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PC Racing Sims Thread

T

Tyl3n0L85

Neo Member
Thanks all for the information.

I'll probably pull the trigger on the Playseat Challenge for my stand. No way in hell my wife will accept a full-on racing rig taking over the living room.

I also read a bit about reliability regarding Thrustmaster products. It's really a shame cause it's one of the reason I haven't bought one yet. Look's like I'm still waiting for the perfect wheel. The Fanatec stuff look's amazing (CSL Elite) just a tad over my budget but the shipping cost in Canada is retarded. (200$) no thanks.

I used to have a Logitech MOMO Force Feedback back in the days. I'm afraid the T150 will be very close to it so that's another reason why I haven't bought one yet...

Yesterday I spend couple of hours looking at videos about Leo Bodnar wheels & HPP PRX pedals set. If I was single I would spend my whole paycheck on that stuff without hesitation!
 
T

TylerDurden4321

Member
Tyl3n0L85 said:
I also read a bit about reliability regarding Thrustmaster products. It's really a shame cause it's one of the reason I haven't bought one yet.
Click to expand...
I do know a few people who had issues with the T300 and TX, but I also know people who have them and use them extensively with no issues.

Personally I never had any problems my Thrustmaster TX (the Xbox sister of the T300) and have used it actively for a little over 1000 hours (my game hours add up to over 1500). With my T500 it's the same, but it's actually hard to find people that had problems with that wheel, pretty sturdy stuff.
 
A

AxeMan

Member
Tyl3n0L85 said:
I also read a bit about reliability regarding Thrustmaster products. It's really a shame cause it's one of the reason I haven't bought one yet.
I used to have a Logitech MOMO Force Feedback back in the days. I'm afraid the T150 will be very close to it so that's another reason why I haven't bought one yet...
Click to expand...

I race with a Thrustmaster T500rs and logged a fair few hours on it and haven't had any problems with it.
It was a step up from my Logitech G27 and before that a G25
 
B

Branson

Member
AxeMan said:
I race with a Thrustmaster T500rs and logged a fair few hours on it and haven't had any problems with it.
It was a step up from my Logitech G27 and before that a G25
Click to expand...
It always surprises me to see people go to the G29 over thrustmaster. From what I understand the G29 uses the old tech from the G27 for its force feedback. Thrustmaster wheels use a smoother type and it feels much better from what I understand. It was a huge step up from my G25 at least.

I kinda thought the consensus was that Thrustmaster has taken over the place of Logitech before the 29 came around.
 
M

marvelharvey

Member
Yeah, the T500RS did me well with no issues for years. I purchased mine for 60000 yen about 6 years ago and sold it last week for 40000. Great product with great resell value.
Tyl3n0L85 said:
I'll probably pull the trigger on the Playseat Challenge for my stand. No way in hell my wife will accept a full-on racing rig taking over the living room.
Click to expand...
Surely your wife would allow you to purchase a workstation to improve your work performance? Think of your spreadsheet efficiency!
vqFMPpp.jpg
Click to expand...
"What's that? It doubles as a racing rig? What a happy coincidence." (these were pretty much the words out of my mouth last week)
G81BtEh.jpg
Click to expand...
 
A

AxeMan

Member
Branson said:
It always surprises me to see people go to the G29 over thrustmaster. From what I understand the G29 uses the old tech from the G27 for its force feedback. Thrustmaster wheels use a smoother type and it feels much better from what I understand. It was a huge step up from my G25 at least.

I kinda thought the consensus was that Thrustmaster has taken over the place of Logitech before the 29 came around.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure of the ins and outs of it all but I do know that my Thrustmaster is a big step up from the Logitechs that I had

marvelharvey said:
Yeah, the T500RS did me well with no issues for years. I purchased mine for 60000 yen about 6 years ago and sold it last week for 40000. Great product with great resell value.
Surely your wife would allow you to purchase a workstation to improve your work performance? Think of your spreadsheet efficiency!

"What's that? It doubles as a racing rig? What a happy coincidence." (these were pretty much the words out of my mouth last week)
Click to expand...

I have one of these. But I only use it as my racing rig. I also have a desk for my main computer
The obutto takes up a bit of room - especially if you go triple monitors
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
Branson said:
It always surprises me to see people go to the G29 over thrustmaster. From what I understand the G29 uses the old tech from the G27 for its force feedback. Thrustmaster wheels use a smoother type and it feels much better from what I understand. It was a huge step up from my G25 at least.

