Punknoodle's DIY Sim Racing Build 2.2 Final (Updated OP)

[Punknoodle]

I've finished my build!

Components:
Fanatec CSWv2 with BMW GT2 Rim and Formula Rim
Fanatec CSPv2 modified with Mugen shock and GT-Eye spring plus DSD Tilton style pedal pads
DSD Pro Sequential Short Throw Shifter
Buttkicker and Simvibe
Triple Screens
Sony Xperia Z3 running Dashmeter Pro
Laptop mounted on top running iSpeed for telemetry

The top table section and pedal mount section are MDF covered in carbon fibre wrap. Frame is all steel, buttkicker is bolted directly to the bottom of the bucket seat, which is then isolated from the frame using rubber vibration mounts.

Cabling is all routed within the frame, the only loose wiring is the lead to the power board under the table which gets plugged in to a wall socket and an ethernet connection to the PC.

 

[Coxis]

In my experience I've found that it's better to go with bucket-style seats rather than full-blown bucket seats for sim racing cockpits. Bucket seats are not as comfortable and you don't really need the all around support they provide since you won't be moving at all.

Good luck. It's always fun making a new cockpit.

 

[Punknoodle]

Probably good advice @Coxis but I went ahead and bought a full bucket - it was only $100 bucks. I read about them a bit online and it looks like they have a regular bottom for comfort instead of being encased in hard plastic with foam on the bottom like a proper one (although these are actually marketed as being for your car but I sure wouldn't use one in a street or track car as there are no safety standards on them).

I'm going to start drawing plans soon, I would love to make it out of tig welded polished stainless steel tubing but I'll see how I get on.

 

[Punknoodle]

My pedals arrived today! As did my replacement shock absorbers for the brake (I'm converting the crap stock one for a Mugen shock with Losi 35wt oil). I'm currently away for work for 2 weeks but I'm looking forward to fitting up the shock.

 

[Punknoodle]

I got home for the weekend from work, and opened up my new toys that arrived while I was away..

Changed the oil in my new shock and installed the GT-Eye spring (it fits!)

Did I feel a little anxious about taking to my new expensive pedals with an angle grinder? Surprisingly not...

I'll let you know how if feels and drives later..

 

[Punknoodle]

Also made up some supports to mount my Buttkicker to the bottom of new race bucket

 

[eKretz]

The little shaver looks like he's ready to get into that box, haha!

 

[Punknoodle]

The little shaver looks like he's ready to get into that box, haha!

Funnily enough that is now the box's purpose

 

[katpeeler]

@Punknoodle looks like you got a good start on your rig. Im currently in the market for a good racing rig. Been playing on a wheel stand for a couple years. Im interested in the CSP brake shock mod you did. I own a set of CSP but realy haven't had any issues with them. Or maybe I do and just dont know any better. Is that brake shock that much better???..Where did you get it???

 

[Punknoodle]

@Punknoodle looks like you got a good start on your rig. Im currently in the market for a good racing rig. Been playing on a wheel stand for a couple years. Im interested in the CSP brake shock mod you did. I own a set of CSP but realy haven't had any issues with them. Or maybe I do and just dont know any better. Is that brake shock that much better???..Where did you get it???

Thanks, I wanted to take it up a notch for this one, make it more immersive.

Take a look in the Clubsport Pedal Tuning thread - all the info regarding the shocks and oil and comparisons are in there.

 

[DaxCobra]

Watching this as I am planning something similar!

 

[Nick Moxley]

In my experience I've found that it's better to go with bucket-style seats rather than full-blown bucket seats for sim racing cockpits. Bucket seats are not as comfortable and you don't really need the all around support they provide since you won't be moving at all.

Good luck. It's always fun making a new cockpit.

That is True Unless you plan on Building One of these in the future.

