My Sim Rig - Specs, photos, reviews

[ninjajimmy]

I figured I'd start a thread to showcase my sim rig and also answer any questions I can about the setup. This will allow me to post the specs, photos i've taken, as well as my experience and reviews of products. I also plan to do a few videos as well. Hopefully this will help others getting into this as I am a newbie as well.

This has all been aquired over the last month which is when I got into sim racing. I've made a nice little list of what my rig consists of which will hopefully help anyone looking to find out what a particular part is. As I go I will be posting photos of the items as well as the full setup when it's complete. I'm waiting on a few more items to arrive before it's complete. To start here is the current finalized list of my rig.

The day my monitors arrived:

The rSeat Evo V3 - Definitely the best cockpit i've owned. I had a Playseat and enjoyed it but this is in a league of it's own.

My Thrustmaster TH8RS mounted and ready to go. Currently swapped it over to a sequential shifter.

I purchased a Fanatec CSR w/ pedels and inversion kit as well, but i've since ordered a full Clubsport setup and am waiting for it to arrive. For the time being, this is a pretty nice setup, but i've swapped back to F1 style pedals and did away with the inversion setup.

The computer my buddy built me (http://www.crimsonpc.com). Totally awesome setup and really well done. Looks good too!

Obviously I couldn't wait till my monitor stand arrived so I made due with what I had. This is my buddy giving it a go the day we set it up.

Monitor stand should be here in a day or so and then i'll be able to start setting everything up the way I intended. The screens will be much closer to the driver. Main screen should sit just above the wheel base, with room left for the LCD Dashboard display to mount. Hopefully with the screens closer and the side screens on more of an angle it will give a real nice immersion feel to it.

 

[wajdi1977]

Very nice mate!keep it going.

 

[occasionalracer]

Nice assortment of goods there bud!

 

[derekspeare]

Great setup!

 

[JogoAsobi]

Nice setup! I take it from the pictures your new Fanatec stuff has not arrived yet?

 

[ninjajimmy]

Yep! Won't have it till later next week. I didn't take any photos of the stand in pieces, but did take some photos after I set it up. Few things are still not shown:

-Button Box (should be here tomorrow) and button box mount. I need to drill the hole for the mount and then attach it to the rSeat.

-Z1 Dashboard LCD - Order is being processed

And my buttkicker isn't hooked up yet.

After tweaking the distance to my eyes and estimating what angle the side monitors were on I tested it out. Wow! So much better than when it was on a desk. I love it!

I'm really liking the Sim-Seats stand. I had them widen the crossbar 4" more than it normally is and also had them lower the monitor mounts to make them more flush with the crossbar. All the welds look good from the quick glance I took at them. Paint chipped off a bit here and there, but nothing I care much about. It seems really sturdy and there is plenty of adjustment for the side monitors. No sag that I can see.

Here is the stand after I built it. I put the seat under it while I was moving furniture to just get a sense of how much room it was going to take.

And here it is almost done!

 

[Phalanx32]

This looks awesome!
With the Sim-Seats stand, did they charge you any extra for the modifications you had them do?

 

[ninjajimmy]

They did not. I got the stand in around 2 weeks from ordering. It probably took a bit longer due to Thanksgiving as well. They responded to emails quickly and the stand looks very sturdy. I currently have no sag at all with the 24" monitors. I do plan to add some felt stick-ons on the bottom of the stand and rSeat so it is easier to move on the tile without sounding like i'm scratching everything.

At any point I can also grab the side monitors and swing them out or bring them tighter in if I needed to.

 

[ninjajimmy]

I've made a few small changes since yesterday. First off the wiring was driving me nutty. I wanted a cleaner look so I grabbed some plastic wire keeper, cut it to length and ran wires through it. Looks much better now.

I also mounted my Sim-seats button box mount. Drilled one hole and attached it to the rSeat wheel mount. My button box just arrived and did a quick test and it's working great.

 

[ninjajimmy]

Got my button box back and mounted to the cockpit.

Now while I liked the CSR and CSR pedals I wanted to step it up a bit. I think I did pretty good. So far I really like the new setup. Brake feels amazing compared to the standard pedals and the adjustability is awesome. They are beefy as well. Very heavy, but seem to be well built. BMW rim came the day after these photos were taken.