I kinda thought the consensus was that Thrustmaster has taken over the place of Logitech before the 29 came around.
Click to expand...
Thrustmaster does seem to have a good hold of the low-end sim market now. It began with the T500 'smashing' the G27 about 7 years ago with brute force, but that wheel lacked subtlety. Today, with the DFGT discontinued, the T150/TMX is the go-to entry-level set, and the TX/T300 is generally considered better than the G29/G920.

But when you delve into the details, you can make a decent argument for both options.

The TX/T300 FFB system is fundamentally better than the G29/G920 FFB system, no doubt about that. But they're both (upper) low-end products with pros and cons. I actually find the Logitech system to be more direct in FFB information due to the gear mechanism, but it suffers from a centre 'dead zone' (mechanical, not an input dead zone) and doesn't feel as realistic as a belt drive, and isn't quite as strong or as fast to spin up as the TX/T300.

The G29/G920 has a much better pedal set than the stock TX/T300 pedals, and I rate them higher than the T3PA set too.

You also need an optional rim to get leather on your Thrustmaster product, whereas the G29/G920 has leather as standard (which also smells miles better than the TM Leather 28, tru fax).

Thrustmaster has the edge over Logitech on the performance of the TX/T300 FFB mechanism alone, but the G29/G920 is still a decent product, with some aspects that still beat TM's efforts.
 
B

Branson

Member
Betta Lines said:
Thrustmaster does seem to have a good hold of the low-end sim market now. It began with the T500 'smashing' the G27 about 7 years ago with brute force, but that wheel lacked subtlety. Today, with the DFGT discontinued, the T150/TMX is the go-to entry-level set, and the TX/T300 is generally considered better than the G29/G920.

But when you delve into the details, you can make a decent argument for both options.

The TX/T300 FFB system is fundamentally better than the G29/G920 FFB system, no doubt about that. But they're both (upper) low-end products with pros and cons. I actually find the Logitech system to be more direct in FFB information due to the gear mechanism, but it suffers from a centre 'dead zone' (mechanical, not an input dead zone) and doesn't feel as realistic as a belt drive, and isn't quite as strong or as fast to spin up as the TX/T300.

The G29/G920 has a much better pedal set than the stock TX/T300 pedals, and I rate them higher than the T3PA set too.

You also need an optional rim to get leather on your Thrustmaster product, whereas the G29/G920 has leather as standard (which also smells miles better than the TM Leather 28, tru fax).

Thrustmaster has the edge over Logitech on the performance of the TX/T300 FFB mechanism alone, but the G29/G920 is still a decent product, with some aspects that still beat TM's efforts.
Click to expand...

That was put more eloquently than I could lol. Its crazy that its considered upper"low" end with them still being $3-400.

On the pedals I got the adapter that let me use my G25 pedals with my TX because the pedals that came with them sucked compared to that.

And yeah I didn't mean to say G29 was a bad purchase I just was saying that the current thrustmaster wheels had some better feeling FFB. I do love the different rims you can get for the TM wheels though.

The G29, while a good product, didnt seem as big of a leap forward as its previous generations had been. G27 was a pretty great step up from a G25. G29 is good quality but from what it seemed it was the same tech from the G27. Which I thought they would improve on a little bit. Still a well made wheel and pedal set though.

I havent tried the Thrustmaster TH8 shifter and pedals so I cant comment on those. I do like how you can invert the pedals my making them hang down instead of coming up from the floor.
 
W

Watevaman

Member
Hey guys, is there multiclass racing in SP RRRE yet? The promo photos for Imola have the GT3 McLaren and an LMP in the same shot, but I don't remember being able to do that in SP.
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
Branson said:
That was put more eloquently than I could lol. Its crazy that its considered upper"low" end with them still being $3-400.

On the pedals I got the adapter that let me use my G25 pedals with my TX because the pedals that came with them sucked compared to that.

And yeah I didn't mean to say G29 was a bad purchase I just was saying that the current thrustmaster wheels had some better feeling FFB. I do love the different rims you can get for the TM wheels though.

The G29, while a good product, didnt seem as big of a leap forward as its previous generations had been. G27 was a pretty great step up from a G25. G29 is good quality but from what it seemed it was the same tech from the G27. Which I thought they would improve on a little bit. Still a well made wheel and pedal set though.

I havent tried the Thrustmaster TH8 shifter and pedals so I cant comment on those. I do like how you can invert the pedals my making them hang down instead of coming up from the floor.
Click to expand...
I think one of the reasons why the G29 is still popular is because it is heavily discounted regularly. It's almost always available somewhere for around £180 here, and Currys did the G29 plus the shifter for £159.99 last month, for example. TM gets its fair share of discounts too, but Logitech has the advantage of being the more mainstream brand.

