Sim Racing Game Discussion

TiZakit said:

I just got my wheel...

Outside of now having to completely change my desk around, I also can't drive any more.

It will take a long time to get used to this.

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Yep, you're going to suck for a while with a wheel, its kinda funny.

\dev\goat said:

I signed up to iRacing today and played around for a bit with my 360 controller. Game looks to be super fun but the controller is absolute garbage. Joysticks are sloppy as hell and it really shows in this game. They don't reset to a "zero" position or anywhere close to it when you release them. Calibration tool in iRacing was showing -37% on the right stick when i wasnt touching it, and -40% on the left stick. Probably 50 hours played in various games with this controller, so its definitely not worn out. Must just be a piece of crap.

I'll definitely be buying a racing wheel and giving it another try

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Shoot me a message before buying, not all wheels are made equal

Corey, we need to make a note for people signing up to PM someone in this thread so they can get a referral.

\dev\goat said:

I signed up to iRacing today and played around for a bit with my 360 controller. Game looks to be super fun but the controller is absolute garbage

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You can certainly race with the 360 controller, and ATMINSIDE will attest that I've done it for hours of racing. I have not (and will not) try it in a real race though.

However, it does totally suck. No deadzone makes it incredibly hard to drive on straights. You have to have finesse when steering. Also, the instant turning makes it very hard to take corners and recover from slides. Way too easy to spin out.

thideras said:

You can certainly race with the 360 controller, and ATMINSIDE will attest that I've done it for hours of racing. I have not (and will not) try it in a real race though.

However, it does totally suck. No deadzone makes it incredibly hard to drive on straights. You have to have finesse when steering. Also, the instant turning makes it very hard to take corners and recover from slides. Way too easy to spin out.

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I've never tried it with a controller, since I was able to try it on my friend's G27, and I don't plan to after following Thid

There's no doubt that it works though!

I race with the 360 controller, I've gotten pretty good at it but yeah some games like rFactor has 0 deadzone out of the box and drives me crazy. I used to have a wheel but it broke and I hadn't bothered since then.

Tekno, what wheel did you have?

ATMINSIDE said:

Tekno, what wheel did you have?

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It was a used G25, it broke like 4 or 5 years ago.

TeknoBug said:

It was a used G25, it broke like 4 or 5 years ago.

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My buddy used one of those for ~6 years before having issues, he got the G27 I was speaking of earlier in the thread.

They're nice for sure, but the pedals are a bit lack luster.

For any NASCAR fans don't forget about NASCAR® RACING 2003 Season by (Sierra®/Papyrus® /Vivendi Universal®)

Although the game was released long ago the sim community still actively supports the title with 2013-BullRing Generation-6 reportedly being one of the most popular/best.

Worth checking out...... IMO

So this is what I have going so far. The monitor used to be in the corner of the desk, so I needed to move everything around to make this all work.



I just noticed how much logitech equipment I have. wow.

TiZakit said:

So this is what I have going so far. The monitor used to be in the corner of the desk, so I needed to move everything around to make this all work.

I just noticed how much logitech equipment I have. wow.

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I dig it!

I've got a G710+, G900, and G930. I know the feeling
I'll have some more info up tonight, and I'll be including some links to upgrades for G27 equipment that you might be interested in

A post about wheels, pedals, and shifters.

This is going to start at the cheapest and work its way up. I'll toss in recommendations, compatibility, and other information along the way.


Logitech Driving Force GT - $150
- Wheel is nice.
- Only a two-pedal setup, with a potentiometer brake.
- Shifter is only sequential. No paddles, but it has shifter "buttons".

This is my "bare-minimum" wheel. It gets the job done with good force feedback, but the pedal and shifting setup is passable at best.

Compatible with the PS2, PS3, and PC.


Logitech G27 Racing Wheel - $300
- Wheel is really nice, great feedback, good quality.
- Three-pedal setup, which is great. Plastic construction, potentiomenter brake.
- Shifter is only H-Pattern, with six forward gears and one reverse gear. Also has paddles.

This is a pretty go-to wheel in the sim racing community. There are some good mods, which I will get in to in a second, and Logitech has great quality as always.
My only issue with these is the pedal construction and the potentiometer brake. One of which can be remedied.

Compatible with the PS3 and PC.

G27 Mods:
- Bodnar Cable.
This lets you use your G25/27 pedals as a standalone device, if you get a new wheel or just want better precision.
- G25/27 Load Cell Brake.
This is a direct replacement for the potentiometer brake that comes with the setup. The benefit here is that the brake will feel almost identical to that of a real car.


