Full sim racing set up from scratch

[lawyered07]

I am completely clueless on this so starting from the very start...I basically want to end up with a half decent sim set up (doesn't need to be anything special) which is easily usable.

I went to mercedes-benz world and had a go on their simulators...im after something like a presumably much less powerful version of that.

Can anyone give some guidance on where I should be looking, what i need to be looking for and if its going to be realistic to do that for under £2.5k?

[G321]

You can probably build something decent for around £2.5k

Gaming PC around £1k, you could build yourself a decent spec for less money than off the shelf

Steering wheel, pedals
https://uk.mozaracing.com/products/r5-racing-bundl...
£439 at the moment for their R5 bundle
Or Fanatec
https://pure-sims.com/product/fanatec-csl-dd-qr2-r...
£460 for something similar

Cockpit
https://www.gtomega.co.uk/products/prime-lite-cock...
£340

Seat
https://www.gtomega.co.uk/products/rs12-simulator-...
£200

Monitor stand around £100
Monitor can be anything from around £250 up to well over a grand.

A useful place to look on facebook is the group 'sim racing buy and sell' where there are some bargains to be found including full rigs

[Billybob_55]

Best time of year. Black friday deals mean can get a nice cheap rig and stuff

[mattstr675]

Can definitely recommend the Prime Lite as I run one, but if I was buying again I'd be going for the full Prime as it comes with a better pedal plate.

Not tried the RS12, but it gets decent reviews. I've got the old RS9 seat which is ok, would like the newer Inertia seat though. Remember you don't need to go with Gt Omega seats.

I'm console only so idea on PC.

[sassthathoopie]

I was in your position summer 2024. I started a thread and got some helpful suggestions. It would be worth your while reading as most of it still applies.

Broadly speaking a PC will give you a higher quality experience with a broader range of hardware and games to plug into it; but the cost will be financial, but also time, because it is not only a faff to set up, but can continue to be a faff - particularly if you want to do the VR thing.

By the way you should do the VR thing because it's great.

My thread (budget £1000 so I bought everything used)

If you go the PS5 route then you'll be quite limited on the hardware (Fanatec, Thrustmaster, Logitech) but that will at least make it easier to do your research.

Be aware that the law of diminishing returns applies and we are now at the stage where the good new sim kit is not that far away from the very best sim kit, and the limitations are more in the software than the hardware.

[Doppel99]

sassthathoopie said:

I was in your position summer 2024. I started a thread and got some helpful suggestions. It would be worth your while reading as most of it still applies.

Broadly speaking a PC will give you a higher quality experience with a broader range of hardware and games to plug into it; but the cost will be financial, but also time, because it is not only a faff to set up, but can continue to be a faff - particularly if you want to do the VR thing.

By the way you should do the VR thing because it's great.

My thread (budget £1000 so I bought everything used)

If you go the PS5 route then you'll be quite limited on the hardware (Fanatec, Thrustmaster, Logitech) but that will at least make it easier to do your research.

Be aware that the law of diminishing returns applies and we are now at the stage where the good new sim kit is not that far away from the very best sim kit, and the limitations are more in the software than the hardware.

I’d agree but I would add that there is a huge difference between entry level force feedback wheels with up to 10Nm of torque and ones with 20Nm+ with the latter you can replicate the full cornering force of a car on slicks with additional headroom for road effects like rumble strips on top. You do have to have an aluminium profile stand for these though as the torque will bend flimsier ones

[sassthathoopie]

Doppel99 said:

I d agree but I would add that there is a huge difference between entry level force feedback wheels with up to 10Nm of torque and ones with 20Nm+ with the latter you can replicate the full cornering force of a car on slicks with additional headroom for road effects like rumble strips on top. You do have to have an aluminium profile stand for these though as the torque will bend flimsier ones

I'm far from an expert on these things. Was basing this off this video I watched this week from a chap who likely is.

It sounds like 15nm gives you plenty of what you need; but a higher powered wheel gives you reliability and a bit of fidelity improvement.

[Doppel99]

sassthathoopie said:

Doppel99 said:

I d agree but I would add that there is a huge difference between entry level force feedback wheels with up to 10Nm of torque and ones with 20Nm+ with the latter you can replicate the full cornering force of a car on slicks with additional headroom for road effects like rumble strips on top. You do have to have an aluminium profile stand for these though as the torque will bend flimsier ones

I'm far from an expert on these things. Was basing this off this video I watched this week from a chap who likely is.

It sounds like 15nm gives you plenty of what you need; but a higher powered wheel gives you reliability and a bit of fidelity improvement.

Yes I think that s right

I started off with a CSL 5nM and it was too feeble. Adding the boost pack (basically a bigger psu) to take it to 8nM was much better.

But switching to a Fanatec DD1 (20Nm) and the a Simucube was a revelation, it feels like a real car rather than a game and you feel every bit of feedback.

You even have to remember to let go if the wheel if you crash like in a real racing car as you could easily break a finger if not!

