Wheel Stands, Racing Rigs Cockpits, Pedals, Wheels. Master List

  • Thread starter SGETI
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Looking to change my setup a bit so I'm not racing with my wheel clamped to my desk and the pedals on the floor as the positioning is quite uncomfortable. As an apartment dweller in NYC though I definitely don't have room for a cockpit style setup.

So far I've found the following options:
- GT Omega Classic / Apex
- Next Level Racing Wheel Stand
- Trak Racer FS3

What I've been searching for is something in the less than $200 bracket. Are these the main options available, or am I missing some? Also if people have had experience with these wheel stands and could give a recommendation between them that would be wonderful.

Thanks!
 
GT Omega Apex is your best bet for the price bracket. Any more money for the Next Level version and you might as well go all in for a cockpit, but you can't fit one of those so there ya go. 👍
 
DesertPenguin
GT Omega Apex is your best bet for the price bracket. Any more money for the Next Level version and you might as well go all in for a cockpit, but you can't fit one of those so there ya go. 👍
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Cheers man, appreciate the insight! Do you know if the Apex would have any issues accommodating long legs without the steering wheel getting too far away?

That's my main issues currently. My desk is one of those semi-hanging, attached to the wall deals and it's only a standard depth. So the pedals are quite close even when pushed up against the wall. Which means my legs are stuffed in there under the desk in order for the wheel to be at a good distance.
 
I'm 6 feet tall and have no issues reaching anything. You can adjust how close the pedals are, how high they are, and the steering wheel goes up and towards you as you extend the arms out from the base. My steering wheel is slightly raised because I had to make room for the shifter attachment to bolt on. Everything is at a good range for me.
 
Really great to hear, thank you! Think I'll order up an Apex stand now.

edit: never ordered it afterall, lol
 
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On P1 and P1 Style cockpits (Heusinkveld and DIY owners), I was curious about two things, the ease of entry and exit, and the mounting of keyboards and mice.

On the first, ease of entry and exit... Is there generally enough space to maneuver in and out without moving anything. Or are you finding it necessary to have seat sliders? If so, is it annoying resetting the seat position, or are you finding other problems.

On the second inquiry, how do you find the mouse and keyboard mounting options? I don't expect them to be as comfortable and a desk, but are they convenient enough?
 
After going back and forth on a wheel stand and never really committing to it because of the need for a chair purchase as well, I finally settled on the Playseat Challenge (https://www.playseatstore.com/playseat-challenge.html) sim rig / chair. For what's essentially a glorified lawn chair it's been performing surprisingly well. Very stable and comfortable, even after hours of racing.

And before people ask, I'm in NYC where space is super limited so a semi-permanent rig setup like the Next Level Racing or GT Omega wasn't an option unfortunately. This is portable enough to not compromise my apartment space; which I couldn't find from any other offerings.

Here's a photo of it all set up if anyone's curious.
IMG_0056.jpeg
 
Northstar
I'm going to look at a used G29 this weekend, anything I should be mindful of?

This is the wheel/seat combo in question.

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/...-logitech-g29-racing-seat-ps4/6990788225.html
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+1 on moving the question to a G29 thread, but off the top of my head there are two issues that seem to pop up with the G29. Sometimes the brake will stay engaged slightly with no pressure on it. You can see this on the in game display. This is generally just dirty sensors, but could be faulty. The second issue is with it registering phantom button presses. Unfortunately for most people with the problem, its the PlayStation or Option button which will make it unusable on a PS4. Also, unfortunately... for and most, this can take a few minutes to occur so its tough to replicate in a short time. For me it took 5-10 minutes and occurred mostly with quick sharp swings of the wheel.
 
I finally got around to doing the Amstudio Logitech handbrake mod (YT: watch?v=QWc6EbQdUjE).

That is, not exactly the Logitech mod because I had a spare T3PA-PRO pedal set lying around instead. So there were a few things I had to do differently.
First I opened up the whole thing and took out the pedals. I had to cut the wires and remove this chip to separate the pedals:

bXfT0f9.jpg



Then I removed the plastic cover over the potentiometer, removed the glue and wires, and then soldered new wires onto the potentiometer contacts, as described in Amstudio's video:

5dYuuwM.jpg



I then soldered the wires to the Arduino (Pro Micro) and put it inside a small plastic box. Connected the micro-usb cable to it and placed the box in the pedal "slot" and put a cover over with a hole so I could see the red light from the Arduino chip when it's connected. I covered the whole thing with some carbon fiber.

s0iKqbh.jpg



The end result looks rather ... eh ... home made :lol:.

But it works!!!

 
super_gt
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Been using my P1-X for about a month now, and really like it. At first though... I was definitely feeling like I made a mistake, but slowly have grown to really appreciate its features. The mass is the only real downside, but its not terrible. My only complaint now is, they are still making minor mistakes in their QC. A couple of my profiles were the wrong size, but nothing to really complain about (seat mounts were 500mm instead of 580mm, assuming their website is still accurate).

All said, its definitely a good buy... outside of the shipping costs.
 
Satco1066
are you kidding.
This is a review of toys, not sim rigs.
The author of this review seems to live 5 years in the past :mischievous:
Should title it " 5 low end race seats for beginners" ;)
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Thanks for your opinion, I am sure we all learned from your post. Now how about doing all of us a favor and go find some new article relating to this thread then come back and share with all of so we can all benefit.
 
LOL, I don't think I'd classify those as toys, but I fully agree with your overall sentiment, that they are far from the best options for the price points. While the Playseat F1 might be the best option for someone that wants the seating position in a plug and play way, many others would want more compatibility for other peripherals.

Here's the list of rigs I considered before settling on the P1-X. Also note building a custom profile rig was my first option, but I finally settled on something pieced together for me, after shipping costs got pretty close to what Sim Lab offered.

Best Expensive - $500 + (Please note this is a normal enthusiast range, not a one-off "spare no expense" rig)
  • Sim Lab P1/P1-X (Price isn't bad, but shipping kills anyone out of Europe)
  • R-Seat S1/N1 (for those who don't like profile)
  • Playseat Sensation Pro (Looks good for a non-profile rig, but at 2x the price of the others, it may be hard to swallow. Also note, it doesn't appear to be as flex free in the control areas as the profile rigs)
  • Track Racer TR8/TR160 (These two are very similar to those above, one like Sim Lab P1 one alot like to R-Seat N1)
Best Mid-Range - $350-500
  • Playseat (Various models) I believe its this price range where the Playseat comes in to its own, but note rig expansion is very limited.
  • Sim Lab GT1/TR1 (But note, price doesn't include seats or expensive shipping)
Best Budget Offering - under $350
  • GT Omega ART - This rig is effectively a two piece, wheel stand with add on seat cockpit joined together to make a single, but not so stiff setup. With Ebay clones coming in at $100-150 with no seat it can be reasonable value.
  • Next Level Challenger
  • Playseat Challenge (Yeah people seem to really like this de facto sim rig on a lawn chair)
 
330$
dreamed of a cabin. and now picking up the mouse, having looked at a couple of projects, he brought something out for himself and turned it into reality. soon put on it accuforce and will be loaded into the game :)
 

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