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Have or had a Sim rig? How long before you stopped using it and why?

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Mtnbikerva

59
16
California
I’m thinking about buying a five or $6000 SIM rig but at the same time, I’m wondering if I could use it to do other things like play first person shooters or other games? How to setup a mouse and keyboard in a stable way that it is not just moving around in my lap? Some type of table or desk or something that I could have attached to the rig or easily put in place that again it is stable and the keyboard and mouse aren’t gonna be moving around when I don’t want it to? Also could I use it to look at the weather maps, watch TV or movies in it etc. something to keep me from just not using it after a month or six months or a year.
What racing apps do you folks like? The impression iRACING is the one to use.
 
Have had mine for about a year now and don't see myself stopping using it. The PC is also my personal/work PC so It's overbuilt for that task. I use a PSVR2 headset for VR driving and have my PS5 mounted next to my PC. This allows me to use my monitors for work or gaming on either system and also allows me to use my driving rig on either system.

I wasn't sure how much I'd use this in the long term like yourself, so I picked up all the driving stuff, except for the actual seat/rig setup second hand. Saved me a ton and guaranteed I'd take a minimal loss if I didn't like it.
 
I started long ago with a cheap wheel clamped to a desk and slowly upgraded. Today I run a full size sim rig with direct drive wheel and triple monitors. Depending on your graphics card, you can connect a desktop monitor for everyday use/gaming and three other monitors or a VR headset for sim racing. I have the PC in between my desk and sim rig so the cords reach both locations. I actually have a main and side monitor for desktop use and use a display port switch to change to the other three for racing. You can use Display Magician (free software) to save the monitor layouts and easily toggle between settings for triples or NVIDIA surround, and back to desktop mode. When I am racing, I have a Logitech wireless keyboard with track pad so I can type and use the mouse. This allows me to leave my desktop setup completely intact and not have to move anything back and forth for racing. Aluminum profile sim rig frames can easily add a keyboard mount. Al profile is great because you can make/customize things yourself or buy prefabricated parts. VR is good for the fun factor and taking up less space, however I find triple monitors to be better for accuracy, image quality/frame rates (although VR headsets are improving a lot these days), and not having a hot electronic screen right in front of my eyes making my face sweat. I also like to be able to check my phone and not be stuck in the headset.

iRacing is by far the best online racing experience IMO but the cost is higher due to subscription and buying content separately. The are lots of other good sims such as Automobilista 2, Assetto Corsa (with an absolute truckload of mods available for free), Dirt Rally 2, etc. Some new ones in early access like Assetto Corsa Evo and Rally are looking promising.
 
Opolis said:
I started long ago with a cheap wheel clamped to a desk and slowly upgraded. Today I run a full size sim rig with direct drive wheel and triple monitors. Depending on your graphics card, you can connect a desktop monitor for everyday use/gaming and three other monitors or a VR headset for sim racing. I have the PC in between my desk and sim rig so the cords reach both locations. I actually have a main and side monitor for desktop use and use a display port switch to change to the other three for racing. You can use Display Magician (free software) to save the monitor layouts and easily toggle between settings for triples or NVIDIA surround, and back to desktop mode. When I am racing, I have a Logitech wireless keyboard with track pad so I can type and use the mouse. This allows me to leave my desktop setup completely intact and not have to move anything back and forth for racing. Aluminum profile sim rig frames can easily add a keyboard mount. Al profile is great because you can make/customize things yourself or buy prefabricated parts. VR is good for the fun factor and taking up less space, however I find triple monitors to be better for accuracy, image quality/frame rates (although VR headsets are improving a lot these days), and not having a hot electronic screen right in front of my eyes making my face sweat. I also like to be able to check my phone and not be stuck in the headset.

iRacing is by far the best online racing experience IMO but the cost is higher due to subscription and buying content separately. The are lots of other good sims such as Automobilista 2, Assetto Corsa (with an absolute truckload of mods available for free), Dirt Rally 2, etc. Some new ones in early access like Assetto Corsa Evo and Rally are looking promising.
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What do you have to say about the best way to go as far as pedals clutch brake accelerator? Thank you.
 
mavisky said:
Have had mine for about a year now and don't see myself stopping using it. The PC is also my personal/work PC so It's overbuilt for that task. I use a PSVR2 headset for VR driving and have my PS5 mounted next to my PC. This allows me to use my monitors for work or gaming on either system and also allows me to use my driving rig on either system.

I wasn't sure how much I'd use this in the long term like yourself, so I picked up all the driving stuff, except for the actual seat/rig setup second hand. Saved me a ton and guaranteed I'd take a minimal loss if I didn't like it.
Click to expand...
Any wisdom on pedals I should or should not buy? Thank you.
 