The TH8 shifter is where TM completely outclasses Logitech, but so it should at 3-4 times the price!


TJP said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONVcrAzxiE4

Alan seems impressed :)
Click to expand...
Wow, that does look really promising! Codemasters might have some competition at last. I'm glad Alan mentioned an improved throttle response, because that was one of the worst aspects of recent WRC games. Love the look of the chase cam, probably quite annoying to play but it's really cinematic - some of those sequences looked photo-realistic! :eek: I imagine YouTube's compression and sticking it in a small frame in the video is helping to hide the flaws, but still, it seems like the new graphics king for rally games.

The one thing that stood out to me as concerning was the Porsche sequence on tarmac, how it was almost constantly laying down rubber on acceleration. Tarmac always shows the flaws with rally physics...
 
K

KdotIX

Member
Hey all, as a flurry of racing games are coming out this year and since there are quite a lot that we all already play, would it be worth setting up a Gaf Racers Discord server? It would be handy for co-ordinating online races, leagues and sessions.

It would also be nice to chat, discuss things such as rigs, sim hardware, briefly discuss racing games (of the past, present and future) share tips, setups, strategies, guides and of course links to Gaf posts and OTs.

What do you guys think?

Of course, if there is something already like this setup and I don't know of it, let me know (and send me an invite please).
 
V

Vossler

Member
Figured I would try here - does anyone have a fix for the G27 blinking green shift light? I've read it's something with either the power cable (of which I also tried my dual force GT power supply and it works fine with that wheel, but not the G27), but no go. The wheel spins a little, then stop, twice, or that it is something with the optical sensor, but I'd have to open the wheel to fix that. Windows 10 ultimate 64-bit, drivers from Logitech's site. Everything else, the pedals, shifters, all buttons work, but no initial calibration or force feedback from the wheel.
 
A

AnythingBut

Member
KdotIX said:
Hey all, as a flurry of racing games are coming out this year and since there are quite a lot that we all already play, would it be worth setting up a Gaf Racers Discord server? It would be handy for co-ordinating online races, leagues and sessions.

It would also be nice to chat, discuss things such as rigs, sim hardware, briefly discuss racing games (of the past, present and future) share tips, setups, strategies, guides and of course links to Gaf posts and OTs.

What do you guys think?

Of course, if there is something already like this setup and I don't know of it, let me know (and send me an invite please).
Click to expand...

Not seen one here before (might be wrong) and as it's a great idea i chucked up a room on my discord.

https://discord.gg/wsTVFMb

Have my own AC server, so that's a start. :)
 
T

Tyl3n0L85

Neo Member
So I pulled the trigger on iRacing. I got the 1 year McLaren deal which included a few extra tracks for 50$

I've been racing with my Xbox controller thought. it's not as bad as I though it would be! I also ordered my Playseat Challenge. Waiting for the T300RS GT to go back on sale and I'll get it.

I have a few questions about iRacing.

So all of those extra tracks that came with my subscription (Brazil, COTA, Monza). Is there a way to do Practice with them with other people as a Rookie?

I can do Time Trial on my own but I couldn't find a way to race on them (official or not).
 
O

Ocho

Member
Tyl3n0L85 said:
So all of those extra tracks that came with my subscription (Brazil, COTA, Monza). Is there a way to do Practice with them with other people as a Rookie?
Click to expand...

Only if you create/join a hosted race, but usually they're organized things and not sure how welcoming of rookies.

For non hosted, you'd need to wait for an official week rotation of that map for whatever series you're running (track availability varies, sometimes a track is not run for seasons). The track will be available for online practice for the whole week.
 
S

seattle6418

Member
So i decided to upgrade my 10 year old G25.

I don´t to half ass it, so i would like a Fanatec set. Which one is the best? Does it work on the PS4, or only a crappy model does this?

Any way to buy in a store in the United States? I live in Brazil, and here a complete Fanatec set retails for USD 3.000,00, which is insane and repulsive.

I´ll be in the USA in march, so if there´s a place where i can find t, i would be all over it. Is there any place that sells them online with worldwide shipping?

I know most of guys have been through this, that´s why i´m asking in this thread.

Thrustmaster is double the price of a G29 and it´s just not good enough, that why i´m thinking Fanatec.

Please help me Racing-Gaf, i don´t want to endure Pcars2, GTS and Forza in a crappy wheel with horrible pedals.
 
