sim steering wheel / pedal setups

[AVR_Shane]

I know it's been talked about lots, but it's hard to find a consensus on what to get these days for wheels and pedals. I have done the research and know very well that money talks here, but I'm more curious on a few things from our community..

- what wheels / pedals others are running right now. I'm running an old Logitech G25, strongly considering a proper upgrade
- if you truly believe that better setups yield better lap times
- if a better setup transfers better to "real world training"

Thanks all

[Jamesbe]

1 - better setup can lead to better lap times but not necessarily. The biggest factor IMO is brake pedals
2 - Better setup for sure translates to better real world training. Load cell brake and a good wheel direct drive is best, but even a good belt driven wheel give proper feel and feedback that a real car does.

3 - I had a G25 and then tested extensively a friends thrustmaster setup it was much better. I then upgraded to a Fanatec setup and it was leaps better than the thurstmaster IMO -- especially the pedals.

VR also makes a huge difference, IMO. It moves you from 2 dimensions to 3 and you now have depth perception and head and eye movement the same as real life driving.

[AVR_Shane]

1 - better setup can lead to better lap times but not necessarily. The biggest factor IMO is brake pedals
2 - Better setup for sure translates to better real world training. Load cell brake and a good wheel direct drive is best, but even a good belt driven wheel give proper feel and feedback that a real car does.

3 - I had a G25 and then tested extensively a friends thrustmaster setup it was much better. I then upgraded to a Fanatec setup and it was leaps better than the thurstmaster IMO -- especially the pedals.

VR also makes a huge difference, IMO. It moves you from 2 dimensions to 3 and you now have depth perception and head and eye movement the same as real life driving.

What model Fanatec stuff do you have?

VR is definitely a future want, but I'm going to have to upgrade my computer before I go that route.

[Jamesbe]

I picked up this bundle 2+ years ago. It was a good bang for the buck for a higher end setup IMO.

https://fanatec.com/us-en/bundles/fo...or-xbox-one-pc

[David Clubine]

As Jamesbe says we have found the that pedals are the biggest thing. We are using a G29 wheel and fantec pedals with the braking upgrade, it finally behaves more like the real thing. We wasted far too much on cheap stuff we could have had the direct drive wheel long ago if we hadn't.....

[Jamesbe]

Basically a good setup is the cost of a set of tires, maybe 2 sets for really good stuff.

You'll gain more seat and benefit for free after, it's a win win.

I have 800hrs on the sim in 2 ish years. Imagine that much time on a real track, cost would be insane.

Some of that time is screwing around though, say 1/4 but still lost of real practice

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[lowside67]

There have been a number of these threads lately, but to summarize:

Pedals - load cell pedals will produce more repeatably fast lap times, without question. IMO the hardest skill to execute on the computer is braking and standard non-load cell pedals which use pedal travel to correlate to brake pressure not only do not feel realistic, but it is well documented that we can more reliably create a certain amount of pressure with our feet than a certain amount of travel.

Wheel - a better wheel feels better and more realistic, but will do little for your lap times.

Newer sim participants tend to spend to overspend on the wheel and underspend on the pedals IMO.

-Mark

[BeerBudgetRacing]

What about the VR equipment used?
If that's better and saves space too it's probably worthwhile on a new setup.

[lowside67]

I think VR falls into the personal preference category. I believe most of the top sim racers as well as race car drivers turned sim racers at the very top end (think F1 guys) are all running triples. I think there is evidence that both VR and triples have pros and cons and it's not nearly as cut and dry as say the benefit of load cell pedals.

-Mark

[Garey Guzman]

A video showing Josef Newgarden's setup was a single curved screen, maybe the 49" wide one?

[Jamesbe]

Only benefit triples have over VR is resolution. It looks nice. But for me I don't care what it looks like as long as I can see the stuff I need to see.

The depth perception makes a huge difference.

I know it seems the pros haven't switched although I know some have.

Most of the fastest guys I've run with use VR with a few exceptions.

It does take way less space!

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[Garey Guzman]

So the ClubSport Pedals V3 is a good pedal set? I assume I can plug it into my old, old Logitech (before G25, E-X5C19)

[Jamesbe]

You can plug them in via USB so they should work with any wheel.

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[Garey Guzman]

You can plug them in via USB so they should work with any wheel.

Excellent! I assume the $360 price on their website is reasonablly priced? I'm not seeing them cheaper anywhere else.

[Jamesbe]

Yeah I ordered direct, no deals to be found really. You may want to look at their inverted pedals too some like the inverted feel but I'm happy with the regular model.

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[lowside67]

There is a lot of discussion about the CSL Elite LC vs Clubsport V3 LC. Many people actually prefer some parts of the lower cost Elite LCs to the "stock" Clubsport - the real value in the Clubsport is the ability to adjust and modify the pedals, but that is more money and deeper down the rabbit hole.

I need a pedal upgrade from my basic Thrustmaster non LC pedals and I am going between the two but leading towards the Elite LC.

-Mark

[BeerBudgetRacing]

A video showing Josef Newgarden's setup was a single curved screen, maybe the 49" wide one?

My son tried one of those and it didn't make him feel too good !

But I suspect VR might do the same until you adjust.

[pleavens]

No idea how much the load cell pedals help, but I cannot see going back to ANY screen combo after using my VR setup. The depth perception difference is impossible to describe, but you can actually SEE the camber and elevation changes of the track. And what you see your brain uses to fool you into believing is real. In some ways it's harder at first as you are so connected to all this additional information that self preservation comes into play.

Clubsport pedals here, and yeah not the best feedback. Love to try a load cell setup.

Phil

[Jamesbe]

The loadcell is great because you can set it to your desired force. Press it hard or light for 100% your choice.

I tried to set mine up similar to my real car, firm pedal and a good amount of force needed.

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[BeerBudgetRacing]

No idea how much the load cell pedals help, but I cannot see going back to ANY screen combo after using my VR setup. The depth perception difference is impossible to describe, but you can actually SEE the camber and elevation changes of the track. And what you see your brain uses to fool you into believing is real. In some ways it's harder at first as you are so connected to all this additional information that self preservation comes into play.

Clubsport pedals here, and yeah not the best feedback. Love to try a load cell setup.

Phil

what VR setup are you using?