One of my teammates used a g920 for about three years and another is still using one. It's miles ahead of the TMX I started with and it's a perfectly good wheel until you want an upgrade.

Once I'd got that and set it up properly, it felt like cheating, but it should do given the hike in price between the two setups. The biggest difference in the higher end kit is the amount of detail you get through the wheel and the speed at which you can save slides and spins. You can feel things loading up under downforce and tyres starting to reach the edge of grip before they actually get there. I now feel limited by my ineptitude rather than the kit. It's built like a tank and looks amazing.

One of the best bits of kit you can get is a load cell brake. This works off how HARD you press the pedal, rather than how FAR so it's closer in feel to the real thing. I had trouble getting my head around the other type of brake that works on position as if you've done a lot of driving you get used to proper brakes and my head wasn't prepared to relearn braking. You do need to pay a bit more for it, but's worth the extra in my opinion.

Before you open the coffers, there's nothing wrong with trying this out with lower end kit and selling it on if you want an upgrade or if you just don't get on with it. There's a decent second-hand market for most of this stuff.

You also need to think about how and where you're setting this up. I work from home and just clamp the wheel to my desk with the pedals up against the wall. That works for me. Some people go for full on rigs - and I would if space and money were no object - but I'm pretty happy with my set up. You don't need to go all-in at once.

Speckle

3,448 posts

215 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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VR sim racing is amazing! I could never go back to a flat screen now! Not tried the reverb, I have an original HTC Vive which is superb. There are a lot of good options coming onto the market, depending on your budget. Valve Index in particular looks interesting.

Fanatec stuff is very good indeed. I have only upgraded the pedals so far but, as has been mentioned above, they genuinely made me faster. I currently use a Thrustmaster T300 wheel, which is still going strong but, ultimately I will upgrade to either Fanatec or an alternative direct drive option.

Bullett

10,873 posts

183 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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One thing to remember with PC based sim gear is that you can upgrade it piece by piece. So you don't need pedals and wheel from the same maker (like with a console. I started with a G25 set up then upgraded the pedals before swapping out the wheel to a Thrustmaster T300 (still with the G26 pedals) then changing the pedals to Fanatec Clubsport v3. I've ordered the FeelVR (direct drive wheel, load cell pedals) kit now as well but not arrived yet.

For VR I use Vive which is awsome and when its working My Pimax 5k. Occulus or the Mixed reality would all be fine for sim racing though. I'd buy the Steam one if buying today (but its still pricey).

VR does take a bit of getting used to. Your 2070 should cope ok, some people try to run it on too low spec PC's and the variable framerates and dropped frames will make you sick. High stable framerate is king. Some people just can't take it. Took me a while to get used to it but I now hardly ever get VR sick unless its a slide motion game. Sims are the easiest to get used to as you have a fixed reference (the cockpit) which stabilises you.

I can't go back to non VR racing.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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Many thanks for all the advice chaps. Although having just read a review of reverb vs index the one thing i was decided on now im considering the index rolleyes Leaning towards fanatec; if for no other reason than it will probably stand up to my kids better!

What game do you all play? I love Dirt Rally but ridiculously have only ever played on keyboard... looking forward to trying a circuit based sim though

Bullett

10,873 posts

183 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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On your own or online multiplayer?
What sort of racing?

I like Iracing, online only and not prettiest but great community and no commitment to a league date/time so you can race in competitions as much as hourly. Races are graded and licensed so you are not up against online Lewis Hamilton and you can't just pop into F1 have to work up from MX5's.
Ovals, road, dirt and rally cross. Very Simmy. Expensive mind, subscription model and DLC on top (cars tracks). Online racing is very good, very few dheads, they get banned very fast either automatically or via a reporting system. Usually deals around, very adictive.

Project Cars 2/Assetto Corsa. Very good overall, lots of cars and tracks, single player modes, Career etc. Pick up online racing is variable and you can get trolls. Leagues can be good but standards are mixed but conduct regimented you do have to commit to a race Tuesday at 8pm type thing though.