M

marvelharvey

Member
seattle6418 said:
I don´t to half ass it, so i would like a Fanatec set. Which one is the best? Does it work on the PS4, or only a crappy model does this?
Click to expand...
I believe the CSL Elite is Fanatec's PS4 wheel (the CSW isn't for PS4 sadly). They have a newer direct drive wheel being released later this year, but I am unsure its PS4 compatibility. I'm guessing a NO though.

As for purchasing, why not have it delivered to your hotel during your US trip? Or, you could try using a mail forwarding service like Reship, who receive goods from USA/Canada and ship anywhere in the world.
 
K

kiyomi

Member
Tyl3n0L85 said:
So I pulled the trigger on iRacing. I got the 1 year McLaren deal which included a few extra tracks for 50$

I've been racing with my Xbox controller thought. it's not as bad as I though it would be! I also ordered my Playseat Challenge. Waiting for the T300RS GT to go back on sale and I'll get it.

I have a few questions about iRacing.

So all of those extra tracks that came with my subscription (Brazil, COTA, Monza). Is there a way to do Practice with them with other people as a Rookie?

I can do Time Trial on my own but I couldn't find a way to race on them (official or not).
Click to expand...

>Thinking you will get any meaningful practice time with other racers that bought into iRacing's price gouging and rented content. Maybe you could host a lobby. And pay for it.
 
D

DD

Member
Is anyone here trying the F1 2017 e-sports qualifying event? If so, how are you guys doing? My best result was with the AI at 95 without assists. I can see myself doing it at 100 at max if I could pull perfect lap after perfect lap, but holy f*ck, I have no idea how people are doing at 110! ಠ_ಠ
 
S

seattle6418

Member
marvelharvey said:
I believe the CSL Elite is Fanatec's PS4 wheel (the CSW isn't for PS4 sadly). They have a newer direct drive wheel being released later this year, but I am unsure its PS4 compatibility. I'm guessing a NO though.

As for purchasing, why not have it delivered to your hotel during your US trip? Or, you could try using a mail forwarding service like Reship, who receive goods from USA/Canada and ship anywhere in the world.
Click to expand...

Thanks, i´ll look into reship. The PS4 wheel situation is really shitty, i´ll probably start GTS on the Dualshock, which is horrible.

I´ll have to do a lot of planning to get a complete Fanatec set in my hands.
 
M

Mascot

Member
seattle6418 said:
Thanks, i´ll look into reship. The PS4 wheel situation is really shitty, i´ll probably start GTS on the Dualshock, which is horrible.

I´ll have to do a lot of planning to get a complete Fanatec set in my hands.
Click to expand...

If it's hard to get hold of then also consider the ball-ache you'd have if a fault develops and you need to return any of it.

It's worth bearing in mind for complex equipment.
 
T

Tyl3n0L85

Neo Member
Mascot said:
If it's hard to get hold of then also consider the ball-ache you'd have if a fault develops and you need to return any of it.

It's worth bearing in mind for complex equipment.
Click to expand...


This is a deal breaker for me. As I said, living in Canada the shipping cost from US is 200$. I could manage buying it knowing everything works as expected however since this isn't a guarantee at all I would rather go for a cheaper product (thrustmaster) that is available here easier to return via Best buy or Amazon.


I also got my Playseat Challenge today. Took 15mins to set-up, no tools required. Very straightforward and was very comfy for the whole 2 mins I sat on it :) It seems pretty sturdy too. I'm still looking for a wheel to go with it. It is basically a 300$ zero gravity chair with a mount on it. But for the average Joe who doesn't have the welding tools and materials to build one it's pretty much the only "racing cockpit" which doesn't break the bank and easily foldable.
 
M

Makikou

Member
So i've been away from the topic for a bit but hey, i'm back with a vengeance.

Upgraded from the T300RS to a CSW V2.5.. well it's actually a CSW V2 that broke down, went to Fanatec for warranty repairs and they added V2.5 electronics and motor into the V2 base making it essentially a frankenstein V2/V2.5 that recognizes itself as V2.5 on Windows.

It's got a pretty amazing feel, I got a universal hub with just a basic GT-style wheel rim on it right now but I might need to buy a Formula-type rim aswell. The forces are just so much more visceral compared to the T300RS.
 
Z

Zeth

Member
Think I finally need a new TH8A. Threads stripped earlier this year and I started using a small wooden block to use fresh threads - now that part has stripped too. And I don't even over-tighten it - I guess it's just from almost daily use. Wish I could just hard mount but I'm stuck with this desk a bit longer.
 
