About official Simagic distributors in N.A

[BollocksBasher]

Hi there I just wanted to get some guidance about what I can expect from buying a Simagic product from simracingpros and sim-motion

I'm looking for basically any input from everyone who's had experience with them, and or if you could recommend another official distributor that would be greatly appreciated.
(In Alberta Canada)
Thanks in advance guys.

 

[BollocksBasher]

Hi there I just wanted to get some guidance about what I can expect from buying a Simagic product from simracingpros.com and sim-motion.com

I'm looking for basically any input from everyone who's had experience with them, and or if you could recommend another official distributor that would be greatly appreciated.
(In Alberta Canada)
Thanks in advance guys.

General discussion/opinions about Simagic overall quality is appreciated as well, I'm currently looking at pre ordering the Alpha mini with either the GT4 or GT1 rim. Has anyone ever had experience with mounting the dual clutches to their wheel on their own separately?

I'm just trying to do my due diligence

 

[joshinator]

I've got a Simagic Alpha with their GT4 and GT1 rims. Not from NA but I bought mine from sim-motion EU.

Haven't had anything break yet so can't say much about how replacements work.
Ordered somewhere in December when the website said they would arrive in January and got them mid March. Needless to say, not the fastest shipping after a few shipping and customs delays.
The Simmotion support replied to my mails really quickly (usually within 15mins), so it's not like they were the issue.
Just takes some time for the products to get shipped across the globe. Would expect something similar if you need a replacement when the distributor needs parts from Simagic.

Wouldn't worry about sim-motion as a distributor if their EU branch is anything to go by.

Only other negative thing I have to say is the software (getting FFB to work), it's not plug&play like it is with Logitech or Fanatec.
This is a great list for compatibility. Not a major issue in the games I play, but a hurdle nonetheless.

Other than that, happy with the Alpha and the GT1/4 rims. Wheelbase and rims are solid.
The D1 spec QR is amazing. I can swap rims quickly in VR without taking the headset of and there is no need to worry about fragile pins
FFB is great once you dialed it in (but thats my first DD, so thats not saying much).


Another story if the Alpha Mini is worth its asking price, but the Alpha and their rims are solid products.

 

[BollocksBasher]

I've got a Simagic Alpha with their GT4 and GT1 rims. Not from NA but I bought mine from sim-motion EU.

Haven't had anything break yet so can't say much about how replacements work.
Ordered somewhere in December when the website said they would arrive in January and got them mid March. Needless to say, not the fastest shipping after a few shipping and customs delays.
The Simmotion support replied to my mails really quickly (usually within 15mins), so it's not like they were the issue.
Just takes some time for the products to get shipped across the globe. Would expect something similar if you need a replacement when the distributor needs parts from Simagic.

Wouldn't worry about sim-motion as a distributor if their EU branch is anything to go by.

Only other negative thing I have to say is the software (getting FFB to work), it's not plug&play like it is with Logitech or Fanatec.
This is a great list for compatibility. Not a major issue in the games I play, but a hurdle nonetheless.

Other than that, happy with the Alpha and the GT1/4 rims. Wheelbase and rims are solid.
The D1 spec QR is amazing. I can swap rims quickly in VR without taking the headset of and there is no need to worry about fragile pins
FFB is great once you dialed it in (but thats my first DD, so thats not saying much).


Another story if the Alpha Mini is worth its asking price, but the Alpha and their rims are solid products.

Hey thanks for the informative reply! Yeah I emailed both simracingpros and sim-motion and only the latter replied so I am going to buy one from them as I can get one of their first batches and they ship out in mid August. The Alpha mini is the same price as the CSL DD but looks better and is more powerful, I also don't feel like waiting until January or February for the CSL DD :/ . But good to hear that you enjoy your wheel and yea this is going to be my first DD as well.

Only thing I'm worried about is not being able to purchase extended warranty at the time of purchase, they told me I could buy it further down the road when they do offer it.

Though what makes you say that about the Alpha Mini not being worth the price?

 

[joshinator]

The Alpha Mini is 600€, thats without any rims and the early bird price. I can get a CSL DD with a boost kit for 480€, obviously ignoring the supply&demand situation.

That gap just widens when you throw in some 1rst party wheels, the Mini with a GT1 wheel is 1050€ (GT4 is 100 - 200€ ontop). CSL DD /w boost and the McLaren GT3 V2 is 680€ in comparison.
Getting 3rd party wheels onto the Alpha Mini is easier, but D1 spec QR wont fit on every sim wheel (since you can't put bolts through them from the base side).

"Worth the asking price" wasn't meant as "the Mini is bad", it's more "Worth the asking price compared to the CSL DD".
It's quite a bit more expensive and unknown, while we have reviews on the CSL with all the other Fanatec benefits (and drawbacks).
Obviously those are EU prices, but in general the Mini should be more expensive. Just questioning if you get your money's worth.

 

[BollocksBasher]

The Alpha Mini is 600€, thats without any rims and the early bird price. I can get a CSL DD with a boost kit for 480€, obviously ignoring the supply&demand situation.

That gap just widens when you throw in some 1rst party wheels, the Mini with a GT1 wheel is 1050€ (GT4 is 100 - 200€ ontop). CSL DD /w boost and the McLaren GT3 V2 is 680€ in comparison.
Getting 3rd party wheels onto the Alpha Mini is easier, but D1 spec QR wont fit on every sim wheel (since you can't put bolts through them from the base side).

