"It's a "Porch-uh"" (ikazuchi)
04/25/2016 at 18:13 • Filed to: Go sim racer go, build threads
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"It's a "Porch-uh"" (ikazuchi)
04/25/2016 at 18:13 • Filed to: Go sim racer go, build threads | 4
| 5 |
For a while now, I had been kicking around the idea of building a racing sim rig. My young kids (now 5 and 3) have been playing driving games on my PS3 for a while, and each time I have to drag out a small end table, clamp on the wheel, setup the pedals in the right spot, and then have to put is all away again when they’re done. I hate using it because I’m forced to sit on the floor, neck craned up at the wall-mounted TV, back up against the ottoman. It’s not comfortable for adults.
For a while, I considered one of those $150 stands for the wheel and pedals, but the large ottoman in the livingroom would have left little room for a chair to sit behind it, so I used the wheel and pedals less and less.
Then one day our old plasma TV started having troubles. It would randomly stop showing video, which was great mid-show or mid-game. After a few weeks of this, we decided to get a new one.
I had also recently come to a point with my latest race car project, a 2001 M3, where I felt that I did not have the time to work on it, much less race it. I still had two 24hours of LeMons teams that I raced with, so I was not without some sort of car-related money pit, but now everything started coming together to build the sim rig.
I had my “old” PS3 (recently usurped by an XBox One), a GT racing wheel/pedal set, an expired Sparco race seat, and an intermittently-working 50" 720i plasma screen. Just needed some metal to put it all together.
At the local metal yard I picked up 60' of square tube, two different sizes. The idea was to build the base in three sections (screen stand, wheel stand, and seat base) so that I could take it apart if needed (moving, using pieces separately, etc). So 20' is a bit larger, the remainder is smaller (and thinner wall) so that it slip fits into the larger sections. Time to get cutting... and maybe some measuring.
Instead of buying a specialized chop saw for cutting metal, I thought, “Why don’t I just put a metal blade on my miter saw?” Well it worked great, but I quickly realized why it wasn’t built for cutting metal. First dumb thing I did was leave the dust catch bag on the back, which does not hold up well to sparks, and quickly burnt through. Next, not learning any lessons about hot sparks and plastic, realized the sparks were melting the piece that funnels dust to the bag, so I had to block that with a plate of tin. Finally, my saw (for some reason) uses a plastic plate around the slot where the blade comes through the table. This piece was quickly melted as the metal I was cutting heated up under the blade. So those are all on my list of replacement parts I need to buy for my saw.
Next up... getting my welder out from behind an S54. Stay tuned for the next chapter as I start to actually put things together.
finn's arm
> It's a "Porch-uh"
04/25/2016 at 18:31 |
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Mmmmm spare S54
TheHondaBro
> It's a "Porch-uh"
04/25/2016 at 19:48 |
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Good luck! I really enjoyed working on mine.
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> It's a "Porch-uh"
04/25/2016 at 20:57 |
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Well I’m getting my HTC Vive soon so I don’t need the screen. I could get a seat etc...
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It's a "Porch-uh"
> 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
04/25/2016 at 22:15 |
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The future plan is to replace the super-sweet PS3 with a nice PC and VR rig. The TV is still nice to have so others can see what’s going on.
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415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> It's a "Porch-uh"
04/26/2016 at 00:25 |
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Fuck other people! Actually you can hook up the monitor so people can see your game. I just built the Oculus booth and we had some demo rooms. I decided on the Vive, I tried it at E3 and GDC. I got an email from HTC today, telling me to make sure I have the money. So maybe soon!