Live Out Your Le Mans Fantasies without Leaving Home
While watching the pros race online is fun, there is no better time than now to get a setup for yourself.
Currently, we automotive enthusiasts have more “downtime” than ever before. As a result of being restrained to our homes for the inevitable future, many of us have reached what some folks like to call peek boredom. However, my friends, I present a solution that will appease the mind of many a petrolhead. Let’s talk about sim racing.
What exactly is sim racing? Well, if you asked me if the concept could be broken down into a couple of sentences, this would be my description. Sim racing is much like any other discipline or competitive sport. You get to choose your own experience, your own journey. If you want to just have fun and drive around with your friends, that’s 100% possible. If you want to compete at the highest level with professional athletes for money, there is a way to do this there as well. It can be a black hole you can get trapped in. So, while sim racing as an esport doesn’t take into account the savage risks or pure g-forces that driving a “real” race car might provide, this does not discredit the fact that it can still provide an extremely rewarding experience for the driver. How rewarding you want the experience to be is determined by how much you’re willing to spend. This is a fact.
So to clarify, if you’re the type that likes to go out and drive just for the sake of driving, this might be for you. If doing canyon cruises, track days, and midnight strolls just to hear your engine is your type of thing, you’ll be disappointed you didn’t get into this sooner. Trust us, you won’t be the only ones.
This is because the allure of sim racing has began to reach a broader audience in recent time due to many factors. As all of us know, currently, there is no professional racing/sports going on anywhere in the world. However, that isn’t exactly true. For those unaware, professional racing drivers have been training in simulation rigs for many years now. Due to current events, these pro drivers are now turning their personal rigs not just for practice, but our own entertainment as well.
So nowadays, the organizers for the highest levels of motorsport like Formula 1 and IMSA are putting on racing weekends with their pro drivers- all in the game. Why? Because sim racing isn’t just fun to do yourself, its fun to watch too. This is due to the fact that sim racing can provide a lot of the key elements that make real racing so amazing. A recent eNASCAR event in popular sim racing standard iRacing racked up a stunning 903,000 live concurrent viewers. So we know you people are out there interested in doing this yourself. After all, most of these motorsport champions are racing out of their living rooms.
However, seeing your favorite Formula One drivers go head to head with their team’s backing brings a certain legitimacy to the esport even considering the current condition. Some other pro drivers have found out the sport’s legitimacy the hard way. Let’s not forget that esports is soon to be a billion-dollar industry and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
When money is on the line, people usually like to take things a little bit more seriously. Realize the fact that there are online racing championships with prize money purses up to $500,000. So, making a living from playing video games is not as uncommon a sight as compared to even 10 years ago. Consider that most of these pro drivers are spending at minimum a couple thousand dollars if not more on their sim racing setups, commonly known as “sim rigs”. That’s just to get started. However, people usually want an experience rewarding of the money they spend. For those trying to actual compete at the highest levels of sim racing, this means spending a pretty penny. However, this does not have to be you necessarily.
I won’t lie though. If your pockets are deep, the possibilities are endless. Sim racing can be a rabbit hole of sorts, so tread lightly. While this guide we are posting is not meant to be all-inclusive, complete, and authoritative guide in relation to getting into sim racing, I will try to cover as much relevant information as possible for those interested. So first we have to ask this question. What do you even want do in game? The possibilities are endless. Some people fancy rally cars and rally games as a result. Some folks don’t even like racing, they just enjoy the act of driving and want the most rewarding driving experience. Other folks are looking for strictly the most immersive racing experience possible. So let’s start with the obvious, the games.
Games
As a note, we we will primary be covering PC-based racing games and not the console-based systems or setups. This is due to modular nature of a PC-based setup. Currently, PC is the golden-standard for racing games. So if what you’re looking for is the most immersive and realistic racing experience available right now, then your choice would be Assetto Corsa Competizione. This is a GT3 class simulator made to be a direct mirror of the 2018/19 Blancpain GT season. For the highest level of diversity of cars, tracks, and overall inch-by-inch realism, iRacing, a subscription-based game is the current gold standard. However, platforms like Assetto Corsa allow for insane levels of customization and still provide very high levels of realism. If there is a road that is popular, for example, the mountain back roads of the Angeles Nation Forest north of Los Angeles, somebody has made a full scan of miles and miles of the road to drive. The community support for this game is simply next-level. Other games such as Dirt Rally 2.0, F1 2019, and Project Cars 2 can fill specific motorsport addictions.
