Looking for Advice - New Sim Racing Rig! (1 Viewer)

[miagi]

You might find this review interesting:

 

[InsaneBase]

I don't think I will be too worried with what I'm missing not going full ClubSport.

Just wait six weeks to three months and you will be wondering...

 

[falcon2081]

@falcon2081 Thanks for the advice. Are you talking about the ClubSport Wheel Base V2? I really cannot justify spending $989.90 AUD on a single component if that's the case, let alone the V3 pedals at $499.90 AUD then a ClubSport wheel on top of that. That's like a $800 difference from a CSL Elite setup with a ClubSport wheel which is basically my budget anyway haha! At the moment I'm driving with a crappy old Logitech MOMO wheel clamped to my office desk so really any quality, modern wheel will be an enormous improvement. I think not having tried other quality wheels, I don't think I will be too worried with what I'm missing not going full ClubSport (even though that would be the dream). I just simply can't justify the money on full ClubSport or beyond.

Yeah I hear you. Like I said you guys get screwed in the exchange rates. Keep in mind though that for the good sim racing equipment the prices are high. You get what you pay for essentially. It is a niche market after all. If I was you I would get a TM 300 wheel and the CSL Elite Pedals and call it a day. If one day you get super serious racing then you will no doubt need to upgrade.

 

[miagi]

Like falcon says, at some point your mind will change, go inside out and you will suddenly want to do better, to feel more, to enjoy it more, maybe simply want more durable gear if you have the bad luck of your wheel breaking once or twice, you will maybe even start to think that even though you practice so much others are faster and it's because they have better gear. And than 1000 or 2000 AUD don't matter any more because it's for a greater good

 

[SillySausage]

Hmm... you guys have given me lots to think about so thanks for that. I think at the moment I just need to work out how much I'm really happy (and willing) to spend and then suit it to one of the options you guys have recommended (and watch more reviews too).

 

[falcon2081]

Let me tell you no matter how much you think about it it won't take the sting of spending so much money. Just do it then worry about what you just did lol.

 

[SillySausage]

Random question, how does wearing socks go with the ClubSport V3 pedals? They seem they would be a bit uncomfortable with those big divets and not having the gripping tape stuff of the CSL Elite to stick your sock to the pedal wouldn't it slide off a lot?

 

[Laiders]

I use a G25, never tried a premium wheel, must be nearly 10 years old now, unlikely to replace until it breaks. Recently gone to VR and a home made "race seat" setup, which make a huge difference to the overall experience.

My thought would be to focus on everything but the wheel. I don't actually think there's much difference in useful feedback between my G25 and real life. In reality it's just one of the ways you get feedback and there tends to be a lot of extra bumps/vibration that somewhat dull down the usefulness of the feedback through the steering in reality. Most club level race/rally cars run standard steering components, just with quick rack modifications, probably nothing like the quality of hardware in the premium sim wheels.

The G25 is still quick enough to keep up most of the time with race cars in sims, you can release the wheel to let it unwind/straighten up just like a real car. If you want to drift road cars with many turns lock to lock it would probably struggle.

What really lets my setup down is the pedals, standard G25. Pressure sensitive brakes would make a big difference and they could be much better positioned for heel and toe. There's an important amount of feedback through the brake pedal in real life, can feel the car locking up, which I don't think is possible in current sim hardware.

I use the seat from an old IKEA office chair bolted to a wooden frame for my sim rig setup, really wouldn't want to sit in a bucket seat whilst playing on my computer, they're not comfortable!

 

[Laiders]

Random question, how does wearing socks go with the ClubSport V3 pedals? They seem they would be a bit uncomfortable with those big divets and not having the gripping tape stuff of the CSL Elite to stick your sock to the pedal wouldn't it slide off a lot?

I always wear shoes (on my G25 pedals), better grip on the heel stops my feet sliding around and it makes heel and toeing less tiring.

