Do you actually enjoy sim rig building?

[Paul Bennett]

Over the weekend, I setup a GT Omega wheel stand with my old timber stand laid to rest. I upgraded a few weeks ago to the T3pa Pro pedals, which are not exactly light weigh. With my timber stand I could adapt a my own config with screws an brackets, but with a rig it's pre drilled yes good in theory but a little frustrating in fitting. Main issue holes are not marked on the fitting plates. When it comes to fitting your expensive heavy kit, holding it with one hand an fumbling to get bolt in upside down you can't see

I watched Gamer Muscle build his F1GT rig, was like a 7/8 hour stream must be a nightmare for rig reviewing

I know once all the hard work is done we love

Care to share your experience

 

[Turk]

Over the weekend, I setup a GT Omega wheel stand with my old timber stand laid to rest. I upgraded a few weeks ago to the T3pa Pro pedals, which are not exactly light weigh. With my timber stand I could adapt a my own config with screws an brackets, but with a rig it's pre drilled yes good in theory but a little frustrating in fitting.

I found the holes on the GT omega pretty poor. There are loads of different holes and slots but I could only find two that lined up with my fanatec pedals. So I couldn't use all four mount points on my pedals. I don't think there's enough adjustability on the wheel mount either. The gear stick mount is also poor, and always comes lose. But it does work and it's the cheapest option out there.

I wouldn't say it's fun to set up rigs. I have to pack my rig away during the week, I'd say it takes about an hour to get it all set up again. The handy thing about the Omega rigs is I can leave everything mounted, just break the rig in half, stick it on a pallet and store it on a shelf at work. It does mean I have to fire up the fork lift to sim race.

 

[RobertR1]

Nope. Did not enjoy any part of it. Love the end result.

A large part of it has to do with the generally poor set of instructions.

Difficulty rating for a non handy person:
Simlabs P1 = 9/10. Poor instructions and labeling
OSW Mige = 6/10. Poor instructions due to various wheel mounting methods
HE Ultimates = 4/10. Adjustment options could be better presented with real scenarios and impact of changes.
Sim racing coach GT-1 wheel = 1/10. Plug n play in all regards.
Next Level Racing V3 mourning on top of sim labs P1 = 2/10. Visualize it first and then it’s easy.
V3 with a sunk mount on P1 = 10/10. This is a DIY job that is easy to misalign unless you’re handy and/or an engineer. Absolutely needed with a P1 to achieve a good seating position.

 

[RaceNut]

Oddly enough, yes - I do enjoy the process of building and up-grading my race-rig.

It began with mod'ing my Race-style office-chair to accommodate tactile transducers where I experimented with various brackets and mounting methods. In the end, it was a great success and at the time, I didn't really see myself upgrading beyond that except for, a DD-wheel and better pedals.

After the tactile project, I purchased a used set of CST pedals featuring a load-cell brake that demanded having the pedals and seat tied together in order to take advantage of the increased pedal-pressure I could apply. This led to construction of a basic frame (aluminum-profile) to hold the pedal-set and seat-pedestal firmly in place.

Having the frame then provided the foundation for adding a shifter and hand-brake so, those became the next upgrades. The DD-steering wheel was mounted to my built-in desk and the frame needed to fit in a small space and tuck under the desk. The seat and desk serve as my office work-station and need to play a dual-role as such.

At that point, I figured my rig was pretty much complete but, then I slowly began to pay attention to various types of motion-rigs with the idea that I could add a seat-mover, G-seat or some other form of motion. While I contemplated such options over the next few months, I constructed a digital dash-display, added a triple-monitor setup, VR and few other minor details.

Within the last year, I enhanced the frame and added motion (Platform-based) and soon, will add seat-belts & tensioner for some added immersion for braking-effects.

Plans for the next year (or so) include a motion-system upgrade, and (hopefully), a G-seat of some sort. These may be DIY projects in order to reduce the overall cost but, of course, the time-investment required is quite substantial too.

These projects can be challenging, especially if one doesn't have access to the tools needed but, strangely enough, I keep finding myself wanting to find a new Sim-project to work on.

Designing, building, experimenting and testing has become a spin-off hobby of it's own. The real pay-off comes when I get to combine these two hobbies into one immersive driving / racing experience. So, the next time someone asks me "Do you feel lucky punk?"; I'll be able to say "Yes, yes I do!"