 

[Punknoodle]

Just ordered a few more things for my set up:
Amplifier for my Buttkicker:

It is 120W x 2 so will handle a second one if I want one. I'll be using Simvibe (already have a spare sound card installed in my PC)

While I'm on that subject, my PC that I've recently built for this purpose has the following specs:
Intel Core i5 4670k CPU
Gigabyte G1 Sniper Z87 Motherboard
8Gb RAM 1600 MHz
EVGA GTX 780 FTW 3Gb Graphics Card
Cheap Creative secondary soundcard for SimVibe
Samsung 840 Evo 250Gb SSD
Corsair CX600M Power Supply
Corsair 230T Orange Case

Also bought a few cheapie things from eBay; Rubber isolators to bolt the seat to the frame I'm building so the vibration from the shaker doesn't get absorbed by the frame, leveling feet with rubber bottoms to put on the bottom of the frame and a 3.5mm headphone jack to 2 RCA lead long enough to get from the PC to the amp.

Last but not least I ordered the wheel rims I want to use for when I can finally get a CSW v2 base.

I didn't feel the need to pay extra for a carbon finish on the Formula Rim, especially as I have some carbon wrap I'll be installing on sections of the frame I'm building so I was worried that the 2 different looks of the carbons would clash..

I was weighing up between the Universal Hub with GT wheel or the BMW rim but I chose the BMW rim because I love the look of it, I'm not a big fan of how the universal hub looks. The reason I was considering the former was because of the weight of the BMW rim, but reading about the specs of the v2 wheel base makes me believe the weight of the rim isn't as big a factor any more.

Looking forward to being able to order this base!

 

[Punknoodle]

So, turns out that the listing for that amp was very misleading. The listing stated 2x 120W @ 4Ohm, however when it arrived I hooked it up to test it and it cut out, I looked in the spec sheet and it states that it is only 2x 20W @ 4Ohm. Quite pathetic. I've contacted the seller to get a refund.

Anyway, so I've spent quite some time trying to find an alternative to he Buttkicker amp that is a reasonable price, and I started to think that I'd be pretty much stuck with having to pay nearly $300 for an amp.

Anyway, I was about to give up when I found something I think is perfect, and it's cheaper than what I had originally bought!

http://www.djcity.com.au/spl500-skytec-500w-power-amp

This one is a rack mounted power amplifier, 2x 250W @4 Ohm.

At $79 with free delivery I think it's worth a shot, I don't really want to pay more than the first amp I bought and I don't want to muck around making an large enclosure for a plate amp. I realise it probably won't be as good as the better known and more expensive brands but hopefully it's good enough to crank my little lfe shaker, and a second at my pedals later on down the track maybe.

Will see how it goes.

 

[MickF]

Hi punknoodle,

Careful with that amp as I was also looking at purchasing that one too. I asked the guys at simxperience and this was their reply...


Hi Mick

We ran a SPL 500 to drive 2x Buttkicker LFE-se's and whilst it worked OK, it lacked enough power and was constantly close to clipping and finally died after about 3 months of heavy use. We now run a 1500 watt version and its 100% solid, plenty of power and it was not a lot more money. I would go for the most powerful you can get as it will leave plenty of 'headroom' and probably last well that way

So be careful with cheap amps as Buttkickers can destroy them.

This amp is the 2000 watt amp from DJcity and is $179.

http://www.djcity.com.au/spl2000

Unfortunately for me I need 3 of these as I am getting 5 Buttkickers so I have opted for the amp simxperience recommends. It will cost me about $150 more but will out last the skytec amps.

https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/upa-500

 

[Punknoodle]

Hi punknoodle,

Careful with that amp as I was also looking at purchasing that one too. I asked the guys at simxperience and this was their reply...


Hi Mick

We ran a SPL 500 to drive 2x Buttkicker LFE-se's and whilst it worked OK, it lacked enough power and was constantly close to clipping and finally died after about 3 months of heavy use. We now run a 1500 watt version and its 100% solid, plenty of power and it was not a lot more money. I would go for the most powerful you can get as it will leave plenty of 'headroom' and probably last well that way

So be careful with cheap amps as Buttkickers can destroy them.

Thanks for that mate, in light of this I've emailed them and asked if I can please change my order to the SPL1000 as it hasn't shipped yet. Hopefully I hear back from them on Monday.

 

[Punknoodle]

@MickF Didn't see the last bit of your message until I'd sent mine

Yeah I looked at the 2000W one, but for now I don't think I'll need it - if I want to go down the path of multiple buttkickers later on I'll probably go with the amp you are getting (looks awesome) and sell the SPL1000.

