"i86hotdogs" (i86hotdogs)
04/30/2020 at 07:21 • Filed to: None
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"i86hotdogs" (i86hotdogs)
04/30/2020 at 07:21 • Filed to: None | 9
| 21 |
After countless excuses of not enough time or money, I finally put together a decent sim rig. The biggest roadblock for me always was the price. A decent wheel and pedals go anywhere from $300-$500, a good table or mount is another $200-$300, and a comfy enough seat is upwards around $100.
That is, until my friend sent me this:
A little less than 30ft of 2” PVC piping, a handful of joints, some spare plywood sheets I had lying around, and a lot of use out of my new Rigid reciprocating saw yielded me a strong enough frame to hold my plus-sized self. I reinforced most of the connections with corner and mending braces after a few trial runs of the joints coming apart mid drive. A lot of the screws, nuts, and bolts used were ones I had in my dedicated loose bits drawer. That saved some money and time
The seat is out of a 2010 Fiesta base model. The local junkyard had the care for barely a week when I came across it. Seat was already unbolted from the car, just sitting there waiting to be taken to a new home.
All together, the materials cost $115, the wheel and pedals were $300 open box on eBay since they’re sold out everywhere else, and the seat was a whopping $30. $450 for a complete setup is a lot less than if I bought everything new. My next improvements is to fix some faster wheels on the front end to help move this when needed otherwise it’s a two-person operation
Currently, I’ve tried it out on games such as Forza 7, Forza Horizon 4, F1 2019, NASCAR Heat 4, and Project Cars 2. Each one a whole different animal to tame from the other. So far, F1 and NASCAR are the most easy to dive right in to. The others will need tons of seat time and calibrations.
Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 07:41 |
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Nice bit of DIY there. Looks like fun.
$35 for the seat looks like a nice score. I’m curious what it would have gone for with the airbag still attached. I have no need for a Fiesta seat, just thinking aloud. I haven’t been to a yard in ages so I’ve forgotten about seat mounted airbags and what they would do to the cost of them in a yard.
shop-teacher
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 07:57 |
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Not too shabby!
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 08:26 |
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Zwift is next...
SiennaMan
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 09:00 |
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This looks like an awesome setup. Very cool.
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i86hotdogs
> Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
04/30/2020 at 10:23 |
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This yard won’t let you leave with the airbag in on any seats. Luckily I had my reciprocating saw with me to cut it out.
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Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 10:39 |
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What if the bags are still good and haven’t been detonated? They still take them out?
facw
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 12:56 |
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Nice! If it’s not too hard to take apart, I’d recommend painting the PVC and wrapping the plywood in something. Possibly a sim driving setup will never be “presentable” but I think you could have something much more finished looking without much cost/effort.
Grindintosecond
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 13:36 |
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Someday, I’ll have actual time for it...
I used to rFactor with F1c and all kinds of things. I was racing with PSRL a bit when it was just starting way early. I raced with an italian group that built its own timing and scoring and colission detection system that I found superior to iRacing’s fault placing system. And then things fizzled out in rFactor when iRacing really came on strong, so I went there but then kids wanted me to read to them and do things with them ( since they could walk and stuff by then .) So I pressed escape instead of practicing iRacing to get better.
Sold the 3x24" monitors. But I was good in sedans. I didn’t have the fidelity in touch formula cars demand. But I would wheel a GT3 PCC to top 5's. That was about it. I resigned to never winning many times.
But that was probably six years ago, right before sim racing became “a thing” that people started building rigs for. Some day when there is enough time. Some day.
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Grindintosecond
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
04/30/2020 at 13:45 |
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I Zwift. The issue is that ipad just works perfectly right away. PC requires the zwift app on the phone to use the phones BT le connections to feed the router to feed the PC and its not perfect. I got a BT4 low energy usb dongle so the computer could see the trainer and cadence, wheel speed, bt heart rate monitor.....it did. But Zwift does not see it through a PC. It only knows to look for the companion app.
Convoluted and BS IMHO. ipad just turns on and works and does a good job. Just sling it to a tv, or find a cheap used apple tv box, and you are golden. GCN did look at gamer graphics cards to see if theres a zwift benefit...and there is! Ill wait till Zwift gets more of its act together though.
Nom De Plume
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
04/30/2020 at 14:38 |
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Excuse me Sir, believe you meant to say revisiting the massive library of Tacx RLV’s. Dutch ex-pro who shoots these is way above average at putting these in the can.
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Nom De Plume
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 14:41 |
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Can’t hate on that one bit. I personally would’ve put a thick coating of something on the plywood. Otherwise it looks plenty sturdy with good driving position recreated.
Saracen
> i86hotdogs
04/30/2020 at 16:40 |
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I’m considering doing something similar. I could use one of the old seats from my truck that’s still sitting in the storage shed. It would have to be deep cleaned though. I would likely build a plywood structure.
And...holy crap! I didn’t realize how expensive wheels have become. I bought my Driving Force GT wheel 8 years ago for $100 on Amazon...they’re almost $500 in new condition now, and nearly $250 used.
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i86hotdogs
> Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
04/30/2020 at 21:04 |
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Yup, the consumer has to remove the airbag inflator regardless of its condition.
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i86hotdogs
> Saracen
04/30/2020 at 21:06 |
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Yup, the prices are scary. Some setups like the thrust master’s shifter cost upwards near $200.
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i86hotdogs
> facw
04/30/2020 at 21:07 |
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Agreed. I wanted to finalize all positions and configurations before I started painting. Gets the function down before working on the looks.
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i86hotdogs
> Nom De Plume
04/30/2020 at 21:08 |
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Once I get the adjustments dialed in, I am going to shine it up a bit with some sealant and paint.
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i86hotdogs
> Grindintosecond
04/30/2020 at 21:10 |
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That sounds intense, but really fun. The missus and I have zero plans for kids (just more dogs), so if I get the hang of this, i can keep upgrading to something legit. The multi screen set up is huge for field of vision.
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Grindintosecond
> i86hotdogs
05/01/2020 at 00:17 |
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I’m on a 21:9 curved monitor now and its great. It’s 1/3 more than a 21:9 in field of view.That may be all you need for that little bit extra awareness, but having all of that window net, especially on the off side, was huge when
I
just saw the nose of a car there on turn in where I
would have had a wreck before. It truly is cool. I’m glad 21:9's are so much cheaper right now for the sim guys. You could always run 5 of them vertically and get huge car environment....
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i86hotdogs
> Grindintosecond
05/01/2020 at 03:33 |
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Anything screen related will have to wait until I can dedicate a room for it. For now, I’m using our only TV in the house lol
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Grindintosecond
> i86hotdogs
05/01/2020 at 09:54 |
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Oh, well, then get two smaller ones and put them vertically next to the TV!
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i86hotdogs
> Grindintosecond
05/01/2020 at 12:37 |
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Lemme run that by the wife and see what she says!! Lol