If wearing shoes feels clunky then you might want to look at where the pedals are. Sitting on an office chair with pedals lying flat on the floor is like driving a truck. You want to be sat on the floor with pedal plate at an angle (if using a standard set designed to be used from a normal chair).

 

[falcon2081]

Random question, how does wearing socks go with the ClubSport V3 pedals? They seem they would be a bit uncomfortable with those big divets and not having the gripping tape stuff of the CSL Elite to stick your sock to the pedal wouldn't it slide off a lot?

I wear socks when I race. However you are right about those divets on the Clubsport pedals. They do get annoying after a while of racing even with me wearing double socks. Simple fix is to put some clear tape over the bolt faces. Solves the problem completely.

 

[ramiboo]

I wear socks when I race. However you are right about those divets on the Clubsport pedals. They do get annoying after a while of racing even with me wearing double socks. Simple fix is to put some clear tape over the bolt faces. Solves the problem completely.

I must have really hard skin on my feet, I can't say I even feel them.

 

[DreamsKnight]

i had similar thoughts some months ago.

my lucky was a couple of friend who tried and used g25-g27-t500-t300-fanatec

both said me t300 is the best choice (excludig fanatec for money), better than t500 for effects.

thrustmaster say the same thing

http://www.thrustmaster.com/en_UK/company/thrustmaster-racing-wheel-finder

my jump was between g27 and t300, and g920 isn't a real change from g27 for what i know.

this is a pm i sent to poirqc in the official forum, read as a general review. he likes a lot road cars, but i prefer race cars.

after a couple of months i'm more satisfied and i could say "faster".

hi mate!

i'm here to write this unrequested message to give you some feedbacks.

using some offers of amazon in italy i bought a t300 gte ( ferrari <3 ). i'm using my g27 pedals with the thrustmaster adapter (10€). i find also a good offer in thrustmaster shop for a "used" th8a paid only 70€!!!

-the th8a is fantastic, a total new experience and far far away from the g27 "plastic feeling" gear.
-with the adaptor, g27 pedals go into a new total dimension with those extra bits of resolution. i was sure it is only a "internet legend" before... well i was wrong. i finally find a good feeling in braking moment. for the future i'm looking for the fanatec pedal set, but at the moment i'm satisfied in this way. more than before, for sure.

the wheel: first impact was tragic. i was happy with my last g27 settings. as ever, i started with some tuning.

i'm writing cause when i find a good starting point i thinked you immediately (a bit strange i know :S). the belt driven (read: rubber) VS gear driven (plastic) wheel help so much to give that road and tyre (read again: rubber) feeling. and it is fantastic. there isn't so much difference between g27 and t300 over all other effects. is not night and day! the g27 is more sharp, hard, rough. the 300 is more powerfull but also more progressive, sweet.. ehm real? so it worth the money more to find an improvement in driving experience and feeling instead a total change of effects.

for road cars users a must have...

for some reasons (boring and unecessary to write them) i tried also the "alcantara" wheel. the gte is 28cm exactly like the g27. the alcantara is 30cm. it changes a lot in driving (read: faster) and in FFB feeling (realistic). the next step will be for sure to adapt a real (cheap) whell of 30 or 32cm. again, a must have for road cars users.
i saw also the T3PA pedal. no. lot of plastic and short spring. and very difficult to do a free revers mount in the way i like.

just my two cents, i hope could help.

 

[InsaneBase]

SO, I wanted to ask whether you think the G29 shifter is worth it, but after re-reading the whole thread I think I might just upgrade to a TM setup.

The longer I think about it the less I can rationalize Fanatec or even a DD wheel (seriously, that stuff is a shitload of money that I rather put into my V8 fund).

What I don't understand is, though...

Why does the

Thrustmaster 4160652 T300 Integral Alcantara Ferrari Edition

cost € 380 on Amazon, but when I go to the TM shop the T300 base with Pro pedals and a different wheel (no Alcantara wheel there?) € 300 more?

Is the set on Amazon a weird cheap-o version or just BUYBUYBUYNOWYOUFOOL!?