For one shaker mounted directly to the bottom of my isolated seat, I don't think running a 500W amp will struggle (SimXperience recommend 150W when using SimVibe with my shaker). I realise that the amp is probably a peak rating and the rating SimXperience is talking about will be RMS but it should be ok for what I'm after. I don't wanna be shaken out of my seat

At this stage it's more of an experiment to see if I actually like it, plus I don't want to spend buckets - still have the CSW v2 base to purchase yet, whenever I'm able to.

Anyway, bought most of the steel I needed to make the new frame up today, so I'll start cutting it up ready for welding.

 

[Punknoodle]

Some progress:

I've got the basic frame and the seat mount sections cut out now. The little aluminium spacers are just there to simulate the height of the rubber isolators I have coming.

Now I need to make the supports for the pedal mounting and the wheel mounting. Because I am yet to own the CSW I might need to find some dimensions online so I can make the frame.

I'll do all the welding in one go once I make the other bits as I have to do it at a friends place, but this is enough for today.

For the sides, beneath the sides of the seats, I might bend up a piece of aluminium sheet just so you can't see all the frame work.

The amp is going to sit under the seat, with the front plate facing rearward. I'll make some tabs up as it's rack mount.

 

[Punknoodle]

For the last 3 or so months I've been working down in Tasmania, and only flying home every second weekend. The last 2 weeks were my final stint down there, so now I'm home for good! Can't describe how great it is to be with the family again, also it's great to be able to work on projects; I was getting frustrated being down there and not being able to build the things I've thought up in my head.

Anyway, I returned to about 7 packages which was exciting, most of it just dull things I wanted for the rig - foot posts to keep it off the ground, vibration dampening mounts for the seat, new amp plus a mini keyboard I'm going to make a bracket for. The most exciting parts were the Fanatec wheel rims, I'd never seen any in real life let alone felt any so to get the Formula and BMW GT rims in my hands it felt amazing.

Couldn't stop myself from dummying up the basic part of the frame again, seeing how good I got my measurements for the amp, attaching the vibration mounts to the seat frame etc.

Here is roughly how the amp will look in place:

Here are the vibration mounts:

And finally, my goodies:

Hopefully I can get the basic part of the frame welded up soon so I can start attacking things like the pedal mount and the uprights to what will be the PC, Monitor and Wheel mount, plus the DSD shifter mount.

It's going to be a long wait for my CSW v2...

 

[fatkrakr]

For the last 3 or so months I've been working down in Tasmania, and only flying home every second weekend. The last 2 weeks were my final stint down there, so now I'm home for good! Can't describe how great it is to be with the family again, also it's great to be able to work on projects; I was getting frustrated being down there and not being able to build the things I've thought up in my head.

Anyway, I returned to about 7 packages which was exciting, most of it just dull things I wanted for the rig - foot posts to keep it off the ground, vibration dampening mounts for the set plus a

Plus a what? You cant just leave us hanging here.

 

[Punknoodle]

Plus a what? You cant just leave us hanging here.

Sorry I was writing it on my phone and I hit the "Post Reply" button too early - I've done that a few times - it's far too easy to do!

 

[Punknoodle]

I've had a pretty busy weekend, I've got it mostly finished, obviously the G25 is just sitting there until I can get a CSWv2, but you get the idea. The keyboard is just being propped up as well for now. The vinyl covering the top "table" part and the pedal mount is carbon fibre look and the frame is Volcano Orange

I ran the cabling for the buttkicker amp and pedals through the frame using grommets.

I just have to put some aluminium angle around the top MDF section to tidy up the edges, and also get some aluminium plate bent to put over the frame each side of the seat to tidy it up. The DSD shifter mount is there waiting for the shifter to arrive.

I've also got to drill one large hole through the top to bring the cables through, I have one of those stainless desk grommets to put in once I drill it, but I want to wait until I get the new base.

I'm really happy with it over all, although I'll admit I probably could have done a nicer job - my welding definitely needs improving. It's solid as a rock though, sits level and doesn't make any vibrations or anything so I think it should serve me well

Once I get the edging done and the new wheel base (I have no idea when I'll be able to order it) I'll post some full on completion pics.

 

[jimipitbull]

So, turns out that the listing for that amp was very misleading. The listing stated 2x 120W @ 4Ohm, however when it arrived I hooked it up to test it and it cut out, I looked in the spec sheet and it states that it is only 2x 20W @ 4Ohm. Quite pathetic. I've contacted the seller to get a refund.