Dirt Rally, rFactor, F1 (insert year) Raceroom. then Karting, Truck racing, Motorbikes and space/hover racers. All have thier positives and negatives and foibles. Many have demos or trials, give them a go.

itsallyellow

3,660 posts

219 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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I’m also an Iracing fan, great competitive and clean racing on the whole. Brilliantly accurate tracks due to laser scanning.

Interesting comments with regards to Fanatec. I have the Fanatec wheel base with the GT3 rim, V3 pedal set and the club sport shifter and handbrake. Don’t get me wrong, it’s much better than the logitec offerings etc that feel like toys in comparison, however, it’s not really top end gear. I would say it’s the top end of the “affordable” section. It all comes down to how much you want to spend. I bought my Fanatec gear about 3 years ago because I thought it was the best stuff that was easily set up. Now being more into my sim racing I have realised how if you want to spend the money you can by direct drive wheels and pedal sets that really make the Fanatec stuff look like a toy.

I think my next upgrade to my rig will be the pedal set as I think there is much more to come
In terms of brake feel. I’m thinking of the Simtag hydraulic pedals or similar.

Mike

PHuzzy

2,747 posts

171 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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I do agree with you to a degree on that but Fanatec stuff (to me anyway) borders on the limit of what is an acceptable price to pay for what is ultimately a toy, it's already in normal people terms stupidly expensive and pushing on to the next level is insane.

The fact that it is plug and play is a bonus compared to some of the higher end stuff and at some point, you get into the diminishing returns area with regard to quality, on the whole a lot of the kit will not make you quicker once you reach a certain point or it could do but it'll cost you a small fortune.

Bullett

10,873 posts

183 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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It's the classic 'all the gear and no idea' scenario'.
Yes, you can spend silly money on a computer/GPU/Seat/Wheel/pedals but some of the fast guys are still kicking your arse using a basic logitec!

I agree, Fanatec is top of the consumer end and expensive for a toy. I compare it to hifi, Bose is expensive and more than good enough for most people but cheap and nasty next to 'proper' hifi.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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Bullett said:
It's the classic 'all the gear and no idea' scenario'.
Doesn't stop me with real cars!

DMN

2,983 posts

138 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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Bullett said:
It's the classic 'all the gear and no idea' scenario'.
Yes, you can spend silly money on a computer/GPU/Seat/Wheel/pedals but some of the fast guys are still kicking your arse using a basic logitec!

I agree, Fanatec is top of the consumer end and expensive for a toy. I compare it to hifi, Bose is expensive and more than good enough for most people but cheap and nasty next to 'proper' hifi.
yes

Rudy Van Burren won the Worlds Fastest Gammer with a G27. My rig has come together over years and the most I've out-layed was for widescreen monitor last winter. Buying Fanatec/Simcube or likewise may gain me an extra tenth here or there, but its not worth the investment untill someone pays me to race (although I drive for a sponsored team in rF2).

The latest little upgrade I've done is a semi-DIY IR head tracker. Which when combined with my widescreen monitor has helped with immersion (but not lap times). However it cost me £50, about 1/4 the cost of a TrackIR system.

DRCAGE

499 posts

164 months

Friday 13th September 2019
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As far as I can tell, sim racing stuff holds it's money well, I have a Logitech G25, there is two used setups on eBay atm at around £100 buy it now... that's how much I paid for mine ,brand new, a decade ago! I assume this is similar with other stuff although I don't know.

VR for racing games is just something else, on the rare occasion I can be bothered to drag it all out/set it up, it honestly blows me away every time.

ETA: Started with the official xbox wheel for the 360, bought that for £60 ish, it went out of production while they were still fairly desirable (no idea why, rubbish!), eventually put it up on eBay with a £90 buy it now, I thought something had gone wrong because it sold so quickly!

