Here's what I'm at so far. Probably closer to $3k with all other tiny accessories. I'm sure some other people in here have rigs that are triple the price! (Not including PC since I also use it as a main computer as well). Hoping to upgrade to triples and better pedals though I think just for casual simming I'm fine where I'm at.
I recently started looking at sim racing parts, such as wheels, pedals, rigs, etc., and the prices for most of them are way higher than I expected. How much should I expect to spend on an average setup?
Videos
Just curious as to what's the best value for performance and value per dollar
I just saw this on sim racing group and I liked it, anyone knows what the parts is and how much will it costs for building this king of sim rig? Thanks :)
Hey everyone! I’m getting into sim racing again and have a $2000 budget for a full setup — that includes wheel, wheel base, pedals, and a cockpit[I have everything else]. I’m aiming for something solid and immersive, preferably with a load cell brake and a rig that doesn’t flex under pressure.
Any gear combos or brands you’d recommend? Bonus if it supports a formula-style seating position.
Appreciate any advice — thanks in advance!
Just what the title says.
Mine is not much, when I started in 2006 I spent prolly around USD 500, that's the cost of Logitech Momo, Nvidia GTX 670 to replace the ATI HD5770, and a 32 inch LCD/LED TV/monitor to replace my 15 inch CRT monitor.
And I havent upgrade my rig yet. As I rarely simracing again since 2013 due to real life duties.
EDIT: holy crap, reading your comments, I feel like I'm driving Haas right now, lol
Hey everyone! I’ve been dying for a sim racing set up for years now. I just graduated with my masters and can finally afford to start a basic set up! I know that it’s A very cheap and basic set up but would I’ve been told it would be good to start with. Any thoughts/recommendations/suggestions would be appreciated!
Hello. I have been wanting to set up a rig for a really long time and now is finally the time I can actually do so. PC is ready, but I need your help in choosing the rest of the parts.
I am on both PC and PS4. I want to play on PC, but a console support is definitely a plus. My PC specs: GPU: RTX 4090 CPU: i7-12700 RAM: 16GB DDR4 3200MHz
Parts I am looking to invest in: Wheelbase and wheel Cockpit (preferably with a monitor mount) Pedals Monitor/s (not sure if only one or three)
A complete setup is what I am looking for. Not necessarily an all in one package, but compatibility is a must.
I want this to be a long term investment, so I do not mind spending more money if it is worth it. It has been a interest of mine for a really long time, and I worked really hard for it. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Edit: Price can range between $3,000 and $4,000.
Hi!
Im intrested to get into sim drifting, and i am looking for suggestions to what i should get, basically what is the best bang for your buck.
For my budget, i would like to be as little over 1000 as possible, but if there is no good options at that price point, then ofc i can save up more and get good gear the first time.
Mainly looking for recommendations for the wheel+pedal+sifter and the seat rig. I already have a pc and monitor i can use if i dont end up going straight for the vr route.
Im gonna upgrade the setup as i go, so upgrade-friendly setup is what im looking for🤝🏻
Also what vr glasses would you recommend? (Does not need be included in the budget listed above)
Thanks in advance! -Jasse
Ps. English is not my first language so i hope i didn’t make too many typos🤞🏻
Hey Sim Racing community,
EDIT : TITLE 10000 USD each. Im based in pakistan(asia), Would prefer something thats plug n play. Sorry for the confusion earlier.
I hope you're all doing well! I've been an admirer of the world of sim racing for a while now, and I've finally decided to take the plunge and build my own setup. I'm eager to get started, but I could use some guidance from the experts here.
Budget: My budget is approximately $10,000, and that needs to cover everything - from the wheel and pedals to the motion platform, and even the display setup.
Experience Level: I'm a complete newbie when it comes to sim racing rigs. I've played racing games casually, but I'm looking to take my experience to the next level with a realistic setup.
Goals: I'm aiming for a setup that offers an immersive experience. I want to feel like I'm actually in the car while racing. I'm also interested in both arcade-style and realistic racing sims, so versatility would be great.
Components I'm Considering:
Wheel and Pedals: I've heard good things about brands like Fanatec and Thrustmaster. Are there any specific models I should consider within my budget? Force feedback is a must for me.
