Playseat Whoa's

UPDATE::::::::
Well, I haven't posted on my setup in a while and I've done a few more mods so I thought I would post and condense everything down into this first post.

So, here's what I started out with, a DFGT, a coffee table, and a cheap wal-mart gaming chair


Had to make a pedal stand to get a better angle, the gaming chair was about a F1 sitting position.


Here is the view from behind the wheel. Pretty much 1:1 aspect ratio on the 55" Sony.


I came across a Playseat Classic on the cheap. 125 usd NIB to be exact. The only problem was the wheel mount was very wobbily. Here is my quick fix to that.


So, I found some free time at the shop and finally got around to fabbing up my final welded version of my support. You might be surprised but the 1" square tubing is never in the way even being between my legs. I left foot brake and heel toe all the time and have never touched the support.


Here is how I mounted it at the top for quick disassembly. It's rigidity is bar none best I've used.


A while back I purchased a Buttkicker Gamer and as some of you know it doesn't mount to the Playseats without modifications, so here is my solution. It's a piece of 3/8's all thread and a piece of 1" copper. Worked out very nicely and in about 3 months of used has never moved.


I recently aquired a G25 and as the Playseat community knows the pedals do not fit on the factory mounting plate. So, back to modding.


Another shot of the pedals hardmounted and unboxed.


Of course I'm too cheap to actually purchase the shifter mount from Playseat so I decided to build a center console. Problem being it my rig has to be disassembled after each use so I had to come up with something fairly simple.


Of course your going to get thirsty on those endurance races and who has time to get up and run to the fridge during a pit stop... So here is my solution.


Decided to put a little slit beside where the shifter mounts...


Wondering why yet????

Well, I needed a clock for my cockpit and also a docking station for the Droid.


So, there it is, I'm planning to make a padded arm rest wrapped in leather and cover the wood up with some sort of plastic looking vinyl that will resemble a real console. But to leave you with something nice here is a pic of my wife breaking off the Nurburgring in a 2011 Subaru STI. Enjoy.


P.S. Nixim mod v.2 is in the mail. Can't wait to get it installed.

Nsane1 (original post)

So, I found a Playseat classic on the cheapness. ...and I purchased it since I had been looking at them online for a while. I've searched and searched on here and google and I always hear the classic has "a little wobble" or "doesn't feel sturdy enough"
Well, I would agree, times a hundred. I've been playing on my coffee table setup since I got my dfgt. It actually felt really good. The main problem was having to set it up. I have a cheap gaming chair from wal-mart but it rocks so I had to shove something under the front and put a big magazine rack behind it to keep it in place. I had built a stand to angle the pedals right. I really enjoyed the setup but the seat being cheap, worn-out, and vinyl was not fun for extended periods of playing. And since it took a while to set everything up I would usually play for 6-8 straight hours. So, the playseat classic was the choice.

So, here's the deal. The seat alone on the playseat is worth what I gave for it and the pedal perch is nice too. But, I cannot play games with the steering rack. It is absolutely horrible. It moves a good 2 inches in every direction. The coffee table was sturdy as balls. So, I cut two pieces of conduit about a foot and a half long for both sides of the front stabilizer. (yeah, probably a little overkill, but I was wanting to use it badddd) Thinking the small short stabilizers that are on it were the problem. Helped a little but still not rigid enough for me. So, since I'm a welder, I'll be looking at welding those legs on and welding a brace from the bottom of the steering perch to the bar that runs from the seat to the pedals.

So, is there any quick and simple ways to fix this that anybody has found? Or am I going to have to do some grinding/welding/painting to get this thing to be firm? Sorry for the long post, I was just super excited to get one since I didn't figure I would be able to afford one for a long while. Then, super dissapointed when I got it together and realized I cannot play with it like that. For now I have gone back to the new playseats seat/pedals and the coffee table for the wheel mount. For all the people that bash on a person's coffee table setup, I can't imagine why. I have searched and searched on both here and google for a quick fix and found none so I figured somebody on here knows and probably posted but it is buried in the archives of the web. Since this thing is pretty old skool. Thanks in advance for the help.

