Racing sim hardware

[Seany]

'Ello folks. Just something ive tried and it works very well. Its pretty cheap and easy to setup too

Have look....
http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/shakeit-diy-rumble-feedback-for-assettocorsa-codmasters-pcars-rf1-rf2-iracing.13563/

Very cool, clever idea that.

[TeaLeaf]

Impressive, I like that idea!

[Neys]

I might be replacing my somewhat broken and worn G27 with something else.

Tendency is towards a Thrustmaster TS-PC with a full rim (https://www.thrustmaster.com/en_US/products/ts-pc-racer-ferrari-488-challenge-edition). I'd be glad to hear thoughts or even experiences...

[smite]

I might be replacing my somewhat broken and worn G27 with something else.

Tendency is towards a Thrustmaster TS-PC with a full rim (https://www.thrustmaster.com/en_US/products/ts-pc-racer-ferrari-488-challenge-edition). I'd be glad to hear thoughts or even experiences...

I was looking at the Thrustmaster T-GT, which is essentially the TS-PC but aimed at Playstation and PC.

In the end I preferred the Fanatec ecosystem and went with the CSL Elite PS4 Starter kit, which is £512. With the intention to upgrade the brake to load cell and later a Clubsport wheel.
https://fanatec.com/eu-en/bundles/csl-elite-ps4-starter-kit

Not sure if that is at all helpful.

[Seany]

I might be replacing my somewhat broken and worn G27 with something else.

Tendency is towards a Thrustmaster TS-PC with a full rim (https://www.thrustmaster.com/en_US/products/ts-pc-racer-ferrari-488-challenge-edition). I'd be glad to hear thoughts or even experiences...

No idea about that particular wheel, but just thought I'd let you know what I was considering if I had to get a new wheel.  (Though thanks to the USA China trade war, prices have increased a bit since last year, which is a shame)

Fanatec CSL Elite Wheel Base 1.1 â,¬349.95 : https://fanatec.com/eu-en/racing-wheels-wheel-bases/wheel-bases/csl-elite-wheel-base-v1.1

CSL Elite Steering Wheel P1 â,¬179.95:  https://fanatec.com/eu-en/steering-wheels/csl-elite-steering-wheel-p1-for-xbox-one  (They used to have a version of this a year ago that was only â,¬100, without the Alcantara covering! Seems they stopped making it )

Hope that doesn't add any confusion for you .  Like I say, I have no idea which would be better, but the Fanatec is what I gravitated towards when I was looking at upgrading about a year ago.  Price played big part, but that's not so clear cut now with the price increase and them not stocking that nice â,¬100 version of the basic wheel rim any more. But, anything is probably going to feel a lot better than a 10+ year old G27 that has driven the equivalent to the Moon and back several times :lol: :racing:


This website will be useful no matter what you choose.  It has adapters that will let you continue to use the G27 pedals and shifter separately with other wheels: http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/
G27 Shifter Adapter:  http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=188&zenid=635c7598679c2c4b9edfcd2337b72a7c
G27 Pedals Adapter: http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=187

PS here is a video review about the wheel you were looking at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSwZpS2fiR0 - Not watched myself, but this guy does really good reviews and detailed looks at sim racing hardware.

[Neys]

I was looking at the Thrustmaster T-GT, which is essentially the TS-PC but aimed at Playstation and PC.

In the end I preferred the Fanatec ecosystem and went with the CSL Elite PS4 Starter kit, which is £512. With the intention to upgrade the brake to load cell and later a Clubsport wheel.
https://fanatec.com/eu-en/bundles/csl-elite-ps4-starter-kit

Not sure if that is at all helpful.