Fanatec CSR Wheel Value Pack - $360
- Wheel is of great quality, best force feedback on the list.
- Three pedal setup. Pedals are of much better construction (mostly aluminum), and already have a load cell brake.
- One H-pattern and one Sequential shifter. H-pattern has six forward gears and one reverse gear. Also has paddles.

As far as a combo for a starter, it doesn't get any better. The quality is there, it has some frills, but not enough to really jack up the price (some wheels go fro $2k+).
Force feedback is very strong, it'll make you sore after long stints, but you get used to it. The shifter mounting system could use some work, but that's really the only weak point of this combo.

Compatible with the 360, PS3, and PC.

CSR Mods:
- Pedal Inversion Kit.
Allows the pedals to be suspension mounted (top mount instead of bottom)
- Table Clamp V2.
For those who want a more solid mount. Also stiffens the shifter mount considerably.


Thrustmaster T500 RS - $600
- Wheel is very nice, strong feedback.
- Three pedal setup. Can be floor or suspension mounted (bottom or top mount)
- No shifter, but it has huge paddles.

Pretty expensive for someone getting into sim racing. For those who have been around a while, love it, and don't mind spending the extra cash, this can be a very nice setup.
This rotates to 1080° instead of the 900° that most wheels are capable of. The brake isn't a load cell, but it has a "Realistic Brake" installed from Thrustmaster.

Compatible with the PS3 and PC.

T500 RS Mods:
- TH8 RS Shifter.
This adds ~$150 to the price, but it is an H-pattern and sequential shifter in one. Seven forward gears, one reverse gear.


That's all for now, most other setups cost way more than these and wouldn't be meant for a starter (or even a desk, usually).

So ah........

I might have found my issue with corners. The auto-clutch seems to works differently than when I had a controller. Basically, I think it is dumping the clutch on me, rear end looses grip, I spin out.

I turned on the clutch, and actually made it around the track with out spinning.

Sound plausible?

And awesome resources! I might add that the g27 is around $240 on Amazon right now. If the difference were truly $60 I would have sprung for the CSR value pack.

Long term iRacer here subscribing in. Sim was so good it persuaded me to build a real car and take it racing! Kinda maybe /thread?




If you guys want in car video I can make that happen too!

TiZakit said:

So ah........

I might have found my issue with corners. The auto-clutch seems to works differently than when I had a controller. Basically, I think it is dumping the clutch on me, rear end looses grip, I spin out.

I turned on the clutch, and actually made it around the track with out spinning.

Sound plausible?

And awesome resources! I might add that the g27 is around $240 on Amazon right now. If the difference were truly $60 I would have sprung for the CSR value pack.

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I could see that happening.

For the sake of day-to-day comparison I put MSRP, since that's standard.

Fugu said:

Long term iRacer here subscribing in. Sim was so good it persuaded me to build a real car and take it racing! Kinda maybe /thread?




If you guys want in car video I can make that happen too!

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Awesome setup and nice Miata!

I've gotta say that the iRacing software is so spot on and the skills it actually teaches a new driver really enforce safety and car control.

2nd or 3rd race I had ever competed in.. (5 years of iRacing). Frost plug blows out on my motor and dumps water all over my rear tires! Mad fast drift catch on a track that being so new required all that concrete to keep us in check!

Nice setup Fugu!!

Got my wheel in yesterday and it is an absolute blast. ATMINSIDE and his friend helped me get everything going and are still in the process of getting me to not crash. Getting there, but the wheel is a huge difference.

Fugu said:

I've gotta say that the iRacing software is so spot on and the skills it actually teaches a new driver really enforce safety and car control.

2nd or 3rd race I had ever competed in.. (5 years of iRacing). Frost plug blows out on my motor and dumps water all over my rear tires! Mad fast drift catch on a track that being so new required all that concrete to keep us in check!

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Nice racing Fugu and good looking race car.

Here's an interesting thing i'm trying to figure out.

you guys have all played the old arcade games like these..





What I am trying to do is get something like Trackmania 2 Stadium or whatever working flawlessly with the G27 so that when I have company over they can just hop in and play in an arcade style setting. iRacing takes some tutoring to get going in and I don't need more racing sims I don't play but something simple like this is very much hop in and go kinda gaming, perfect for the random that wants to try it out.

So as it sits I have it working on the triple screens, thats no problem and i've found that enabling centering spring gives some push back on the wheel but there is 0 force feedback in this title which sucks but is understandable. Anyone think of anything I can do to make this feel a bit better as a racing game?