Twin Sims... The Build

[stigs2cousin]

Usually monitor stands have 40/80 uprights which are stiff enough against bending.
My front and center speakers are mounted to the monitor stand, medium sized shelf speakers positioned to the sides of the main/middle just sitting on wooden slabs bolted to the uprights.
But I have to admit that I race with headphones, the 5.1 system is only used for truck sim.

I´d imagine that two soundsystems side by side would impede each other as the two sim cars are not always in the same (sound) environment.
Audio (especially tyres and opponents) is important for racing, but it has to be spot on. Hearing your opponents tyres would be misleading.

 

[Botmeister]

To compare, I have the Sim-Lab triple stand.
Three 32" monitors, each weighing 4.8 kg (without foot)
Three speakers, each weighing 1.25 kg
Nothing to worry about.

Although with heavy bookshelf speakers, you might want to check the max load on those Vogel's mounts.

 

[DrewRPh]

I have had 2 extra 5.1 receivers and speakers in my basement for eons... and finally gave them to a friend to sell less than a month ago. Never thought they would be usefull in this endeavor. Maybe he still has them. Also gave him some Bose cubes......

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Take a look at this thread if you haven't yet, plenty of good setups/ideas.
Please don't take it the wrong way but it sounds that you went on a an overkill side. For what you want to accomplish "social fun racing", some modest setup with conventional belt wheel from Thrustmaster or similar is probably all you'll ever need.
You haven't answered the question on how exactly you are planning to accomplish that "social" interaction during racing and what sims or based on the context any racing games you are planning to use. Sims are not "fun" in a traditional driving arcade way.

 

[DrewRPh]

Please don't take it the wrong way but it sounds that you went on a an overkill side.

No problem at all. All feedback welcomed and appreciated.

Primary sim.... Probably overkill.
Secondary sim. Waaaaaay overkill.

Agreed.

At nearly the double nickel myself (April) I have rarely looked back with regret to anything I have over done.

EDIT... I just removed 4 massive paragraphs of examples of why I am doing what I am doing and understand I am going over the top here. Reading my post, I feel I was starting to sound a bit douchey, so I just deleted so as not to waste anyone else's time reading.

Long story short:
* I have the finances to go over the top (even though I will complain or vent about the prices).
* I want to get this done in a short time frame
* I am willing to overspend so I do not have to go back and re-spend later.
* I know that if I build one now and wait on the second.... The second will probably never come.

One tangent: I remember back in the late 80's playing pole-position with my dad and brother for hours on end. We weren't on the screen at the same time either but were racing for fractions of a second records on specific tracks....

Can't wait to do this again... (with slightly better equipment... ) LOL

 

[DrewRPh]

I urge you to look at Advanced Sim Racing (ASR) for an aluminum profile rig

Both the ASR 4 and ASR 6 Look pretty beefy and easy to add to in the future. Can also order specifically with mount for Simucube wheelbase if that is the way I go. Since I don't plan to utilize the Next Level ability to raise the pedals significantly, ASR may be the way to go.

 

[Stephen Gibbs]

good on you Drew, would love to be in the same position for a single rig let alone 2 (its coming just slower than desired lol). Its only money and can't take it with you

following with interest.

 

[Ruttman98]

Back to profile chassis considerations--my rig is a hodge podge of designs copied from others with components such as pedal plates and wheel decks from Trak Racer and a--currently--a wheel deck from ASR. My rig accomodates me at 6' 2" and my wife at 5'2" thanks to the adjustable pedal plate and wheel deck combined with a seat slider.

The TR160 chassis appears to have a good range of pedal deck height options; I made a similar deck which has height and fore-adjustment using TR pedal brackets.

I like Trak Racer, but two things which I find very annoying about are 1) their gusseted angle brackets with small access holes which make hardware access very fiddly, and 2) spring-blade style T-nuts which are sharp, vastly more trouble to align in multiple slots than ball-type spring T-nuts or even economy T-nuts, and tend to hang up at places you do not want them to. In most cases, I find the custom plates offered by other rig chassis vendors to be preferable in terms of quicker initial assembly which can also yield a cleaner look and use less fasteners.

You might send your rigx2 build considerations to ASR to get their thoughts on pedal plate adjustability. They were very responsive when I emailed them in the past.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Surprised sim-lab wasn't mentioned yet, perhaps the most popular 80/20 rig maker.
But I am sure OP did his home research on this already.

 

[DrewRPh]

My rig accomodates me at 6' 2" and my wife at 5'2" thanks to the adjustable pedal plate and wheel deck combined with a seat slider.

