CHEAP Cockpit Alternatives ONLY

  • Thread starter mnarciso
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mnarciso

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Hey guys,

I've been doing a lot of reading here on the threads and we all like to save a little money don't we? I have an AK Rocker chair retails for 79 bucks at Best Buy and all I need is a brace or wheel stand and possibly something to hold my pedals at an angle. I am looking to spend around 50 dollars.

I was hoping I could find something at IKEA where I could just mount it on a small table or something. I really wanted that BRD Game Frame but its 230 bucks and thats a bit beyond my budget.

Does anyone have any suggestions for non-DIY cockpits?

Sorry if this is a repeat but I've read the large thread on cockpit advice but there is really no help for cheap cockpit alternatives (pre-built) just expensive ones.

Any help would be much appreciated.

mnarciso
 
Well, not so much a cockpit, but this is my setup, works very well for me. In fact, I bought the tv just to put there and have this setup ;)

IMG_0119_small.jpg


IMG_0120_small.jpg
 
My ghetto college apt setup is currently consists of a large pillow from the couch for height, a 19 dollar beanbag chair from Target ontop of that, and I put a small throw pillow inbetween the DFP and my lap.

Crude, but it works for GT3... once GT4 with 900 degree steering comes around, the throw pillow just don't do anymore.
 
yesterdaylight
if you are at all crafty and have a slight amount of ingenuity you can build this full cockpit for under 40USD. www.firetooth.net i built that one... here are photos of mine: http://www.angelfire.com/bug/yesterdaylight/cockpit.html
hope that helps. laterr-
Click to expand...

Did you follow the exact dimensions or did you make yours smaller, im building the same thing except im redoing the pedals so they hold at an angle so it fits my seat better and my legs are more comfortable. I was just wonder if you cut the hight cause it dose look low compared to what www.firetooth.com shows in the images.

-MortICi-
 
Hey guys thanks for the setup info! I was going to do the Firetooth one but I realized I don't have the tools or the time to really set one up. I'm also very impatient haha.

I just went ahead and got the Hyperdrive (www.hyperdriveamerica.com) setup for 150. Its not the CHEAPEST but its the cheapest of NON-DIY setups i've seen. I'll let you guys know how it is as soon as I get it on Monday.

I probably would have just been happy with a desk setup but I bought a 150 dollar wheel I wanted to make the most of it and go the extra mile.

If this thing sucks i'll probably just be forced to build one of them firetooth setups or even from racebasecockpits.com
 
Heres my cockpit. Only spent about 50 dollars "USD" to make it from steel. Its still unfinished but very comfortable to sit in. Though i'll spend more on it to finish it off when I hang a body on it. When its finished it'll look like the front half of a MP4/8 :)
Still the frame can be built for 50 or under depending on the materials used and your knowlege of fabrication.
 

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My mate's got a good cheap setup, no photos but it can be described...


Take one of those posture stools as shown in the attachment. Set it to it's lowest setting (that picture looks quite high). Remove the seat, extend the pole a bit and add a bit of wood to attach your steering wheel to. You then sit where your knees would normally rest (he's even added a back rest to that part) facing the 'wrong way', with the wheel in front of you and the pedals on the floor. Nice laid-back driving position and very comfortable too!

Of course you need some DIY skills to make it. If I find he's got a pic somewhere I'll post that, makes it a bit clearer.
 

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Here's my $12 setup. I had an end table I was going to sell in a garage sale, so I got a 2 x 4 and a sheet of 1/2 inch thick wood, cut them up and made these little shelves. TV on top, PS/2 under that, and the bottom space between the table and first tier is where I put my games and Max Drive and stuff. The bottom shelf sticks out about 4" so I can clamp the DFP down and have some room. There are two thin rubber strips, designed for keeping furnature sliding around on wood floors, between the table top and the 2 x 4's. I just roll the chair back & forth between computer and DFP.👍

dfpsetup4ue.jpg
 
If you are reluctant, you can go to a junk yard and probably pick up a drivers seat from a lot of cars. Some junk yards even have a couple of days a year where they turn off the scale, and you have to carry out anything you want, for like $45. Most times if you bring a few sockets and a ratchet, you can walk out with a really nice drivers seat.

I have a personal preference, look for a HEATED Power seat from an Acura CL. The tricky part about the heated seat is connecting it to your wall, you could probably get a power supply from Radioshack or Sears.

Now you build a box to mount the seat on, if you make it right with certain ideas in mind, you can put the power supply and even a small subwoofer into the base underneath the seat.

For effect you can even mount a lap belt to the box. Be sure when you mount the seat to the box that you don't mount it too high or you wont be able to reach the pedals. I have also added tweeters to the head rest.

If you get eally creative while making it you can even use the power supply from the seat to power a real Car stereo. How perfect would that be if you could use your own music, while you are playing GT4, and then you can have separate volume controls for the game and the music, if I had my way I would turn up the car sounds all the way on my stereo, and put the music at a nominal level.

I am sorry if this seems too expensive, but most of us have half of this stuff lying around in the garage, and for the rest of you, how hard would it be to adapt this rig to the next gaming system... clip on steering wheel, put pedals on the floor, done.
 
There have been a couple of nice cockpits in here

This is my setup I made for my wheel, not really a cockpit, but more of a cheap table. I've put this one up on a previous thread for those who think they have seen it before.

setup.jpg


The frame is made from 25mm aluminium square tube with plastic joiners and a 3mm aluminium sheet on top. All up it costed me around $20 Australian and can be knocked down if necessary but I doubt that is going to happen...well, for the next few months anyway :) .
 
MortICi
Did you follow the exact dimensions or did you make yours smaller, im building the same thing except im redoing the pedals so they hold at an angle so it fits my seat better and my legs are more comfortable. I was just wonder if you cut the hight cause it dose look low compared to what www.firetooth.com shows in the images.

-MortICi-
Click to expand...

yeah, you know.. i thought that myself. it seems to fit me fine. i printed the plates directly from the PDF files and cropped them instead of scaling them so it should be the right size. i'll take a measurement of the height when i get home. i'm in school right now. it does seem a little low to me though. i didnt cut it down though. i'm definitely going to make something to hold my pedals at a better angle cause my ankles start to hurt after a while... laterr-
 

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