Every comment is always helpful - thank you

No idea about that particular wheel, but just thought I'd let you know what I was considering if I had to get a new wheel.  (Though thanks to the USA China trade war, prices have increased a bit since last year, which is a shame)

Fanatec CSL Elite Wheel Base 1.1 â,¬349.95 : https://fanatec.com/eu-en/racing-wheels-wheel-bases/wheel-bases/csl-elite-wheel-base-v1.1

CSL Elite Steering Wheel P1 â,¬179.95:  https://fanatec.com/eu-en/steering-wheels/csl-elite-steering-wheel-p1-for-xbox-one  (They used to have a version of this a year ago that was only â,¬100, without the Alcantara covering! Seems they stopped making it )

Hope that doesn't add any confusion for you .  Like I say, I have no idea which would be better, but the Fanatec is what I gravitated towards when I was looking at upgrading about a year ago.  Price played big part, but that's not so clear cut now with the price increase and them not stocking that nice â,¬100 version of the basic wheel rim any more. But, anything is probably going to feel a lot better than a 10+ year old G27 that has driven the equivalent to the Moon and back several times :lol: :racing:


This website will be useful no matter what you choose.  It has adapters that will let you continue to use the G27 pedals and shifter separately with other wheels: http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/
G27 Shifter Adapter:  http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=188&zenid=635c7598679c2c4b9edfcd2337b72a7c
G27 Pedals Adapter: http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=187

PS here is a video review about the wheel you were looking at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSwZpS2fiR0 - Not watched myself, but this guy does really good reviews and detailed looks at sim racing hardware.

Thanks for all the links! The review was very detailed - I very much appreciate that the guy actually disassembles the hardware. Conclusion seems to be that the CSL Elite is very very similar to the Thrusmaster TS-PC (that was also the result of another youtube comparison here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCyFQvHU-u8 - though I think that this guy is not as trusty than simracing garage). Quality-wise the Thrustmaster might be a tiny bit better. Both are way worse than the Clubsport V2.5 - that really is a clean design, but it comes with a price!

I already had seen the G27 adapters but given that the pedals also drove to the moon already and that I recently lost my reverse gear I think I'll not buy them. They are not really cheap and the shipping to Germany might be expensive as well. BTW: There is also a DIY alternative here https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/diy-logitech-g25-g27-shifter-pedals-usb-adapter.349367/ - but I think I am too old for this stuff already 10 years ago I'd probably went this path but today - hmm - I can also throw some money at stuff like that (maybe it would be easy to build an arduino-based adapter for the two without the PCB assembly stuff ...)

So this means that there will be also need for pedals and shifter, and that would be another 250 â,¬, if I go the Thrustmaster path. This price is pretty crazy, but if you want to have a clutch then you seem to need to spend at least 200 â,¬ for quality stuff (I think the G27 was cheaper at the time when I bought it...).

[Neys]

An arduino-based adapter already exists here: https://github.com/functionreturnfunction/G27_Pedals_and_Shifter

That one look pretty easy and cheap to build...

[Seany]

An arduino-based adapter already exists here: https://github.com/functionreturnfunction/G27_Pedals_and_Shifter

That one look pretty easy and cheap to build...

Nice find, that's very cool.

So this means that there will be also need for pedals and shifter, and that would be another 250 â,¬, if I go the Thrustmaster path. This price is pretty crazy, but if you want to have a clutch then you seem to need to spend at least 200 â,¬ for quality stuff (I think the G27 was cheaper at the time when I bought it...).

Yeah it's pretty crazy when you look back at how much value for money the G27/25 was.  Sure the quality/functionality is not near what the modern triple pedal sets are, but they were a good compromise of quality vs price.
 I'm sure you could fix the G27 shifter and get the Reverse working again.  And the G27 pedals could still be ok with a bit of maintenance? I found with the last time I did a big clean of my G27 pedals, that putting a small plastic bag around each of the potentiometers is helping to keep them clean and not spiking for a lot longer.  And combined with the Rubber block mod inside the brake spring, that improved the brake feel a lot more (nowhere near as good as a loadcell or hydraulics though, of course).

[Neys]

OK, I've ordered the Thrustmaster wheel now. It was a head-to-head race with the CSL Elite, but in the end, the CSL wheels (not the bases) were not very convincing for me; the quality of the Thrustmaster wheel looks a lot better to me than comparable Fanatec ones. I might be wrong though...

Cost was 590â,¬ including shipment, ordered directly at the Thrustmaster shop. I was a little bit bewildered after the order, that the company sits in France. So in case of something is wrong or a drawback from my side, I have to ship it to France now :/ In the beginning I was thinking that I'd see a German shop.

