Hello fellow Sim Racers!
I've been sim racing now for about two years and lurking here on these and other forums. I'm finally at the point where I want to build a real racing rig.
My issue is this: I'm not solely a Sim Racer. I play lots of different PC games; EVE Online, World of Tanks, Titanfall, Age of Conan, and dozens of single player games. Where a pure sim racing rig will work for other people I need a solution which will accomodate all of my PC gaming needs into one package.
I don't want my keyboard and mouse sitting off to the side like in most rigs. I need mine on a keyboard tray, or any solution that keeps them in front of me and out of the way of the steering wheel, just like if I was sitting at a regular computer desk.
I've sketched this up using FormuFit's pipe fittings, and I've used 1-1/2" Schedule 40 Furniture Grade PVC in my plans. I know most people here are using 2" PVC, but everything I've researched indicates that 1-1/2" pipe is very sturdy and about 35% cheaper.
This is what I've come up with so far:
Here in this picture you can see what I plan on doing, which is having the driving wheel up high and the keyboard tray down low. The wheel base, as I describe further down in the post, is completely removable from the rig so it doesn't block my view when playing other PC games. The keyboard tray is a 30" wide tray which will accomodate all of my peripherals.
Also, the pedal assembly is connected to the rig by two FormuFit Slip Tee joints with locking pins. This allows me to slide the entire pedal assembly forwards and back to accommodate my friends and family who wil also be using this rig.
Here you can see the 3x Dayton Audio 100W amps. It's not the exact model for these amps but I resized the one I found to be the same size as the Daytons. I'm hoping that I can get away with only two, but I put three on my plans as a worst case scenario.
If you look closely in the picture below you can see where the steering wheel mounts to the frame. The steering wheel platform has two pieces of 10" long pipe coming out of the back, which slide freely into a FormuFit Slip Tee pipe fitting.
I have two locking pins going into the top of the fittings where I plan on drilling holes. This will allow me to slide the wheel forwards and back, lock it into place, and even remove the steering wheel base completely for when I'm playing other games.
The G27 makes this a pain in the ass by having all the connectors inside and under the wheel base so that you have to take the entire wheel off to unplug everything. I got around this by buying two M/F DB9 cables, a 6" M/F DC power cable extension and a USB cable extender. So this way I can unplug all of the connections outside of the wheel base and then pull the wheel base off of the rig and set it to the side.
Here you can see the pedal base with the transducer mounted to the back. I'm not sure yet on whether to angle the pedals or not. I've grown quite used to driving with them flat on the ground. Also, I plan on upgrading to Club Sport pedals at some point.
Ok, so this is my first sim racing rig and I have a lot of questions about what I'm doing here.
First, I don't know squat about audio systems, how they work or how to set them up. I want to run SimVibe in both Chassis and Extension mode. I plan to do this with the following equipment:
So my question about the transducers are:
Second, I need a good, comfortable seat with three requirements:
Is there a place online somewhere to buy seats from totaled cars? I figured there would be some at the local junkyards, but apparently totaled cars which are insured, are auctioned off in Texas, so finding seats is nearly impossible locally.
Another issue I have with racing chairs are armrests. I usually play all of my other games with my arms resting on an office chair armrest. With this setup there's no arm support for when I'm not driving and I can't figure out any way get around this issue. I'm probably just going to be less comfortable playing other games.
If anyone sees any glaring holes in my grand scheme, then please let me know. I'm certainly not too proud to make changes rather than find out after I'm done.
I've been sim racing now for about two years and lurking here on these and other forums. I'm finally at the point where I want to build a real racing rig.
My issue is this: I'm not solely a Sim Racer. I play lots of different PC games; EVE Online, World of Tanks, Titanfall, Age of Conan, and dozens of single player games. Where a pure sim racing rig will work for other people I need a solution which will accomodate all of my PC gaming needs into one package.
I don't want my keyboard and mouse sitting off to the side like in most rigs. I need mine on a keyboard tray, or any solution that keeps them in front of me and out of the way of the steering wheel, just like if I was sitting at a regular computer desk.