Edited by DRCAGE on Friday 13th September 16:08

Speckle

3,448 posts

215 months

Saturday 14th September 2019
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I'm more of a hotlapper than a racer, and I love a bit of chaotic rally action! I played the original Project Cars and now Project Cars 2 - (there is an online hotlapping league too, check out the 'stoopid challenges' thread here or head over to stoopidchallenges.com if that's your sort of thing.) The Project Cars games are certainly the best graphically.

Dirt Rally was great and I'm currently working my way through Dirt Rally 2. I was interested in WRC8 but, no VR support could well be a deal breaker for me.

A dip in and out of Assetto Corsa but, somewhow the FFB always feels a bit off to me.

I have heard many good things from lots of serious sim racers about iracing. If online multiplayer is your bag, that is probably the title for you.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Monday 16th September 2019
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Well I took on board everyone's advice and ordered the Fanatec Elite wheel and pedals and clubsport box. Now time to dig out my MIG and knock up something that will fit both me and my little guy. I can't decide on the VR headset yet so will leave it till Christmas and see how things shake out between all the newer ones.

itsallyellow

3,660 posts

219 months

Monday 16th September 2019
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Let us know how you get on! Would be good to see pictures of your rig when finished.

Mike

Ross_T_Boss

163 posts

217 months

Monday 30th September 2019
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Some interesting reading here, from someone who's on the path to getting back into a bit of Sim Racing after many years.

I've played around with Assetto Corsa and have all the updates, mostly dabbling with new content with months in between spells of racing. I used a T300, ACT Labs Shifter (if you know what that is you've been into Sim Racing a while), set of Fanatec V3 pedals (replacing ACT Labs ones which died). Adding an Oculus Rift took it to another level - especially single-seater and the Caterham style thing in 'Life for Speed' are real highlights.


Quick run-down of what changed it for me.

Pedals: going to the load-cell pedals with a 'realisitic' brake that responds to pressure vs travel, I found a it step forward to realism but I had adapted well to 'movement', no real performance benefit.

Enter VR: I now find enjoyment in these cars - sometimes I didn't quite feel the loss of grip, but for some reason the sensation of being 'in the car' allowed me to turn in with confidence and accuracy. Counter steering is natural, I feel 'connected' and seem to pick up yaw and balance the car by sight despite the feeling being missing. This was the game-changer for me.

Add the racing seat: A much bigger difference than expected from this. I can only think that all the subconscious 'correcting' movements in the seat, incorrect posture, pedals slipping away etc took alot of focus. For me, it's a must have item I wish I'd got years ago. it doesn't even take up that much space as it sits so low.

As a reference across the upgrades, with the Novice X-Bow series in Assetto Corsa, I hated it. The race at Imola I just could get into the required podium position but not hold it for 4 laps. With VR I could do that every time, much more engaging and enjoyable, I was still messy but got 2nd place easily. Add the seat and second try I'd won it with 5s lead, 2s knocked off my previous best lap, and felt like I was throwing the car around rather than delicately coaxing with a hope it wouldn't bite back.


I just got a $5 3-month offer on iRacing and now have that installed. I was suggested to try it by a friend who sponsors an Audi RS3 TCR team in the states when I asked what their drivers use, also noted that it was Llando Norris' sim of choice. Initial thoughts - graphics may not be the best, but actually the track detail is fantastic; tracks seem to feel life-like with obvious traction changes between surfaces and lines. Driving experience is on another level, honestly if you're sceptical like I was just stop hoping the other mainstream stuff is 'as good'. The real-life drivers are using it for a reason.

Next stop: a fanatec wheel I think, something around the 4-500 mark and I'll upgrade the Rift to an Index at some point too.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Monday 28th October 2019
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All my goodies finally(!) arrived out here in the further reaches of the empire. Lovely kit it is too. Far nicer controls than most real cars; the 'gearbox' is awesome! Thinking I need to make a proper open gate for it though. And get a buttkicker. I haven't even plugged it in yet. Oh god this isn't going to end is it?

Making my own frame so that it is quickly adjustable between me and the little people...