Motion Platform: Is a motion platform a realistic option within my budget? Are there any affordable options that still provide a good experience?
Display Setup: Should I go for a triple-screen setup or invest in a high-quality ultra-wide monitor? What about VR - is that a good option?
Gaming PC: I'll need a PC to run these simulators. Any recommendations for a gaming PC build within my budget that can handle modern racing sims?
Accessories: Are there any other accessories or peripherals I should consider? Racing seats, button boxes, or anything else that can enhance the experience?
Discount Inquiry: Since we're planning to build two setups, is it possible to get a discount on some of the components or accessories? If so, how can we go about obtaining one?
I would greatly appreciate any advice, suggestions, or personal experiences you can share with me. Please keep in mind that I'm starting from scratch, so your expertise is invaluable to me.
Thank you all in advance for your help! I'm excited to become a part of this amazing community and start my sim racing journey.
TL;DR: Newbie looking to build a comprehensive sim racing rig for around $10,000, seeking advice on wheel/pedals, motion platform, display setup, gaming PC, and any other accessories to enhance the experience.
As the title says, im looking to jump into iRacing, but don't have any of the necessary equipment like a wheel or a rig.
Just wondering how much itll most likely cost to get started? Thanks!
EDIT 1: Thanks for the replies! Mainly what I was looking at was maybe a PC good enough to run it, a VR system (would rather race with that than monitors) and a decent wheel with pedals and a shifter (looking at a Playseat and Logitech bundle w/ shifter for around $700-730, would come with a free 3 mo iRacing membership :)). Would you guys, and anyone else, say that would be a good setup for iRacing? Or would you suggest something else?
Im just starting to work again so it wont happen right away, but at some point this year I'd like to dive into it. EDIT 2: Also, for background, I'm a 19 year-old with an $11 an hour job.
EDIT 3: Also of note, I do have an Early 2015 Macbook Pro that I could hook up to a TV. The question is, would the Macbook be enough to run iRacing?
I would suggest not buying content on that free account, just use it to test free content. If you find you like the game, start a new account so you can get at least a full year at the half price discount which is only for new accounts. With that year long sub. account you can buy content and the year long subscription will last until the yearly discount for existing accounts comes around (usually around November) and you can add time to your account at discount again. Try to prioritize your first purchases to the series' that pay iRacing credits for participating that way your are able to earn $40/year this will keep your monthly cost at $3-$5. Once you buy the content you like the game will be quite affordable.
If you want VR, be prepared to spend loads on a capable PC. A 1070 is probably the minimum graphics card you can get away with for VR, and with the run on cards thanks to bitcoin and friends, the cost of that card alone is about $800.
If you're going to try on a Mac, the "native" Mac version is basically just wrapped in WINE. From this link, it seems performance via WINE is terrible, that it's possible to play with boot camp, but even then you'll barely be pulling 60 fps on minimum settings (and frame rates are very important in racing sims).
A quick and dirty cost estimate for VR, you have $600 for the Rift, I'd guess probably $800 - $1000 for a VR-capable machine, and probably $400ish minimum for whatever wheel/pedals/rig setup you'd find (can be found for reduced price used). Logitech make fine stuff and they tend to be widely supported in most sims. Only real requirement for a wheel is that it has force feedback.
An estimate for non-VR, you can get by with a cheaper PC (probably find a fine one for $500), $100-$200 for a good monitor.
And finally, don't let the free 3 mo. membership persuade you to buy a lesser product. That's a fine value to add to a bundle you already like, but a 3 month membership is only $20 right now for new members.
It sounds like you're on a tight budget. Make sure not to spend yourself poor -- iRacing is NOT a cheap game even once you get past buying the equipment. When you start fresh, the rookie series are all free, but beyond that, the "real" series usually cost about $100 assuming you have to purchase all the tracks. Once you've run a few series, you'll start accumulating tracks and the costs of subsequent series will slowly decrease, but it's quite a big barrier to entry.