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I have seen classic's on the cheap side (Sub $200) and was worried about the same thing. I remember the official promo video showed a kid playing, and the wheel stand seemed to wobble under minimal pressure. I too would like to know if theres any way to make it more stable as i would really like to pick one up.

There is people that just wields support bars to it. It solves that problem nicely.

oqvist

There is people that just wields support bars to it. It solves that problem nicely.

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Do you have an example of this? like where to weld the support? My father has all this type of equipment so im sure i could get this done.

Any thoughts on the Bob Earl VRC (Virtual Racing Chair)? Is it comfortable (to put in the laps!)?

From the website pictures I am worried that the steering wheel sits too high when your sitting in the cockpit?

The price seems reasonable at $329.00 plus freight.

Another advantage is that there is a dealer in Winipeg, Manitoba so Canadians can buy there instead of from U.S. or England.

Please let me know if you have the Bob Earl VRC and what you think; thanks racers!

I don't like the Bob earl VRC. For one it does not look comfortable at all. I think i would end up having to look UP at my screen, like sitting in the front row at a theater. I feel the seat shouldn't be level with the pedals. While i'm sure in pure racing cars it may be this way, but we drive normal cars, and ideally we should sit in that position, no?

I, personally think that they are charging way too much money for the VRC. Maybe at like 129/149 it could be a good deal, but for $329 you can get a playseat or an obutto.

but for $329 you can get a playseat or an obutto.

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In Canada?

Iv'e seen playseat online but unsure how steady the wheel platform is and whether the seat is cheaply made?

I probably should wait for prices to maybe come down, but I wanna race and use that G25!!

Doubt the prices are going to come down. leading up to GT5 i'm sure they know they can sell a bunch more of these at the current price.

I've used the playseat evo and its really solid. The seat is comfortable after extended use. The wheel column barely moves under the heavy stress. I haven't used the Obutto but i think it looks a bit better then the Evo in general, especially the seating platform.

Another route you can go is the DIY route... you can just make your own for really cheap. I think the easiest way would be to make a frame out of PVC piping. Like this, but maybe with a better seat...




Im like 99% sure i found this on GTP, i forget who's this is exactly.

BlacqueJacques

Any thoughts on the Bob Earl VRC (Virtual Racing Chair)? Is it comfortable (to put in the laps!)?

From the website pictures I am worried that the steering wheel sits too high when your sitting in the cockpit?

The price seems reasonable at $329.00 plus freight.

Another advantage is that there is a dealer in Winipeg, Manitoba so Canadians can buy there instead of from U.S. or England.

Please let me know if you have the Bob Earl VRC and what you think; thanks racers!

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I bought one of the very first VRC's in 2002 and used it for 4 years. It was only $250 then I think. I also thought that it sat too low and so I very cleverly placed it on top of two plastic planter boxes at a cost of about $5 and raised it about 8 inches. Eventually, I got too lazy to drag the boxes out and lift the frame onto them so I just started using it on the floor and guess what ? It was very easy to adapt to and within a day or so, didn't find it any different so the height is not an issue as far as I'm concerned. The overall feel and ergonomics of the rig is really good as far as I was concerned. It provides a more supine position than any of the "sit bolt upright" chairs on the market and transfers the feel of an open wheel cockpit very well (as in F1). It has many tangible benefits such as light weight and compresses to such a nice little package that I travelled easily with it in my car and set it up frequently in hotel rooms when I travelled. It was very sturdy and worked excellent for me for all those years. I even mounted a 17" monitor to the frame so that I had a complete self contained rig anywhere I went with it. I took it to parties and on business trips

Negatives .... the seat is a thinly padded "Go-Kart" type seat. To make it more comfortable, I re-drilled the mounting holes and rotated the seat forward to tilt it back more and lift my thighs. Then I added padding to take pressure off the back of my legs at the front leading edge of the seat. None of this was particularily difficult and I was thrilled to have such a cool platform to race with. However, being an old guy (now in my 60's) I found that after sitting in it for 6 to 8 hours (as I often did), I would get a noticeable backache. I called Bob Earl and asked him if he had any options for a more comfortable seat which he didn't. I researched racing seats and junkyards but never found the article I was looking for. The footplate on the VRC flexes quite a bit also and isn't wide enough to mount the G25 pedals offset so that the brake and gas pedal are centered.



