Risk of injury with DD motors...

[lovemesomespeed]

I had the awesome opportunity to experience a DD motor for the first time this week. There was one instance where the wheel spun really quickly on me, and I realized first hand the "wrist-snapping" power these motors have.

I've read people mention "wrist-snapping" or "finger-breaking" with regard to DD motors. I'm a dentist, so a wrist or finger injury for me is at a minimum financially gut-wrenching (if I had to take several weeks off work with high student loans/business loans each month) or in a worst-case scenario career ending. I had a dentist working for me who was only one year out of school who got nerve damage in his hand after a skiing accident and had to retire permanently.

Am I just being overly concerned here? Are these risks just theoretical, or are they real? Has anyone here ever been injured with their motor, or know somebody who has?

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Just go easy on power first. Most injuries come from newcomers not realizing that they are dealing with industrial strength motors and cranking power up, clenching the wheel, and not letting it go in crashes.
iRacers are the most affected as this title just spikes signal into stratosphere on contacts, so it's recommended to lower max output in the driver so the signal just clips in that event.
Kunos titles are safer.

DD wheel with max output limited to G27 level is just as dangerous as G27, so take it easy first.

 

[slikk66]

They're real.. i have an older stronger osw and even at probably 50% overall power i have to let go of the wheel when i crash. Ive held on to it on a few occasions and always think gee I shouldn't have done that. Especially during large steering maneuvers where maybe I only have a thumb or two fingers on the wheel. Ive been in a real car accident where I had fingers split over the wheel during the accident and ended up in a cast for 6 weeks and surgery after, I dont see how/why it couldn't happen on the DD. Best way to avoid it is just run the power lower, but that takes away some of the fun!

 

[BrightCandle]

You can get lower-powered Direct Drive wheels that still have the fidelity even if not the rare torque and performance of the higher-powered motors. If you are sure you don't want that extra power to always ensure you avoid injury then a wheel that limits to 7nm or maybe 12nm would be both cheaper and thankfully quite available as well. Most people avoid them because they want that bone snapping capacity but you are by no means required to get the bone crunchers. Simplicity do open sim wheel based stuff but with their own software and the Accuforce V2 is also a lower-powered Direct Drive. Look around you will probably find some other options where you don't have to pay for the bigger motor and still get the other qualities you enjoyed.

 

[lovemesomespeed]

...so it's recommended to lower max output in the driver so the signal just clips in that event.

So, are you saying I can just tell the motor that max output is, say, 8 Nm, and it will not in any event (like a crash) exceed that? I really have my heart set on the Simucube 2 motor, and I'd really love to stick with it. I just need to know whether I have the option of ensuring safety on it. Maybe once I'm more familiar with it's behaviors and I'm confident in my ability to "let go" when needed I could increase the torque.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

So, are you saying I can just tell the motor that max output is, say, 8 Nm, and it will not in any event (like a crash) exceed that? I really have my heart set on the Simucube 2 motor, and I'd really love to stick with it. I just need to know whether I have the option of ensuring safety on it. Maybe once I'm more familiar with it's behaviors and I'm confident in my ability to "let go" when needed I could increase the torque.

Yes, it lowers motor amperage.

 

[lovemesomespeed]

Yes, it lowers motor amperage.

Well that makes me feel a lot better. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to stick with my Thrustmaster...

 

[jooeeyy]

You could also wear some strong cased gloves, to prevent injuries to your fingers

 

[Fennario]

1. Install a kill switch where you can easily hit it with one of your feet or knees. You may not be able to hit it with your hands if they are tangled up in the wheel.
2. Always take your hands off the wheel when you crash or you feel at risk from the torque. It's only a game.
3. Do not try to grab a spinning wheel - wait for it to settle or hit the kill switch.
4. Spend time fiddling with settings on the base, utility software, and/or game both alone and in combination to set overall strength, damping, linearity, etc.
5. Limit the overall torque until you are confident with the motor's behavior and settings for each game

 

[Beef36]

.