Anyway, so I've spent quite some time trying to find an alternative to he Buttkicker amp that is a reasonable price, and I started to think that I'd be pretty much stuck with having to pay nearly $300 for an amp.

Anyway, I was about to give up when I found something I think is perfect, and it's cheaper than what I had originally bought!

http://www.djcity.com.au/spl500-skytec-500w-power-amp

This one is a rack mounted power amplifier, 2x 250W @4 Ohm.

At $79 with free delivery I think it's worth a shot, I don't really want to pay more than the first amp I bought and I don't want to muck around making an large enclosure for a plate amp. I realise it probably won't be as good as the better known and more expensive brands but hopefully it's good enough to crank my little lfe shaker, and a second at my pedals later on down the track maybe.

Will see how it goes.

A plate amp enclosure could be smaller than the rack mount. I've had my eye on this for a while, looks perfect for buttkickers

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270720819732?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[Punknoodle]

A plate amp enclosure could be smaller than the rack mount. I've had my eye on this for a while, looks perfect for buttkickers

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270720819732?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I like the tidy mounting solution for my rack mounted one, it has the benefit of being able to be swapped out easily for even a different model because of its standard size

 

[Gunstar]

Punk, I have my "racing/gaming" PC in that exact same Corsair case!

Love the rig BTW, that thing just looks straight out industrial!!

 

[Punknoodle]

Yeah it's a nice case isn't it? Looks good all lit up, my cpu cooler has a light up corsair logo that you can set to any colour (I set it to green) and my mothwrboard has green track lighting (G1 Sniper Z87) so it looks pretty cool.

Lol yes, it is very industrial. I'll admit I'm not the most creative bloke out there, I thought of a design that would be simple to build and strong and be able to take the vibrations of the seat and wheel and also the shifter without flexing and this is what I came up with. I kind of wish I had the skills to design something a lot more aesthetically pleasing. As you can imagine it's bloody heavy, and that's without me in it, which is why I welded some thick plate to each corner so I could tap a nice thread to take the little feet that are on it.

It is comfortable though, it's a good driving position, my last one I always felt that my seat needed to come forward when I had the seat as far forward as it would go, I had made it to be able to accomodate my taller friends however I found not many people used it so this one is non adjustable and set to my driving position.

 

[Punknoodle]

One more thing, regarding the pedals, I found the mods I did to the brake to be really nice, the feel was great as was the strength you had to press it, however there was a deadzone at the start of travel, it wouldn't register any braking force if i was to feather the brake. Also, there was quite a bit of travel. I moved the pin up one hole and this has well and truly fixed the problem.

Now, if I press the brake lightly it registers and I actually had to wind the sensitivity down to just under half - it still requires a good amount of force to get it to 100%, which makes locking up easier to avoid.

It's an awesome brake pedal now, predictable and strong.

 

[Punknoodle]

2 more exciting developments, first being that I've now ordered my CSW v2 base, second being I now have my DSD shifter and its mounted up. Feels fantastic, can't believe I've been missing out on a quality shifter for so long!

 

[Punknoodle]

On October 9 I posted that I had ordered my wheel base, well it arrived yesterday. Unfortunately I'm away for work at the moment so I can't set it up yet.

I'm waiting on delivery of a couple of extra LG 24" monitors to match my existing one, and I'm going to set up triple monitors, using a pair of Audio Technica m20x headphones that I just bought for the audio, as previously I was using a 32" tv.

I've been watching a couple of video guides online showing how to set them up properly, I'll be experimenting a little bit with this and making my own mount so I'll make sure I make a post about the finished result with a video.

 

[Punknoodle]

My Racing set up sits in the garage behind my GT-Four, I installed a ceiling fan and everything

And here is a shot of my triple screens all set up and the frame I built for them

From the front

I love the new set up. Triples add so much immersion and the CSWv2 is... Epic. It's a real pleasure to use. I need to tidy all the wiring I was just eager to get it up and running and test it

I did a couple of laps in the 787B around Spa in Assetto Corsa, and then played the replay and recorded it with my phone from where my head usually to show what it looks like from my perspective. What a car by the way alot of fun to drive!