In 2006, I bought one of the first Playseat Evo models simply because of the higher quality seat. To this day I do not like the upright seating position but I have learned to adapt once again The Playseat also has the advantage that you can adjust the wheel up and down independantly from the forward and back adjustment. The VRC has one adjustment whereby the wheel automatically moves upwards as you move it away from you.

As an aside, I see you're in Winnipeg Born and raised there myself

BlacqueJacques

In Canada?

Iv'e seen playseat online but unsure how steady the wheel platform is and whether the seat is cheaply made?

I probably should wait for prices to maybe come down, but I wanna race and use that G25!!

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The playseat seat is awesome. I would've gave the price I paid just for the seat. On the classic that I have the seat and pedal setup are both very rigid. The only downside to the classic was/is the steering wheel mount. But I have overcame that now. This is my temporary fix until I can get to a welding machine to fab up the final version. The final version is on paper and will look like it came with the classic when finished. As it should've. lol



As for the playseat classic I am very, very happy with it even though I had to do some modifications. As for the Playseat Evo, I don't think I would ever pay that much money for it. I only gave 125 dollars for my classic brand new. I've read that people are unhappy that the Evo's seat only comes in vinyl and doesn't fold like the classic (although looking at the pic it appears it does indeed fold, maybe the person was talking about the WRC model). If I had the money to spend I would definitely go with the ubutto over the evo. But I can't express more how amazing the playseat classic is for such a cheap price. If your on a budget like me it's the best choice.

PS, if I could have afforded exactly what I want it would've been the ubutto with a G27 instead of my DFGT. But, I saved about $300~350 going this route.

Obutto seems more worth it since they include the gear shifter mount, a slidable seat and keyboard tray and monitor stand all for free.

Yeah, no doubt. And the seat looks top notch with the ability to recline.

PS Asane, where you from in IL? I grew up in Southern IL.

Thanks for the feedback.

I am using a PS3, not a pc, so I do not need the keyboard, or monitor stand (just want to sit my cockpit in front of the HDTV (42"), so the Obutto is not for me.

Is there anywhere in Canada where I can get a Playseat? Or is online the only way to go?

Sure wish I could have a sit in one before buying!

That PVC rig is stable?????????

I'd let you sit in mine but that seems like an awfully long drive to try out a seat. lol
The Playseat is stiff but does have springs like a normal car seat. In both the back and bottom. Bottom of seat has about and inch or inch and a half of foam padding that is removable and I guess, maybe replaceable when it wears out. Under your thighs is about 2 inches of foam padding which really seems to balance the weight of you body across more of your rear end. I've done a couple all nighters in this chair and versus my old gaming chair this is wayyy more comfortable. I have noticed if I am sloutching (sp?) then my lower back will start to hurt but as long as I sit upright with my lower back against the seat there is no problems. I used to have to get up every hour or two and walk around in the gaming chair. Now I can go 6-8 hrs and never feel a thing.

Nsane1

Yeah, no doubt. And the seat looks top notch with the ability to recline.

PS Asane, where you from in IL? I grew up in Southern IL.

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An obutto would be awesome to have! lol And I'm from Chicago more actually in the surrounding suburbs.

That's cool. I played football in high school against Addison-Driskel (sp?) up there. Don't know if you know where that's at but it's west of downtown.

Finally got the finished product of my support bracket done. Tell me what you think.


And how I mounted it to the steering column. Wingnut and thumb bolt for quick assembly. Sorry for the crappy cel pics.


