First, a bit of background on me. I’ve played Gran Turismo since Gran Turismo and have owned several wheels (starting with GT3: A-spec) and have attached said equipment to coffee tables (both wood and glass), TV dinner trays and the like. I eventually got a Big Boy Wheel Stand in 2010 before being gifted a Next Level Wheel Stand back in my GT Sport days (2018) and the metal on that finally gave up the ghost after an estimated 11,000+ races (345 racing days per year x 5.5 races a day x 6 years = 11,385. Currently only have about 1200 hours logged into GT7; not that I play that often ^_~).
I received an early Father’s Day present this week – the aforementioned GT Racer. I wanted to provide some feedback for those who may be considering this or a similarly priced rig. I suspect folks don’t care too much about putting it together so I’ll get right to my impressions of the thing after about 12 hours of driving. I use a Logitech G923 wheel with matching pedals, and the Logitech shifter. I exclusively use the PSVR2 when driving. I’m grading this against its segment, not against all sim rigs (e.g. aluminum profile) overall.
Adjustability. There’s quite a bit of adjustments that can be made, but there is one potential drawback. Great things are a very supportive seat that reclines and comes on seat sliders. That makes it easy to adjust for riders up to 6’7” according to NLR; I’m 6’5” and I’m groovy.
The wheel deck has a good bit of adjustability as well but it’s not a fast process. You can control height, depth and angle to a healthy degree. The pedal deck is welded in place and other than some fore/aft movements, the pedals cannot be adjusted. I would actually rate this rig 10/10 if the deck could be adjusted, honestly. The pedal deck is on a fixed incline of about 20 degrees; this is not for straight up pedals. It comes with a shifter mount and one of their universal mount plates. You can adjust how far back the entire arm rests (it attaches to one of the main supports which can be moved fore/aft) as well as some flexibility of where the shifter is mounted. I was fine; your mileage may vary. All in all, 8/10 for adjustments.
Rigidity. Most of it is solid but there is flex in a couple of spots. Under hard braking, the middle of the rig does flex up a bit under very hard braking. I don’t notice it when I’m driving; I am not using a flat screen, however. Honestly, the only time I notice the flex is when I sit down after I get home and actually look at the frame to test for flex. Some online have suggested using tension straps; I don’t feel the need.
The other point of some flex is the reclining seat, but it doesn’t flex much more than the bucket seats we use in most cars. I get more flex out of my locked-out desk chair at work.
Where I don’t find flex is at the wheel deck or the pedal deck; those bad chickens are rock solid. Only if I intentionally pull back on the wheel can I sense some flex . . . and that would be bad driving technique! All in all, 8/10 for rigidity
Comfort. This bad chicken is an all-day pleasure. Ergonomically I can get everything where I want it and if I want to relax my back for a bit – the seat has great lumbar support – just recline an inch or two mid-race. I don’t have a pole between my feet, I don’t feel like I’m sitting in a camping chair #PlayseatTropy and it actually adds to the immersion. One advantage I will say the PlaySeat’s chair has is if you have broad shoulders, you can feel the supports on your shoulders in the GT Racer. I fit just fine and I don’t think most folks would be bothered, truthfully. All in all, 10/10 for comfort.
Value. This thing is $400 and is easily as comfortable (in my personal opinion) as rigs I’ve sat in costing significantly more. When you throw in the adjustability, the shifter mount, a buttkicker mount and a seat you didn’t have to source yourself . . . the fact is this is one hamfat of a bargain. Gotta give this 11/10.
Who is this meant for? That’s the most important thing in my opinion. If you have load cell pedals, a 15nm wheel (this thing tops out at 13nm by the way) a triple monitor setup and a motion platform, this is clearly not for you. However, if you have a Logitech or similar wheel & pedals, are looking to move from the desk/couch/recliner, don’t want to have to source your own seat for however much that may cost? Especially if you are on a budget that is sub $500? I’d look no further than here.
Most direct competition: The PlaySeat Trophy is lighter and more rigid in the center, but you have to purchase a shifter mount if you want to drive stick. There’s no buttkicker mount but it is much lighter than the GT Racer. The Trophy has a seating position that can be changed, but not as easily as this one (and the NLR seat reclines and is on sliders to boot!) The Trophy can do more of an F-1(ish) seating position where the GT Racer is GT only. It’s easier to adjust the angle of the wheel deck of the Trophy but it lacks the range of adjustments the GT Racer has.
If they were both of a similar price, and the Trophy came with a shift mount, I could understand people selecting the Trophy based on its looks and lightweight. However, I cannot find $200-250 worth of difference between the two. Honestly if they were both the same price I’d still go for the GT Racer.