Racing Wheels
If you don’t really want to commit to an expensive setup from the get go, I would recommend for the Logitech G25/27/29 wheel sets. These wheels are all relatively the same. They are the entry-level starting point that will still provide all the fun of driving your favorite cars, while they might not be the most accurate or precise tools. So if you do actually end up enjoying sim racing, you can always upgrade from this point. Before buying new, the used market may serve as a good starting point that can get these wheels with pedals in the $100-300 range.
However, if you are looking to take sim racing a bit more serious from the start, we recommend taking a look at offerings from Fanatec and Thrustmaster. Both of these companies provide product lines that allow a level of modularity between their gear. For example, you can upgrade a shifter add-on to your T300 servo base or upgrade the steering wheel. The base allows for different steering wheels, each with unique functions. However, most sim gear has a level of universality and can be interchangeable between brands. For example, you can use a set of Fanatec pedals with a Thrustmaster wheel/base or vice-versa.
For those looking for the best money can buy when talking wheels, a direct drive wheel is what you will be seeking. Those interested in this level of setup should review the additional reading material linked at the end of this article. Direct drive wheels are a whole different level of responsiveness and realism, even compared to top offerings from quality brands. Expect to pay at least $1,000-1,500 to start talking direct drive, however, you’ll never go back after this.
Rigs/Mounting
So, if you are just starting with a Logitech G-series wheel, mounting it to a sturdy desk might might suffice. For those interested, the folk at r/simracing on Reddit are always coming up with creative solutions for their rigs. DIY solutions are possible. However, if you want to have an independent system for your rig, there are some considerations to have. The first being cost, the second being the space you have available, and third being what type of wheel you have.
For a basic solution, a wheelstand is the best option for those who want space-saving in their rooms. There are budget options in the $100 range or there are premier options like the Next Level Racing Wheel Stand. However, since people have more time than ever, DIY solutions might be considered. The idea here is the more rigid the setup, the better. You don’t want whatever you are mounting to to have any sort of flex. This is due to the fact that this flex will inevitably lose responsiveness in both your pedals and wheel. All that responsiveness you paid good money for goes to waste quickly. We don’t want that.
So the full solution is having a seat and the wheel mounted as one complete system. There are entry-level options like the Playseat Challenge or the Next Level F-GT Lite. These allow for a certain level of storage-ability while still providing an immersive experience. For the more serious middle-range setup, there are options like the Rseat N1 or Next Level Racing GTTrack. For direct drive wheels, you’ll need a completely different system at times, because the structure needs to be able to handle the torque provided by these high-end wheels. Before buying direct drive, you need to have a compatible rig. Even higher end bases from Fanatec need good mounting, because you really don’t want to lose the responsiveness you’re paying for.
We won’t be covering motion platforms here because there simply enough scope in this article for these high-end components. You’ll be looking to spend a couple thousand at bare minimum just to get into this level of realism. Let’s not forget there are sim rigs that cost $1.5 million dollars.
Further Information
If you have made it this far into the article, you probably actually are interested in taking sim racing seriously. For those few, I’ll be posting some further reading material that will serve as useful. In addition, I will be posting my own personal “sim rig” setup. This way you can get a complete understanding of a basic low-mid level setup looks like. If anybody is interested in sim racing, feel free to message me on Instagram.
Additional Sources for Sim Racing
Getting Started in Sim Racing – Upshift
How to Build a Proper Home Racing Simulator Setup on a Budget – Road & Track
I’m Going to Try and Become a Pro Sim Racer. Here’s What it Costs to Get Started – The Drive
I Spent $8,085 To Build My Pro Sim Racing Rig. Here’s What I Bought – The Drive
My Sim Rig:
Wheel: Thrustmaster T300 RS
Pedals: Thrustmaster T3PA (with DIY load cell mod)
Rig/Mounting: Next Level Racing GTUltimate V2 (DIY monitor mount added)
- Intel i5-9600k
- AMD Sapphire 5700 XT
- Corsair SF600 PSU
- Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3200 8×2 GB
- Scythe Big Shuriken 3 Cooler
- XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2 NVMe x 2
- Gigabyte Z390i AORUS PRO WIFI
- Geeek A50 Case
- MSI 34″ Inch Ultrawide MAG341CQ 100 HZ 1440p
If anybody has any questions about getting starting with a setup, feel free to send me a message! At the end of the day, as long as you’re having fun, that’s what counts!