Also ordered the Arduino together with plugs and cables.

[Seany]

Should be a nice upgrade!

[Deetz]

Hi Neys,

Arriving after the horse has bolted as they say, but I din't think you'll be dissapointed. Thats a decent wheel base, and the wheel has plenty of knobs and buttons (They are a big help if you start playing much ACC, where you can't have too many.) If you fancy another wheel at a later date, the Thrstmaster ones are much more reasonable than the fanatec more expensive offerings, and should be durable if not nessisarily as fancy.

My brother got his T300 RS GT from Thrustmaster recently (direct from their shop), and it arrived much sooner than the delivery estimate.

Another day, another person bypassing my old Accurforce wheel, Boo

Hopefully see you on track soon.

Deetz.

Oh and if do want a Bodner Logitech shifter adapter, I've one you could have.

[Neys]

Hi Deetz,

yeah I'm looking forward to shipment now hopefully it'll arrive until the weekend (it's not very likely though...). Regarding the logitech adapter, I think I'll build it myself with the Arduino Mod. Hopefully I'll be able to find a workaround for the reverse gear in the Arduino SW. Having the logitech shifter in place is also great because of the many many many buttons on it!

See you soon on track!
Neys

Regarding your Accuforce wheel, I think it makes more sense to find someone in Britain - the shipment costs to the continent were ridiculous when I checked last, a few years ago. Also, my setup is not very suitable to a DD wheel, I need a desk mounting possibility, and I have heard that beast through your microphone not compatible with the fragile stuff on my desk

[Deetz]

Hi Neys,

I agree on the delivery, international carriage is always crazy expensive.

On the shifter front, when my G25 shifter finially gave up the ghost, I was lost for a while due to the lack of buttons. Bought a 16button, button box and couldn't get used to it, and then spent way too much on a Ascher racing wireless wheel base. Finally getting back to having usable buttons.

Deetz

[Neys]

OK, so the new wheel arrived - and I thought I'd give a little update here with the experiences so far:

1. Ordered at thrustmaster shop and the box arrived well before the advertised date. That's pretty cool!

2. The wheel itself has good quality, however there are also some complains. First, two of the buttons on it are mapped to the same function, even when switching from "Standard setup" to "Advanced setup". Not such a big deal when you know it but also unnecessary...  The tactility (is this the word?) of the buttons could be better, the logitech wheel button feel was better. Otherwise I am pleased with the haptics of the Alcantara leather and fact that the wheel is noticably larger than my old G27.

3. The wheel base is - as expected - much stronger than the G27 and I very much enjoy the much more detailed FFB. Slides are felt a little sooner than with the G27. I've had some trouble with mounting it to my desk using the clamps. Even when the screw was strongly tightened, the wheel had a tendency to be pulled from the desk. I fixed that we a small piece of wood mounted to the bottom side of the desk preventing the wheel from being pulled from the desk. So far this works very well. Mounting the wheel to the base is a little strange - you have to put a screw throw the wheel-base plastic ring (here there is already a hole) into the wheel which doesn't have a hole by default. Well. It works. I probably won't detach it oftenly, so it's ok.

4. The thrustmaster driver is quite puristic. There is the standard vs advanced mode, where you definitely want to go with advanced mode. A page with the settings: only some 6 settings like overall force, damping, spring, etc. No game specific stuff. A page where you can test the button and axises. A driver/firmware update page. That's about it. I like it, but it has only limited functionality. Usually I prefer to change settings in game.

All in all I'm very pleased with the upgrade and there are no regrets at all! Driving good old McLaren F1 on Nordschleife is amazing

[Neys]

An arduino-based adapter already exists here: https://github.com/functionreturnfunction/G27_Pedals_and_Shifter

That one look pretty easy and cheap to build...

Today I've build that one and it works like a charm I could even "fix" reverse gear in SW - when I press the right red button when putting it in 6th gear it's reverse. Very cool.

Most difficult part (for me) was the soldering of the "break away headers" to the arduino using a soldering iron designed for much larger parts than the tiny arduino connectors... All other parts didn't need soldering. All in all the parts are about 20 Euro, and you get one adapter for both the shifter and pedals.