CHEAP Cockpit Alternatives ONLY

  • Thread starter mnarciso
  • 1,923 comments
  • 1,586,409 views
Okay, why not. Born out of frustration and the desire to assemble something *right now* so I could get back to racing, I call it the Hackpit.

The Blue Thunder has been replaced with a DFP and the toolbox (which is quite heavy) that you can see in one of the images has been placed on the forward legs of the flip-top to add stability. The TV is not visible in the pics, but it is at an appropriate eye-level for the seating position, although a touch far away.

Cheap, quite ugly, and surprisingly comfortable. I am working on obtaining a PC to use as a dedicated LFS machine, and at that point I will probably get a flatscreen and build a more permanent cockpit, but in the meantime I am really happy with this setup for GT4.

Rigid flip-top. (Home Depot, ~$30)
Folding step-stool thing. (Found near the dumpster outside my apartment building.)
Wood pedal platform. (A friend's kid was using it as a ramp for his RC car. *Yoink!*)
Ultra-cheap folding "tv seat." (Target, ~$5)
Numerous bungie cords. (Retrieved from saddlebags of my bike -- rarely used them there anyway.)
Cushions, futon, etc. (Existing home furnishings.)

lyd
 
my cockpits i do it by myself

my bucket seat is 67$

my constucture is 9 $
 

Attachments

  • DSC07544.jpg
    DSC07544.jpg
    53.1 KB · Views: 460
  • DSC07545.jpg
    DSC07545.jpg
    47.4 KB · Views: 198
cockpit.jpg


Although the seat probably couldn't be called "cheap" (it is out of my '99 convertible corvette~see "real" cockpit below) the whole setup is reasonably cheap. Made of 2*12" and 2*4" and with a handle and rollers for easy transportation, everything is contained on the moveable platform, so I can move it from any tv, or any house to another easily.


harnesspicture.jpg
 
Kris Radke
Although the seat probably couldn't be called "cheap" (it is out of my '99 convertible corvette~see "real" cockpit below) the whole setup is reasonably cheap. Made of 2*12" and 2*4" and with a handle and rollers for easy transportation, everything is contained on the moveable platform, so I can move it from any tv, or any house to another easily.
Click to expand...
Nicely done if I do say so myself. :) What were the reactions of those who have seen your seat?
 
CAMikaze
Nicely done if I do say so myself. :) What were the reactions of those who have seen your seat?
Click to expand...

Everyone thinks it's so rediculous that I would do that, but really, in the 'vette, I'm typically the only passenger. My stepdaughter is too small for the front seat of any air bag equiped car (the vette doesn't have an airbag "off" switch) and the misses hates that car. I usually drive it like I'm playing GT4 and that scares the hell out of her. Eventually I'm going to figure something else out (I think), because ultimately a car seat isn't comfortable enough for someone of my size (6'8") to sit in for hours at a time while playing gt4.
 
I went to the local (30 miles north :yuck:) "u pull it" and got me this for 30 bux.





yay! it's still dirty in those pics, will clean it as well as buy the other materials monday :dopey:

it was the most comfortable of all the good condition seats. There was one nice black leather vette seat, but some idiot decided to undo the bottom stitching to clean his tools with. :(
 
OK, cheap enough here.

One key factor in my design is "ease of storage" Thus my base choice for seating was a steel foldable chair.

Trip to Lowe's and I picked up some conduit 4 elbows, a 6' 2x4, and a 6' 1x3. Bolt, screw and tape and it works nicely. I also had attached to this a raised section that stuck out to hold the pedals. After about 15 minutes I realized it was easier to set the pedals on the floor.

DA_chair1.jpg


DA_chair2.jpg


DA_chair3.jpg


The extra piece of 1x3 on the bottom was a remainder from the pedal attachment. The conduit design worked nicely, but didn't have enough strength to resist the torque effects when spinning the wheel.
 
Absolutely will do over the weekend. Or tomorrow night.

Suprisingly, it isn't front heavy. Well balanced.
 
I copied one of the other users design and came up with this one. Im not done with it yet. I still lack a good racing seat, So Im using my seat out of my 91' Bronco for now. I wanna paint it and add some cosmetic stuff to help its appearance. Until then, It works quite well. The materials cost about $27-$32.

[image removed, malware warning - Jordan]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Der Alta
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=2485599#post2485599

Here's the images with the wheel attached.

DA_chair4.jpg


DA_chair5.jpg
Click to expand...

An interesting set-up you've got there Der Alta, i guess you suffer from the same problem i do - an inability to have a permanant structure in a 'normal' living room :rolleyes: I've tried to come up with a easily stored (ie fold-up) cockpit, but could never find anything sturdy enough as a starting point. A heavy duty folding seat might just be the solution. Does the unit not topple over when not sat in? - it looks pretty front heavy.
 
TheCracker
An interesting set-up you've got there Der Alta, i guess you suffer from the same problem i do - an inability to have a permanant structure in a 'normal' living room :rolleyes: I've tried to come up with a easily stored (ie fold-up) cockpit, but could never find anything sturdy enough as a starting point. A heavy duty folding seat might just be the solution. Does the unit not topple over when not sat in? - it looks pretty front heavy.
Click to expand...
Umm... As the pictues show, it does stand on its own. I need to tweak it a bit, as the wheel needs to tip a bit, and the plywood under my legs sticks out a bit far. I'm thinking of adding a restraint to keep the pedals in check. As yesterday, I toed on the brakes and it raised the back of the pedals off the ground. I'm really quite impressed at how it all fit together, and how easily it can be done.
 