Definitely improved the rigidity. I'm very happy with the way it came out. I didn't have any silver paint so i went with black. I think it would've looked like a factory section if I would've had silver but I kinda like the black.

So i looked @ the Australian ebay, and found a new Obutto for $479.
But is it possible to not use the monitor stand? or does it affect the sturdiness of the structure or something?

Nsane1

Finally got the finished product of my support bracket done. Tell me what you think.

And how I mounted it to the steering column. Wingnut and thumb bolt for quick assembly. Sorry for the crappy cel pics.

Definitely improved the rigidity. I'm very happy with the way it came out. I didn't have any silver paint so i went with black. I think it would've looked like a factory section if I would've had silver but I kinda like the black.

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hey it's really an awesome solution,i'm thinking about this too,i have a Playseats Classic too,and i want to maket it stronger...but beside strengthening i'll make a nice look to playseats,more than a nice look,give a Cockpit look check it out...https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=3732500#post3732500 read all of my comments to see all details...i'll add more pics ...

Nsane1

That's cool. I played football in high school against Addison-Driskel (sp?) up there. Don't know if you know where that's at but it's west of downtown.

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lol I'm actually a freshie from Glenbard East in Lombard. Not sure if you know where that is. I have heard of Driscoll. I heard they were closing it down soon because of financial troubles.

go to Smoketronics.com... They ship it to from within Canada with Canada Post.

It states on their website:

No Customs duties or brokerage fee's will be charged upon delivery.

All Canadian orders with a shipping weight greater then 20lbs will require pick-up at customers local Post office.


The Evolution is now 309$

Gonna pick one up myself to go with the g27!

Its actually $340 cdn dollars and $309 U.S. dollars.

Which sucks because the dollars is almost at par!

Nevertheless I want one!

Got my playseat classic NIB for $125 USD. I can't see paying $300 for the Evo as I do not see that big of an improvement.

Nsane1

Got my playseat classic NIB for $125 USD. I can't see paying $300 for the Evo as I do not see that big of an improvement.

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where?

Weird story on that. It was in a little rural town in Illinois. Just sitting on a shelf by it's lonesome. So you can see why I couldn't pass it up. But, I would imagine if you did some digging on the web you could find them for around that price. Maybe a little higher. But even if you were to spend $200 on it which I see on the web all the time then that's still better than 300 for the evo. And it didn't cost me a dime to make the upgrade on mine which made it perfectly rigid.

Reading thru this post i set out to lowes hardware to find a weld free solution. I believe that I have put together about a $20 solution to do just as good of a job as the welded solution. It has changed the playseat into a very rigid platform. Currently I have $140 in this seat including the purchase price I personally couldn't be happier with it I will be attaching my G27 to this whel Gran Turismo arrives for now its on forza motorsports 3 drifting duty.

Basically you need to go to the shelving section and purchase 1 rail that goes on the wall to hold the shelving. You will also need 2 shelf pieces as well as 2 bolts. I put this all together with hand tools and a drill using a hacksaw for the cuts as anyone has access to that. To make the shelving holder stay in place since they are installed up side down you must run a screw in thru the backside of them.

Would the playseat evo hold up to a 307lb man? I am looking to get one for my g27 and it says on amazon that it does 300lbs max. On the playseat site it says 240lbs.

Leemstradamus

Would the playseat evo hold up to a 307lb man? I am looking to get one for my g27 and it says on amazon that it does 300lbs max. On the playseat site it says 240lbs.

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mmmm i have no idea.... Im only 220 so I cant really comment...

I would think it would but if it bows all youd have to do is stack the 2x4s under the seat until its flush with the seat so no metal would be bent.

I've got a Playseat Classic and it doesn't move and wobble on the wheel like you mentioned.
The only complaint I had was that the t-bar behind the pedals wasn't wide enough and when I used the Playseat on a carpet there was some lateral movement making the wheel move to the sides slightly. This is due to the small t-bar not being wide enough and digging into the carpet. I solved this by widening the t-bar to twice the size. This has eliminated the lateral movement and now it feels great.