Upgrading the Logitech G27 Rim

[Jimmy_Pop]

Edit:

I pulled the trigger, and bought everything I should hopefully need. Wheel, mini plate, paddles, a new shift knob, and horn button for appeal.

The Spec D Tuning wheel, $26 and free shipping.

Ricmotech Mini Plate, $74.95

Ricmotech Paddles, in black, $29.99 (total shipping was like $13, for priority ship, only $1 more than standard)

Black shift knob with red stitching (to match the wheel) $10.95 and free shipping

Nismo horn button, to pay hommage to my late kitty, (Nismo) $14.49 and free shipping


Grand total, $118.00 from Ricmotech, $41.59 from ebay (including a $10 off coupon code) = $159.59. Not too shabby.

Once I get all the parts, and get it all assembled, I will do a little show and tell.

Thanks for all the help GTPlanet!!

 

[kikie]

Don't waste your money on Ricmotech stuff. You can do it yourself very easily. I did and if I can do it you can do it.

Just make an adapter and lenghten the paddle shifters.

My personal upgrade, an OMP 35 cm rim.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Don't waste you money on Ricmotech stuff. You can do it yourself very easily. I did and if I can do it you can do it.

Just make an adapter and lenghten the paddle shifters.

My personal upgrade, an OMP 35mm rim.

I'll keep that in mind, I'm not super handy with raw materials, but I know someone who is. I actually kinda liked the layout of the new mini plate, gives it a bit more of a race car look. But, I'm sure that is easy enough to make as well.

Question for you, I've gotten some feedback on Facebook with the question, and some of them are telling me its a bad idea because it kills the FFB, what's your take?

 

[TayeezSA]

I believe Chilicoke still makes adaptor plates and Paddles.

Google him and check out his Youtube for how tos and what not.

 

[kikie]

I'll keep that in mind, I'm not super handy with raw materials, but I know someone who is. I actually kinda liked the layout of the new mini plate, gives it a bit more of a race car look. But, I'm sure that is easy enough to make as well.

Question for you, I've gotten some feedback on Facebook with the question, and some of them are telling me its a bad idea because it kills the FFB, what's your take?

No problem with the FFB. It doesn't kill the FFB at all. If they mean by killing the FFB that you hardly feel FFB, than don't believe them. I have first hand experience and I can tell you that the FFB is still strong, maybe less strong but you can still enjoy the FFB of AC.


It is not a bad idea at all. The "feeling" of having a larger rim in your hands is so much nicer, more realistic, better and all that positive stuff.

You won't be faster though and catching a slide is still as difficult as with the standard G27 rim.

A friend of mine tried it and he was very exited about it.

 

[fatkrakr]

Nothing at all wrong with using those $50 ebay wheels for sim racing. They might not hold up in a accident, but I don't think you will be hitting any walls or tire barriers with your sim rig.

 

[kikie]

I think you should go for a 35 cm (350 mm).

No, don't spend $250 on a rim.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Really appreciating the help.

Any opinions on the wheel choices I have up top??

 

[Gunstar]

I'd just buy whatever cheap eBay rim suits your size and style needs, it's not like it's going in a real car.

I have a custom rim that's an ebay special and one that's a genuine Sparco, and I use the ebay special far more often.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

I'd just buy whatever cheap eBay rim suits your size and style needs, it's not like it's going in a real car.

I have a custom rim that's an ebay special and one that's a genuine Sparco, and I use the ebay special far more often.

I'll take a look at some of the cheapies and see what I can find.

 

[socrates75]

I was looking at getting a wheel off a junkyard car but one of the members here suggested it might be to heavy but i found a place that i can get a cheap wheel pulled off a car for a few bucks so its worth it for me to try and see how much heavier it is compared to the original wheel

 

[Gunstar]

From what I know about most real car wheels, you're going to have to get pretty creative to mount it.

 

[socrates75]

From what I know about most real car wheels, you're going to have to get pretty creative to mount it.

Ya i figured i would probably have to make my own adapter,i was thinking of making one out of wood to see if it works and isnt to heavy and then make one out of aluminum

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

I updated the OP to reflect some research done on the cheapie wheels.

 

[sesselpupser]

Ya i figured i would probably have to make my own adapter,i was thinking of making one out of wood to see if it works and isnt to heavy and then make one out of aluminum

It would be a bit more involved than that, since real cars use a splined shaft - that would be very difficult to make yourself to the same tolerances to give you a strong mount with no play. Universal bolt-on wheels like the ones people usually use are designed to go on an adaptor boss which has a splined shaft to mount on the car then bolt holes for the wheel itself, so they're far, far easier and lighter to fit on a G27.