"Worth the asking price" wasn't meant as "the Mini is bad", it's more "Worth the asking price compared to the CSL DD".
It's quite a bit more expensive and unknown, while we have reviews on the CSL with all the other Fanatec benefits (and drawbacks).
Obviously those are EU prices, but in general the Mini should be more expensive. Just questioning if you get your money's worth.

I see, except that for me in NA the alpha mini bundle with the GT1 rim is €804.46 and the GT4 bundle with dual clutch paddles is €973.83, add €50 for shipping and the alpha Mini base starts out at €447.96 at these prices I think it's more than worth the price don't you think? I'm getting the prices from us.sim-motion.com as well...

 

[protocolgeorge]

I bought my Simagic GT4 Wheel from Simracingpros here in Canada and they were great.

 

[BollocksBasher]

I bought my Simagic GT4 Wheel from Simracingpros here in Canada and they were great.

Hey that's great to hear thanks, I just ordered my alpha mini GT4 bundle I am pretty excited for it to say the least haha. Do you like the wheel?

 

[protocolgeorge]

Hey that's great to hear thanks, I just ordered my alpha mini GT4 bundle I am pretty excited for it to say the least haha. Do you like the wheel?

The wheel itself I really like, great value. However it has its quirks...the software is very bad (eg. firmware updates), and it just does not work with RaceRoom or AMS2. I have to use a program called Antimicro to convert button presses to keyboard keys for those games. But overall I really like the wheel. I use it with a podium hub and Fanatec DD1.

 

[joshinator]

The buttons work fine connected to my Alpha, had no issues mapping them (even in AMS2). Never lost connection to the wheels (which used to be a thing), but the software updater is indeed pretty bad. Does the job but you have no idea what you're supposed to do until you read the manual and decipher the messages.

If you intent to use both the GT4 and GT1 wheels then it's no a bad idea to use software that maps them to keyboard keys anyways.
When you connect the wheels to the base they always appear as the same Alpha controller within games.
The up/down paddels align on both weels (they send the same button-code on the base to the game), but your BB button on the GT4 wheel might not align with the button on the GT1.
Joy2Key profiles do the trick for me, lets me map the buttons freely to keycodes for each wheel.

 

[BollocksBasher]

The wheel itself I really like, great value. However it has its quirks...the software is very bad (eg. firmware updates), and it just does not work with RaceRoom or AMS2. I have to use a program called Antimicro to convert button presses to keyboard keys for those games. But overall I really like the wheel. I use it with a podium hub and Fanatec DD1.

Oh no! I hope that I won't have any issues with AMS2 as that is literally my favorite game of all time and one of the reasons I love sim racing :'(

 

[BollocksBasher]

The buttons work fine connected to my Alpha, had no issues mapping them (even in AMS2). Never lost connection to the wheels (which used to be a thing), but the software updater is indeed pretty bad. Does the job but you have no idea what you're supposed to do until you read the manual and decipher the messages.

If you intent to use both the GT4 and GT1 wheels then it's no a bad idea to use software that maps them to keyboard keys anyways.
When you connect the wheels to the base they always appear as the same Alpha controller within games.
The up/down paddels align on both weels (they send the same button-code on the base to the game), but your BB button on the GT4 wheel might not align with the button on the GT1.
Joy2Key profiles do the trick for me, lets me map the buttons freely to keycodes for each wheel.

Hey thanks for your feedback and this is some great advice for whenever I get a GT-1 down the road, this problem shouldn't arise if I just use the one rim for now, correct? Also in the future I'm thinking that I'll just get a Simagic quick connect and a cheapo rim off eBay and just use my seq shifter since it'll be for rally driving. But thanks again for your input, anything I can learn in advance of getting the wheel is most welcome.

 

[blekenbleu]

Simagic Alpha sale US$1000 / 900EUR Oct 15 - Dec 31,
according to Facebook Simagic Official

simagic.com is responding very slowly
For North America, their distributor is simracingpros.com
and the bundle with wheel starts at US$1500

 

[Rydiggs]

Hi there I just wanted to get some guidance about what I can expect from buying a Simagic product from simracingpros and sim-motion I'm looking for basically any input from everyone who's had experience with them, and or if you could recommend another official distributor that would be greatly appreciated. (In Alberta Canada) Thanks in advance guys.

Did you end up getting the alpha mini? who did you end up ordering through?and how do you like it? im in BC and looking at the alpha with GT4 rim to upgrade from my csw v2.5 im planning on ordering through sim racing pro's.

 

[jasonmai0218]

Hey thanks for the informative reply! Yeah I emailed both simracingpros and sim-motion and only the latter replied so I am going to buy one from them as I can get one of their first batches and they ship out in mid August. The Alpha mini is the same price as the CSL DD but looks better and is more powerful, I also don't feel like waiting until January or February for the CSL DD :/ . But good to hear that you enjoy your wheel and yea this is going to be my first DD as well.

Only thing I'm worried about is not being able to purchase extended warranty at the time of purchase, they told me I could buy it further down the road when they do offer it.

Though what makes you say that about the Alpha Mini not being worth the price?