I’m looking to finally update from my Logitech g29 mounted to my table to a proper rig with a dd wheel and 3 screens etc. and I was looking at some different rigs. I’m not sure how much a finished rig really costs. My budget is probably around 3k, 4 max (excluding pc) and I’m really not sure if I can get a good setup for that kind of money. I was looking at a rig by sim lab called the GT1-Evo because it looks like a really nice rig. Would this be a good rig and would it be able to fit my budget? Having 3 screens or ultra wide screen is also really important to me, but it can wait a bit if it goes outside a realistic budget. Alongside that I’ve been looking into the Simagic Alpha Mini.
If you know how much a completed setup with all of this is mind, please tell me if it could fit my budget. If not, is there anything similar I could get that would fit my budget? All help is appreciated
Something important to know is what country you’re located in
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Don't upgrade all at once, if you dont have a love for tinkering. Setting everything up all at once can be quite frustrating experience. Finding the right seat position alone can take days.
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Upgrade order generally is Rig -> Pedals -> Wheelbase / Monitor / VR -> Everything else. Hence I would recommend to go for Rig + Pedals first.
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Here is what I would do..Rig: Sim-Lab Evo, Motedis, AluxProfile, Omega GT Prime Lite, SimXPro X80 or Treq Sim are all European located (Omega GT is UK, but I think they also have a warehouse within the EU, would have to contact them first). The basic rigs come all for around 400-450€ without shipping and are very similar. How Wheel- & Pedalmount is designed can differ a bit here and there..Seat: Here it depends if you want to get a Junkyard seat for 50-100€ or a proper Bucket seat. Or a Bucket / Car Seat hybrid kinda thing such as Lusomotors which Ive heard only good things about build quality and comfortableness so far.Junkyard you would have to check for the rails on the underside being kinda standard, it being mechanically adjustable (no electricity required) and ideally being passenger side due to less wear.Alternatively OMP or Sparco for Bucket Seats that are around 400€. There are more brands of course. Anyway, here I would consider going to a local motorracing store and trial sit different seats to find whats comfortable for you.And last but not least you would need side mounts for the Bucketseats or Lusomotors which cost around 35€ on eBay.
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Pedals: It depends if you need the clutch or not. I would recommend the VRS or Nuo Evo1 mainly because both of them use spring-based brakes. And from my experience and most people I talked to spring-based brakes feel better than elastomers.VRS is a known brand and high quality and I dont think you can ever go wrong with them. Nuo Evo1 is a german engineer and simracer doing it all by himself. They do look massive and have a few more features than the VRS, but do not have a dedicated software yet (its in the works). Both cost around ~600 or ~800 depending if you want 2 or 3 pedals. And depending on if you want a heelplate another 50-100€.
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Wheelbase: The "Budget" Variant are the Moza Alpha Mini and the Moza R9. Problem is that both of them are right on the edge of "enough power". For some its enough, for others it isn't. Also its important to note that Simagic does NOT provide any manufacturer warranty. So all warranty goes through the retailer. Which to me is a dealbreaker.The alternative would be going for the VRS wheelbase right away that's quite likely the last wheelbase you will ever need. It comes for around 1000€ (900 + 50 each for Shaft hub and Mount) without a wheel so it's definitely more expensive. Then need a good all around wheel such as the Simline.eu GT3-R for around 350€ (give or take depending on extras).
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Monitors + Monitor mount. For the Monitor mount for 3 screens you will have to estimate around 300€. For monitors I would look for WQHD, 144Hz and 27-32". Ideally with an IPS panel. Like the Ilyama G-Master Red Eagle at around 350€.
As you can see going all out is a bit above your budget. 900 for Rig + Seat. 850 for pedals + heelplate. 1350€ for Wheelbase + Wheel. 1250€ for Monitor + Mount. All in all a bit below 4500€.