And yeah, fitting a larger wheel will reduce the feedback torque. Think of it like having a very short wrench to undo a stuck nut. What can you do to make that job easier? Use a longer wrench, because then you get more torque for the same force but the length of the arc you have to move through is also longer. The same applies to steering wheels which is why trucks have huge wheels (they're heavy but don't require quick inputs) and karts have tiny ones (because they're the opposite). Will you notice the difference between 11, 12 and 13 inches? Probably, but I wouldn't say it'd kill the FFB completely.

 

[socrates75]

It would be a bit more involved than that, since real cars use a splined shaft - that would be very difficult to make yourself to the same tolerances to give you a strong mount with no play. Universal bolt-on wheels like the ones people usually use are designed to go on an adaptor boss which has a splined shaft to mount on the car then bolt holes for the wheel itself, so they're far, far easier and lighter to fit on a G27.

And yeah, fitting a larger wheel will reduce the feedback torque. Think of it like having a very short wrench to undo a stuck nut. What can you do to make that job easier? Use a longer wrench, because then you get more torque for the same force but the length of the arc you have to move through is also longer. The same applies to steering wheels which is why trucks have huge wheels (they're heavy but don't require quick inputs) and karts have tiny ones (because they're the opposite). Will you notice the difference between 11, 12 and 13 inches? Probably, but I wouldn't say it'd kill the FFB completely.

****, i thought i was able to use a wheel and just drill some holes in the metal to match the holes on the g27....is this not possible with a real wheel?

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

****, i thought i was able to use a wheel and just drill some holes in the metal to match the holes on the g27....is this not possible with a real wheel?

Depends on the material you are trying to drill through.

Back to my thread, those who have upgraded the rim; round or d shaped; pleather, most likely what is a fake suede.

 

[socrates75]

Depends on the material you are trying to drill through.

Back to my thread, those who have upgraded the rim; round or d shaped; pleather, most likely what is a fake suede.

Thanks man,. sorry about hijacking your thread

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Thanks man,. sorry about hijacking your thread

It's all good. We're both after a bit of help.

What kind of wheel are you thinking about using?

 

[socrates75]

It's all good. We're both after a bit of help.

What kind of wheel are you thinking about using?

Not 100% sure on what kind but the wheel i saw was from what looked like a dodge neon i do believe.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Not 100% sure on what kind but the wheel i saw was from what looked like a dodge neon i do believe.

There is a few YouTube videos with real car wheels (legit, from a BMW e30 etc) on a g27. May be worth trying to reach out and contact them to figure it out too.

My problem at this stage is deciding on the rim, if I want round or d shaped.

 

[socrates75]

There is a few YouTube videos with real car wheels (legit, from a BMW e30 etc) on a g27. May be worth trying to reach out and contact them to figure it out too.

My problem at this stage is deciding on the rim, if I want round or d shaped.

Well i used to have the old xbox 360 wheel years ago and it was shaped like a D and really i didnt notice much difference from it over circular wheels, i guess its just for show.....or to get the wheel closer to your lap but once again, made no difference for me between the 2

 

[Gunstar]

My thought? If you're gonna use full 900 rotation go round, if you're gonna use 540 degrees or less, D shape is fine. There are some pretty good cheapies on ebay (just look up D Shaped Steering Wheel) or Fanatecs GT Add On Rim (rim only) is $100 and it looks pretty nice for the money.

Since your XBOX wheel was only a 270 degree wheel it probably didn't make much difference socrates.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

My thought? If you're gonna use full 900 rotation go round, if you're gonna use 540 degrees or less, D shape is fine. There are some pretty good cheapies on ebay (just look up D Shaped Steering Wheel) or Fanatecs GT Add On Rim (rim only) is $100 and it looks pretty nice for the money.

Since your XBOX wheel was only a 270 degree wheel it probably didn't make much difference socrates.

Thanks Gunstar! This helps. Round it is, at least the first rim. I can always buy multiple rims

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Finally after a 2 week wait, the mini plate and paddles came in. It took some additional finesse (prying the paddle housings, and drilling the holes out for their screws), but it looks sharp. Have to figure out how to put my horn button on, in time.

On another note, I ordered the DXRacer seat base and seat to complete the rig as my office chair's padding is done.

 

[Gunstar]

That look tough man, I like it!

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

thanks!

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Update: between the less than ideal machining of the recesses, and my pinching a wire on the back (might tape them down next time); Frank offered to send me a new plate. Top notch service, I will look there first for my future needs and recommend to everyone.

Update Part II: got the new plate, taped the wires back this time to avoid pinching. It all worked, yay! and the seat showed up. pics to follow.