As sim racers we often strive to make our experience the most immersive it can be. Some sim racers have taken real car parts such as dash boards and car seats, other sim racers buy premium kit to imitate real-world racing gear. Some sim racers go as far as driving with racing gloves and racing shoes.
Whilst you could argue that some take it too far, there’s not such an argument for utilizing VR headsets to add to the immersion.
What is VR and what should be considered before buying
VR stands for virtual reality and with VR headsets, you have a screen or screens mounted in front of your eyes. Your head movement is accurately tracked, which translates to what you see through these screens. Tracking is not simply left, right, up, or down - these headsets track rotational movement, pitch, yaw, roll, horizontal, vertical, and lateral movement.
VR has come a long way, the earlier versions of these headsets suffered from SDE (screen door effects). Users could see artefacts caused by the displays, effectively users would see what would look like a thin mesh in front of their eyes. SDE is still a factor in modern VR headset, but far less obvious.
Before buying a VR headset, you should consider the following:
Budget - Putting aside the price of a VR headset for a second, for you to have a good VR experience in a racing sim, your PC must be a capable rig. If you are struggling to get 100 frames per second on a traditional monitor, then your PC rig will not be able to cope with extra strain from a VR headset. As well as the potential extra cost of a PC build, a VR headset can vary in price too. An entry level VR headset is similarly priced to a gaming monitor, but the price does ramp up quickly.
Room - This might sound strange if you are new to VR, as VR headsets fit on your head and take up less room than a monitor. Some VR headsets utilize external tracking devices and you’ll need to have a dedicated space to set these up. If you choose a VR headset with external trackers, if you don’t have a dedicated place to sim race, then you’ll need to set up the VR experience every time you jump into the sim. This however is not an issue with headsets that have built-in tracking.
IPD - IPD stands for interpupillary distance - the distance between your eyes. This is an important factor that many people forget about when purchasing a VR headset. Before you make your VR purchase ensure that the headset will be for you. The average IPD for men is 63mm and women 61mm, but this measurement can vary from person to person from anywhere between 42mm and 75mm. If your eyes don’t match the headset IPD requirements, you will experience eye strain and blurry vision.
Here are some of the best VR headsets to be had for sim racing in 2022.
Whilst you could argue that some take it too far, there’s not such an argument for utilizing VR headsets to add to the immersion.
What is VR and what should be considered before buying
VR stands for virtual reality and with VR headsets, you have a screen or screens mounted in front of your eyes. Your head movement is accurately tracked, which translates to what you see through these screens. Tracking is not simply left, right, up, or down - these headsets track rotational movement, pitch, yaw, roll, horizontal, vertical, and lateral movement.
VR has come a long way, the earlier versions of these headsets suffered from SDE (screen door effects). Users could see artefacts caused by the displays, effectively users would see what would look like a thin mesh in front of their eyes. SDE is still a factor in modern VR headset, but far less obvious.
Before buying a VR headset, you should consider the following:
Budget - Putting aside the price of a VR headset for a second, for you to have a good VR experience in a racing sim, your PC must be a capable rig. If you are struggling to get 100 frames per second on a traditional monitor, then your PC rig will not be able to cope with extra strain from a VR headset. As well as the potential extra cost of a PC build, a VR headset can vary in price too. An entry level VR headset is similarly priced to a gaming monitor, but the price does ramp up quickly.
Room - This might sound strange if you are new to VR, as VR headsets fit on your head and take up less room than a monitor. Some VR headsets utilize external tracking devices and you’ll need to have a dedicated space to set these up. If you choose a VR headset with external trackers, if you don’t have a dedicated place to sim race, then you’ll need to set up the VR experience every time you jump into the sim. This however is not an issue with headsets that have built-in tracking.
IPD - IPD stands for interpupillary distance - the distance between your eyes. This is an important factor that many people forget about when purchasing a VR headset. Before you make your VR purchase ensure that the headset will be for you. The average IPD for men is 63mm and women 61mm, but this measurement can vary from person to person from anywhere between 42mm and 75mm. If your eyes don’t match the headset IPD requirements, you will experience eye strain and blurry vision.
Here are some of the best VR headsets to be had for sim racing in 2022.
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