- 39
- Oklahoma
- IveStilGotItNme
Having spent many years tossing and turning at a computer desk with a computer chair while playing online games has undoubtedly played a role in lower back issues due to crappy posture for extended periods of time. All along there had to be a better way (and was). After researching what was available (some mighty pricey sims out there) I found myself watching a construction video of a sim. I decided to play copycat and build one myself.
First order of business after the foundation was in place was a seat. Something in which everything revolves around, enveloping it's occupant in an aura of encapsulating and moving sound and video. Sounds easy enough. The seat I ended up with ($17.50 plus tax on our 50% off turkey day weekend sales event at the local salvage) came off a loaded Lexus. Black leather complete with power lumbar and 8 way electric positioning, all nearly flawless. After a few turns I did end up removing the seat belts though...hehe.
Then came the problem of powering them. After testing operation with a 12 volt lawn and garden battery I tried a few 12 volt transformer I had from retired whatevers, but none would operate it. Then it dawned on me in my days of computer overclocking I used pretty hefty power supplies. I little digging in the spare parts closet netted me one such item. Cost? Zero is my hero...
After a good 4+ coats of primer I went with this stuff for the desktop (6 bucks) I followed up with High Heat Ceramic Clearcoat left over from an engine build. Gives me a nice durable finish for banging and clanging. The sides I used a textured charcoal grey (another 6 bucks).
Had NO idea an electric seat could go back this far, I can take a nap between heated races...hehe.. The black carpet is that Ozite stuff from wally world. Won't wear very well and I'll eventually put an automotive grade carpet in it's place.
Here is where I started playing around with something to securely hold the speakers in place. I obtained four 1/2" gas pipe threaded plates from the local hardware store (3 bucks each) and used them as a platform to hold the 1/2" gas pipe. Eventually I ended up with a few 45's and a union for easy speaker adjustability. 22 bucks and some handy grinding work. Case Closed.
Here is a closeup of how the Logitech speakers mounted to the gas pipe. I notched the top and drilled a hole for the factory mounting mounting screw. I've sinced changed the front speakers out and had to come up with a different method to mount. Here is another. Case in point you can pretty much fudge about any speaker, given some thought
Yes. That's a Madcatz Panther XL. That one is a version 3, and is used for PC role playing games like MW3, Black Ops, ect. This setup will run circles around and gamepad and most serious mouse/keyboard users. But hey, this is a race forum so that's another story..
But let's get back to our primary goal. After all, a sim is about racing, right? And to do that I need a steering wheel. Not like a gamepad or a wireless Frisby but a steering wheel. And Pedals. And no sim is complete with a shifter. And since us old country boys grew up with a stick, a 6+1 seems the way to go.
...And I can't have a shifter without a place to put my arm so a console of sorts had to be designed. And it needed to be "comfy".
I used some scrap 3/4" plywood from the build, obtained the specs on the CSR Shifter, and began tracing and cutting.
Measure thrice and cut once.
That little box above the shifter and below the Xbox gamepad is called a XIM3. It allows me to use my Panther XL on the Xbox 360 in games like Black Ops, ect. I drilled the desktop in order to securely bolt the Fanatec CSR wheel to the desk. Nothing like a wheel moving around the cockpit in the middle of turn 3 if you know what I mean.
Then it was onto the CSR Pedals. I played a few races before dissecting the pedals, inverting them and mounting upside down in the sim. Once I did that, what I found was once I had the seat right where it needed to be from the steering wheel, I found the pedals off by several inches. I needed to be able to adjust the pedals. Here is my solution.
A few simple hinges on one end.
I drilled the sides and inserted 5/16" threaded inserts and used 5/16" all-thread. This is the adjustable point.
Here you can see it all make sense. This setup gives me over 6" of easy adjustable and secure positioning.
I drilled the 3/4" mounting board to the specifications of the Fanatec pedal base for a secure mount.
I then mounted the two hinges at the top after careful positioning
I mounted the pedal assembly and secured the platform to the top of the sim
I them carefully positioned the bottom mount, paying particular attention to minimum and maximum travel and secured the assembly. I finished it off with some nice, but rather pricey wing nuts (3 bucks apiece. Gag).
Fast adjustment (though getting on my back these days is anything BUT fast). For the most part, set it and forget it.
Sound is handled through a recently retired Yamaha RX-V 1400, providing plenty of power the the 5 satellites. Located above that is a homebuilt AMD gaming computer. I plan to use this for iRacing.
Subwoofer is handled by Pinnacle Speakers SuperSonic PLB Dual 12" with 800W of earth shaking, tail rattling, low end boom. No transducer required to "feel" bass. This baby will bounce you out of your seat, knock things off the wall, and generally P.O. the wife morning, noon or evening. The man-cave needs sound-proofing...lol. This is mounted right behind the seat (as if positioning of this monster makes any difference... The God's of bass have spoken!
