- 400
- Teh_Loserer and GTP_Teh_Loserer
- Teh Loserer
So I ordered this thing like a week ago, got one of the "damaged" units. Including the mount for the G25 shifter, I spent $245. Shipped. Do some shopping around and you'll see that even for a so-so cockpit, $245 is a damn good price. But what we have here is so much better than so-so, it's not even funny.
Including the seat, there's 9 pieces to this thing, so assembly only took about half an hour, and that's because I'm something of a perfectionist. I wanted my new toy to be 100% spot on. The hardest part about assembly is making sure your seat rails are lined up so your seat is straight. There were instructions provided, but if you know how to hold a wrench, you probably won't need them. And speaking of wrenches, you'll need 2. One plain old open end wrench, and an allen wrench. That's it. No hammer, no screwdriver, no prybar to get things to fit right. Just two wrenches. I was gonna take pics of the assembly process, but I kinda got excited and put it together before I ever thought of the camera. You're not missing much, though. It's easy and fast. Ease of assembly - 8/10. Why not a 10? Because a 10 would be pre-assembled. A 9 would need no tools.
Now, I wanna take a sec and describe this seat. Seriously, you could put it in your car. The look and feel of it are amazing. It's got slider rails like you'd expect, reclines completely flat, and even has a lumbar adjustment. I'm pretty sure they just bought a bunch of wholesale racing seats and slapped their logo on 'em. Seat - 10/10. The only way it could be cooler is if it were a power seat.
Now for the only part that I could find any fault with - the shifter mount. What's wrong with it, you ask? Well, it's not adjustable. Granted, it sits in a great place as it is, and I personally have no fault with it but a friend of mine sat down and wanted it closer to him. After one race, though, he said it was fine where it was. That being said, the mount itself is rock solid. No wiggles, no flexing, just a solid shifter feel. Oh, and you can mount it on the left or right side. Wherever you live, the shifter can easily be mounted on the correct side of the seat. Shifter mount - 9/10 Like I said, I think it's fine. But make it adjustable, and it's a 10.
Ok, I lied. One more thing I wasn't thrilled about - the pedal plate. The angle it sits at is kinda steep, but that may just be because I'm used to driving with the pedals at a narrower angle. After racing around the Nurburgring in this weeks WRS race, I can honestly say that it had no negative impact on my driving, but like the shifter mount, some built-in adjustability here would be nice. Notice I said "built in". You can easily slide something under the closest side of the plate to give your heels a bit more elevation for the narrower angle I was used to before. That said, I didn't, I just raced how it was and had no issue. Pedals - 9/10 Like the shifter, some adjustability would make it a 10.
Now on to the most important part - the wheel mount. I wasn't too sure how stable it was gonna be at first, but after assembling the cockpit, I knew it'd be steady as a rock. And so it was. The metal tubing used doesn't flex one. Little. Bit. Not at all. I'm reasonably certain that the steering wheel itself will break off at the shaft before the mount moves from driving. You can adjust the height of the wheel to wherever you want it, turn the hand tightening knobs, and it stays there. It takes about 5 seconds to adjust it from driver to driver if you feel you must, but my friend and I didn't need to. I'm 5'7", and my friend is 6'1", and all he had to do was scoot the seat back a bit. Wheel mount - 10/10 Stable. Adjustable. No bar between your legs. Perfection.
Overall fit and finish - well, considering this is a "damaged" unit, it's in damn good shape. Visually, there's nothing wrong with it. Walking around it, looking down, it's fine. Any flaws or defects this thing is said to have couldn't possibly ever affect the stability of the unit. There's a couple of not-perfectly-smooth places, but it's beneath the powdercoat, and it really just feels like a slightly textured finish. Fit & Finish - 9.5/10 Is it perfect? No. If I hadn't put it together, would I ever have noticed it? No.
This next bit doesn't actually concern the cockpit itself, so I'm not gonna count the score in the total, but customer service with these guys is out of this world. Up front, I got pics and info on what kind of "damage" I was going to encounter with one of the discounted units. Every question I had before ordering and after was answered promptly and informatively. Then I got an email this morning asking if I'd received my unit yet. These guys want your business, and they go out of the way to help, answer questions, and get you taken care of. Customer Service - 10/10.
The oZone also comes with a padded-top keyboard table, which I left off, and a monitor stand, which I'm not using. The keyboard stand attaches on the side opposite the shifter mount, and is made of the same high strength steel, but if you leave it off, it makes getting into/out of the chair much easier. Ok, I lied again. I'm using the monitor stand as a table. A PS3 controller and a TV remote fit there perfectly. Hell, this thing's so stable, I could likely put a drink up there and race without spilling it. ...cupholder mod?
Overall average - 9.25/10. There is so very, very little wrong with this cockpit and for the price, you can't beat it. Actually, I'd give it an 11/10 on price, bumping it up to a 9.5 overall. If you want a GREAT cockpit at an OUTSTANDING price, this is it.