The options to cut your cost are at the Wheelbase (Moza or Simagic), the Pedals (no clutch), Junkyard Seat, going for an ultra wide screen monitor instead of triples or reduce the quality of the triples (1080p, lower refreshrate or VA panel). Also see my post here that is almost up2date: https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/y895i1/what_would_you_change_within_this_budget_pc/iszag1t/?context=3
Not including the actual games I’ll be buying, byt I’m aiming for a budget of $500-$600, maybe more as time goes on…
I have a modern gen PC type of set up, and been wanting to add a racing sim to go with it, I’ve done a bit of research into it but can’t decide on which brand to go with, Logitech is out of the question, Direct Drive being an option is preferred,
As for realism I’m looking for NASCAR/Stock car, late model style of racing with an Formula series style option I can implement in the future,
Being a race car driver was a childhood dream of mine (ty speed racer, channel surfed and came across NASCAR) and now that I’m 25 and make adult money (but not enough to be on a track) this is the next thing g on my checklist,
Hey y’all, I have been wanting to get into sim racing for a bit now and am wondering what would be my best route to go. I’m looking for a list on the parts I need to get. In college so I’m balling on a budget lol.
Thanks!!!
I decided to not hide from the costs (which is easy to do as you slowly upgrade or subscribe to stuff). I've kept a spreadsheet since the beginning of the madness (July of 2021) where everything that's primarily for sim racing was logged.
As of today i've spent $6,193.96
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$4,225.87 is hardware and I have a very mid Fanatec setup: CSL DD, formula v2, McLaren GT3, WCR wheels, V3 pedals, mounted in a Playseat Challenge. Valve Index for VR (which I'm including because I haven't used it for anything else after playing Alyx at the start of the pandemic :D). A bunch of random stuff like cables, 3d printed parts, dedicated USB hub, DIY haptics. (NOTE: I'm not including the PC because that's used for other games but that's easily another $3K)
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I've spent $1186.69 on iRacing alone. That's the subscriptions (black friday) and the content.
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The remaining $781.40 is other sims (AC, ACC, Rfactor2, Automobilista 1&2, Dirt 2.0, Race room), software (SimHub, JRT, etc), but primarily on subscriptions (G61, VRS, TradingPaints, setup shops, etc) and a few coaching sessions.
2 fun stats:
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as of this post my first race was 1225 days ago. That means the hobby costs $5.05 per day
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i've done 528 races in iRacing. That works out to $11.73 per race
My rationalization is very simple:
I used to have a $5000 racebike (a very ratty 916) and it cost between $300-1000 to do a single weekend at the track (track/entry fees, tires, fuel). Another $5000 in bike upgrades/maintenance. $3000 in protective gear. I had one major crash that cost me $3000 in repairs. A bunch of smaller getoffs that prolly add up to another $2000. Plus lots of time wrenching. Plus lots of time in pain. I easily sunk $30,000 for a few dozen "experiences". Lets say, oh i dunno, ~ $1173 per track day/race ;)
But is sim racing more exciting than IRL racing? Actually in many ways yes! I was never good enough IRL to be really competitive. I mostly just did track days where you have to keep a fair distance between riders. In my few race experiences, the excitement was over within a lap or two as the amateur field I was in spread out.
As someone who has done both IRL and in sim, actually being in danger is overrated.
Plus I'm too old to go out IRL at this point. Too many broken bones. A lack of talent. Sim racing gives me almost the same experience for a fraction of the cost and is vastly safer, and I can keep doing it for another decade (or 2!?) ;)
How'd I do, fellow rationalizers? Would love to hear from folks with those $20K rigs I lust for.
I see a lot of posts here that are so nonchalant about spending inordinate amounts of money on sim rigs. I'm still pretty new to the hobby and even I'm considering throwing ridiculous (for me) money at it, so I want to know, how much have you spent in total? How much did your current setup cost?
And finally... was it worth it?
I'm looking forward to hearing your responses and hearing about your shifters that cost more than my setup!
Sometimes it is best if you don't add it up so you don't know the final figure...
A couple grand between a cockpit, a Fanatec Clubsport setup (pedals, wheel base, rim, shifter), and an Oculus Rift. Everything else (PC, monitors, etc) I already owned for regular pc gaming. Sad thing is I don't race nearly enough to justify that :(
Not talking about the PC here, unless it's a dedicated PC of course. Do you guys have any idea of the total cost of your actual setup? I'm curious. It will be helpful for beginners like me also to realize what budget this hobby represents.
For me I already have a pc capable of running most sims at 45+ fps. (not the greatest but I would like to have the PC excluded in the cost).
I am a huge racing/car fan and would love to get into sim racing but I've got no idea what to look at