I've sketched this up using FormuFit's pipe fittings, and I've used 1-1/2" Schedule 40 Furniture Grade PVC in my plans. I know most people here are using 2" PVC, but everything I've researched indicates that 1-1/2" pipe is very sturdy and about 35% cheaper.
This is what I've come up with so far:
Here in this picture you can see what I plan on doing, which is having the driving wheel up high and the keyboard tray down low. The wheel base, as I describe further down in the post, is completely removable from the rig so it doesn't block my view when playing other PC games. The keyboard tray is a 30" wide tray which will accomodate all of my peripherals.
Also, the pedal assembly is connected to the rig by two FormuFit Slip Tee joints with locking pins. This allows me to slide the entire pedal assembly forwards and back to accommodate my friends and family who wil also be using this rig.
Here you can see the 3x Dayton Audio 100W amps. It's not the exact model for these amps but I resized the one I found to be the same size as the Daytons. I'm hoping that I can get away with only two, but I put three on my plans as a worst case scenario.
If you look closely in the picture below you can see where the steering wheel mounts to the frame. The steering wheel platform has two pieces of 10" long pipe coming out of the back, which slide freely into a FormuFit Slip Tee pipe fitting.
I have two locking pins going into the top of the fittings where I plan on drilling holes. This will allow me to slide the wheel forwards and back, lock it into place, and even remove the steering wheel base completely for when I'm playing other games.
The G27 makes this a pain in the ass by having all the connectors inside and under the wheel base so that you have to take the entire wheel off to unplug everything. I got around this by buying two M/F DB9 cables, a 6" M/F DC power cable extension and a USB cable extender. So this way I can unplug all of the connections outside of the wheel base and then pull the wheel base off of the rig and set it to the side.
Here you can see the pedal base with the transducer mounted to the back. I'm not sure yet on whether to angle the pedals or not. I've grown quite used to driving with them flat on the ground. Also, I plan on upgrading to Club Sport pedals at some point.
Ok, so this is my first sim racing rig and I have a lot of questions about what I'm doing here.
First, I don't know squat about audio systems, how they work or how to set them up. I want to run SimVibe in both Chassis and Extension mode. I plan to do this with the following equipment:
- Six AuraSound AST Tactile Transducers: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ZPTBI/?tag=gtplanet-20. Four on the corners of the seat mount in the "wheel corners". One under the seat for shifting/engine vibrations and one on the pedal mount.
- Three Dayton Audio 100W Subwoofer Amps: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002KRAP6/?tag=gtplanet-20
- Two 5.1 ASUS Xonar Audio cards for Chassis and Extension mode: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-XONAR-Headphone-Audio-Card/dp/B0045JHJSS/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1420565368&sr=1-4&keywords=sound card
So my question about the transducers are:
- Do I need three Subwoofer amps to run all six transducers or can I get away with using two? If not, then is there a two amp solution in the same price range? Keep in mind, I don't plan on cranking these things up to 100% gain. I'm not trying to shake my desk apart, just want to feel the bumps, collisions and curbs when I touch them.
- Will I be able to accurately notice which wheel is getting vibrations by placing the chassis transducers on the corners of the seat platform? Do I need to move those transducers to a different part of my rig?
Second, I need a good, comfortable seat with three requirements:
- It must have mechanical rails to slide forwards and back.
- It must be mechanically adjustable up and down.
- It must recline. Yeah, sometimes I lean my office chair back and take a nap...
Is there a place online somewhere to buy seats from totaled cars? I figured there would be some at the local junkyards, but apparently totaled cars which are insured, are auctioned off in Texas, so finding seats is nearly impossible locally.
Another issue I have with racing chairs are armrests. I usually play all of my other games with my arms resting on an office chair armrest. With this setup there's no arm support for when I'm not driving and I can't figure out any way get around this issue. I'm probably just going to be less comfortable playing other games.
If anyone sees any glaring holes in my grand scheme, then please let me know. I'm certainly not too proud to make changes rather than find out after I'm done.