Had mine for 3 years, I definitely use it more in the winter but there is no better practice. Specially if you don’t have any true telemetry on your real track car.
I play other games but I am a controller user. I am not a fan of VR and will always be a triple screen guy.
IRacing is what I use, I like the overall experience start to finish on iracing. There is a ton of others out there that are solid and easier on the wallet.
Another part is setups, some of the official races are locked setups. But if you start adventuring out or other sims, setups become very important. Also need to look into that, there is free setups and paid setups with telemetry from other racers. I use coach dave academy, auto loads setups into iRacing. Just select and go racing. Then when you are done CDA has a solid telemetry analysis with other fast guys. Makes getting up to speed much easier.

I am a fanatec fanboy. Everything just works.
 
I haven't touched my sims and wheel/pedals in years. I found sims to have zero relevance to driving a real car on a real track.

There is no substitute that the average person can afford that will actually mimic a real car on a real track.
 
JDee said:
I haven't touched my sims and wheel/pedals in years. I found sims to have zero relevance to driving a real car on a real track.

There is no substitute that the average person can afford that will actually mimic a real car on a real track.
Click to expand...
100% disagree. This has been proven over and over. Even the best drivers in the world use sims, and if you look at their setups it’s nothing crazy usually. YouTube sim racers on the other hand….
 
JDee said:
I haven't touched my sims and wheel/pedals in years. I found sims to have zero relevance to driving a real car on a real track.

There is no substitute that the average person can afford that will actually mimic a real car on a real track.
Click to expand...
I dont think its a 100% substitute, but to find 0 relevance is just counter intuitive to what almost everyone else in Motorsports is saying.
 
Sims are great, but a kart teaches you race craft, and you can go from a pretty good shifter kart to an advanced formula car pretty easily...but, and this is a big butt, a kart won't help you as much in a production car, it won't let you diversify to different types of cars or courses either. A Sim is awesome, but won't replace a kart, and visa versa
 
Mtnbikerva said:
Any wisdom on pedals I should or should not buy? Thank you.
Click to expand...
I would recommend a pedal set with a load cell brake sensor. The load cell is much closer to what a real brake pedal would feel like, but not exactly. There are quite a few brands now with good value options. Most models these days offer some sort of adjustability to choose pedal feel and firmness. I like Simagic but Moza is comparable for price/quality.
 
Jered_402 said:
100% disagree. This has been proven over and over. Even the best drivers in the world use sims, and if you look at their setups it’s nothing crazy usually. YouTube sim racers on the other hand….
Click to expand...
The best drivers in the world are using sim equipment that mere mortals could never afford.

Regardless, I found that sims were no substitute for real time on a real track in a real car. I've raced real cars on real tracks since the 80s and won multiple championships without using a sim. If sims work for others that's great, but for me they didn't help. Just my personal experience. As always, YMMV.
 
JDee said:
The best drivers in the world are using sim equipment that mere mortals could never afford.

Regardless, I found that sims were no substitute for real time on a real track in a real car. I've raced real cars on real tracks since the 80s and won multiple championships without using a sim. If sims work for others that's great, but for me they didn't help. Just my personal experience. As always, YMMV.
Click to expand...

While I agree that SIM racing isn't a replacement for real track time, it's hard for me to complete a day of work and then put 4 hours of track time in. I can easily do that workday and put in 4 hours on the SIM. It's also a great tool to familiarize a new track that may not be regionally close. I don't think that using a sim is a requirement for being a good driver, but it's a tool that provides fun and can provide additional reps at a much much lower cost than track days.

The drivers who are trying to actually replace "track time" with "sim time" are using multi-million dollar sims and are using specifically engineered sims to replicate 1 vehicle and 1 vehicle only. However this year saw Max Verstappen and his teammate win their class in GT3 and both had only ever driven it on the SIM before doing their tests. Even during Max's test he broke the GT3 lap record on his first time on track in a GT3 and his only Nurburgring experience was on his at home rig and that alone prepared him enough that his first time there in practice in the GT3 car he broke the lap record. That's proof that the SIM rig brought him the familiarity he needed to push so hard so soon. Max's at home sim rig he used to test that was about $10K or so plus his PC/Monitors. It's not a wild setup.
 
You're a better man than me if you can put in 4 hours on a sim! At my best I could only do an hour, maybe 90 minutes at a time.

30 years ago I ran 24 hour enduros in real race cars with 2 co-drivers. But I was a relatively young 40 year old. Now I'm a 70 something year old and I can't even begin to picture doing that again!

Moral of the story, if you've got stuff to do, make it happen now. Too soon old, too late rich is a bad deal.
;)
 
I think its depends...I am an old "drive by the seat of his pant's" guy and that's worked out very well for me BUT I can see how a proper sim could help a ton.
My son is way into it and does very well but has virtually no real racing experience beyond a hand full of track days.
For me personally, as soon as you take the "feel" out of it, it becomes a toy and has little relevance beyond learning a track, which I can do by watching youtubes.
Now if I had a big buck sim that might be different but still, no real feel....I can't deal.
 