M

Mascot

Member
Zeth said:
Think I finally need a new TH8A. Threads stripped earlier this year and I started using a small wooden block to use fresh threads - now that part has stripped too. And I don't even over-tighten it - I guess it's just from almost daily use. Wish I could just hard mount but I'm stuck with this desk a bit longer.
Click to expand...

What threads have stripped?
Couldn't you just epoxy resin the threads together (whatever they are)?
 
lem0n

lem0n

Member
Is it worth getting more than just the CSL Elite alcantara wheel when I'm spec-ing my new Fanatec setup? I will be playing AC, PCARS1/2, Forza 7, Dirt Rally/4 and maybe some Euro Truck. It'll be attached to the CSW v2.5 fwiw. Also, other options for a handbrake? Fanatec is out of stock and I will be playing DiRT the most and require a hb. Thanks!
 
M

Mascot

Member
Zeth said:
The clamp.
Click to expand...

Like this?

th8a-clamp.jpg


I'm guessing the female thread is stripped? Looks pretty fixable if you know the thread size. Shame to spend £120 on a new shifter because of stripped threads. Can't you just put a suitable hex nut on the underside of the bracket?
 
Z

Zeth

Member
Mascot said:
Like this?

https://www.gtplanet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/th8a-clamp.jpg[/MG]

I'm guessing the female thread is stripped? Looks pretty fixable if you know the thread size. Shame to spend £120 on a new shifter because of stripped threads. Can't you just put a suitable hex nut on the underside of the bracket?[/QUOTE]

This is exactly why I posted in the thread - thanks for the tip lol.
Click to expand...
 
M

marvelharvey

Member
Big Takeover said:
I'm always a bit envious of his temperament when being done wrong. I need an exorcism :p.
Click to expand...
I've seen a video of Matt, breaking his equipment in a fit of rage, but only the one. But yes, he's a saint compared to what would be going through my head. I very much respected his gravel-trap-overtake though.
 
TJP

TJP

Member
marvelharvey said:
Today's Matt Malone race took a couple of laps to get going but boy was it intense. What a great 25 minutes of entertainment.
Click to expand...
I have no idea who Matt Malone is however I did watch parts of the video and reviewed the YT comments. The person driving the red MX-5 is known for his antics and send to get away with dirty driving which explains a 1100 view video with 100 likes!
 
B

Branson

Member
Seems to be a little bit of a surge of racing games this month. Anyone play anything they like yet between WRC 7, NASCAR Heat 2, F1 2017, etc? Also Project Cars 2 coming up. I'm so behind I still need to check out Dirt 4 and F1.
 
A

AnythingBut

Member
TJP said:
any thoughts on what you played? The shit tier blog sponsored by SMS crapped on WRC 7 which is unsurprising.
Click to expand...

Quick vid from today, it's in 4k but YT taking it's sweet time rendering it. :(

https://youtu.be/zqkmi-BMU2Y

Stock settings for my T300 weren't the best, but after a little tweaking it's not bad at all now.
It's certainly challenging for sure, some of the stages are REALLY narrow, cough too hard and you'll be in a wall/off a cliff ect.

Lighting is lovley tbh and looks pretty damm nice in 4k. :)
 
P

pettson3816

Member
AnythingBut said:
Quick vid from today, it's in 4k but YT taking it's sweet time rendering it. :(

https://youtu.be/zqkmi-BMU2Y

Stock settings for my T300 weren't the best, but after a little tweaking it's not bad at all now.
It's certainly challenging for sure, some of the stages are REALLY narrow, cough too hard and you'll be in a wall/off a cliff ect.

Lighting is lovley tbh and looks pretty damm nice in 4k. :)
Click to expand...

Holy shit @ that driving! Awesome job!
 
TJP

TJP

Member
AnythingBut said:
It's certainly challenging for sure, some of the stages are REALLY narrow, cough too hard and you'll be in a wall/off a cliff ect.

Lighting is lovley tbh and looks pretty damm nice in 4k. :)
Click to expand...
great video!

Thanks for posting this and for your thoughts on the sim.
 
A

Ark

Member
Branson said:
Seems to be a little bit of a surge of racing games this month. Anyone play anything they like yet between WRC 7, NASCAR Heat 2, F1 2017, etc? Also Project Cars 2 coming up. I'm so behind I still need to check out Dirt 4 and F1.
Click to expand...

I was tempted to pick up F1 2017, but I've ended up getting back into iRacing instead. I've started using VRS and it's pretty neat.
 
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