 

[DreamsKnight]

SO, I wanted to ask whether you think the G29 shifter is worth it, but after re-reading the whole thread I think I might just upgrade to a TM setup.

The longer I think about it the less I can rationalize Fanatec or even a DD wheel (seriously, that stuff is a shitload of money that I rather put into my V8 fund).

What I don't understand is, though...

Why does the

Thrustmaster 4160652 T300 Integral Alcantara Ferrari Edition

cost € 380 on Amazon, but when I go to the TM shop the T300 base with Pro pedals and a different wheel (no Alcantara wheel there?) € 300 more?

Is the set on Amazon a weird cheap-o version or just BUYBUYBUYNOWYOUFOOL!?

buy now you fool. the price is the lower in the story of t300 and the alcantara is a great wheel and the most expensive thrustmaster.

this to track prices in amazon

http://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/

 

[Photonenbert]

...with me wearing double socks.

We have finally found the reason for his alien speed!

 

[Photonenbert]

on a g25 related note...

where i feel the gear driven wheels really lack is FFB acceleration and deadzone around the center and from inputs between -90° and +90° (what you "mostly" use during racing, general corrections and excluding hairpins/road cars).

my G25 manages 802 RPM/sec @acceleration. (standard value is probably at 850/900 since i have more weight on it due to my button addon plate)

values for the Fanatec V2 base are a bit different as the weight of the rims differ due to bigger diameters, shifter paddles, buttonstuff etc. So it matters quite a bit which rim you chose.


Fanatec V2 Base: (taken from ISRTV forum)

BMW GT2 Rim B (2kg): 1256 RPM/sec
Porsche 918 RSR (1.65kg): 1887 RPM/sec

Now imagine using the XBOX plastic rim with around 1kg weight. again a LOT quicker than before.

tool for measuring your wheel accel:

When I first drove a belt driven wheel (T300) it was a lot quicker. You had to adapt to be more gentle with inputs around the center, it was more direct and agil. Its not so much about details of effects and FFB but rather how quickly the wheel responds.

This is very noticable during drifting where you experience a lot of weight-shifting and left/right combos and the wheel travels at fast pace over the FFB center point. With a belt driven wheel you will always catch your slide that bit sooner than with a gear driven wheel that has more deadzone.

Im not saying you will be quicker with a new wheel (Cluck drives a G25...see?)
but Im guessing you will be more stable and secure driving on the edge.

 

[InsaneBase]

So, I did it. Does anybody here want a used G29?

 

[Cluck]

Im not saying you will be quicker with a new wheel (Cluck drives a G25...see?)

A 10-year old, very heavily used G25 at that. The thing is, I know how the wheel feels and reacts, so I guarantee I would be painfully slow for a few months after replacing it (which I really need to do)

Don't forget to let us know how you find the T300 wheel

 

[InsaneBase]

Actually, I cancelled the order just now, as I kinda felt that panic rise that it's just an impulse buy because all of a sudden I have money again.

I should probably check out first whether I will even get really back into racing, I'm on a serious funk atm to be honest. And if it stays that way and I won't use the stuff regularly...

P.S.: I think I just need to race more to get back into it. Blablayada.

I was on my way back up in iRacing in BSS after the debacle that is ProtoGT (seriously, the only people driving the Ford GT are iRating 3000+ and me, it seems, so I lost hard. And while they tried to encourage me to go on, it still was no fun with 4.000 douchenozzles in the HPD, 10 GT1s and another driver in a GT2).

But then came Zolder and, boy, I dunno how to drive there, and then last week was all about my new machiiiiiiiiine, and even though I like LeMans after a couple of tests rounds I was like "OK, feth that fethin' feth* why am I even trying anymore." And I know Manu's gonna say "It's not all about speed", he says that from a very different position.

*One of the Tanith Tree Gods, so I don't know why you're looking strange.

 

[Invincible]

If you decide to pull the trigger again, give me a holler. I might be interested in your G29
My DFGT needs to replaced in the next few months (well, it doesn't NEED to, but you know what I mean).