CHEAP Cockpit Alternatives ONLY

[GarySheehan]

Just finished building my own out of 1" and 3/4" square steel tubing. Cost about $70 in materials.

The seat is from an old Miata. It still has the stock rails on it, so the seat adjusts forward and backward and the seatback moves up and down. Easy for anyone to adjust it to the right fit.

I also threw some wheels on it so I could roll it out into the garage when I'm done.

I'll get it powdercoated next week to keep it from rusting and just have a nice clean finish on it.

Took about 10 hours of work to complete. This assumes you already have a welder handy

Gary
Sheehan Motor Racing
www.teamSMR.com

 

[ragundy]

That's cool Gary, thanks.

 

[dJomp]

This is my mate's setup I was trying to describe earlier in the thread:

He's since modified it a bit, the wheel is in a better position, the seat is flat and there's a backrest on the seat too. But that's the only pic I can find, it shows the concept though.

 

[SimRaceDriver]

Just finished building my own out of 1" and 3/4" square steel tubing. Cost about $70 in materials.

Digging the wheels there man! Pretty sweet!
Can't wait to see it power-coated!

Keep us posted when you're done.

 

[911_gt3_rs]

that stool setup actually looks better than i imagined.

 

[ChimbicaCorsa]

My cockpit

Marcos José,

I really liked your cockpit, but hey, watchout with the rust on it ......

You should use some sandpaper on it's surface then paint it !!! 💡

I'm building mine too... when I finish it, i'll post the pictures.

 

[fiend]

lol.

sorry about the size.

 

[jross427]

i have an idea, but as cheap as it sounds, i still lack the money, shoot, but take one beach chair (seat), one bed tv dinner stand, or cut down tv tray (for the steering wheel), and a couple pices of wood, or whatever else u can find to prop up the pedals.

 

[Playtawin]

lol.

sorry about the size.

if you ask me, that setup looks very uncomfortable!

how short are your legs? your legs should be fully extended not cramped in towards you in a fetus position, otherwise your back would have to be leaning forward just to reach that wheel 👎

the pedals must be behind the wheel and never in front. have a look at the other setups in this thread, see what i mean.

 

[Riplox]

Omg. It doesn't look like it'll be cheap but this thing rulez! http://www.primotechnology.com/index.php?art=articles/0604/gamedeck/gd1.htm

Oh, and this one doesn't look bad either.

http://www.battlechair.com/default.aspx

And you can't forget this...

http://thev1chair.com/V1sales.htm

But I have a cheap idea that I came up with. If it works like I think it will, I could make a bunch and sell them. You'll have to provide the seat as shown in the link below. Or I could custom design one for you if you already have a seat you want to use. I have like 400 board feet of wood to use (oak and pecan).
http://www.videorocker.com/html/videoRockerDetail.psp?id=1
Thanks to Image Shack for the free hosting Here's my concept sketch.
http://img126.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img126&image=dfpchair8aj.jpg

 

[SkillRacer]

heres a cheap one... cost me nothing. (on the assumption that I had these things before and ive used them for their independent purpose 💡 )... Its the AK rocking chair, and an artist's easel

 

[spawn9999999]

Here's my cheap solution- and office chair and a table that has height adjustments.

Here are some pics of my little brother playing GT3. He is too small for the setup and must play with the wheel and the pedals really close. I will try to get some shots of myself using it, as I fit the setup much better.

My TV is 480p and 1080i capable, and I have component cables for my PS2. I am SO ready for GT4! Only 7 1/4 days!

 

[Swillie]

I just used an old TV stand...extended the top about 10 inches so with a spare peace of mdf so I could mount the wheel to it, and set the component shelf underneath at an angle for the pedals. The AK rocker cost me 60 bucks, but that was it.

 

[mnarciso]

Hey guys I just got my Hyperdrive cockpit, only took about 2 business days to get it shipped here! I'm going to take some pics and do a review on it. It came in a pretty compact box and a little assembly is required. So far just from opening the box a little the quality is very very good for something that is only 150 including the seat. I'm hoping the seat is comfortable!

Well, I'll keep you posted!

 

[VIPFREAK]

nevermind... posted already

 

[smellysocks12]

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.

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 .

Jeesh man, don't your eyes hurt being so close to the tv?? I think at least 8 foot away from the tv is comfortable, from where you play you only see pixels?

 

[fiend]

if you ask me, that setup looks very uncomfortable!

how short are your legs? your legs should be fully extended not cramped in towards you in a fetus position, otherwise your back would have to be leaning forward just to reach that wheel 👎

the pedals must be behind the wheel and never in front. have a look at the other setups in this thread, see what i mean.

hahhah.. yea, i'm 6ft.. that WAS a pretty bad position to play in.. here are few updated ones.. a TAD bit more comfortable..table rocks! completely adjustable steering wheel

<br>

 

[Swillie]

Jeesh man, don't your eyes hurt being so close to the tv?? I think at least 8 foot away from the tv is comfortable, from where you play you only see pixels?

