CHEAP Cockpit Alternatives ONLY

[Andretti]

Purchased all the materials & hardware at the local home improvment store, with the exception of the racing seat and universal choke cable that I used for the handbrake.

The final total was just around $200 not including the wheel. Great set up for a budget build. Also, by choosing the cable operated handbrake you don't have to worry about voiding the Logitech warrantee.

I'd be very curious to see what your talking about with regards to the handbrake. I would like to figure out a way to do something like that without voiding any warrentee

Please show/explain how you did it.


Andretti

 

[Moon Light Kid]

It dose the job

 

[LNSpyder]

I debated on whether I should actually post this, due to the complete and total awesomeness of it. With a few pieces of scrap wood this is what I have masterfully constructed with my own hands:

Yes, complete with crappy cell pic, there it is.

Jelly?

Now that both my daughter and son race, I have been cleared by the Big Boss to get them set up properly so the wheels are on the way to the house from Amazon and when I get back to town I will start on my first cockpit, thanks to all of you folks here sharing your creativity and pictures.

Check this eBay listing out - the shipping calculator isn't working for me, but for $149 this could be considered fairly cheap, yeah?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370473173694#vi-content

 

[LNSpyder]

Hi GTP folk!

This is my first post here on the forum, although I have been following the news on this site for a few years. I've got to say it's a great site/forum. I've also seen a lot of great cockpits in this section of the forum and thought to myself: I'm going to build one myself too and then off course share it with you.


And I attached a pdf file with the drawings as promised. Keep in mind that all the dimensions are in millimeters.

Cheers,
Bart

Dude, thanks a million for going that extra mile - MUCH appreciated and excellent work 👍

 

[eik00n]

My girlfriend doesn't like it

 

[PASM]

Dude, thanks a million for going that extra mile - MUCH appreciated and excellent work 👍

Thanks, appreciate that 👍

This is how it looks today. I bought my own BenQ 1080p monitor and moved upstairs so I could build the whole rig. And I upgraded from my uncomfy racing chair to one from an Audi A6. This is the result:

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Here's my budget build (wheel not yet attached in the picture). Total so far, before paint, is about $160. Most of that is the $90 I spent on the racing seat, but it was worth it.

Big thanks to forum member ericleroi, who posted some great plans for his build here. I primarily followed his design, but made some tweaks to fit my needs.

 

[LNSpyder]

After looking at all these pix I decided to try my hand at it. I'm out of town right now, but my wife and kids are sending me pictures and measurements so I can start planning for my return.

My upstairs Man Cave has two grottos on the north wall that have bins in them; the lids open for storage. I thought about a stand-alone cockpit but with all the other desks in there I don't really have room, so I hit on the idea to turn the bins into "cockpits". Thanks to learning about Google Sketchup 8 from this forum the day before yesterday I've started roughing out what I'm calling the "Grotto Racers".

Rather than post it all here I started a thread since it will take some time to finish:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=5003754#post5003754

 

[LNSpyder]

This is how it looks today. I bought my own BenQ 1080p monitor and moved upstairs so I could build the whole rig. And I upgraded from my uncomfy racing chair to one from an Audi A6.

There is a lot of bad-assery going on in those pictures 👍

 

[jov_604]

RIDGID Flip Top Work Support - $30

I am diggin it 👍

I'm am very intrigued by this setup. It looks simple, and easy to put away. I have the same wheel. Be honest, how sturdy is it?

 

[Jose']

My girlfriend doesn't like it

What an idea!! 💡

 

[celticfc]

My girlfriend doesn't like it

I think that once you iron out the finer details you could be onto something. Stick with it Einstein.

 

[m4xwellmurd3r]

I like mine. The bottom shelf is upside down so it doesn't fit right, which is why I duct taped it. I used a piece of wood from my cars rear deck panel for it to clamp on. I taped the pedals down the way they are so its set away far enough for me to use. It sits perfectly when I'm on the couch. Cost me 15 bucks at target. Its also sturdy as hell

 

[FinnZevo]

thats the coolest cockpit ever!!!!

 

[MaliciousMD]

So I browsed long and hard all over this thread and the web in general. Saw some cool stuff but didn't quite find anything that perfectly suited my needs. So I went out and constructed this wheel stand for about $65 USD.

I was previously playing GT5 and DIRT 2 (PC) very comfortably like this...

Built in about an hour excluding paint dry time...

Yes that is an NRG Innovatios engine torque damper for my old Prelude. I can adjust wheel angle by loosening the U-Bolts and adjusting damper pre-load. Solid as a rock! Pedal pad & under side of the base has shelf anti-skid padding on it. Wheel "shelf" is padded under the felt, as is the foot area of the base.

Then post construction tested DIRT on my laptop on the stand...

Now all hooked up to my PC on the TV and of course GT5...

 

[OwensRacing]

RoushYates decal and tanabe decal. Something don't quite jive here. ;p

Slick set up though.

Oh yes. Now with more boost. 30+psi This time. Thing be under pressure for sure! Hahaha

 

[nmcp1]

Leave to someone to pick out the details. . .