 

[Squared Circle]

I limit in-game FFB to just below the point where it clips (e.g. PC2 has a HUD view that shows FFB output, Simhub can be used for RF2 etc.).
And then I limit this resulting signal again with the SC2 TD Software (around 50-60% of the Sport). At least to me this is enough (at the moment).

 

[Botmeister]

Try to learn how to drift, it helped me understand wheel movement better. I have sc2 sport 17nm. Nowadays when I lose control, I take back control without my hands/wrists going nuts.

 

[Mike Murphy]

Have to admit risk of injury is a concern for me as I think about getting a DD wheel. I have four boys aged 5-12 and even the youngest regularly has a go. Even on CSL Elite, I dial FFB down very low. Not sure if I should wait a few years before upgrading...

 

[Fennario]

Forgot to mention that the Fanatec DD1 & 2 have a RJ12 “torque key” which needs to be inserted for full power (think it’s limited to 5nm otherwise). Sorta like the red key for a demon/hellcat. Make sure to remove when kids are driving.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

A number of experts say the best results are when the Simucube is at 100% power, and any FFB reduction is done within each game's settings. From a safety perspective, I reverse it. I run FFB at 100% in the game, but decrease the power of the SimuCube.

That hopefully means if there are any unexpected spikes or wheel movement, the force to your hands will be reduced.

It all depends on title, personal experience, and level of comfort.
For newcomers loweing max torque in the driver is the safest approach.
Same goes for new titles, as some, like AMS2, do crazy things during axis assignment.

 

[Botmeister]

It all depends on title, personal experience, and level of comfort.
For newcomers loweing max torque in the driver is the safest approach.
Same goes for new titles, as some, like AMS2, do crazy things during axis assignment.

You can compare a dd or any other servo motor to using audio. Set pc audio to 100 procent and only use your external amplifier to adjust volume levels. Translated to a sim, set your motor to 100 procent force and adjust the ingame gain to 40-50 procent (or whatever you prefer). Wrong levels can cause clipping.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Yep, signal clipping is another reason to not maximize in game gain.
BTW, Aris in his streams recommends just lower gain in game and max out in driver for DD, but this is Assetto, it does not go crazy on contacts like iRacing, so use your judgment, just don't go all out in game, leave some headroom.

@2:53:49

 

[deandsfsdfewsad]

running an sc2 pro, it's amazing but you need a transition period from any non-dd wheelbase, if you throw the wheel around and drive like you're in an arcade you will hurt yourself, I've personally had 2 near incidents on my right thumb but the value, immersion and enjoyment from it is unreal surprisingly I'm actually slower than what I would be on a v2.5 or g29 but I guess my settings are not honed yet (more consistent for sure though)

 

[Fennario]

I feel that the primary benefit of a DD wheel/motor is to quickly communicate granular details re: what the car is doing vs. simulating how the wheel would feel if I was actually driving. The same thing goes with motion rigs. Maximum force feedback is not necessary and in most cases is an impediment to smooth driving - what I am looking/feeling for are responsiveness and fine details regarding grip/oversteer/understeer/wheelspin/weight balance/etc. Some resistance is nice, but you don't want to feel like you've been lifting weights after driving for a bit.

 

[metalnwood]

When I built my OSW in 2014 I got a setting wrong during setup and it scared the hell out of me when it took off. At that point I was pretty worried about it happening at some point while racing. This was in the early days of DD wheels and things were not as commercialised and off the shelf.

It didn't take long to get used to it. I rarely ever let go of the wheel as I know what is coming. There are a few exceptions, like in iracing last night where I spun and was going in to the wall sideways with 180degree lock and no good hold on the wheel to deal with it. 99% of crashes I will hold on but I know what to expect.

By all means turn it down to start with, I think you will become confident with how it behaves after a little bit of use.