I must jump in here and say that Fieldy's setup is perfect....take a look at most arcade racers and you will see that the wheel is right up close to the monitor. Unless you are using a larger projection crt/lcd/dlp tv of course, than I think a little distance would be advised. But with the average setup ( mine is a 27" crt ) at arms length this puts you about just over 3 feet or so from the screen, just close enough to really help feel like you are driving the course. No closer than most people sit at a computer.

 

[joid]

My temporary setup is only a coulple of couple of feet away from the tv also....and it does add more realism when you are closer

 

[SimRaceDriver]

I'll have to agree that having your TV over 3-4 feet away doesn't really do any game justice, unless you've got a really big TV...say 36inches or more in size...

I know that with my setup my TV is just over 3 feet away & I think it's perfect for playing all my racing games on...
(NOTE) Currently running with a 27inch Sony TV...though I might switch this one out for my 32inch TV that I've got in my other room (Bedroom) since I don't use it all that much to begin with...

 

[VIPFREAK]

ok peeps here's my ghetto setup... I don't use it too much so I don't care.

 

[joid]

I'll have to agree that having your TV over 3-4 feet away doesn't really do any game justice, unless you've got a really big TV...say 36inches or more in size...

I know that with my setup my TV is just over 3 feet away & I think it's perfect for playing all my racing games on...
(NOTE) Currently running with a 27inch Sony TV...though I might switch this one out for my 32inch TV that I've got in my other room (Bedroom) since I don't use it all that much to begin with...

NICE SETUP...looks really comfortable

 

[mnarciso]

Ok people here it is!!! The Hyperdrive Cockpit Review!

http://www.random-review.com/archives/2005/02/review_hyperdri.html

Let me know if you spot any grammatical errors or typos. Let me know what you think =)!

For those who want a quick answer and want to know if this fits the Logitech Driving Force Pro... YES it does... perfectly. Please read on anyway =).

 

[mnarciso]

Also, a quick picture of my setup...

Hyperdrive Cockpit RED
Slim PS2
Logitech DFP
Logitech Z-2300 Speakers
Small Ass TV (ROX UR SOX!) just kidden, getting a bigger any day now.

Also my review just in case you missed it above.

 

[Eddy5]

Here's my effort. I've evolved this from the one I used for my Driving Force for my DFP.
Things to note, it's hinged where the frame meets the pedal base to allow easy access for driving.
The blocks under the wheel supports are sort of temporary to try and get the right height (I'm still tuning it)
I need to make an extension cable for the power so I can run it up with the pedal and wheel cables and then connect it around the back of the pedals.
I've installed a ledge at the bottom of pedals to support my feet as the pedal base is so long. However I'm not fully comfortable with this support at the moment. It needs some padding. Also the pedal base has carpet on to stop it slipping around, which it does brilliantly. However as the pedals are so tall the base can rock slightly on very heavy pressing, but it's not really a problem.
The wheel legs are angled back towards me for stability, and the wheel actually sits below the horizontal (So the back of the wheel base is higher than the front) to make the wheel more vertical for my sitting angle.
Cost of materials was about £10. Time, very quick, about 3 or 4 hours of faffing around.

 

[SimRaceDriver]

NICE SETUP...looks really comfortable

Thanks for the kind words! 👍

It is actually quite comfortable and once my delivery from a company called Frex arrives sometime in the next month or so, from which I'm going to add a new pedal set as well as both a sequential shifter & handbrake, it's going to add more realism to the overall experience of GT4.

Stay tuned for reviews! LOL!

 

[mnarciso]

Ok that little TV had to go, went to Best Buy and picked up a 26" Widescreen Phillips TV for 379! Wow widescreen really makes the difference!!! Played GT3 for 5 hours straight!

cockpits + widescreen tv + logitech driving force pro + kick ass speakers = HEAVEN

 

[Playtawin]

Ok that little TV had to go, went to Best Buy and picked up a 26" Widescreen Phillips TV for 379! Wow widescreen really makes the difference!!! Played GT3 for 5 hours straight!

cockpits + widescreen tv + logitech driving force pro + kick ass speakers = HEAVEN

nice!

 

[hkggkh]

here is my set-up ....... a custom made cockpit made in Taiwan.

my new toy, FREX + shifter

SimRaceDriver, just wonder does the FREX pedal kit good for PS2/GT series?? I wud luv to get one but wanna be sure it works with PS2, before paying that large amount of $$$$$$$$

 

[VIPFREAK]

OMFG, I can't believe you actually put a honda emblem on that... Better hope you don't get car jacked.

oh yeah the fake CF is a nice touch too...