[lawn_mower]

Having done a pretty decent amount of W2W racing, and now spending a great deal of time on iRacing, it honestly scratches the itch pretty damn well. The learning curve can be steep, and IRL skills don't directly translate over, but once you get to the point where you're competitive and running against better drivers it can be super addicting.

[zachmc241]

Selling my Fanatec set up! Pretty much brand new, very low hours. No issues I just don’t play it at all. It was a Covid time killer!

[Dan B]

I love video games and have been sim racing for a very long time. Not as much recently though because of time constraints.

I have also been fortunate to have grown up around racing, worked in racing, and have driven countless laps on many tracks.

My personal experience: Sim lets you learn a track and gives you a head start. However I don't think it helps me with feeling the car. The little things like new tires vs old tires, full tank of gas vs half a tank etc.. I only get that sitting in a real car.

[Stu In Blackpool]

Originally Posted by lawn_mower

and now spending a great deal of time on iRacing, it honestly scratches the itch pretty damn well. The learning curve can be steep, and IRL skills don't directly translate over, but once you get to the point where you're competitive and running against better drivers it can be super addicting.

I agree, I have got quite a decent setup, triple 120hz screens, big watercooled PC and Thrustmaster T500 RS pedals and wheel in GT Omega cockpit and its quite really quite realistic (within reason) as long as the game has exceptional wheel feedback.

Without good feedback and taking the time to get it working right it will always just be a game, but once you are able to feel the tyres on the edge of adhesion and the back of the car getting loose, or the front heavy, it really does become immersive.

I've recently transitioned over to Automobilista 2 and find it very impressive indeed.

[GolfCoyote]

I recently picked up AC Competizone, the physics in that game are surprisingly good. I've gone through a couple turns where I can feel and hear the front tires starting to skip as they are on the verge of losing traction, super impressive even on my Fanatec Clupsport v2.5. I can only imagine how it would feel with a DD setup.

[GaelAng]

Having a driving sim is a really cool and useful way to practice driving and also driving your dream cars on your favorite circuits or maybe also on the streets (if we consider something a bit less realistic like NFS games or Forza Horizon games), the only big issue about sim racing is the budget in my opinion, a good driving simulator with vibration, seats and maybe also a mock-up dashboard costs quite a lot, so it depends on your budget, so if you have a lot of money to invest, then it is 100% worth it, and of course the less you spend, the less realistic the experience will be. Also you should consider that racing simulators for PC like Assetto Corsa for example and also the driving simulator itself require a lot of work to do (with mods for the game and drivers and parts to assemble for the simulator), so this should also be important to note, because for example on a PlayStation every peripheral is basically plug-and-play, while on PC is not so simple. I hope I have been helpful.

[Podunk]

Fanatec is ok if you want to move between PC and PS5, and assumign you don't go to their black friday sales.. overall Fanatec customer service may as well be non existent according to their own forum, Youtube comments from customers, and the Fanatec reddit.

If you are planning on PC only, i recommend the Simucube line of wheel bases, i got mine from microcenter, as part of a bundle, base, and Gomez racing industries GT wheel for 999.00 but my base is the Sport, not the pro or ultimate. look for similar bundle deals when you can.

get a rig, either 80/20, or the GT1 from Simlabs, you want something you can mount the monitor to for when you fire up the games, if the monitor isn't mounted it can and will fall ( i was using my desk to play, big mistake monitor crashed onto the simucube base, monitor toast, simucube not even a scratch)

Pedals matter, and there are tons of options, Huesinkveld seems to be the go to for many, there is also sim coaches, which uses actual hydrualic pressure sensors, and there is the simucube pedals that cost 2K a piece.. ( there is also simlabs that are good as well. )

will it replace the feeling? no not exactly.. it is fun as hell, and has realistic feeling, and considering you can easily spend 20K a year doing track days, it is much cheaper then RL track day costs overall.



so yes i recommend a rig if you love racing, it get's pretty close to the real deal, and can be very immersive.

not to mention EA WRC and DIRT 2.0 are just stupid fun to play with a direct drive base.

AC and ACC are also good sims, AC IMO has better feel than iRacing for when you are leaning on the tires, Iracing is kinda numb, and makes you rely more on brake and driving handicapped/safe. not to mention, getting those faster turn in's cause of slip angle steering and seeing it in the replays is always satisfying.