I agree that 15Nm which is the new mid rage power is probably enough

Edited by Doppel99 on Sunday 9th November 13:10

[TheBinarySheep]

be careful with VR, you need a really high spec PC to play all of the top SIM titles.

CPU wise, grab one of the AMD X3D chips.

[mattstr675]

Doppel99 said:

I d agree but I would add that there is a huge difference between entry level force feedback wheels with up to 10Nm of torque and ones with 20Nm+ with the latter you can replicate the full cornering force of a car on slicks with additional headroom for road effects like rumble strips on top. You do have to have an aluminium profile stand for these though as the torque will bend flimsier ones

To counter that, I've read a lot of the top sim racers say the sweet spot is 9-12 nm and there is no need for the high ones.

I have no idea.

[Doppel99]

I found the jump from 8 to 20 to be a massive improvement but to be fair I haven’t tried a midrange 15-18 Nm wheel

The other thing is the slew rate, the more powerful wheels tend tk have faster response but the new generation of mid range wheels are virtually as good so yes, probably not a lot in it.

A decent wheel base and pedals plus a solid frame are the most important things for driving feel, much more so than lots of massive screens IMO.

[paul99]

Going from nothing to a multi thousand pound 10+ NM wheel/rig is pretty crazy! I've got a mid range setup primarily for GT7 which evolved from a 2nd hand seat/wheel from FB Marketplace, I'm very happy with it and have no reason to upgrade.
If you're new to SIM racing i would advise dipping in with a used or cheaper setup to start, if you really get into it then look at a more expensive setup, you can have 90% of the experience with a rig/wheel for a few hundred quid, it's only when you start to get half decent at it that the extra detail/feedback of the DD wheels and load cell brake really makes a difference. For me PSVR2 was the game changer but VR is not for everyone either.

Edited by paul99 on Monday 10th November 00:08

[gangzoom]

Doppel99 said:

A decent wheel base and pedals plus a solid frame are the most important things for driving feel, much more so than lots of massive screens IMO.

I have no idea about DD wheels as mine is bare bones cheapo G923, even with just 2NM of torque it more than enough for the portable stand setup I have. For screens though I cannot see what if you have the option you wouldn't want to go as big as you can.

Playing on the 100inch projector with sound turned up on the surround setup is a totally different experience from playing on a 55inch TV. I would love to try VR but I've not got the time to be messing around with PCs, and though I use a Quest 3 for FPS games after an hour it does level me feeling nauseous even just in cinema projector mode Vs real VR.

I think if you the 'Ideal' setup you need a proper dedicated room for the gear (maybe even motion rig??). But none of the gear is exactly 'pretty', so for SWMBO it all will need hiding away in a dark part of the house no guests ever go... I'm thinking maybe the garage, will give an authentic experience of leaving the house to get into the car IRL .

I can see how/why people could end up spending ££££s, but actually you still need to have some skill at driving, I'm barely able to turn the Ai setting above 50% on Project Cars 2 at present!!

Edited by gangzoom on Monday 10th November 07:01

[Doppel99]

gangzoom said:

Doppel99 said:

A decent wheel base and pedals plus a solid frame are the most important things for driving feel, much more so than lots of massive screens IMO.

I have no idea about DD wheels as mine is bare bones cheapo G923, even with just 2NM of torque it more than enough for the portable stand setup I have. For screens though I cannot see what if you have the option you wouldn't want to go as big as you can.

Playing on the 100inch projector with sound turned up on the surround setup is a totally different experience from playing on a 55inch TV. I would love to try VR but I've not got the time to be messing around with PCs, and though I use a Quest 3 for FPS games after an hour it does level me feeling nauseous even just in cinema projector mode Vs real VR.

I think if you the 'Ideal' setup you need a proper dedicated room for the gear (maybe even motion rig??). But none of the gear is exactly 'pretty', so for SWMBO it all will need hiding away in a dark part of the house no guests ever go... I'm thinking maybe the garage, will give an authentic experience of leaving the house to get into the car IRL .

I can see how/why people could end up spending ££££s, but actually you still need to have some skill at driving, I'm barely able to turn the Ai setting above 50% on Project Cars 2 at present!!

Edited by gangzoom on Monday 10th November 07:01

What I mean is that for actual driving feel and feedback, the wheelbase, frame and pedals are far more important than massive screens or VR. For a decent mid range setup you'd need to spend around £5K though so it's a fair bit more expensive. The feedback makes a big difference, I was shocked that having driven a new track on the SIM and then gone there in real life it felt strangely familiar! I immediately knew the lines and braking points which saved a lot of time on a track day.

One tip is that if you can buy decent kit that is both PS5/ Xbox and PC compatible, you can upgrade to a PC based system without having to sell it all. Fanatec make wheelbases and pedals that can do both.

[TheBinarySheep]

I'm very happy with my Fanatec CSL DD with Booster Kit - it provides plenty of force feedback for my needs.

Sorry for the brief VR response earlier (I was on my phone). Let me go into more detail...