 

[MaliciousMD]

RoushYates decal and tanabe decal. Something don't quite jive here. ;p

Slick set up though.

Oh yes. Now with more boost. 30+psi This time. Thing be under pressure for sure! Hahaha

LOL, our shop is involved in a wide array of engine building and motorsports. From LUCAS Oil Championship Off-Road Racing, Formula Drift, several NHRA series, PSCA and various SCCA road race classes. Tune Motec one day to HKS F-Con to doing Weber and Holley carbs. Stickers reflect me being the flip flopper in deciding if I like import or domestic more. So hard to choose...

EDIT: This is the sticker that most people ask about, lol....

 

[ultrapro]

Hi all, I just signed up to say how great some of these ideas are and to post a little contribution of my own.

Total outlay for this setup (excluding wheel itself) about £30 including the chair.




For the seat I've used the Ikea solution that's already been mentioned as I already had a Poang char. I got mine off ebay a few months ago for £15. The only variation I've gone for that's worth mentioning is that I've used brackets inside the existing bolts to provide a fixing point, so that I haven't had to make any permanent changes to the original chair itself.




For the pedals I hit upon the idea of using TV wall mounting brackets as they are designed with lots of fixing points, are very rigid and (as llong as you don't buy official ones) are very cheap. I bought these two sets from Amazon which (at the time of posting) are still available for around £5 each. Similar ones can be found on ebay.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004RB7ATC/?tag=gtplanetuk-20
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004RB5QWA/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

Using the GT5 pedals outside of their casing and inverted I was able to achieve excellent rigidity for the overall structure while keeping it all very light weight without having to do anything difficult like welding.

 

[alex291190]

I use a Logitech Driving Force GT

Coupled to a 32" Toshiba 1080P .. thing

and a 26" Alba 720P TV as a 2nd monitor

Also got a 320GB PS3 slim - for other games
and a PSP go lying around somewhere... So here's some pictures

..

And a couple more of my other things in my room..
My PSP Go and the best sunglasses EVER!

And my guitar

So yeah - thats pretty much my place.. Room - bear in mind i have a Mini fridge in my cupboard - Makes it the best room ever!

 

[Irish_59]

 

[rotcock]

Hi guys,
After following this forum for some time, last weak, my fanatec gt2 arrived.

I gave the ikea race setup a go. For now I’ve got to manage with some Microsoft pedals (adaptor works perfectly btw) but I’m saving up for some clubsports.
I’m very happy with the end result. Very sturdy.
What I’ve used: an ikea poang chair I had already (€69), the legs of an ikea frosta stool (€8) and the shelf is an ikea ekby viktor (€4) and off course some screws, bolts and nuts.
Because I’m quite tall I’ve also installed a head support (backseat Fiesta), works perfectly.

 

[rotcock]

forgot some pictures

 

[mikekhel30]

^ Great job!

As for me, this is what I came up with. I was really on the budget, and I just want something I can play with based on my height and a place for my shifter.

You might be wondering what are the rope, thermo bottle, and wooden stick for, they are for my handbrake. Too lazy to do something awesome, so I went to this improvised version of it. Screw the wood and aligned it with it O button on the shifter. When you pull the wood, it hits the button. So step 1 is done. Step 2 is to make the e-brake go back to the original position so it won't be stuck on the button. Wrapped a rope around the wood and hanged the bottle filled with pennies (coins). The amount of weight is perfect so I won't need to pull the e-brake too hard. Overall, the ebrake mod is great and it has a great feeling when pulling it, not too light or heavy.

Total cost: ~15-17 USD

Lumber: 12
Screws: 3

How sturdy is it?

http://www.youtube.com/user/mikekhel30#p/a/u/0/RnTCzm1JiJY

I started off with a ironing board, so this is a major upgrade from that. No problem with it as I replaced nails to screws not too long ago. No problem with drifting or racing with it. The placement of the shifter is great as well. Less than $20 with everything I wanted it to be is super cheap if you ask me.

 

[OwensRacing]

Love the handbrake!!!!

 

[Nitronoddy]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post here and was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for the template for this

to fit my DFGT... im currently looking thru the "Cheap cockpit" thread (up to page 26 and going blind).

Im looking for the template so i can get a local metalwork company to make them up for me. I did consider the plastic ones being made at granturismo.com but am wondering how long it lasts before it falls off...

Many thanks Glenn

 

[supergoop]

There is a retail alternative from $27.95 + shipping:

http://granturgismo.com/index.html

 

[Nitronoddy]

I decided to hang the cost and im buying a Logitech G27 on Thursday problem sorted..

Best wishes Glenn

 

[seanchump]

I'm going to try this when I get home..

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/tools-hardware-power-tool-accessories-specialty-accessories/ridgid-flip-top-portable-work-support-192670.html


You can't beat $30 👍

 

[mikekhel30]

I'm going to try this when I get home..

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/tools-hardware-power-tool-accessories-specialty-accessories/ridgid-flip-top-portable-work-support-192670.html

You can't beat $30 👍

The base has to be super heavy to be sturdy. It looks like it won't be too heavy, so you might have to do something to it. But please tell us how it is once you get it.