 

[Phil Mann]

I don't enjoy it only because i'm trying to do everything in a small room. I've had a GT Omega ART which doesn't seem to have any predrilled holes for Fanatec CSL Elite products and has too much flex, and a Sim Labs GT1 which is a beast but doesn't have any instructions.

 

[RaceWasGood]

Oh yes, very much. My 80/40 rig is under constant development and i really enjoy that part of our hobby. Wouldn't have it any other way

 

[Alex Townsend]

I've been racing for years with a normal arm chair, Wheelstand pro and TV on top of my bass speaker...
I'm fully intending on building an aluminium profile frame to hold wheel and pedals with a view to finding an old racing bucket seat from somewhere at some point too.
Oh, and will then get the 1080p triples if ACC does end up supporting it properly or a ultra wide monitor if not once I've got some more readies to throw at it.
But yes, thinking about it, planning it out, finding the parts and comparing prices is something I really enjoy as well as upgrading the PC too

 

[anton_Chez]

It's a bit of a love hate thing for me to be honest. I do love the problem solving and planning phase but the building can get a little frustrating especially when you need to stop in between for days at a time because of work and other commitments. Overall I am much the same as a lot of other frequent contributors on the forum, very much the tinkerer and perfectionist. As a kid I used to draw a lot and play with Lego and stuff, as you do. As I've gotten older I've become interested in building as well so it's definitely in me. This is just an extension of that plus the desire to achieve the most immersion possible within my budget and available time. It's all part of the experience and much the same as other hobbies, doing the maintenance and preparation is just as much a part of it as the actual activity it relates to.

 

[HoiHman]

YES

 

[Emery]

Assembling a kit? Not so much, but it's nice when it goes together smoothly.

Designing/building my own? Yes. It's all about adding the features that fit my needs better than any of the kits can do for significantly less money. Looking for immersion without blowing the budget, understanding what items one is better out-sourcing.

 

[BluePotato00]

I certainly enjoy it and having built/customized it myself, it makes racing so much more rewarding.
I like how unique everybody's rigs are. It's hard to find two rigs alike.

 

[sjb266]

Ha.. the usual suspects I know are all here...

I like it more than racing!

 

[bavomeister]

At the moment I'm still designing my rig and I love it! Just playing around in the MAY-CAD software can keep me busy for hours.

Can't wait to finally assemble it and start tweaking/adding the rig!

 

[Mr Latte]

I enjoy seeing what other ideas and skills people share.

Although I seem to suffer from "what if syndrome" when considering a design or building something. My weakness is finding a possible solution only to then want to take it even further or better it.

Personally, I get more creativity out of physically putting something together, seeing it for real and being able to interact with it. Scribbles and sketches and MS paint are as high as my own skill set is. None of this CAD and other software for me. Ive spent 2 years testing/installing tactile on a d.i.y steel tubing frankenrig to experience what ideas did and didnt work or find better solutions for an idea that showed potential. Only now am I at a stage of starting the build with the experimentation side of things mainly done.

I also tend to overfuss and want something to be just right. Little niggles bother me, again its a further weakness I have. So I always appreciate seeing other peoples builds that show an excellent standard.

I think it depends on the person too. Some prefer to lead and experiment for themselves, others prefer to follow excellent ideas or examples and incorporate them.

 

[Paul Bennett]

Great reply's Guys , guess it comes down to how adapt you are at that DIY thing

 

[Hiro Abe]

Oh yes, very much. My 80/40 rig is under constant development and i really enjoy that part of our hobby. Wouldn't have it any other way

Couldn't agree more!

 

[Neil Farren]

I'd say I probably enjoy building my sim rig and planning upgrades for it more than I actually enjoy sim racing at the moment! I certainly spend more time planning upgrades than racing at the moment. Getting old and more responsibility sucks!

 

[Mascot]

Next Level Racing V3 mourning on top of sim labs P1 = 2/10. Visualize it first and then it’s easy.
V3 with a sunk mount on P1 = 10/10. This is a DIY job that is easy to misalign unless you’re handy and/or an engineer. Absolutely needed with a P1 to achieve a good seating position.

What method did you use to fix it?

 

[RobertR1]

What method did you use to fix it?

A highly coveted fabrication method knows as "ghetto fab"

I'll take a pic. The shame it brings me typing it out isn't worth it.

 

[Spinelli]

V3 with a sunk mount on P1 = 10/10. This is a DIY job that is easy to misalign unless you’re handy and/or an engineer. Absolutely needed with a P1 to achieve a good seating position.

Would you be able to expand on this?