The end result is an area I can sit COMFORTABLY for many hours on end, unlike any comfortable office chair I have ever tried, This was a fun project that I use every day, and has put gaming into a new light for me. CHEERS!
First order of business after the foundation was in place was a seat. Something in which everything revolves around, enveloping it's occupant in an aura of encapsulating and moving sound and video. Sounds easy enough. The seat I ended up with ($17.50 plus tax on our 50% off turkey day weekend sales event at the local salvage) came off a loaded Lexus. Black leather complete with power lumbar and 8 way electric positioning, all nearly flawless. After a few turns I did end up removing the seat belts though...hehe.
Then came the problem of powering them. After testing operation with a 12 volt lawn and garden battery I tried a few 12 volt transformer I had from retired whatevers, but none would operate it. Then it dawned on me in my days of computer overclocking I used pretty hefty power supplies. I little digging in the spare parts closet netted me one such item. Cost? Zero is my hero...
After a good 4+ coats of primer I went with this stuff for the desktop (6 bucks) I followed up with High Heat Ceramic Clearcoat left over from an engine build. Gives me a nice durable finish for banging and clanging. The sides I used a textured charcoal grey (another 6 bucks).
Had NO idea an electric seat could go back this far, I can take a nap between heated races...hehe.. The black carpet is that Ozite stuff from wally world. Won't wear very well and I'll eventually put an automotive grade carpet in it's place.
Here is where I started playing around with something to securely hold the speakers in place. I obtained four 1/2" gas pipe threaded plates from the local hardware store (3 bucks each) and used them as a platform to hold the 1/2" gas pipe. Eventually I ended up with a few 45's and a union for easy speaker adjustability. 22 bucks and some handy grinding work. Case Closed.
Here is a closeup of how the Logitech speakers mounted to the gas pipe. I notched the top and drilled a hole for the factory mounting mounting screw. I've sinced changed the front speakers out and had to come up with a different method to mount. Here is another. Case in point you can pretty much fudge about any speaker, given some thought
Yes. That's a Madcatz Panther XL. That one is a version 3, and is used for PC role playing games like MW3, Black Ops, ect. This setup will run circles around and gamepad and most serious mouse/keyboard users. But hey, this is a race forum so that's another story..
But let's get back to our primary goal. After all, a sim is about racing, right? And to do that I need a steering wheel. Not like a gamepad or a wireless Frisby but a steering wheel. And Pedals. And no sim is complete with a shifter. And since us old country boys grew up with a stick, a 6+1 seems the way to go.
...And I can't have a shifter without a place to put my arm so a console of sorts had to be designed. And it needed to be "comfy".
I used some scrap 3/4" plywood from the build, obtained the specs on the CSR Shifter, and began tracing and cutting.
Measure thrice and cut once.
That little box above the shifter and below the Xbox gamepad is called a XIM3. It allows me to use my Panther XL on the Xbox 360 in games like Black Ops, ect. I drilled the desktop in order to securely bolt the Fanatec CSR wheel to the desk. Nothing like a wheel moving around the cockpit in the middle of turn 3 if you know what I mean.
Then it was onto the CSR Pedals. I played a few races before dissecting the pedals, inverting them and mounting upside down in the sim. Once I did that, what I found was once I had the seat right where it needed to be from the steering wheel, I found the pedals off by several inches. I needed to be able to adjust the pedals. Here is my solution.
A few simple hinges on one end.
I drilled the sides and inserted 5/16" threaded inserts and used 5/16" all-thread. This is the adjustable point.
Here you can see it all make sense. This setup gives me over 6" of easy adjustable and secure positioning.
I drilled the 3/4" mounting board to the specifications of the Fanatec pedal base for a secure mount.
I then mounted the two hinges at the top after careful positioning
I mounted the pedal assembly and secured the platform to the top of the sim
I them carefully positioned the bottom mount, paying particular attention to minimum and maximum travel and secured the assembly. I finished it off with some nice, but rather pricey wing nuts (3 bucks apiece. Gag).
Fast adjustment (though getting on my back these days is anything BUT fast). For the most part, set it and forget it.
Sound is handled through a recently retired Yamaha RX-V 1400, providing plenty of power the the 5 satellites. Located above that is a homebuilt AMD gaming computer. I plan to use this for iRacing.
Subwoofer is handled by Pinnacle Speakers SuperSonic PLB Dual 12" with 800W of earth shaking, tail rattling, low end boom. No transducer required to "feel" bass. This baby will bounce you out of your seat, knock things off the wall, and generally P.O. the wife morning, noon or evening. The man-cave needs sound-proofing...lol. This is mounted right behind the seat (as if positioning of this monster makes any difference... The God's of bass have spoken!
The end result is an area I can sit COMFORTABLY for many hours on end, unlike any comfortable office chair I have ever tried, This was a fun project that I use every day, and has put gaming into a new light for me. CHEERS!