I have been thinking how the rig would accommodate the variety of heights with only the seat adjusting. The adjustable pedal plate is a thought as long as it is easily adjustable and solid once locked in. Don't want to have to pull out wrenches to adjust. Do you have a build thread or picture somewhere? When trying to accommodate variety of sizes, I understand compromises will need to be made. Either that, or short people will just have to stretch... LOL.

You might send your rigx2 build considerations to ASR to get their thoughts on pedal plate adjustability.

Good idea as well.

Surprised sim-lab wasn't mentioned yet, perhaps the most popular 80/20 rig maker.

Yes, it is up there somewhere. Someone referred to them as the "gold standard" I believe. Viewing online, I noticed that the uprights and side frames appear to only have 2 attachment rows and feel the 4 rows on others may be beneficial in the future as I attached items. Could be wrong.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Yes, it is up there somewhere. Someone referred to them as the "gold standard" I believe. Viewing online, I noticed that the uprights and side frames appear to only have 2 attachment rows and feel the 4 rows on others may be beneficial in the future as I attached items. Could be wrong.

Not sure what you want to bolt on there, accommodates H-Shifter, E-Brake, and mouse pad just fine.
Notices on sim-lab main page that they list micro-center as their US retailer, that's pretty cool, you can check it in person now or order without overseas shipping.

 

[Ruttman98]

My adaptation of Trak Racer pedal plate brackets and profiles (cut to width) is adjustable using 4 quick release levers. Full rig description is here:

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/show-us-your-rig-cockpit.19/reply?quote=3623222

 

[Ruttman98]

Recent rig build suggestions based on long experience to another member:

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/seeking-advice-for-first-build-of-a-sim-racing-rig.266729/reply?quote=3732625

 

[DrewRPh]

Notices on sim-lab main page that they list micro-center as their US retailer, that's pretty cool, you can check it in person now or order without overseas shipping.

I have next Thursday off and considering a trek across the state. Think it said 126 miles. It would be worth it if they have some seats I can sit in and try out.

 

[DrewRPh]

Ruttman 98

"The pedal portion of the rig is effectively 1560 profile to fit fore and aft, height, and tilt-adjustable TracRacer pedal deck brackets strategically bridged with 80/20 to mount the CSP V.2 pedals. The "1590" profile consists of sections of more "bridal" 1530 profiles bolted to the 1530 side rails using four limited edition red 40x120 TracRacer corner brackets redrilled for purpose."

Is there a build thread somewhere or somewhere with pictures? No pics in the links

 

[Ruttman98]

I have next Thursday off and considering a trek across the state. Think it said 126 miles. It would be worth it if they have some seats I can sit in try out.

There is typically a demo rig in each store which would give you a feel for at leeast one seat, but I can't speak for Madison Heights. I have found the salespeople at my local MC to be helpful and courteous but not very knowledgeable about sim racing hardware. They might be more likely to open a box for a seat fitting if you mentioned you were interested in a pair of seats along with brackets and sliders as well as other peripherals . . .

You might check eBay, Facebook Marketplace, racingjunk.com, and Craigslist for deals on expired Bimarco, Cobra, Corbeau, Recaro, RaceTech, Sparco, Sabelt, OMP, Bride (beware of knockoffs), etc. Brand new seats from NRG Prisma AND RaceQuip also more affordable bucket seat options

 

[Ruttman98]

Try going directly to the "Show us your rug/cockpit" thread post #4,908.

Sorry, I should be better by now at sharing forum links.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Try going directly to the "Show us your rug/cockpit" thread post #4,908.

Sorry, I should be better by now at sharing forum links.

Click the 3 little connected boxes for a link.
Then click that stacked folders to copy that link into your clipboard.
Then paste that link into a post.

Show us your Rig / Cockpit

A little bit older picture.... Because i race only with VR now the monitor is gone ( the monitor broke as well so never replaced it) Playseat Formula Intelligence Fanatec DD2 wheelbase Fanatec V3 Pedals Fanatec Formula v2.5 wheel Upcoming updates: -Bass shakers for christmas -SFX100 motion...

www.racedepartment.com

 

[RCHeliguy]

You might have noticed I've had a build thread going for 5 years and it has gone through many permutations. It's a LOT to go through, but you might be able to skim through it looking for ideas. There is at least a reasonably up to date link to an index on the first page.

Peter Winkler has a pretty extensive built thread as well.

Mobile Driving/Flying Cockpit with Motion and Tactile ( Build )

Table of Contents: https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/mobile-driving-flying-cockpit-with-motion-and-tactile-build.165289/post-3489238 It was suggested that I created a dedicated thread for this build so it wouldn't be buried in another thread and because it might be of use to others. I had...

www.racedepartment.com

 

[Ruttman98]

RE: Microcenter in Madison Heights, MI--the only sim racing seat available to sit in is the adjustable TK Racing seat mounted to the demo rig.