Well, I'm impressed with the giant box from the Tingley Rubber Corporation in the background. DA - my man! Ribbed, or 'pleasure dots'?
 
Duke
Well, I'm impressed with the giant box from the Tingley Rubber Corporation in the background. DA - my man! Ribbed, or 'pleasure dots'?
Click to expand...
As much as I'd like to take credit for it, that was the box it was shipped to me in.

By Pako.

Congratulate him. :D
 
I would rather like to see a pic of you sitting in the setup, it looks like it would be uncomfortable with pieces of would between your legs..

@TheCracker, back in Brighton i believe i still have a folding cockpit (il check with my folks) its a speedseat bought off speedseats.co.uk last year, sturdy, folds, comfy and so on. So if your interested give me a bell. (PM)
 
Ashley.
I would rather like to see a pic of you sitting in the setup, it looks like it would be uncomfortable with pieces of would between your legs..

@TheCracker, back in Brighton i believe i still have a folding cockpit (il check with my folks) its a speedseat bought off speedseats.co.uk last year, sturdy, folds, comfy and so on. So if your interested give me a bell. (PM)
Click to expand...
It actually is quite comfortable, as my legs over hang the plywood, and the middle support is set thin enough that it does not touch my legs.

Due to other natural effects, I do wish the pedals were a bit further apart.

I'll try to snap a pic over the weekend and post it up.
 
Hi,

It's been a long time since I posted here, but I would like your opinion on something. Ever since this thread started, I had the idea of building my own cockpit, but money, time, work were against me.

Now I have time and money and I've made a design. I would like to have some advice from people, like you, who know what they are talking about. I want to make the thing out of wood en I've already obtained a chair from some old Honda.

Here's the idea, the measures are in centimetres, but keep in mind, 120 centimetres is roughly 47 inches or 3.9 feet.


Thanks in advance!
 

Attachments

  • ontwerp cockpit (3).JPG
    ontwerp cockpit (3).JPG
    19.6 KB · Views: 271
Haven't had the chance to snap the picture yet, and I modified it a bit last night.

If someone if looking for a way to build this similarly, I've whipped up this little Sketchup file. You can download sketchup from Google at http://sketchup.google.com/

Here's the image I did up, and the image is a link. Download it, and change the .ppt at the end to .zip and you can unzip it. Sorry about all the hoops to jump through.



I'll post up the pics of me in my chair, hopefully tonight.
 
Im new to this forum, but been playin since the first GT game. I have the MC2 right now, but I might get the G25 or DFP in the next couple days. Here's my ghetto-riffic cockpit right here.

 
Mr Mika, I built mine for roughly $30. Loook back a few posts for an image of it. I can give ya measurments for it as well. Im 6'3" and my 5'8" buddy fits in as well. I plan to add some minor cosmetics to enhance its look, But it works rather well overall. I actually copied another users design here on the forums.
 
Mr. Mika
Hi,

It's been a long time since I posted here, but I would like your opinion on something. Ever since this thread started, I had the idea of building my own cockpit, but money, time, work were against me.

Now I have time and money and I've made a design. I would like to have some advice from people, like you, who know what they are talking about. I want to make the thing out of wood en I've already obtained a chair from some old Honda.

Here's the idea, the measures are in centimetres, but keep in mind, 120 centimetres is roughly 47 inches or 3.9 feet.


Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

the wheel looks to be a little too far forward IMO. its very similar to the drawings i came up with when i was building mine though :)
what i ended up doing was building the base part and fitting the seat, then worked out where the wheel, pedals and shifter felt right by sitting in it and sitting in my car. it was half built before i realised exactly what it would look like.
a little planning never hurts though 👍
 
Oooh, Der Alta,your looking a little chubby..... :D j/k

My ghetto cockpit looks like that a bit, but my grandfather made it out of mahogany and it has a little prop up thing for the pedals.
 
Braddock and ken2903, thanks for your comments. I've taken the liberty of putting something together. It's not entirely like the drawing, cause that had it's flaws.

What do you think? No, it's not finished yet...
 

Attachments

  • Photo-0341.jpg
    Photo-0341.jpg
    26.7 KB · Views: 228
  • Photo-0342.jpg
    Photo-0342.jpg
    26.9 KB · Views: 250

Similar threads

DGuzmanG
This "Speed-Cockpit" might interest some of you looking for a relatively cheap and slick rig.
Replies
3
Views
2K
kikie
K
S
Black Friday Cockpit Hunting 2022
Replies
11
Views
2K
SFBayCat
S
garyh89
T150 Pro + XRocker folding chair
Replies
1
Views
935
Raceourse42
Raceourse42
T
Cockpit T300RS GT Question
Replies
2
Views
720
thesynergy87
T
hEEk
Looking for a new sim racing cockpit (SOLVED)
Replies
3
Views
2K
hEEk
hEEk

Latest Posts

Back