Sim racing tries to simulate everything, tires, brakes, weight, fuel, weather conditions, etc to the best of its engine's ability to handle it and the related physics. Physical we don't have to simulate any of that, as we can feel the forces on our bodies, feel the weight, tires, brakes, etc, just the same, except we can really feel it, and so now it's up to whether our bodies can handle it and the related physics. Pretty much the same thing, we're trying to get our hands on enough data in hopes of turning that into information and when done well enough, an advantage. It's there for the sim people if they dump the data, but if your car doesn't have anything in the way of outputting your car/session data, you're somewhat limiting your advantage. If you choose not to acquire/use your data, well, that's perfectly fine, but there's going to be somebody who goes over it like a nutjob and will eventually close up that gap, maybe create a new one.

As CPU/GPU have kinda hit their limits, you could make due with anything halfway decent made in the last 10 years or so, maybe even a gaming laptop from a few years ago. Assetto Corsa is pretty good and realistic with a supportive community which has most tracks pretty well dialed in. Halfway decent monitor that can do 60hz at 1920x1080 and a $200ish Logitech wheel/pedal/shifter setup should do just fine. If you want to do fancy stuff like VR headsets or races with like 30 people, you might need a better GPU as it's having to calculate all that stuff, but in most cases, you could likely get by with your Best Buy PC from 8 years ago. Little less likely for the Apple crowd.
 
PaddyPrix said:
Sim racing tries to simulate everything, tires, brakes, weight, fuel, weather conditions, etc to the best of its engine's ability to handle it and the related physics. Physical we don't have to simulate any of that, as we can feel the forces on our bodies, feel the weight, tires, brakes, etc, just the same, except we can really feel it, and so now it's up to whether our bodies can handle it and the related physics. Pretty much the same thing, we're trying to get our hands on enough data in hopes of turning that into information and when done well enough, an advantage. It's there for the sim people if they dump the data, but if your car doesn't have anything in the way of outputting your car/session data, you're somewhat limiting your advantage. If you choose not to acquire/use your data, well, that's perfectly fine, but there's going to be somebody who goes over it like a nutjob and will eventually close up that gap, maybe create a new one.

As CPU/GPU have kinda hit their limits, you could make due with anything halfway decent made in the last 10 years or so, maybe even a gaming laptop from a few years ago. Assetto Corsa is pretty good and realistic with a supportive community which has most tracks pretty well dialed in. Halfway decent monitor that can do 60hz at 1920x1080 and a $200ish Logitech wheel/pedal/shifter setup should do just fine. If you want to do fancy stuff like VR headsets or races with like 30 people, you might need a better GPU as it's having to calculate all that stuff, but in most cases, you could likely get by with your Best Buy PC from 8 years ago. Little less likely for the Apple crowd.
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I have the logitech stuff but my son has all the fancy hot rod fanitech stuff, PC w/hot rod graphics card w/triple screens plus VR...everything....
With either sim rig I can choose an FR500 which is the closest thing to my personal car and the sim handles like a complete pig....what exactly is that simulating? Certainly not an FR500.
I have been known to tweek a chassis or two into compliance and all I ever get here is junk. Its insulting.
 
Fabman said:
I have the logitech stuff but my son has all the fancy hot rod fanitech stuff, PC w/hot rod graphics card w/triple screens plus VR...everything....
With either sim rig I can choose an FR500 which is the closest thing to my personal car and the sim handles like a complete pig....what exactly is that simulating? Certainly not an FR500.
I have been known to tweek a chassis or two into compliance and all I ever get here is junk. Its insulting.
Click to expand...
All valid complaints, closest I could find was a GT4 Mustang which I'm confident my old car was at or above, having passed many. It's hard to get that proper pedal feel, especially under braking with no idea if you're threshold braking, or sliding, if the car is pulling power from traction control engagement, or if we're getting audible feedback from the tire about to exceed it's grip, all the lil' things we've trained ourselves to feel in real life. They're still there, but your limitation is then the sim engine, and whether it has any ability to feed that back. I'm sure somebody could make (or has?) something to stiffen up and simulate a real pedal feel, but I'd figure it'd be spendy given the potential market being so small, and the developer wanting to recoup some of their R&D time and money.

There's a good bit of nerdery going on underneath the hood too, for instance, I spent a pretty good deal of time dialing the vehicle's characteristics to mine, trying to tie in my real world data into something that'd replicate mine, eventually coming within about a second of my real life time on tracks I've been told were "laser scanned," a fancy way of saying they used GPS data from some map, and then drove over it to get the surface dings and dents. Not sure what good all that does with repaves and surface changes, or mother nature over across seasons and years, but it's an imperfect science for sure. Don't get me started on tires, because most games are just street, sport, and slick, something so silly vague before we get into all the compound intricacies, like are they considering the Toyo RR a slick? 888r sport? What about an A7, A052, or 3R?
Still, it's cheap seat time, simming Laguna for months on end told me my virtual car could do 1:32's with regularity. The cost to get there on the computer was let's say $1000, which would probably get you about 2 weekends/4 hours of track time? Pretty good trade-off if you can find a way to get enough value out of it, although for somebody with considerable seat time, you may already know more than the sim can teach you.
 
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