Here's my setup:

SIM-LAB GT1 EVO Rig
Fanatec CSL DD Base with F1 Wheel
Fanatec ClubSport Pedals
34" Widescreen Monitor
AMD 5800X3D, 32GB RAM, RTX 4070 Ti
Meta Quest 3 (running at 1.0x resolution with 1.7x super sampling via Oculus Tray Tool)

On the monitor, this setup handles iRacing, LMU, ACC, and AMS2 without breaking a sweat. Graphics quality is excellent across the board.

VR is where things get interesting. I prefer racing in VR, but only iRacing and AMS2 run well on the Quest 3. In iRacing online races (with mirrors disabled), I'm hitting 80fps with 50-60% headroom on both CPU and GPU. AI races are more demanding - CPU headroom drops to 40% while GPU stays around 50-55%. Add rain to AI races and performance really tanks. Unfortunately, LMU and ACC are basically unplayable for me in VR due to poor image quality.

The bottleneck is definitely CPU, especially in iRacing AI races. That's why I'm planning to upgrade to the AMD 9800X3D - hopefully that'll give me enough overhead to enable mirrors and handle wet weather racing in VR.

My point is, if you're considering VR, you're going to need a beefy CPU/GPU combination to handle it, and some people still struggle to get high quality settings working event with an RTX 5090. If you're not planning to use VR, then you've got way more flexibility where something like an AMD 7800X3D and a 5070 ti would likely be way more than enough for a single monitor, not sure about tripples though.

My advice would be, don't go overboard with the wheel/pedals initially unless you've got the spare cash. I thoroughly enjoy the Fanatec kit I've got, and whilst I know it's not the best you can get, I doubt my lap times would improve if I had THE best.

Edited by TheBinarySheep on Monday 10th November 12:40

[andrewcliffe]

Test drive a VR sim before splashing the cash. Quite a few people get very sea-sick or disorientated quite quickly.

[Paul_M3]

andrewcliffe said:

Test drive a VR sim before splashing the cash. Quite a few people get very sea-sick or disorientated quite quickly.

I'd echo this. Despite trying all the tips suggested by people, I sent my VR headset back as it made me feel incredibly unwell.

I've currently got a fairly nice beginner set-up for my PS5. GT Omega Art rig, 'Inertia' bucket seat, Thrustmaster T598 with Ferrari SF1000 wheel, T-LCM Load Cell Pedals, and 55" single screen.

But if I ever went more serious on a sim rig with a decent spec PC, I'd personally be going for a nice triple monitor set-up rather than VR.

[UTH]

Following this thread as I keep telling myself I'd get back to using GT7 more if I bought more expensive wheel, pedals etc haha

[gangzoom]

UTH said:

Following this thread as I keep telling myself I'd get back to using GT7 more if I bought more expensive wheel, pedals etc haha

The game I still is the most important bit. I've not played GT7 but I have put loads of time into various iterations of Forza, so I assume GT7 is similar. The sad truth is Forza despite all the ££££ Microsoft had thrown at it compares really badly to the PC Sims like Le Mans Ultimate and even Projects Cars 2 is just so much more fun to play with the wheel than Forza.

Sadly I cannot use my wheel yet with LMU due to GeForceNow currently only supporting 2 wheels, but I'll happily waste 45min on an race in Project Cars 2 despite it's age. The graphics maybe not be up to Forza but the Ai is leagues ahead. Its fun to race against the Ai. Did a quick race at Silverstone in a Toyota LMP1 car, I got past the Audi in Becketts with late lunge, but a very brief lift in Abbey as I run wide and they were back straight through. You simply cannot have that kind of racing with Ai in Forza.

I'm too lazy for proper PC rigs these days, but some potentially good Sim coming to consoles this month, with LMU timetabled for next year, feels like a great time to have a wheel setup hooked up to a console .

Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 11th November 06:43

[CAT7yay]

gangzoom said:

The game I still is the most important bit. I've not played GT7 but I have put loads of time into various iterations of Forza, so I assume GT7 is similar. The sad truth is Forza despite all the ££££ Microsoft had thrown at it compares really badly to the PC Sims like Le Mans Ultimate and even Projects Cars 2 is just so much more fun to play with the wheel than Forza.

Sadly I cannot use my wheel yet with LMU due to GeForceNow currently only supporting 2 wheels, but I'll happily waste 45min on an race in Project Cars 2 despite it's age. The graphics maybe not be up to Forza but the Ai is leagues ahead. Its fun to race against the Ai. Did a quick race at Silverstone in a Toyota LMP1 car, I got past the Audi in Becketts with late lunge, but a very brief lift in Abbey as I run wide and they were back straight through. You simply cannot have that kind of racing with Ai in Forza.

I'm too lazy for proper PC rigs these days, but some potentially good Sim coming to consoles this month, with LMU timetabled for next year, feels like a great time to have a wheel setup hooked up to a console .

Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 11th November 06:43

Interesting. are you racing mostly with console then?