Sim Racing is an expensive hobby to get into! Decent Fanatec set of gears are $2k and a rig is $1k, + PC + Monitors.
Is there a way to save on sim racing? What do you use and how much have you spend so far?
Sim Racing Deals/Tips for OzBarginers
Oz8argain on 23/09/2020 - 11:45
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Good reply above for OP. I too Sim Race and also Sim Fly.
Have you sim raced before? I can appreciate that if not, then there may be hesitation to spend a lot simply because you don't know if you'll like it. But, from someone that has bought lots of wheels (and HOTAS), it's definitely a case of buy good once as opposed to buying cheap multiple times.
I used to run triple screen racing and flying but have since progressed to VR. It does require a beefier machine, but it takes up a lot less realestate in terms of hardware. Plus definitely more immersive, but hassle in other ways. Eg. I like going back to monitor racing to save my eyes and (literal) weight off my head/face.
Just to expand on my original reply, if you do decide to splurge on higher end gear, I would put more of that money into the pedals rather than the wheelbase. I have the basic CSL elite pedals and they do the job, but in terms of feel and consistency, the difference was pretty big for me when I tried a friends load cell pedals.
And as another commenter said, Thrustmaster is another option to consider, they're pretty easy to obtain these days being at JB and Big W, so warranty wise it should be decent. While I was deciding if I wanted Thrustmaster or Fanatec, I read up a lot on forums and just saw way too many people saying their Thrustmaster gear died after a couple years, but that's likely a vocal minority.
Oh and if you have Facebook, theres a sim racing australia buy/sell/swap group you can join, people regularly sell their gear at lower prices if you're okay with second hand.
Really detailed replies, thank you guys!
I have been using G27 for a long time now and wanting to get better gear ever since lockdown started, and Fanatec seems to be the next step up but was shocked by the price when getting a full set.
I'm also worried that my IKEA table can't handle the extra torque since it's already flexing with a G27. I've also heard that cheap rigs flexes too much as well?
Reading through the comments on the facebook group, the consensus seems to be buy new to get the warranty for Fanatec in case it breaks.
Looks I need to be prepared to spend $$!I’ve got an ikea desk and aside from some occasional monitor shake it’s fine for me. Cheap rigs definitely do flex, don’t get the wheel stands that have the wheelbase sitting on a pole.
Take a look at rigs that are similar to the GT omega apex if you’re not wanting a fully seated rig, those seem to be well reviewed. As I said I plan on getting a foldable rig such as the apex and just setting it up basically under and in front of my desk and using my office chair which has full tilt so it kind of simulates an F1 car lol.
But if you have the space and money to get a nice rig then by all means do so.
Went from Logitech G29 to Fanatec CSL Elite (the 1k F1 bundle) and I can say that it's a much nicer driving experience
I have a G29 and I'm thinking of upgrading to the same bundle…why do you tempt me like this????
But yes, like others have mentioned, possible to save by buying second hand but you risk no warranty etc. The Sim Racing Australia Buy Swap and Sell group is pretty useful.
Buy second hand.
If you're just getting started in Sim Racing I wouldn't be going all in on a Fanatec setup. I would start at some of the more affordable belt driven wheels by Thrustmaster. The T300RS is a great all rounder and is much more affordable than the Fanatec wheels. I think all the modern Logitech wheels (G29) are gear driven, which most people dislike compared to belt. These wheels are also notoriously noisy which can be annoying. I've owned G25 (belt), G27 (gear), T500 (belt) and T300RS (belt) and I prefer the Thrustmaster wheels much more than the gear driven Logitec. Direct drive Fanatec wheels are big step up on these, but the cost is very significant.
Having a solid mounting point for your wheel should be a serious considering. Mounting it to a desk and sitting in an office chair rarely works. Even when talking about consumer wheels like the Thrustmaster and Logitecs you really should be a considering a serious mounting setup that is not just your general desk.
Display wise again comes down to cost and the power of your PC. If your aiming for >60fps then finding a single large screen that is affordable can be tricky. Most TV's are 60hz. It's hard to find non-smart TV's >60hz for a good price. To be honest I have not looked recently so there may be some decent options these days. For the longest time I used an old 40" LCD screen which was great, but its getting super old now. I've recently made the switch to VR which as been fun, but this limits you in some respects in terms of what games you can play. Annoyingly none of the Codemasters games (e.g. DIRT rally, F1 20xx etc) dont support VR natively. But all the big boy titles (e.g. rFactor2, AC, iRacing) all support it with the notable exception of Automobilista. Also VR has serious GPU requirements. I started off with a relatively weak GPU and struggle. I bit the bullet and upgrade to a 2080ti and its been amazing.Yea mounting a G27 to a desk is not great at all!
What VR are you using? I find that the lower resolution in vive is annoying and hard to get used to.I use a HTC Vive. But I have modified mine to use the lenses from a Samsung Gear VR headset. The Fresnel lens in the Vive is atrocious. After performing the modification it made the experience 100x better. This is a somewhat risky mod though. You pretty much nuke your warranty.
how did you get the 3D printed bracket? I can't seem to PM you
Went from Logitech G29 to Fanatec CSL Elite (the 1k F1 bundle) and I can say that it's a much nicer driving experience, I feel like I can catch the car better due to having more force feedback detail, so that was a worthy upgrade to me, but it certainly didn't make me a better sim racer, so that's up to you if you want that extra detail when driving. Personally though, Logitech customer support was really great, and Fanatec's was pretty shocking, but I've not had any major issues with my Fanatec gear yet. Make of that what you will.
As far as a rig goes, I'm just desk mounting atm but planning on buying a GT Omega wheel stand (~$200) that folds up, since having a full seated rig just takes up way too much space and I'd need a second computer/room really.
Luckily already have a good PC and monitors, but if you're starting from nothing, there's always good PC deals on here. Most games I've played like Assetto Corsa, Project Cars 2, F1 2020 don't require a beefy computer either, since the sim games like AC and iRacing focus more on the physics, but if you were to get into VR sim racing (which is incredible), then I'd say you should get a somewhat decently spec'd computer.