One thing I never expected to do was map all the buttons to the wheel. I was able to map everything I use (basically everything on the button box, plus tow, chat, volume, etc) to the wheel. This allows me to make changes and see info without removing my hand from the wheel. I still have some adjustments on the wheel (FOV, Seat hight, Brake bias, etc) and it's nice knowing I won't have to worry about running out of buttons.

Mounting:

In the video below you will see the BMW wheel...barely, but that is what my friend

So here is a video shot a few days ago in the dark. I think it gives a real sense as to the immersion factor with triple screens. Part way through I bring the camera to the side of my firends head which really makes it come alive. Also looking around left and right is very cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzss4u-2-EE&feature=share&list=UUZUOmQxsHCIcaRm-DHx-aKw

 

[CTstryk]

Nice setup! I purchased the same (sim-seat) triple monitor stand, I love it... I think it's one of the best stands available for that price range...

 

[ninjajimmy]

I agree. I wanted quality and for the price I think it is hard to beat. I've seen no sagging at all from my 24" monitors.

 

[robnkel]

awesome setup ninja, can I ask about those asus tn monitors, when you have them wrapped around you so close, the left and right ones, do you get any colour change?
I am assuming your side monitors would be angled greater than 45 degrees probably more like 60 degrees?
And one final question, would you have gone 27 inch 1920x1080's if you did it again?
thanks

 

[ninjajimmy]

awesome setup ninja, can I ask about those asus tn monitors, when you have them wrapped around you so close, the left and right ones, do you get any colour change?
I am assuming your side monitors would be angled greater than 45 degrees probably more like 60 degrees?
And one final question, would you have gone 27 inch 1920x1080's if you did it again?
thanks

There is a very slight change, due to the angle on them. But it isn't as bad as my previous video makes it seem. I've never even thought "wow, the color looks so different", at any point during racing. Where you sit you are actually almost centered when looking at each side monitor so the colors are pretty good.

If money didn't matter, I may have gone with 27", but i'm finding the 24" inch is a great compromise between price, size, weight, and features. Since they are so close to me I think 24" is a perfect fit. After gaming on a 42" LCD I was confused why I would want to go to three smaller screens, but now I understand totally. For console games I prefer a larger single monitor, while PC games and iRacing i'd much prefer smaller triple monitors. The only thing I would really consider is going to Dell 16:10 monitors. They would give a bit more height and are probably a slight step up compared to what i'm using now.

 

[robnkel]

thanks ninja.
makes my decision easier and harder
i want to try 3d, so either 27 inch asus or 24 inch benq. side screens will be ordinary 60hz jobs so either 2x asus 27inch which will match the asus 3d 120 hz in size and appearance or benq 60hz 24 inch.
I want the ability to use all 3 in surround 60hz for racing, yet have the ability to try single screen 3d or 120hz first person shooters.
I currently have a samsung 1920x1200 which will go to the kids, the 1200 height is better than 1080 so i was looking at the dell u2412 which go for around $279 on special here in australia. but this buggers me with trying out 3d.
hard decisions for me.
but your rig is def. inspiring.

 

[ninjajimmy]

So my awesome girlfriend scooped me up a Derek Speare Bent Rod GT shifter for Christmas! It is so much nicer to run with than the TH8RS. The H pattern of the Thrustmaster is great, but the sequential can't even be compared to the DSD.

Also got my Z1 Dashboard in and it really brings the rig to a whole new level. It is wonderful being able to see everything needed right there as if I was in a real vehicle.

 

[Hwangm]

Ninja - , I like your nick , and that rig is certainly "ninja" worthy 👍
ooh new Mp4 dash for Z1- have to do some updating
quick question mate, is that the touch screen or non touch? I found it very hard to find screen that size online , every thing is like 7" size, and russel's one is nice and small.

 

[ninjajimmy]

The dash i'm using for the McLaren is the default dash. Hopefully Russell updates it. I grabbed the non-touch screen myself. I use the left most white and green buttons on the wheel for PREVIOUS/NEXT and the blue button below that for ENTER.

I originally had all the wheel buttons mapped out to the game, but decided to tweak it and move some over to the DSD Track Boss button box.